TLDR (Summary)
Plutio ($19/month) is the strongest pick for freelancers who need billing connected to the rest of the workflow because invoicing, time tracking, proposals, contracts, and a client portal all live in one workspace, so tracked hours turn into invoice line items without switching tools. QuickBooks Solopreneur ($20/month) leads for tax preparation with Schedule C support and bank feeds but has no proposals, contracts, or project management. FreshBooks ($17/month) bridges both sides with invoicing and double-entry accounting but gates key features behind the $30/month Plus plan.
Below, 8 tools compared on invoicing, tax prep, expense tracking, and which platforms connect the billing workflow to project management versus handling the ledger alone.
Essential features in freelance accounting software
Freelance accounting covers two distinct workflows: billing (sending invoices, collecting payments, tracking time) and bookkeeping (categorizing expenses, reconciling bank feeds, preparing tax filings). Most tools handle one side well and leave the other as a manual gap.
Invoicing and payment collection
An invoice that pulls in tracked hours, applies the right rate, and lets the client pay through Stripe or PayPal from the same document reduces the gap between "work done" and "payment received." Some accounting tools include invoicing as an afterthought. Invoicing-first platforms, on the other hand, treat the invoice as the center of the billing workflow, connecting proposals, time entries, and project milestones to the final bill.
Expense tracking and receipt capture
Freelancers claiming business deductions need categorized expenses with receipts attached. Mobile receipt scanning, automatic bank feed categorization, and mileage tracking reduce the end-of-year scramble where a shoebox of receipts turns into a multi-day sorting project. Tools with bank feeds pull transactions automatically, while manual-only tools require entry-by-entry logging.
Tax preparation support
Schedule C preparation, quarterly tax estimates, and income categorization separate accounting tools from invoicing platforms. Freelancers who file their own taxes benefit from software that calculates estimated payments and organizes income by category. Freelancers who work with an accountant need clean reports and easy data export, which the freelance invoicing guide covers alongside payment term comparisons and late fee clauses.
Connection to the rest of the workflow
Standalone accounting software handles the ledger but doesn't know what project the expense belongs to, which proposal the invoice originated from, or how many hours went into the work. Platforms that connect billing to project management, proposals, and contracts close that gap, so the path from "client said yes" to "invoice paid" doesn't require manual data entry between apps. The most expensive accounting mistake for freelancers isn't choosing the wrong software; it's running billing in one tool and project management in another, then spending hours reconciling the two every month.
Invoicing-first platforms with accounting features
Invoicing-first platforms treat the invoice as the starting point: time entries flow into line items, proposals convert to projects, and clients pay from the same interface where they review deliverables. These tools handle the billing side of accounting natively but vary in how much bookkeeping and tax preparation they include.
Plutio ($19/month)
Best for: freelancers who need invoicing connected to proposals, projects, time tracking, and a client portal in one workspace | Capterra: 4.6/5 | G2: 4.6/5
Plutio handles the billing workflow from start to finish: an accepted proposal becomes a project automatically, logged time populates invoice line items, and clients settle bills through a branded portal without leaving the platform. Expense tracking records project costs, and Stripe and PayPal processing handle payment collection. Flat pricing at $19/month means the monthly cost stays the same whether 5 clients or 50 are active. Plutio is not full accounting software, so double-entry bookkeeping, bank reconciliation, and tax filing happen in a dedicated accounting tool like QuickBooks or Xero, both of which integrate with Plutio to sync invoice data.
- Tracked hours flow directly into invoice line items without manual entry
- Signed proposals become active projects with scope and billing already attached
- Flat-rate pricing ($19/month Core, $49/month Pro) with no per-client fees
- Client portal where clients review projects, approve deliverables, and pay invoices
- No double-entry bookkeeping, bank reconciliation, or tax filing (pairs with QuickBooks or Xero)
- No free plan, 14-day trial gives full access to test the workflow
FreshBooks ($17/month Lite, annual)
Best for: freelancers who want invoicing and double-entry accounting in one platform | Capterra: 4.5/5 | G2: 4.5/5
FreshBooks started as invoicing software and added accounting features over time. The Lite plan ($17/month, annual) includes unlimited invoices for up to 5 clients, expense tracking, and built-in time tracking. The Plus plan ($30/month) adds double-entry accounting, proposals, and a 50-client cap. Premium ($55/month) removes client limits and adds project revenue-per-client reports. Mileage tracking on mobile captures driving expenses automatically. The trade-off: proposals require Plus, project management lacks depth compared to dedicated platforms, and the 5-client cap on Lite, which the FreshBooks analysis examines in detail, forces early upgrades for freelancers with growing client lists.
- Unlimited invoices with built-in time tracking on every plan
- Double-entry accounting on Plus ($30/month) and above
- Mileage tracking on mobile for driving-related deductions
- Lite plan caps at 5 clients, so growing freelancers hit the upgrade wall quickly
- Proposals and estimates require Plus ($30/month), not included on Lite
- No client portal, contracts, or project management depth beyond basic tasks
QuickBooks Solopreneur ($20/month)
Best for: freelancers who prioritize tax preparation and Schedule C support | Capterra: 4.3/5 | G2: 4.0/5
QuickBooks Solopreneur (which replaced QuickBooks Self-Employed) focuses on the tax side of freelance accounting. Automatic transaction categorization pulls bank and credit card data, sorts expenses into tax-relevant categories, and estimates quarterly payments. Receipt scanning captures expenses on the go, and mileage tracking logs business driving for deductions. Invoicing comes included but connects to tax categorization rather than project workflows. The gap: it skips proposals, contracts, and the client-facing side entirely, so freelancers who need the billing-to-project connection still need a second tool.
- Automatic tax categorization with Schedule C preparation
- Bank feed integration pulls transactions and sorts by category
- Receipt scanning and mileage tracking for deduction capture
- No proposals, contracts, or project management on any plan
- No client portal for sharing project status or deliverables
- No time tracking, so billing by the hour requires a separate app
Wave (Free / $19/month Pro)
Best for: freelancers who need free invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping | Capterra: 4.4/5
Wave's free plan includes unlimited invoicing, double-entry bookkeeping, and receipt scanning, which makes it the only tool on this list with full accounting features at no monthly cost. The Pro plan ($19/month) adds bank transaction automation, recurring invoicing, and faster receipt scanning. Payment processing runs at 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction on both plans. Payroll costs $40/month extra. The limitation: Wave manages the ledger but not the workflow before the invoice; no proposals, contracts, project management, or time tracking are included, so everything else needs separate tools. Phone support requires the Pro plan, and the free tier offers only email and chat.
- Free plan includes unlimited invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping
- Receipt scanning included on both free and Pro plans
- Full accounting features (journal entries, balance sheet, income statement) at no cost
- No proposals, contracts, project management, or client portal
- No time tracking on any plan
- Phone support requires Pro ($19/month), free plan is email and chat only
All four invoicing-first platforms handle billing, but only Plutio covers the full billing workflow (proposals, projects, time tracking, and client payments) in one workspace. FreshBooks adds double-entry accounting at $30/month but lacks project depth. QuickBooks Solopreneur leads on tax preparation but skips the project workflow entirely. Wave covers the ledger for free but leaves every other business function to separate tools.
Full accounting tools for freelancers
Full accounting tools prioritize the ledger: bank reconciliation, expense categorization, financial reporting, and tax preparation come first, with invoicing as a supporting feature rather than the center of the workflow. These tools handle what happens after the invoice is paid, not what happens before the invoice is sent.
Zoho Books (Free / $20/month Standard)
Best for: freelancers under $50K revenue who want free accounting with room to upgrade | Capterra: 4.3/5 | G2: 4.5/5
Zoho Books offers a free plan for businesses under $50K annual revenue, covering up to 1,000 invoices per year with basic accounting features. The Standard plan ($20/month per organization) adds bank feeds, recurring invoices, and project billing. Zoho's ecosystem includes separate apps for CRM, project management, and invoicing (Zoho Invoice), which means the accounting tool connects to other Zoho products but requires configuration across multiple apps. Setup is more complex than standalone tools, and freelancers unfamiliar with accounting terminology may find the interface confusing during the first few weeks.
- Free plan for businesses under $50K annual revenue
- Standard plan ($20/month) includes bank feeds and recurring invoices
- Zoho ecosystem offers CRM, PM, and invoicing as separate connected apps
- Complex setup for freelancers unfamiliar with accounting software
- CRM, PM, and invoicing are separate Zoho apps requiring separate configuration
- Free plan caps at $50K revenue and 1,000 invoices per year
Xero ($29/month Starter)
Best for: freelancers who need bank reconciliation and financial reporting for their accountant | Capterra: 4.4/5 | G2: 4.3/5
Xero's bank reconciliation engine matches imported transactions against invoices and bills, which is why many accountants working with freelancer clients request Xero access. The Starter plan ($29/month) includes 20 invoices per month, 5 bills, and bank reconciliation. The Standard plan ($46/month) removes invoice limits. Reporting covers profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow. The Xero integration with Plutio syncs invoice data between the two platforms. The trade-off: steep learning curve for non-accountants, it stops at accounting and leaves proposals, contracts, and project management to other tools, and the 20-invoice cap on Starter forces upgrades quickly for active freelancers.
- Bank reconciliation that matches transactions to invoices automatically
- Financial reporting (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow)
- Integrates with Plutio to sync invoice data between platforms
- Starter plan caps at 20 invoices and 5 bills per month
- Steep learning curve for freelancers without accounting background
- No proposals, contracts, client portal, or project management
Sage Business Cloud Accounting ($10/month)
Best for: freelancers who want basic accounting at the lowest monthly price | Capterra: 4.2/5 | G2: 4.1/5
Sage starts at $10/month for invoicing, expense tracking, and cash flow forecasting. The Accounting plan ($25/month) adds bank feeds and purchase invoices. Sage's origins as enterprise software show in the interface, which is functional but assumes familiarity with enterprise accounting workflows. Navigation assumes familiarity with accounting concepts like journals and ledgers. Integrations are limited compared to QuickBooks and Xero, so connecting Sage to project management or CRM tools often requires Zapier or manual export.
- Start plan at $10/month is the lowest entry price for dedicated accounting
- Cash flow forecasting included on every plan
- Accounting plan ($25/month) adds bank feeds and purchase invoices
- Interface assumes accounting terminology knowledge, not freelancer workflows
- Limited integrations compared to QuickBooks and Xero
- No billing workflow outside the accounting ledger
Hurdlr (Free / $10/month Pro)
Best for: freelancers who want real-time tax estimates and mileage tracking at the lowest cost | Capterra: 4.5/5
Hurdlr zeroes in on the self-employed tax workflow: automatic expense categorization, mileage tracking, and real-time tax estimates that update as income and expenses change throughout the year. The free tier covers basic tracking, while Pro ($10/month) adds unlimited tracking and detailed reports. Quarterly tax estimates help freelancers avoid underpayment penalties. The trade-off: billing, project management, and client communication all need separate apps, so Hurdlr covers only the tax tracking layer.
- Real-time tax estimates that update as income and expenses change
- Free tier with basic expense and mileage tracking
- Pro at $10/month for unlimited tracking and quarterly tax estimates
- No invoicing on any plan, so billing requires a separate tool
- No proposals, project tracking, or client portal
- Limited financial reporting compared to QuickBooks, Xero, or Wave
Full accounting tools handle the ledger side that invoicing-first platforms skip, but none of them carry a project from proposal through delivery to paid invoice. Zoho Books comes closest with its ecosystem approach, though separate apps mean separate configuration. Xero focuses on bank reconciliation and accountant collaboration but starts at $29/month with a 20-invoice cap. Sage and Hurdlr keep costs low at the expense of breadth.
Feature comparison at a glance
All 8 tools compared on pricing, invoicing, time tracking, tax preparation, and whether they connect billing to project management.
| Tool | Price (solo) | Invoicing | Time tracking | Tax prep | Project mgmt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plutio | $19/mo flat | Included (connected to proposals + projects) | Built in | No (pairs with QuickBooks/Xero) | Full (boards, Gantt, tasks) |
| FreshBooks | $17/mo (annual) | Unlimited invoices | Built in | Double-entry on Plus ($30/mo) | Basic tasks |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur | $20/mo | Included | No | Schedule C, quarterly estimates | No |
| Wave | Free / $19/mo Pro | Unlimited (free) | No | Double-entry bookkeeping (free) | No |
| Zoho Books | Free / $20/mo | 1,000/yr on free | No | Bank feeds on Standard ($20/mo) | Separate app |
| Xero | $29/mo | 20/mo on Starter | No | Bank reconciliation, reports | No |
| Sage | $10/mo | Included | No | Cash flow, bank feeds ($25/mo) | No |
| Hurdlr | Free / $10/mo | No | No | Real-time tax estimates, mileage | No |
Plutio is the only tool on this list where every step from proposal to paid invoice lives in one workspace. FreshBooks bridges invoicing and accounting but gates double-entry behind the $30/month tier. Every other tool either skips the project workflow (QuickBooks, Wave, Xero, Sage, Hurdlr) or splits features across separate apps (Zoho Books).
Picking the right accounting tool
The right accounting tool depends on whether the freelancer's pain starts at the invoice or the ledger. Freelancers who struggle to get paid need a billing workflow first. Freelancers drowning in tax prep need a bookkeeping tool first. Most need both, so the question becomes whether one platform covers enough or two need to work together.
If billing and project management need to connect
Plutio covers the full billing workflow in one workspace at $19/month. Tracked hours populate invoice line items, and clients pay through a branded portal. For the accounting side, the QuickBooks or Xero integration syncs invoice data to the ledger. FreshBooks bundles invoicing and accounting but lacks project management depth and requires the $30/month Plus plan for double-entry and proposals.
If tax preparation and bookkeeping come first
QuickBooks Solopreneur ($20/month) manages Schedule C prep, quarterly estimates, and automatic bank categorization. Xero ($29/month) includes bank reconciliation for freelancers who share data with an accountant, though the $29/month starting price and initial learning curve add friction. Both lack proposals, contracts, and project management, so the billing-to-project workflow needs a second platform.
If budget is the main constraint
Wave's free plan includes unlimited invoicing and full double-entry bookkeeping. Hurdlr's free tier tracks expenses and mileage. Zoho Books is free under $50K annual revenue. Each covers a narrow slice, so free tools often stack into a 3-4 app workflow that costs more time than a single paid subscription, a breakdown the freelance invoicing guide covers with per-tool cost comparisons.
If the freelancer already uses an accounting tool
Freelancers already running QuickBooks or Xero for tax filing don't need to replace those tools. Adding Plutio covers the full billing workflow while the existing accounting tool runs the ledger. The QuickBooks integration and Xero integration sync invoice data between platforms automatically.
Most freelancers don't need one tool that does everything. A billing platform that connects proposals to invoicing paired with an accounting tool that handles the tax side covers more ground than any single product, and the total cost ($19/month for Plutio plus $20/month for QuickBooks) is still less than stacking 3-4 separate tools for each workflow.
Common accounting mistakes freelancers make
The most common accounting mistake freelancers make is treating invoicing and bookkeeping as the same problem. Invoicing gets money from clients. Bookkeeping tracks where money goes. Solving one doesn't solve the other, and tools that promise both often do one side well and leave the other half-built.
Choosing accounting software that doesn't connect to billing
QuickBooks, Xero, and Wave all handle the ledger well, but none of them know which project an invoice belongs to, how many hours went into the work, or what the original proposal included. Freelancers using standalone accounting software still manually create invoices, calculate hours, and reference proposals in a separate app. The accounting tool tracks the money after it arrives, but the billing workflow that gets the money there stays manual.
Paying for features designed for businesses with employees
Payroll processing, multi-user access, inventory tracking, and purchase orders add cost to accounting plans that freelancers rarely use. Wave's payroll add-on runs $40/month. Xero's Standard plan at $46/month includes unlimited invoices but also includes features like bill management that solo freelancers don't need. Picking a plan based on the features a freelancer actually uses rather than the tier the vendor highlights on the pricing page prevents paying for capabilities that sit unused.
Waiting until tax season to set up expense tracking
Freelancers who track expenses throughout the year spend a fraction of the time during tax season compared to those who sort a year of transactions in March. Tools with bank feeds (QuickBooks, Xero, Wave Pro, Zoho Books) pull transactions automatically, which only helps if the account is connected before December, a pattern the freelance invoicing guide covers alongside the true cost of manual tracking.
Stacking free tools instead of paying for one connected workflow
A free invoicing tool (Wave) plus free mileage tracking (Hurdlr) plus a free project tool plus free time tracking sounds cost-effective, but each tool requires its own login, its own data entry, and its own reconciliation. Four free tools that don't talk to each other cost more in weekly admin hours than a single paid platform where proposals, time tracking, and invoicing share the same data.
