Accounting software requires a paid monthly subscription, though fret not — these monthly prices are among the lowest you’ll encounter when pursuing <a href="https://bitcomme.com/five-things-to-watch-for-in-the-canadian-business-world-in-the-coming-week/” title=”Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week”>business technology. Plus, if your business income is under $50,000, Zoho Books is entirely free. Otherwise, you might pay as low as $7.50 for the first many months, though the price will eventually increase to between $10 and $15. Although each vendor offers more expensive plans, these include features designed for full-on businesses. Self-employed users, though, generally only need what’s in a vendor’s lowest-priced package.
Additionally, our top picks for the best accounting software for self-employed and freelance people lack implementation and setup fees. You might encounter these with other accounting platforms, but not the five we’ve reviewed here. This further lowers the overall cost of accounting software.
Occasionally, you’ll encounter accounting software for which you’ll pay an extra fee per user per month. Admittedly, this is more common with other types of business software, and if you’re truly a one-person operation, you’ll never pay this added fee. However, if you use FreshBooks and take on employees or contractors who need access to your accounting platform, you’ll pay an additional $11 per user. We recommend watching out for add-on fees as you compare and contrast accounting platforms.
If you plan to receive payment on your invoices directly from your accounting software, you may also need to factor in credit card processing costs. These are typically a small percentage of each transaction plus a tiny flat fee. For example, a processor may charge you 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per transaction. That said, if selling products rather than offering services is key to your self-employment, perhaps you’ve already implemented credit card processing. You can use this setup instead of your accounting software to receive payments.
Not yet set up with credit card processing? Look over our picks for the best credit card processors to start implementing this key client and customer payment technology.
