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Free Accounting Software for Sole Proprietors | HelloBooks Free bookkeeping for sole proprietors: an IRS-aligned chart of accounts that maps to Schedule C, a live bank feed and a P&L. $0, no credit card.

Free accounting software for sole proprietors, free bookkeeping for sole proprietorship, Schedule C bookkeeping software free, for US self-employed owners.

Free Plan · Sole proprietors

Free accounting software for sole proprietors

As a sole proprietor your business profit goes on Schedule C of your own return. HelloBooks Free keeps the numbers behind it at $0/mo: a live bank feed, an IRS-aligned chart of accounts, and a P&L that is ready when tax season is.

Start free, no credit cardEverything on the Free Plan

Free Plan with unlimited invoices, bills & quotes — no credit card.

Schedule C categories without a spreadsheet

Schedule C asks for your gross receipts and your expenses by type: advertising, car and truck expenses, contract labor, insurance, office expense, supplies, travel, meals, utilities and so on. HelloBooks uses an IRS-aligned chart of accounts, so the categories you code transactions to are easy to map to those lines for you or your preparer.

Bank transactions arrive through the live feed and are categorized with your free AI credits to get started; after that you can upgrade for more AI credits or categorize by hand.

The Free P&L is your Schedule C starting point

Run a profit and loss report for the tax year and you have income and expenses by category in one place. Reports are unlimited on Free, so run it monthly and you will know your profit, and roughly what you owe, long before April.

  • Unlimited invoices, bills and quotes
  • Unlimited email payment reminders
  • 1 live bank feed through Plaid, plus 2 manual bank or card accounts
  • 2 users
  • Free AI credits to get started (upgrade for more)
  • AP/AR aging, P&L, balance sheet and cash flow reports
  • iOS and Android app

Estimated tax and self-employment tax

Sole proprietors usually pay income tax and self-employment tax through quarterly estimated payments. Use the P&L to see profit so far, the self-employment tax calculator to estimate Social Security and Medicare, and the quarterly estimated tax guide for due dates.

What Free leaves out

Free includes 1 live bank feed, 2 users and free AI credits to get started. Data export, recurring invoices and multi-currency are on paid plans, and invoices sent from Free carry a small “Powered by HelloBooks” badge. Starter is $14.99/mo; Pro is $39.99/mo.

How teams use HelloBooks

What HelloBooks does for businesses like yours

“AI categorizes every transaction automatically and learns from your corrections, so a small team keeps clean books without spending evenings on manual data entry.”
Small business · US
“For a practice managing dozens of client books, automated reconciliation turns a full day of matching into a background task — review the AI matches, approve, and move on.”
Accounting practice · US
“Snap a receipt on your phone and the AI reads, categorizes, and files it — bookkeeping stays current even for people who would rather not think about numbers.”
Freelancer · mobile-first

Illustrative scenarios describing what the product does for each business type — not attributed customer reviews.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free accounting software for a sole proprietor?
One that does not cap the ledger. HelloBooks Free has unlimited invoices, bills and quotes, 1 live bank feed and a full P&L at $0, with no credit card.
Does HelloBooks file my Schedule C?
No. HelloBooks keeps the books and produces the P&L; you or your tax preparer file the return. The IRS-aligned categories make that step quicker.
Do I need a separate bank account as a sole proprietor?
It is not legally required, but a separate account makes your books far simpler. Connect it as your one live bank feed on Free.
Is it really free, and do I need a credit card?
Yes, it is a permanent $0 plan, not a trial. Sign up with an email; no card is collected and there is no end date.
What happens when the free AI credits run out?
Free includes free AI credits to get started. When they run out you can upgrade for more AI credits or keep categorizing by hand; paid plans can also top up with a credit pack. Invoices, bills, reports and your bank feed keep working either way.
Related

Keep exploring

free bookkeeping software

Everything the Free Plan includes.

Self-employment tax calculator

Estimate SE tax on your net profit.

Quarterly estimated tax

IRS due dates and how estimates work.

Free P&L template

A spreadsheet P&L, or let HelloBooks build it.

Freelancer accounting

Books for 1099 contractors and freelancers.

Start automating your books today

Free Plan with full access to the AI accountant — no credit card, no time limit.

Start free, no credit cardEverything on the Free Plan

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    Free Accounting Software for Sole Proprietors | HelloBooks