Is free accounting software enough?
Free plans are real accounting software, not toys. The cost shows up in your time and in card fees.
Short answer
Free is enough while you have few transactions, one bank account and nobody else in the books. Once you pass roughly 30 transactions a month, need a bookkeeper's access, or spend an hour a month typing in bank lines, a paid plan pays for itself.
What the free options include
| Option | Price | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Wave Starter | $0 | No automatic bank connection since June 2026: you import or type bank lines yourself. Card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 each. |
| Wave Pro | $19 / month | Adds automatic bank imports and receipt scanning. |
| QuickBooks Free | $0 | Connects one bank account; eligibility and limits are set by Intuit, so check them on the sign-up page. |
Where free software really costs you
- Your time. Without a bank feed, every transaction is typed or uploaded by hand. At 60 transactions a month that's easily an hour, every month.
- Card fees. Wave Starter's fixed $0.60 on each card payment is double what most paid tools charge. On many small invoices it adds up faster than a subscription would.
- Help. If you plan to hire a bookkeeper, ask first. Many charge more to work in a tool they don't use daily.
Signs it's time to upgrade
- You have more than one bank or card account to reconcile.
- Someone other than you needs to log in.
- You send more than 20 invoices a month or pay staff.
- You've skipped a month of bookkeeping because typing it in felt like a chore.
When two of these are true, look at QuickBooks Online or Xero, or FreshBooks if most of your work is invoicing clients for your time.
Rather have it done for you?
We keep small-business books reconciled every month, in QuickBooks Online or Xero, for a fixed fee. Start with a free 20-minute review of where your books stand.
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