QuickBooks Self-Employed, which you may access from a web browser or mobile app, helps track income, expenses, tax information, and more. You can sync your data on both web and mobile app for tasks like tracking mileage.
But what if you’re looking for different capabilities, a different approach to scalability, or changes in expenses.
Look at our overview of the best QuickBooks Self-Employed alternatives available.
- Keeper: Best Overall
- FreshBooks: Best for Small Businesses
- Wave: Best for Fast Payments
- Xero: Best for Growing Businesses
- Zoho Books: Best for Automating Business Business Workflows
- Sage 50cloud: Best for Simplified Payroll Processes
Quickbooks Self-Employed vs Alternatives
| Software | Price | Number of users | Features |
| Keeper | Standard: $8 per client, per month Premium: $10 per client, per month Enterprise: Flexible | Based on per client per month | Close-of-the-month reports, task management, client portal, file reviews, management reporting |
| FreshBooks | Lite: $8.50 per month Plus: $15 per month Premium: $27.50 per month Select: Custom pricing | Lite: Unlimited invoices to up to five clients Plus: Unlimited invoices to up to 50 clients Premium: Unlimited invoices to an unlimited number of clients Select: Unlimited invoices to an unlimited number of clients | Secure, integrated, accounting software to customize, keep track of payments, track bills, and send invoices |
| Wave | Invoicing: Free Accounting: Free Payments: 2.9% + 60 cents per credit card transaction, 3.4% + 60 cents per Amex transaction, 1% per transaction for bank statements Mobile receipts: $8 per month or $72 annually Payroll: $40 per month for tax service states plus $6 per active employee or independent contractor paid, $20 for self service states plus $6 per active employee or independent contractor paid Advisors: $149 per month for bookkeeping support and $379 one-time fee for accounting and payroll coaching | Based on individual active employee | Create invoices, accept online payments, and easy accounting, mobile receipts, payroll features |
| Xero | Early: $3.25 per month Growing: $9.25 per month Established: $17.50 per month | Early: Quotes and 20 invoices and enter five bills, all other tiers unlimited | Accounts payable, cash flow, claim expenses, time-saving features, bank connections, payments, tracking projects, reporting and sending invoices, third-party apps |
| Zoho Books | Standard: $15 per month Professional: $40 per month Premium: $60 per month Elite: $120 per month Ultimate: $240 per month | Free: 1 User + 1 Accountant Professional: 3 users Premium: 5 users Elite: 10 users Ultimate: 15 users | Management for finances, workflows, and accounting tasks |
| Sage 50cloud | Pro: $578 per year Premium: $824.50 per year Quantum: $1,368.50 per year | Pro: One user Premium: One to five users Quantum: One to 10 users | Invoicing system, payments and banking features, inventory management |
6 Best QuickBooks Self-Employed Alternatives
If you’re looking for an alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed, plenty of alternatives exist. We’ll take a look at six options and the benefits, pros and cons, price, and plans of each.
Keeper: Best Overall
Don’t leave Keeper off your list when looking for a Quickbooks Self-Employed alternative. It’s our choice for best overall alternative option to QuickBooks. Keeper’s all-in-one app allows bookkeepers and accountants to run close-of-the-month reports for clients, including task management, client portal, file reviews, and management reporting.
pros
- Spots coding errors
- Shows how your client’s business is actually doing
- Excellent client portal and reporting package
cons
- Could offer a cleaner desktop interface
- No security dashboard
Price
- Standard: $8 per client, per month
- Premium: $10 per client, per month
- Enterprise: Flexible
Plans
- Standard: Standard offers a client portal, file review reports, management reporting, task management, and unlimited users.
- Premium: Premium offers all standard features, plus custom-branded client portal, integrated email, time tracking, texting your clients, and vendor W-9 requests.
- Enterprise: The Enterprise package offers everything from the premium package plus pricing agreements, dedicated customer service management, and advanced user permissions.
FreshBooks: Best for Small Businesses
Small business owners may find a solution in cloud-based Freshbooks as an alternative to QuickBooks. It offers secure, integrated, and lightning-quick accounting software. Businesses can customize, track payments, bills, and send unlimited invoices. Learn more about FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks Self-Employed.
pros
- Intuitive user interface
- Time tracking, billable hours, and billable expenses
- Affordable
cons
- Not ideal for large businesses
- Fewer customization options
- Some user limitations, such as zero inventory management
Cost
The level you choose determines your price point:
- Lite: $8.50 per month
- Plus: $15 per month
- Premium: $27.50 per month
- Select: Custom pricing
Plans
The QuickBooks Self-Employed features include:
- Lite: Invoicing for nine clients, expenses, estimates, accepts payments, and runs simple reports.
- Plus: Plus includes all Lite features and invoicing for 50 clients, invoice and billing automation, automatic expenses, endnotes, proposals, and e-signatures. Also, it accepts payments, runs enhanced reports, and offers accountant access.
- Premium: Premium includes all Plus features, bills, and personalized emails.
- Select: Select offers all Premium features plus personalized emails and branding, migration from other software, and select support.
Wave: Best for Fast Payments
Wave allows you to create invoices, accept online payments, and contribute to easy accounting with a wide swath of money tools including mobile receipts, payroll features, and access to advisors. It is one of the only options that offers free alternatives to Quickbooks Self-Employed.
pros
- Attractive invoices
- Quick payments for both you and your staff
- Organized accounting
- Free options for invoices and accounting
cons
- No options for businesses that require a larger selection of features
- No audit trail or third-party integrations
Price
- Invoicing: Free
- Accounting: Free
- Payments: 2.9% + 60 cents per credit card transaction, 3.4% + 60 cents per Amex transaction, 1% per transaction for bank statements
- Mobile receipts: $8 per month or $72 annually
- Payroll: $40 per month for tax service states plus $6 per active employee or independent contractor paid, $20 for self-service states plus $6 per active employee or independent contractor paid
- Advisors: $149 per month for bookkeeping support and $379 one-time fee for accounting and payroll coaching
Plans
The plans in more detail include:
- Invoicing: Create customized invoices that reflect your unique brand.
- Accounting: Unlimited income and expense tracking, unlimited partners, collaborators, or accountants; unlimited bank and credit card connections and reports.
- Payments: Can pay via bank deposit, credit card, and Apple Pay and get your money in as fast as as a business day. Payments include recurring billing and payments for retainer clients.
- Mobile receipts: Unlimited receipt scanning and importing 10 receipts at a time and access expense information digitally; track business spending without the need for manual bookkeeping, and keep accurate books and reports for tax prep.
- Payroll: Pays employees and contractors, deposit payments into employees’ bank accounts, and gives employees access to paystubs and tax forms, and easy access to important tax forms and documents.
- Advisors: Get coaching from bookkeeping, accounting, and payroll experts year-round, not just during tax time.
Xero: Best for Growing Businesses
For a cheaper alternative to QuickBooks, consider Xero. Xero’s cloud-based accounting software allows small businesses to navigate accounts payable, cash flow, and claim expenses. Its time-saving features include bank connection, payments, tracking projects, and reporting and sending invoices. Xero taps hundreds of third-party apps to complete various tasks.
pros
- Great tracking
- Excellent customer support
- Easy to manage
cons
- Must learn to use the system
- Must depend on Gusto for payroll integration
Cost
The cost of Xero includes:
- Early: $3.25 per month
- Growing: $9.25 per month
- Established: $17.50 per month
Plans
The plans include:
- Early: The Early plan allows you to send invoices and quotes, enter bills, reconcile bank transactions, capture bills and receipts, and get an overview of short-term cash flow and a business snapshot.
- Growing: You can send invoices and quotes, enter bills, reconcile bank transactions, capture bills and receipts, bulk reconcile transactions, and gain a short-term business snapshot and cash flow overview.
- Established: Similarly to the other two plans, you can send invoices and quotes, enter bills, reconcile bank transactions, capture bills and receipts, and get a cash flow overview. You can also use multiple currencies, track projects, claim expenses, and get more than just basic analytics.
Zoho Books: Best for Automating Business Business Workflows
Another alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed is Zoho Books. Online accounting software Zoho Books offers management for your finances, workflows, and accounting tasks to take care of your business as QuickBooks alternatives for self-employed.
pros
- End-to-end accounting
- Can easily add accountants and colleagues
- More than 50 apps can integrate with the platform
cons
- No unlimited users allowed
- Pricey
Price
Tiers include:
- Standard: $15 per month
- Professional: $40 per month
- Premium: $60 per month
- Elite: $120 per month
- Ultimate: $240 per month
Plans
- Standard plan: The Standard plan offers recurring expense features, project tasks, payment gateways, and phone and live chat integrations.
- Professional plan: The professional plan gives clients access to invoices, recurring bills, and more.
- Premium and Elite plans: Larger businesses can tap into customization options like custom fields and reports, a vendor portal, inventory controls, and an integration with Shopify.
Sage 50cloud: Best for Simplified Payroll Processes
Sage 50cloud’s benefits include many perks, including its invoicing system, payments and banking features, inventory management, and more. QuickBooks Self-Employed alternatives isn’t complete without examining Sage 50cloud.
pros
- Wide variety of products and services
- Can track inventory
- Great comprehensive features
cons
- No inexpensive options
Price
- Pro: $578 per year
- Premium: $824.50 per year
- Quantum: $1,368.50 per year
Plans
- Sage 50cloud Pro: Pro offers invoice and bill tracking, purchase order and approval, expense management, bank reconciliation, reporting, inventory management, job management, and fraud protection.
- Sage 50cloud Premium: You get the same features in Premium that you get in Pro, in addition to purchase and change orders, advanced budgeting and reporting, inventory tracking, and more.
- Sage 50cloud Quantum: Quantum Accounting includes the same features as Premium. You can also create, send, and track invoices, track money owed, and on-the-go reporting.
How We Evaluated Quickbooks Self-Employed Alternatives
We didn’t scour for a Quickbooks Self-Employed alternative Reddit group. On the contrary, we searched for highly reputable alternatives using sources available to us. When we looked into alternatives to Quickbooks Self Employed, we looked at the pricing and features, and read reviews of at least a dozen alternatives to Quickbooks self-employed before we made our selection.
We also looked for various options for all business sizes, an intuitive user interface, integrations, excellent client packages, number of users, and more.
