5 Best Accounting Software for Handyman Business
This article is part of a larger series onAccounting Software.
The best accounting software for handyman business should have features like project accounting, income and expense tracking, financial reporting, and time tracking. Since handyman businesses handle client projects, the ability to manage project costs and bill clients should also be present. With that in mind, here are the five best handyman accounting software:
- QuickBooks Online:Best overall handyman accounting software with assisted bookkeeping
- Zoho Books:Best for iOS integration and mobile app accounting
- FreshBooks:Best for invoicing and project accounting
- ZipBooks:Best for handyman businesses with few clients
- Wave:Best for part-time handyman businesses
Handyman Accounting Software Compared
Software |
Monthly Pricing |
Free Trial |
Number of Users |
Income or Loss per Project |
Classes & Locations |
Mobile App |
Mileage Tracking |
Time Tracking |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$30 to $200 |
30 days |
1 to 25 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
Via QuickBooks Time* |
|
0 - 275美元 |
14 days |
1 to 15 |
✓ |
✓ |
Excellent |
✓ |
In mobile app |
|
$17 to $5 |
5 or custom priced |
30 days |
1 |
✓ |
Good |
✓ |
In mobile app |
|
$0 to $35 |
30 days |
1 to unlimited |
✓ |
N/A |
Poor |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Free |
N/A |
Unlimited |
N/A |
N/A |
Poor |
N/A |
N/A |
*QuickBooks Time is a separate product. It is priced at $20 or $40 per month for one admin user. For more information, read ourreview of QuickBooks Time.
QuickBooks Online: Best Overall Handyman Accounting Software With Assisted Bookkeeping
Pros
- Track by location and classes
- Track mileage using the mobile app
- 容易-use bank reconciliation module
- Reconcile accounts without bank feed connection
- Vast network of QuickBooks ProAdvisors
- Quickly add billable time and materials to invoices
Cons
- No time tracking in the mobile app
- Requires Plus plan for project accounting and class and location tracking
- Cannot enter bills within the mobile app
- No savings for an annual subscription
Plans & Pricing
You can try QuickBooks Online for 30 days, then pay the regular monthly price. Otherwise, you can buy QuickBooks Online now and get 50% off for three months plus a free guided setup. The regular prices are as follows:
- Simple Start: 30美元/month for one user
- Essentials: $60 per month for up to three users
- Plus: $90 per month for up to five users
- Advanced: $200 per month for up to 25 users
The most recommended plan for handyman businesses is QuickBooks Online Plus.
As ourbest small business accounting software, QuickBooks Online offers a flexible accounting solution for handyman businesses. It can create, personalize, and send invoices. Users can reconcile bank accounts and credit cards, and receivables and payables can be monitored through reports. Overall, we think of QuickBooks Online as a well-rounded solution for your needs.
However, it might be unsuitable for a freelance handyman business—and our recommended alternatives are FreshBooks and ZipBooks. Pick FreshBooks if you handle complex projects because of its project accounting features. Meanwhile, ZipBooks is suitable for businesses accepting simple projects and minor repairs.
Zoho Books: Best for iOS Integration & Mobile App Accounting
Pros
- Offers a free plan for handyman businesses with $50,000 or less in annual revenue
- Powerful mobile application with time and mileage tracker and excellent features on iPhone and Apple Watch
- Option to add more users above plan limits at an additional cost
- Outstanding customer support; includes phone and live chat
Cons
- Limited features for lower tier plans (Free and Standard)
- Revenue limit of $50,000 for the free plan
- Limited support network for Zoho Advisor programs
Plans & Pricing
Zoho Books offers six plans, and you can try paid plans for 14 days.
- Free: For one user only and 1,000 invoices per year
- Standard: $20 per month for three users and 5,000 invoices per year
- Professional: $50 per month for five users and unlimited invoices
- Premium: $70 per month for 10 users
- Elite: $150 per month for 10 users
- Ultimate: $275 per month for 15 users
We recommend a Professional subscription for handyman business accounting. You can add additional users at $3 per seat, per month.
If you visit clients or are away from your laptop frequently, Zoho Books can provide you with essential on-the-go features through its mobile app. Managing a handyman business is not an office-based job—and your handyman accounting software must be accessible on your phone. The accounting features of Zoho Books are comparable to QuickBooks Online, but Zoho Books takes the win in its mobile app.
Despite Zoho Books’ outstanding features, some freelance handyman businesses might find Zoho Books too much for their needs. By getting Zoho Books Professional, you get features like custom workflows and recurring journals, which are features not used for freelancing. We instead recommend FreshBooks and ZipBooks as alternatives.
FreshBooks: Best for Invoicing & Project Accounting
Pros
- Simple and easy to use
- Outstanding invoice creation and designing features
- Excellent project accounting features like estimation and cost allocation
- Can track time for billable hours
- Track mileage using the app
Cons
- One user for all plans
- No class and location tracking
- Can’t reconcile bank accounts without bank feed connections
Plans & Pricing
FreshBooks plans are only for one user. You can get more seats for $11 each per month.
- Lite: $17 per month for five billable clients
- Plus: 30美元/month for 15 billable clients
- Premium: $55 per month for unlimited billable clients
- Select: Custom priced
Handyman businesses with complex projects will find FreshBooks a good pick. It provides project management features alongside project accounting. You can send and create proposals quickly without having to start with a blank document on Microsoft Word or Google Docs. You fill out a form, and FreshBooks will generate your proposal and then send it to clients for approval. Once approved, it can convert the proposal to an invoice once approved. It also tracks time for projects that bill by the hour.
Though its project accounting is outstanding, it may not be a good pick for large handyman businesses because FreshBooks’s banking features aren’t flexible. It requires a bank feed connection before reconciling bank accounts. QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books are our recommended alternatives for large handyman businesses with many employees.
ZipBooks: Best for Handyman Businesses With Few Clients
Pros
- Has the most affordable paid plans in this guide
- Unlimited invoices in the free plan
- Has assisted bookkeeping services that come with a ZipBooks plan
- Supports cash and accrual accounting
Cons
- No recurring invoices and time tracking in the free plan
- Limited integration
- No inventory tracking
Plans & Pricing
You can try ZipBooks paid plans for 30 days or start with the Starter plan as a free option.
- Starter: Free for unlimited invoices for one user
- Smarter: $15 per month for five users
- Sophisticated: $35 per month for unlimited users
Assisted Bookkeeping:
- Simple Bookkeeping: $125 per month with personal bookkeeper and ZipBooks plan
- Multi-classifications Bookkeeping: $145 per month with all Simple Bookkeeping perks plus multiple tracking in classes and locations
- Vendor and 1099 Preparation: $175 per month with all Simple Bookkeeping perks plus tracking vendor payments and preparing 1099s
ZipBooks offers the most affordable paid plans of the providers listed in our guide. While Wave is free software, choosing ZipBooks offers more scalability and features beyond its free plan. ZipBooks is also priced more affordably than the other paid software in our guide, making it a good pick for handyman businesses with few clients. But if the monthly cost is not a concern for you, we recommend QuickBooks Online as an alternative to ZipBooks. It offers almost all the essential features, such as tracking bills, sales tax, locations, and classes.
Wave: Best for Part-time Handyman Businesses
Pros
- Free forever
- Easy to use―even for beginners
- Unlimited users
- Multiple roles with different access levels
Cons
- Poor customer support
- Limited features for established handyman businesses
- No time tracking
Plans & Pricing
Wave is free for accounting and bookkeeping. Charges may apply for electronic payments made through Wave.
Wave is a niche pick for part-time handyman businesses. If you only perform handyperson tasks on the side, Wave is a practical pick for tracking income and expenses from your side job. You can also track basic receivables from customers and payables to suppliers. Alternatively, ZipBooks is a good affordable option for handyman businesses with more accounting needs, such as auto-categorization of expenses and expanded reporting.
How We Evaluated Accounting Software for Handyman Business
The best handyman accounting software should provide you with features that can help in managing the important aspects of a handyman business such as tracking project time and paying bills. We evaluated the solutions on this list based on six criteria:
10% of Overall Score
The price of the software is an important factor for some handyman businesses on a tight budget. We prefer accounting software that is affordable yet has many useful features.
20% of Overall Score
The general accounting features of handyman accounting software should enable users to manage vendors and customers, track outstanding balances, scan and read receipts, and create recurring expenses. These are important for the daily accounting tasks of the handyman business.
30% of Overall Score
Handypersons need to manage projects, create project reports and estimates, and track time. Since handyman jobs are project-based, project accounting features weigh heavily in our evaluation.
10% of Overall Score
Since handyman businesses work with clients, a decent mobile app should accompany them wherever they need to go. The app must have accounting features, time tracking functionality, and even mileage tracking.
20% of Overall Score
We placed a heavy weight on ease of use because business owners should not have a difficult time using the platform. While some accounting software requires learning and familiarity, more points are awarded to products that require less time to learn.
10% of Overall Score
We considered actual reviews from users to reflect the true value of the software in our evaluation. We used scores from reputable user review websites as a basis for this criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Accounting software can help handyman businesses bill the right amount to their clients. With features like income and expense tracking and project accounting, your business can optimize the right amount of client fees, include billable expenses to client billings, assess the performance of client projects, and capture deductions for tax purposes.
Project accounting, financial reporting, and income and expense tracking are the most important features to look for in a small business handyman accounting software.
Bottom Line
The best accounting software for handyman businesses should help business owners track the profitability, performance, and financial condition of operations. It must have a set of features that make it easier for business owners to manage their business’s resources and make guided decisions.