Having been a freelancer at some point, I can guarantee that you do this job for more than the pleasure of bureaucratic paperwork. That’s why a freelance Self Employed Accounting Software that will deal with all the details for you is important, so that you can keep doing the job.
I spent a month or so playing around with Self Employed Accounting Software created for freelancers—these apps are able to collect all your financial information at once, keep track of all your transactions, and run reports about your weekly work time. These are the 8 top notch options.
The Top Accounting Software Tailored For Freelancers And Self-employed Professionals.
- ZipBooks
- Wave
- TrulySmall Accounting
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Moxie
- FreshBooks
- FreeAgent
- Fiverr Workspace
What Features Distinguish The Finest Accounting Software For Self-employment?
Book-keeping software is still a huge improvement from using an invoice generator, a spreadsheet, or a document template. It will, at a minimum, get your invoices and bills ready for you, offer a dashboard with all the important information about your business and create simple reports at the end of the tax year which you can use to view income. In addition, effective freelancer accounting software will contain time tracking, project management functionality, connectivity with payment gateways, bank integration, and receipt scanning.
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- Beginner-friendly: Is it user-friendly? Is it convenient to use or not? Does it contain enough data that might aid you to do accounting simply? The best accounting app for the freelancing individuals should assume that you don’t have the time and effort to invest in learning the process of using the app.
- Core accounting features: Each of the apps chosen here offers these fundamental bookkeeping options a freelancer would require, like invoicing, following payments, and registering eligible expenses.
- Digitization: Will you be able to delete the shoebox? Does the app offer the functionality to capture the receipts and save them through your email, phone, or scanner or you have to manually type all the expenses into the app by yourself? The e-books app should function as your digital bookkeeper.
- Extras: The simplest accounting software may have its usage. On the other hand, while freelance bookkeeping isn’t solely depends on just accounting, I also considered some useful aspects for like project management and time tracking.
- Pricing: What free tier do they offer – if any? Is it possible to scale your freelancing business as it scales up? Beyond times, the best accounting application for self-employed is the one that going beyond with the complicated jobs related to bookkeeping for freelancers.
Meanwhile, I subscribed to independent accounting software solutions one after the other and ran the test series of invoices, expenses, projects, and time sheets to find out how they functioned. Furthermore, I used the mobile apps to get a feel of their simplicity and to attempt receipt capturing on my phone. I realized that accounting for freelancers was a pretty specific thing, and I decided that rather than just reading about it, I’d explore how it might feel in practice. Then, by all that testing I have figured out that the following eight apps are the most convenient for freelancers.
What Features Distinguish The Finest Self Employed Accounting Software For Self-employment?
Name | Best for | Pricing |
ZipBooks | Creating complete invoices | Free plan available; $15/month |
Wave | A free option | Free |
TrulySmall Accounting | Receipt capture | From $20/month |
QuickBooks Self-Employed | Acing your taxes | From $20/month |
Moxie | Organizing your business | From $20/month |
FreshBooks | Ease of use | From $17/month |
FreeAgent | Analytics | From $24/month |
Fiverr Workspace | Client management | Free plan available; from $24/month |
Top-notch Accounting Software For Self-employed Individuals That Facilitates Comprehensive Invoice Creation
ZipBooks (Web, iOS, Android)

ZipBooks Pros:
- Very intuitive
- With the invoice score feature you add all the data that you need to the invoice.
ZipBooks Cons:
- Limited reporting features
The dazzling color scheme among the listings goes to ZipBooks. It may appear dry but it is a big thing in terms of ease of understanding, reading the data clearly, and more so punctuating an already very intuitive user experience.
The invoice checker is my favorite part of it. However, before I move further, it will be beneficial to give the context. Sometimes we do not earn enough as freelancers. To do away with the hassle of the payment process, an invoice should be provided to your customers enlisting all the valid information. ZipBooks’ invoice score rates your invoices on their completeness: every information that you add or integrate, for instance online payments, putting terms and conditions and saying thank you in the notes, the higher will the score will be.
The tracker does the job by facilitating you to upload the receipts to the expenses either on the web version or mobile app. And their platform is also integrated with the bank, which allows you to send custom reminder mails to the remaining payers.
Your projects will also find a good place to live: You have the tools for monitoring various metrics such as project budget, hours logged/billed and time entries. Time entry can be done directly in the top menu and can be connected either instantaneously or postponed. When you do a time reviewing, you can see the calendar that shows the time billed and the time not yet billed. If you usually forget to clock out, this is the perfect example of how you can avoid being paid for the extra time.
More good news: the major limitation of the free plan is not applicable here. Moreover, you can generate those invoices very easily at no cost.
ZipBooks price: Freemium version; subscriptions start from $15/month.
Top-rated Free Self Employed Accounting Software Individuals.
Wave (Android, Web, iOS)

Wave Pros:
- Invoicing and accounting are included in the totally free feature.
- Plenty of features
Wave cons:
- No OCR data extraction
It’s hard to overpraise what I’ve just experienced. So difficult, it’s the best free accounting software for small business and also in my free invoices software list. Nobody is on the Wave payroll as their bookkeeping chief (you can bank on the fact that I’d be out of a job quicker than a NASA Falcon launch). There are two main reasons it keeps making our lists: (1) great features all-around and (2) really attractive pricing membership fee.
The entire applicantion possess a friendly tone, with curvy fonts and simple icons. The dashboard shows you a cash flow graph, the balances of your bank account (you have to enter them on Wave too, but if you do this they will allow you access to the account only and never push data or orders to them), a set of links to common actions and a profit and loss graph.
If your freelance business is just starting out, and you need some clarification about accounting, visit Wave’s eBook called ‘Fearless Accounting with Wave’ . It is a thorough piece with simple terms and many examples to help you on accounting. Even without choosing Wave as your accounting app, try them out and read here anyways.
As for the features, Wave disappoints in only two areas: you cannot follow your tasks and time log, and you cannot use the timer for tracking either. Wave, which is the software that you use, allows you to add only the time you worked when creating an invoice. While the invoice quality, expense tracking, and accounting portion is good, it does not do justice to the entire situation. However, you don’t have to install one more app in your computer if you already have another handy one for project management and time tracking purposes.
With Wave, you can attach your receipts to expenses, thereby establishing a centralized place for everything, but it won’t do the data entry for you; rather, you’ll need to do it on your own. Furthermore, it has some interesting features, like Wave Checkouts, which enables you to use a payment link by which people can pay from your website.
And finally: the pricing. Actually wave is free version of bookkeeping software. And we know that, to be honest, we’re all freelancers here. And a free meal is something that does not exist.So what’s the catch? The money wave powers the lights because it accrues a small additional percentage based on online transactions paid through the platform apart from the fee. Since the app has a common commission that supports the online payment no matter which app you select, therefore the accounting functions are basically the freebies.
Wave price: Free. The online credit card payments cost 0.60$ + 2.9% per transaction and the online bank/ACH cost 1% per transaction.
Premier Accounting Software For Self-employed Individuals With Advanced Receipt Capture Capabilities
TrulySmall Accounting (Android, Web, iOS)

TrulySmall Accounting pros:
- Handles sales tax well
- Precise data extraction from the receipts.
TrulySmall Accounting cons:
- Limited or missing contextual support where you need it.
Do not fall into the trap set by TrulySmall accountancy. The fact that it’s pitching itself as “truly small” has nothing to do with its power: it means, choosing the small things that together help to bring about a general change.
The website is not like an “accounting app that makes you bored”, the app is very lightweight and easy to move around, you should not get overwhelmed in any aspect. Even though it is easy to use, the lack of built-in help in the application or instructional onboarding sequence can get frustrating. Thankfully, the knowledge base is rather complete, which means that you can sometimes tab out of the session and research things that you aren’t sure about.
Perhaps the majority of time is going to be spent in the Transactions tab, issuing invoices and expenses. If you need to make edits to each of these, it’s super easy to do: by just going to the list page you will find all the details without having to open the invoice or the expense separately.
Other than that, the inventory and sales tax handling also come in handy. Especially if you have cases where you have to charge sales tax. Particularly, there is a whole accounting section which provides you with an entire chart of accounts. And if you ever need a holistic perspective. Then I suggest you go to the Reports section which you can create your. Own custom reports besides the 5 that already available. It’s terrific to get a catch-up or to make critical business decisions; however. Remember that while we’re self-employed, we are running a business nonetheless.
For paper-intensive businesses, the Inbox helps you manage your paper trail. You can add as many receipts as you like to the system. It is not necessary to be physically present at your location. I tried feeding a few and found that TrulySmall has the OCR feature, therefore it eliminates the manual data entry. They don’t publish it anywhere and it works really great. And then mark the transactions that seem okay and have them move on to your bank books.
TrulySmall Accounting has a pretty straightforward pricing strategy: a free trial is available followed by a $20 monthly subscription. It is not, however, an inexpensive option I understand. If you fear that your records could take over your space operation. And having them would be extremely beneficial for your business, it may be worth the extra investment. One important note: on top of that, they do not provide you with time tracking or project management tools. If you are already using another platform for those purposes, then the tool should fit in with your existing workflow. Yet if not, the other apps on the list would be the favourites.
TrulySmall Accounting price: Trial is initially for free; then $20/month subscription.
The Top Self-employed Accounting Software For Mastering Your Taxes
QuickBooks Self-Employed (Android, Web, iOS)

QuickBooks pros:
- Visibility of tax due at an impressive level.
- Incorporates the time tracking and mileage tracking functions.
QuickBooks cons:
- Minor user interface quirks
Do you also find filling out tax forms as burdensome as if they were nails that drag along a blackboard? If you think this is true, QuickBooks Self-Employed might seem like silk.
The user interface is bright and tidy, coloring a little bit of gray routine. There are some quotes about life and business to shake up your day. This process is time saving as QuickBooks will only ask you a few questions like the kind of industry. You are into so that they give some tips on what you can write-off as expenses. From that point forward, you’ll find instructions in the dashboard which will allow you to input your details. Such as the business name and tax status.
Each receipt that you upload into the mobile app is OCR’d, and all the data is captured. So, you don’t have to do anything manually.
The Est. tax due bar is also located on the top menu with a link to tax checklist. So that you could check if there are all the required documents to make it easier when the time is come. Quickbooks does not file tax for you, but it connects with Intuits TurboTax to be there. However, there are some equally useful support pages available to educate you on deductions and allowances.
QuickBooks has different features, such as tracking mileage, time, importing transactions, but it doesn’t come so strong on invoices. First, the feature doesn’t come activated by default: you have to bring it to life. The second quirk is that, when you mark an invoice as paid, it doesn’t show up right away on your profit and loss report: ultimately. You will be logging a transaction (I am selecting the “Income- Sales” column) to deal with it. Yet, if you’ve linked your bank account and receive payments there, you won’t face this issue.
QuickBooks Self-Employed price: Free trial; subscriptions beginning from $20/month; upgrade to $30/month Self-Employed Tax Bundle with tax features included in the same.
The Finest Accounting Software For Self-employed Individuals To Streamline Their Business Organization
Moxie (Android, Web, iOS)

Moxie pros:
- Freelancers can access the software from any location with a wide range of useful features.
- All items are being associated with each other, gaining the opportunity for an efficient workflow.
Moxie cons:
- Information displayed may be bit too much.
Moxie (formerly Hectic) comprehends the freelance world, designed to optimize and streamline your core freelancing tasks. It sure is not that easy—you can’t take up any of the other accounting options on this list unless. You are already familiar with project management. And sales/marketing. But, with time, your acquired skills will turn out to be extremely useful as you start chasing bigger clients and closing bigger deals.
Surfing on the dashboard for the first time may appear a bit of trouble for you. It’s designed to give you a bird’s-eye view of your business: furthermore. There are some shortcuts for the main operations (for instance, creating an invoice), note and to-do sections as well as a calendar that depicts the coming appointments.
Videos are another way that Moxie helps users get around the curve. Those videos demonstrate each feature of the application. If you’re seeking ways to hone your skills as a freelancer. You’ll also find an Academy; it’s a place where you can find short courses. And videos that can help you brand yourself as a pro-in-demand.
Moxie contains the commonly used invoicing functions such as tracking expenses and keeping a receipt. Each invoice, in turn, has its own payment link assigned. Which your clients can use to view the invoice and pay it online. The interface is full of whitespace so you can see the picture of every document as you go through each one. And clicking on the Insights tab will provide you the reports where. The summary statistics such as net income, time worked. And your accurate hourly rate will be clearly shown.
- When a project is developed, the field is populated with all tasks you need to perform. Check those tasks from the list, monitor them in the chart or on the calendar. And also, define the corresponding time to each task. Except those deliverables, place those into “did” right away.Rinse, repeat.
- There’s a sales pipeline that is an embodiment of a lead’s journey from being a stranger to a happy and contented customer. You can generate the new leads with contact forms and meeting schedulers. Provide them on your website and stay with them until they turn to active clients.
- This takes the lengthy process of creating estimates. And turning them into agreements with signatures that goes on for a long time. And reduces the time it takes to match with the clients. And all the terms and conditions are on the table from the first day the meeting is held.
Moxie price: Our monthly subscriptions begin at $20/month.
The Top Accounting Software For Self-employed Individuals Known For Its User-friendly Interface
FreshBooks (Android, Web, iOS)

FreshBooks pros:
- Very easy to use
- With the use of OCR, data is retrieved from the receipts.
FreshBooks cons:
- Too much price for the features you are paying for.
Accounting software can appear and sound just boring, but FreshBooks has proven that it can be funny and original.
You will not see much on the pages when you start. But there are numerous scribbled in-page hints to show what is going to be on each page. It is almost as if your friend perfectly marked the important parts for you with a pen. It is also as effortless as that to transfer from one page to another within the app. And if you mess up, the knowledge base page is linked at different spots. So that you always have the rate reference material quickly accessible. For the more complicated stuff, you can always call the FreshBooks customer support. And shoot them a ticket or start a chat session.
FreshBooks has the full suite of freelancer features: payroll, timekeeping, and project management. Let’s say I completed a job for two imaginary clients. And I went ahead to track my time using the timer. Instead of writing an essay, for example. You can pin time to a project and be descriptive about what was going on. At the end of the week, the calendar view will display all the times spent on tasks enabling. You to identify where changes can be made, thus improve productivity.
Through the creation of invoices and expenses on those simple pages, you will make your work really fast. You can facilitate the payments made by your clients by integrating FreshBooks with an online payment portal.
FreshBooks teamed up with Sensibill to provide data that is extracted from your invoices. It’s more than snapping a pic and keeping it in the app. You can upload receipts via browser or app, so there’s no need to dig out your shoes from the box.
One notable extra that I appreciated: the possibility for inviting in users with various roles including a moderator, contributor, and editor. You can benefit from this if you, say, take an accountant or team up with someone as a freelancing duo.
The main downside: FreshBooks doesn’t have a free tier, this may not be something you want to have at this time. Especially if things are unstable right now for you. Plans start at $17 per month, charges will increase if you want to have more clients or if you need anything advanced.
FreshBooks price: 14-day free trial included; starting at $17/per month.
The Premier Accounting Software For Self-employed Individuals With Robust Analytics Capabilities
FreeAgent (Android, Web, iOS)

FreeAgent pros:
- Lots of reporting features
- Provide excellent customer support and notable resources for students.
FreeAgent cons:
- Expensive
FreeAgent feels grimmer, as if it intended to be used by people who have successful careers. They handle big projects and make more significant financial choices. The cash flow section and the tax possibilities of this amazing investment opportunity leave no doubt about it. But let’s see what this is all about.
The user interface is easy to grasp and more of an essence without many flashy accoutrements. Step‐by‐step template for making invoice o other documents is used. And this makes small the big task which feels more organized than many other apps.
You’ll get the support you need in the Knowledge Base. But when it comes to additional support, FreeAgent has the competitive edge. Every Thursday, we run our weekly onboarding webinar. If you like the plan, watch the 15-minute talk, and afterwards. Ask any questions you might have; if you cannot make it to the presentation, you also can see the recorded version.
Hey! In the app, you will find Ruby, a chatbot who will be available to chat. When you click on the help button in the bottom right corner of your screen. Ruby understands what you want and provides articles rich in keywords that relates in all aspects. As long as you do not ask Ruby anything difficult, such as the meaning of life. For you shall only get a lecture of capital assets. In case the conversation is little unsatisfactory you could choose to talk to a human to address complex things.
FreeAgent has the full suite of features: invoices (regular and simple), expenses, projects, and time tracking. This option is ideal for team collaboration or working in pairs, as you can have multiple timers running concurrently. And record them whenever you need to. Not liking with the timer experience?That’s ok. FreeAgent makes you enter timesheets per week and much more.
The cash flow images they use are with some useful details such as the future predictions of our financial health. It insinuates things that clients have to do to keep their financials in shape like pushing customers to pay invoices, meeting bills. And checking your account balances.
The moment of the 1040 Schedule C worksheet for me was the first one. If you are registered as sole proprietor you can make use of this worksheet. During your tax season for easier accounting. With nowhere else in the options, I tried switching to see what other business types would have.
FreeAgent takes your receipt as an attachment to the bills. Or expenses if you do this through the app it also through OCR feature. Besides, banks are supported too.
The pricing here is simple, with just one tier: bringing these features on board is going to cost you $24 per month. The only difference is that it is comparable to TrulySmall Accounting. However, unlike TrulySmall Accounting, FreeAgent provides project management. Time tracking, and tax features, while TrulySmall has custom reports and slightly better receipt capture.
FreeAgent price: Trial for free, and then pay $24/month for subscription.
The Top Accounting Software For Self-employed Individuals Offering Comprehensive Client Management Features
Fiverr Workspace (Android, Web, iOS)

Fiverr Workspace pros:
- Made for freelancing
- Have they subjected to project management and contract signing?
Fiverr Workspace cons:
- Binding agreements are the standard and offer little room for individualization.
AND.CO, a Fiverr Workspace (previously Fiverr Workspace), knows how and why freelancers fill and create .Which feature makes it a unique tool that is capable of more than just accounting.
The language used in the menus is casual: maybe the dashboard. Will be called My Desk; recurring invoices should be Subscriptions; receipt capture – Shoebox. Every page contains a short description of its functions. And some videos are featured as introduction for you to pass that phase of administrative tasks. For dealing with any issue which is confusing Fiverr Workplace makes use of Intercom. The Chat support service and refers to the Knowledge base. Live chat operates 12 hours a day aside from the 24/7 email help. (Also: you are able to win some subscription money that recharges your account by completing onboarding tasks. Aren’t you just lucky enough for free one month use of services!
The accounting features is already deeply filled with the details. Once you create a project, you can choose the services that you are going to provide within. Do you want a deposit before you start the job? What about the remainder of the payment?
Simply indicate the price or percentage, and the invoice will be automatically generated within the Fiverr Workspace. Another thing you can do is setting due dates, so you have it all organized.
There’s a similar experience for proposals, with a neat plus: In addition. You can incorporate a contract that will be assigned to the customers and they can submit it right away. The contract already contains the general-purpose clauses. But if you wish, you can include the clauses concerning the particulars of your freelance activity. If you click on the little gear icon at the top right corner. There is an additional list of settings for you to meddle with.
Time tracker is already very handy – a small button on the top menu starts it. On the project you can put a description, log the time, or see a line diagram. In order to peek into how well things work you can run a report that will. Show what you actually spent your work time on. Have you ever missed the starting point or the finishing point of time tracking? You can set up the app on your phone to remind you whenever the situation arises to note it on time.
The digitization features are appearing in the Shoebox part. You can upload from the web, mobile application or by Emailing the address provided from the same page. All your documents is there, already grouped for you.
But I was amazed with another feature the Fiverr workspace offers. In case of late payment, it will be possible to issue a printed. Also, choose the tone for the ethics letter to be written, which will be included in the postal letter sent to the client. And let Fiverr Workspace email it for you. The time of cyber era is the only answer on this question isn’t it?
Fiverr Workspace has a free tier, but there’s a big caveat. You will only be afforded one client at a time. More than that costs $24 per month. This price grants access to the full set of features. It’s considered one of the more expensive options on this list. But obviously this app cover accounting, project management, contracts and of course, provide an experience worth of your work.
Fiverr Workspace price: Basic plan that is free for one client, unlimited clients, and upgrades for $24/month.
Which Bookkeeping Software Stands Out As The Best?
The progress of going from your side business to the lead job is thrilling. However, to run it successfully and consistently, you need the right tools. Perhaps you have employed invoice templates or the use of spreadsheets before. I mean, I did when I first began working. Since it is more flexible initially, but it doesn’t hold up gradually.
Give yourselves some extra time and sign up for free trials of some self-employed bookkeeping software options mentioned in this list. Try to give each app a test and to see how well they accommodate your form of freelancing. The leading bookkeeping app will save you a bunch of time and hassle, but most importantly. It will make you look really cool and professional.