Accounting Software for Freelancers
Schedule C P&L year-round, quarterly estimated tax with the safe-harbor calculation, 1099-NEC for the contractors you pay, IRS-rate mileage logs, and time-based invoicing — built for US freelancers, sole proprietors, and independent contractors. From your phone, your inbox, or a desktop browser.
The six things freelancers hate doing — automated
Each one ties back to your live ledger, so your books, your tax forms, and your audit trail stay in sync without re-keying.
Schedule C P&L, year-round
Categorize every income and expense to the IRS Schedule C lines as it posts — advertising, car and truck, contract labor, home office, supplies, travel, meals (50%). At tax time the P&L is already filing-ready; export the lines straight to your 1040 or hand them to your CPA.
Quarterly estimated tax with safe-harbor calc
Form 1040-ES worksheet pre-filled from your live books. Picks the 110% / 100% prior-year safe harbor or 90% of current-year — whichever is cheaper — and reminds you on each April / June / September / January due date.
1099-NEC for the contractors you pay
W-9 collection at vendor onboarding. Aggregate-payment tracker that flags when a contractor crosses the IRS threshold ($2,000 for payments made in 2026 onward; $600 for 2025 and earlier). Credit-card and processor payments are excluded automatically (those are 1099-K'd). 1099-NEC PDF generation is in private preview ahead of the January 31 cycle.
Mileage logs at the IRS standard rate
GPS trip tracking through the Hello Mileage mobile app, IRS standard mileage rate applied automatically (70¢ per business mile in 2025), and a clean audit-ready log with date, purpose, start, end and miles. No spreadsheet to keep.
Time-based invoicing
Track billable hours per client and project through HelloTime, then convert the timesheet into an invoice in one click. Hourly rates, retainers, milestones and fixed-fee with reconciliation against the time log all supported.
Receipt capture from phone or inbox
OCR receipt and invoice extraction from the mobile app, email forwarding or drag-drop. AI categorization tags each one to the right Schedule C line and attaches the image to the journal entry. The IRS asks for the receipt; you produce it in seconds.
Time tracking and mileage included — not separate subscriptions
Most freelancer accounting tools push you to bolt on Toggl/Hubstaff for time, MileIQ for mileage, and a separate invoicing tool — three logins, three bills, three places your data lives. HelloBooks ships time tracking (HelloTime), mileage (Hello Mileage), receipts, invoices, and the ledger in one product. Hours and miles flow into the same journal that produces your Schedule C.
HelloTime — time tracking & timesheets
Track hours by client, project, and task. Convert into invoices. Included with your HelloBooks account — not a separate subscription you have to add.
Hello Mileage — GPS mileage logs
Auto-track business miles with GPS, apply the IRS standard rate, file an audit-trail-clean log. Lives in the same login.
AI categorization & reconciliation
Plaid connects to 11,000+ US banks. Every transaction is auto-categorized to Schedule C, reconciled against invoices and bills, and flagged if it looks like a personal expense.
Free accounting software for freelancers
The HelloBooks Free Plan is $0/mo for as long as you use it, with no credit card and no trial clock. It covers the core of a freelance practice: quote the work, invoice it, chase it, and see it land in your bank.
- ✓ Unlimited invoices and quotes
- ✓ Unlimited email payment reminders
- ✓ 1 live bank feed through Plaid
- ✓ 2 users, so your accountant can join you
- ✓ P&L, AR aging and cash flow reports
- ✓ The iOS and Android app
Two plans. No trial timer. No surprise add-ons.
Free Plan is permanent and has limits you can see below. Pro lifts them for a growing practice. Both include the iOS and Android app.
Free Plan
No credit card
- ✓Unlimited invoices, bills, quotes, POs
- ✓1 live bank feed via Plaid
- ✓2 users (you + your CPA)
- ✓up to 200 transactions per year
- ✓Free AI credits to get started
- ✓iOS and Android app
Pro
Most freelancersUpgrade when you outgrow Free
- ✓Everything in Free, plus:
- ✓Unlimited users (full team + your accountant)
- ✓Multi-entity (run side businesses from one login)
- ✓More AI credits, with top-up credit packs
- ✓Data export, recurring invoices, multi-currency
- ✓3-way matching, advanced reports
- ✓Priority support
Need a CPA Partner plan for managing multiple freelancer clients? See full pricing →
Common questions from US freelancers
Related US guides & tools
Working with an accountant on HelloBooks
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