AccountingTested.

Accounting software, put to work

Find accounting
software that fits your work.

We ran the same made-up month of books in four tools. Compare what worked, what took effort, and what you should check before choosing.

Explore comparisons See how we test

For freelancers & one-person businesses in the US.

One sample month, four accounting toolsAn original illustration of the test dataset: five clients, twelve invoices, twenty expenses, and a twenty-eight-line bank statement. The records are checked against an answer key.THE SAMPLE MONTHSeptember, on the books.RILEY PARK DESIGN · TEST DATAClients05Invoices12Expenses20Bank statement lines28ONE IDENTICAL DATASET. FOUR TOOLS.THE CHECKAn answer key.Cash + accrual reportsILLUSTRATED TEST DATA · NOT A SOFTWARE SCREENSHOT
04Accounting tools
06Tasks in each test
01Identical sample month

An AI assistant ran the tasks.
A person approved each email and download.Read the full scope

We may earn a referral fee if you sign up through our links. It does not change our test results. Our disclosure

01 / The comparisons

Two tools.
A clear view of the tradeoffs.

Follow the same six tasks in each tool.
Read the details that a feature list leaves out.

Have two in mind?Choose your comparison.

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01

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online

Invoicing workflow or bank-statement bookkeeping? See how both handled our month.

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02

Xero vs QuickBooks Online

Two ways to build the books from a bank statement, including the matching mistakes.

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03

FreshBooks vs Xero

Compare invoice creation, bank imports and the reporting details we had to check.

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04

Wave vs QuickBooks Online

Compare the free Starter plan with the Simple Start trial, task by task.

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05

FreshBooks vs Wave

See the differences in invoicing, reminders and manual entry on the plans we tested.

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06

Xero vs Wave

Compare bank imports, invoice entry and what each plan lets you send.

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02 / Behind the tests

See how we tested
each tool.

We used five clients, twelve invoices and twenty expenses in each tool, then checked the reports against an answer key.

Read our testing method
01

Start with the same books

A made-up one-person design business, with an identical set of transactions.

02

Work through six tasks

From setup and invoices to bank matching and a profit and loss report.

03

Show the limits, too

An AI assistant carried out the tasks in our accounts. A person handled sign-ups and logins and approved every email and download. These are plan-specific tests, not a human usability study.

03 / The individual reviews

Take a closer look.

One tool at a time, from setup to the final report.

FreshBooks

Invoices for a few clients. We tested the setup, reminders and reporting limits.

Read the review

QuickBooks Online

Books from a bank statement. We checked imports, matching and the setup work.

Read the review

Xero

Bank-statement bookkeeping. We checked the matches and the defaults to watch.

Read the review

Wave

The free Starter plan. We checked what works and what requires a paid plan.

Read the review

A note before you choose

Your business may need
something different.

Our tests cover one made-up month for a US freelancer. Read the plan, test date and limitations in each review before deciding what fits your work.

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