The Best Accounting Software For Freelancers

QuickBooks Self-Employed was designed specifically to help freelancers manage their finances and file their taxes easily. QuickBooks Self-Employed is incredibly easy to use, offers great mobile apps, and has the best tax support of all three programs on this list.

The software helps you calculate your estimated quarterly taxes, track your mileage, find other deductions, such as the home office deduction, and even has a TurboTax integration for easy filing. On top of tax support, QBSE also helps freelancers keep track of their income and expenses.

QuickBooks Self-Employed Pricing

QuickBooks Self-Employed offers three pricing plans ranging from $15-$35/month. The two most expensive plans include a built-in TurboTax integration and the ability to pay estimated quarterly taxes online. The $35/month plan also comes with year-round support from a CPA, including a final tax return review.

QuickBooks Self-Employed Features

QuickBooks Self-Employed has a strong feature set, and, especially with its tie-in with TurboTax, it thrives when it comes to tax support. Here's an idea of what QuickBooks Self-Employed has to offer:

• Track income and expenses
• Separate personal and business expenses
• Invoicing
• Record tax deductions
• Fixed asset management
• Calculate estimated quarterly taxes

Would QuickBooks Self-Employed Work For My Business?

QuickBooks Self-Employed is ideal for freelancers looking for tax support, a way to separate personal and business expenses, and basic expense tracking. QuickBooks Self-Employed is one of the best accounting and tax support solutions out there for the self-employed. The software offers the most advanced level of tax support on the market. While this isn't a full-fledged accounting app, it allows freelancers to manage their income and expenses.

Fiverr Workspace (previously AND CO) is one of the leading freelance marketplaces. The software is easy to use, offers great customer support, and provides traditional accounting features, such as time-tracking and project management.

While the software does not offer tax support, it has a one-of-a-kind contract feature that allows you to create legal contracts for projects that are compliant with the Freelancers Union. This enables you to dictate who retains rights to your work and accept signatures directly from clients.

Fiverr Pricing

Fiverr has a free plan for freelancers with a single client and a paid plan which costs $18/month. The larger plan includes unlimited clients, additional reports, and more advanced proposals and contracts.

Fiverr Features

While Fiverr may lack tax support, the software has most of the basics covered, and its feature set offers a lot for the low starting price point. Here are some of the features Fiverr has to offer:

• Invoicing
• Contact management
• Expense tracking
• Time tracking
• Project management
• Proposals
• Contracts
• Subscriptions

Would Fiverr Work For My Business?

Fiverr is ideal for freelancers who don't need the extra tax support of QuickBooks Self-Employed and would rather have more traditional accounting features, contracts, and better customer support.

Fiverr is a great accounting and finance management tool for freelancers. The main drawback is that there is no tax support. However, you won't find such developed proposal and contract features anywhere else.

Wave is a free accounting software solution that offers an incredible number of features for $0/month. While the software wasn't designed specifically for freelancers like QuickBooks Self-Employed and Fiverr, Wave is one of the best accounting programs to fit the needs of freelancers. It's affordable, easy to use, and allows business owners to separate personal and business accounting.

Wave Pricing

Wave only offers one accounting package, and it's completely free. There are no user or feature limits. You get all of the great features of Wave for $0/month; the only extra costs are payment processing, payroll, and professional bookkeeping services.

Wave Features

For free software, Wave offers an extremely generous feature set. While you won't find tax support, Wave does offer strong accounting and is full-fledged accounting software. Because Wave is actual accounting software, it's the only program on this list that will allow you to balance the books. Here are the features you'll find with Wave:

• Invoicing
• Estimates
• Contact management
• Expense tracking
• Accounts payable
• Inventory
• Reports

Would Wave Work For My Business?

Wave is ideal for self-employed individuals looking for a full accounting solution or those who need an affordable way to manage their freelance finances.

Wave is an affordable accounting program that gives you strong accounting and tons of features without breaking the bank. The software does not offer tax support, but it does offer payroll, making it a scalable solution if you plan on growing your freelancing business. The professional bookkeeping services are also great for freelancers who aren't comfortable doing their own accounting or simply don't have the time.

FreshBooks is an excellent piece of accounting software that features an incredibly simple and well-designed interface that is well-suited for freelancers who may be new to doing their own accounting. It has a wealth of integrations, including Gusto, Basecamp, and more than 100 others, and has a very solid mobile app to help you run your business on the go. It's also relatively affordable and has terrific customer service.

FreshBooks Pricing

FreshBooks has plans running from $15 up to $50 per month. The cheapest plan comes with unlimited invoices and estimates, and you can add extra users and advanced payments for additional fees.

FreshBooks Features

FreshBooks has a strong feature set that freelancers can take advantage of from its well-designed dashboard. You won't find many holes in the software offerings, and you can always upgrade your plan. Here are some of FreshBooks' top features:

• Invoices
• Estimates
• Client portal
• Expense tracking
• Bank reconciliation
• Accounts payable
• Time tracking
• Proposals

Would FreshBooks Work For My Business?

While FreshBooks is a little costlier than some of the free programs, it has its benefits. Along with great customer service and a complete feature set, FreshBooks is scalable if your accounting needs get more involved. It is also one of the best accounting software programs for individuals who may be running their own books for the first time, thanks to its very user-friendly interface.

Xero is one of the top accounting platforms around, boasting a rich feature set and a huge number of integrations. And while it can handle accounting needs for large corporations, it can also suit the needs of freelancers. Xero is probably best suited for freelancers that have some advanced accounting needs with invoicing or time tracking, but it is also highly scalable should you need to expand.

Xero Pricing

Xero starts at $12/month and has multiple pricing plans. Its simplest plan has unlimited users but limits you to 20 invoices.

Xero Features

Unsurprisingly, Xero has an extremely rich feature set that you can tap into with its higher-tier services. But its Early plan is fine for freelancers just starting out and is generous for the price. Here are some of Xero's top features:

• Reconcile bank transactions
• Live bank feeds
• Inventory management
• Reports
• Unlimited users
• Purchase orders
• Document storage

Would Xero Work For My Company?

Xero is one of the more scalable accounting options out there, and if you feel like your accounting needs are going to grow in the near future, it should certainly be on your list. Xero also has a fantastic mobile app, so if you are someone who wants to keep tabs on your invoices from anywhere, it's tough to go wrong with Xero.