QuickBooks
Track income and expenses, and let the software suggest categories for you.
Paid, with a free trial.
Do taxes & bookkeeping
Track what came in, what went out, and walk into tax time with the numbers in one place.
Tools for Do taxes & bookkeeping
Wave
A straightforward place to record money in and money out when you are just starting.
Core accounting is free. Paid add-ons if you want them.
Xero
See what you earned and what you spent, without building a spreadsheet first.
Paid, with a free trial.
TurboTax
Walk through a tax return in questions, instead of a blank form.
Paid for filing. The price depends on the return.
FreshBooks
Send invoices and keep the bookkeeping next to the work you billed.
Paid, with a free trial.
A first sitting
How to do this in 15 minutes
- Pick one tool and connect the bank account you actually use for the business.
- Label last month’s expenses in plain categories: software, supplies, travel, contractors.
- Check that income matches what you were paid. Fix the ones that look wrong.
- Save a profit snapshot. When you file, start from that snapshot, not a shoebox.