Skip to main content
HelloBooks.ai home
Comparison · Last updated 2026-07-28

HelloBooks vs Cashflow Manager: A double-entry ledger with no lock-in vs a cashbook now owned by Reckon

Cashflow Manager was acquired by Reckon in December 2024 for A$8.75 million, covering roughly 20,000 clients and 1,000 accounting partners. Reckon's CEO said it will support customers "as we work with them over the next few years on the perfect time to upgrade to our cloud-based solution" — supported now, with an explicit multi-year intention to move customers onto Reckon cloud. No end-of-life date has been announced.

Two commercial details to know: every plan has a minimum 12-month subscription term, and bank feeds are a A$5 a month add-on rather than included. Prices rose across the board on 1 November 2025.

It is also not a double-entry system. Cashflow Manager is sold on a rows-and-columns metaphor requiring no accounting knowledge, and its own export help says it exports in a format your accountant's general ledger program can read — it feeds someone else's ledger. It does lodge STP Phase 2, which HelloBooks does not.

Researched & written by the HelloBooks editorial team. Checked against Cashflow Manager's public pricing and docs on 2026-07-28 · how we compare.

Scorecard: how they stack up

An at-a-glance rating on the criteria that decide an accounting-software purchase. Ratings reflect verifiable facts — not an invented score. See how we compare.

HelloBooks rates strong on 5 of 9 buyer criteria

HelloBooks vs Cashflow Manager — criteria scorecard
CriterionHelloBooksCashflow Manager
Entry price & free tierStrongLimited
Commitment termsStrongLimited
Double-entry general ledgerStrongNot offered
STP Phase 2 lodgementNot offeredStrong
BAS lodgementNot offeredNot offered
AI shipped and generally availableStrongNot offered
AU payrollNot offeredStrong
Bank feeds includedStrongLimited
Customer satisfactionLimitedLimited

Side-by-side feature comparison

Where a value is shown as “—”, the feature was not verified at review time. See Cashflow Manager's site for the latest specifics. No paid placements — how we compare.

HelloBooks vs Cashflow Manager— feature-by-feature comparison
FeatureHelloBooksCashflow Manager
OwnershipIndependent. Built by Meru Fin Tech; founders are practising chartered accountantsAcquired by Reckon Limited (ASX:RKN) in December 2024 for A$8.75 million, with about 20,000 clients and 1,000 accounting partners
Stated directionCloud-native from launch; no migration planned or neededReckon says it will support customers "as we work with them over the next few years on the perfect time to upgrade to our cloud-based solution". No end-of-life date announced
Double-entry general ledgerYes — chart of accounts, journals, trial balance, IFRS and GAAP compliant reportsNo. Sold on a rows-and-columns metaphor requiring no accounting knowledge; no debits, credits, journals, general ledger, trial balance or balance sheet on any product page. Its export help says it exports for your accountant's general ledger program
PricingFree forever; Pro A$14.99/mo or A$149.99/yr; Business A$59.99/mo or A$599.99/yr — unlimited users on paid plansCashflow Manager A$28/mo or A$306/yr; Gold A$51/mo or A$553/yr; Wages 1-4 A$16/mo; Wages Manager A$39/mo; Read Only A$9/mo. Prices rose 1 November 2025
Minimum termNone — monthly or annual, cancel anytime, unused annual months refunded, Free plan kept permanentlyMinimum 12-month subscription on all plans. After the initial 12 months, monthly plans can be cancelled anytime
Free planFree forever, no credit card — unlimited invoices, bills, quotes and POs, full core reports, mobile app, 2 users, 2,500 AI credits/monthNone. 30-day free trial, no credit card required
Bank feedsIncluded on every plan. Plaid across 11,000+ US banks; PDF statement upload with AI reconciliation anywhereA paid add-on at A$5/month on Cashflow Manager and Gold. Manual bank statement import is also supported
STP Phase 2 lodgementNot shipped — STP Phase 2 and SuperStream are on the roadmap. We do not claim them todayLodges — reports payroll directly to the ATO, with all products described as STP compliant. STP Phase 2 rolled out from August to October 2022. Included in Gold, Wages 1-4 and Wages Manager
BASBAS GST preparation and Simpler BAS codes are live. BAS lodgement via SBR or Ozedi is on the roadmapPrepare only — it calculates and records GST so you can complete your BAS, and its own guidance directs you to lodge online via the ATO portal
Simpler BASSimpler BAS codes, liveSupported via a Simpler BAS checkbox on the BAS report showing G1, 1A and 1B — though the documentation dates from October 2017 and refers to version 11
AI capabilityAI categorization at 95%+ accuracy, OCR line extraction, Munimji assistant with 60+ tools, AI payables, AI calling for AR, CFO agent, smart error detection, AI analysis on every report, public MCP serverNone. No AI feature is named on any product page, pricing page or knowledge base article
PayrollNot shipped for Australia. India payroll runs through HelloTime, a sibling productA genuine strength — Gold and Wages Manager include unlimited-employee STP payroll with leave and superannuation; Wages 1-4 covers up to 4 employees
InventoryItem master, BOM, FIFO/LIFO/weighted-average valuation, GRN, multi-warehouse, POS, restaurant and manufacturing — from ProInventory tracking on Gold only. The base Cashflow Manager product has none
Multi-currency & purchase ordersMulti-currency with automatic FX on all plans; unlimited POs on every plan with three-way matching from ProMulti-currency not found on any product page — treat as absent. Purchase orders not named; Gold has supplier management
Integrations & APIPlaid, Stripe, Razorpay, PayPal, PineLabs, Tally 6.2, API from Pro, BI connector, public read-only MCP serverNo public API, no developer docs, no integrations marketplace, no Zapier listing. The only documented interoperability is file export to accountants' general ledger packages
Getting your data outCSV and Excel import/export throughout on every plan, plus a migration path with dry-run preview and one-click rollbackExport is aimed at handing data to an accountant — automatic export routines for most accounting-firm packages, with file formats not documented. Local backup is supported on desktop versions
Independent ratingsNewer product with a smaller review base — judge us on the free plan rather than review volumeCapterra 2.9/5 from 48 reviews, listing last updated January 2026. Customer support 2.2, value for money 2.3, recommendation rate 30%

When to choose HelloBooks

  • Your accountant needs a trial balance or balance sheet — Cashflow Manager is a cashbook and produces neither.
  • You do not want a 12-month minimum term, or a product whose owner has signalled a migration to a different platform.
  • You want bank feeds included rather than as a A$5 a month add-on.
  • You want AI doing the categorisation and reconciliation, which Cashflow Manager does not offer at any price.
  • You carry stock beyond what the Gold tier tracks, or need purchase orders and three-way matching.
  • You want your historic data accessible without an active subscription — a recurring complaint in its reviews.

When to choose Cashflow Manager

  • You need STP Phase 2 lodged to the ATO today — Cashflow Manager does it and HelloBooks does not.
  • You want Australian payroll with leave and superannuation, unlimited employees, inside the same product.
  • You genuinely do not want to learn accounting — the rows-and-columns approach is the whole product thesis and it works for some people.
  • Your bookkeeper already runs your file and retraining is the real cost.
  • You want a small payroll-only tool — Wages 1-4 at A$16 a month for four employees is cheap.
  • You would rather be inside the Reckon ecosystem ahead of any future migration than move twice.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Cashflow Manager now?

Reckon Limited (ASX:RKN), which announced the acquisition on 18 December 2024. The A$8.75 million deal with Money Management Group Pty Ltd covered Cashflow Manager and the okke product, around 20,000 Cashflow Manager clients and about 1,000 accounting and bookkeeping partners. The site now banners that Cashflow Manager has joined the Reckon Accounting Software family.

Is Cashflow Manager being discontinued?

Not announced, but the direction is stated. Reckon's CEO said the company will continue to support Cashflow Manager customers, as it supports all its desktop users, "as we work with them over the next few years on the perfect time to upgrade to our cloud-based solution". Reckon also said customers will continue to use the same software with the same service and support. Read plainly: supported now, with an explicit multi-year intention to move customers onto Reckon cloud. No end-of-life date has been published.

How much does Cashflow Manager cost?

From its products page on 28 July 2026, in AUD: Cashflow Manager A$28 a month or A$306 a year; Cashflow Manager Gold A$51 a month or A$553 a year; Wages 1-4 A$16 a month; Wages Manager A$39 a month or A$412 a year; Read Only A$9 a month. Bank feeds are a further A$5 a month on Cashflow Manager and Gold. All plans carry a minimum 12-month subscription term. Prices increased across the board on 1 November 2025, attributed to the Fair Work National Minimum Wage rise.

What does HelloBooks cost in Australia?

Free forever with 2,500 AI credits a month and up to two users. Pro is A$14.99/month or A$149.99/year against a list price of A$29.99, with unlimited users, unlimited bank connections, multi-entity, API access, inventory, three-way matching and multi-currency. Business is A$59.99/month or A$599.99/year. No minimum term, cancel anytime, unused annual months refunded.

Is Cashflow Manager double-entry accounting?

No, and it does not claim to be. The product is explicitly sold on a rows-and-columns interface requiring no accounting knowledge, and neither the Cashflow Manager nor Gold product page mentions debits, credits, journals, general ledger, trial balance or balance sheet. Its reporting is described as profit and loss, cashflow and monthly summary — a cashbook set. Its own export help says it exports in a file format your accountant's general ledger program can read, which tells you where the ledger actually lives.

Does Cashflow Manager lodge STP?

Yes. It reports payroll information directly to the ATO, and all its products are described as Single Touch Payroll compliant, with submissions completed and sent from within the software. STP Phase 2 rolled out from 1 August 2022 and completed 31 October 2022 under an ATO deferral. STP is included in Gold, Wages 1-4 and Wages Manager. HelloBooks does not lodge STP — it is on our roadmap.

Does either lodge a BAS?

Neither. Cashflow Manager automatically calculates and records GST so you can complete your BAS, and its own guidance directs you to lodge online via the ATO portal. HelloBooks does BAS GST preparation with Simpler BAS codes; lodgement through SBR or Ozedi is on our roadmap. Both prepare; you or your BAS agent lodge.

Does Cashflow Manager have AI?

No. No AI feature is named on any product page, pricing page or knowledge base article we reviewed. HelloBooks includes AI auto-categorization at 95%+ accuracy, OCR with line extraction, Munimji (a conversational assistant with 60+ tools), AI payables, AI calling for overdue receivables, a CFO agent, smart error detection and an AI Analysis tab on every report — from the Free plan.

Why are the reviews so poor?

This is the standout finding and you should weigh it seriously. Capterra sits at 2.9 out of 5 from 48 reviews, listing last updated January 2026, with customer support at 2.2, value for money at 2.3 and a 30% recommendation rate. The complaints cluster on two themes: anger from customers who originally bought perpetual licences and were converted to subscriptions — one describes being locked out after 30 years as a customer — and data access, with users reporting they cannot reach historical records without continuing to pay, described by reviewers as holding financial information to ransom. Others report difficulty getting refunds after unnotified auto-renewals, and unresponsive support.

Will I lose access to my data if I cancel?

Multiple Capterra reviewers report exactly that — losing access to historical records on cancellation, with one saying they spent A$930 over two years and lost access anyway. Cashflow Manager's documented export is aimed at handing data to an accountant, with automatic export routines for most accounting-firm packages, but the file formats are not documented. Export everything before you cancel, and verify you can open it. In HelloBooks, CSV and Excel export are available on every plan including Free, and the Free plan is kept permanently, so your records stay reachable.

Can I migrate to HelloBooks?

Yes. Export your data using the accountant export routines and local backup while your subscription is active, then import chart of accounts, customers, suppliers, items, invoices and bills into HelloBooks from CSV. Because Cashflow Manager is a cashbook rather than a ledger, the practical approach is usually setting a cutover date, entering opening balances in HelloBooks and importing historical transactions for reference. Our migration flow at /migrate includes a dry-run preview and one-click rollback, and end of financial year is the cleanest point.

Does HelloBooks do Australian payroll?

No. Payroll with STP, PAYG and superannuation is a genuine Cashflow Manager strength, particularly the unlimited-employee Gold and Wages Manager options. HelloBooks does not ship Australian payroll; India payroll runs through our sibling product HelloTime. If payroll is why you use Cashflow Manager, you will need a dedicated payroll product alongside HelloBooks.

Are bank feeds included?

Not on Cashflow Manager — automated bank feeds are a A$5 a month add-on on the Cashflow Manager and Gold products, with manual statement import as the alternative. HelloBooks includes bank connectivity on every plan, with Plaid across 11,000+ US banks and cards and PDF statement upload with AI reconciliation as a universal fallback.

Is HelloBooks secure?

HelloBooks is SOC 2 Type II certified, with the report available under NDA through the Trust Center; ISO 27001 is on the compliance roadmap and we do not describe it as certified. Data is encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.2+ in transit, MFA is available, hosting is AWS with 99.9% uptime and daily encrypted backups, and bank connections are read-only.

Migrating from Cashflow Manager?

HelloBooks supports CSV import for chart of accounts, customers, vendors, items, invoices, and bills. For QuickBooks Online, we offer a built-in two-way sync. For other platforms, our migration team can assist with a structured cutover.

Start freeTalk to migration teamView pricing

Related reading

Australia hub

BAS-ready books, GST prep and what is live versus on the roadmap.

HelloBooks pricing

Free forever, Pro A$14.99/month, Business A$59.99/month — no minimum term.

Advanced reporting

Balance sheet, P&L, cash flow and general ledger with AI analysis.

Bank reconciliation

95%+ auto-match, included rather than an add-on.

Inventory

Item master, BOM, valuation methods and GRN — included from Pro.

Migrate to HelloBooks

Dry-run preview and one-click rollback when you move your books over.

More comparisons

HelloBooks vs ReckonHelloBooks vs SaasuHelloBooks vs MYOBHelloBooks vs RoundedAll comparisons →