Self-employed and sole proprietors
Accounting software for the self-employed that you pay for once
When you work for yourself, the books have three jobs: get the invoices out and paid, keep business spending apart from personal spending, and have clean totals ready at tax time. AcboBooks does those on your own PC, without a monthly bill eating into a one-person income.
It suits freelancers, consultants, tradespeople and sole proprietors in the US and Canada. $399.99 once, and the same program grows with you if you hire.
No card, no account. Windows 10 and 11. United States and Canada.
What it means
In practice
Money in, without chasing
Send invoices with your logo and payment terms, add a Stripe card payment link if you have a Stripe account, and see who is late on the A/R ageing report. Customer statements go out in a batch.
Your money and the business's, kept apart
Owner's draws and contributions go to equity accounts, not expenses. Attach a photo or scan of a receipt and the receipt reader fills in the vendor, date and total on a bill, cheque or card charge. Log business trips at the standard mileage rate.
Tax-time totals, not a shoebox
Run the profit and loss for the year on a cash or accrual basis and hand it to your tax preparer. Canadian sole proprietors get GST/HST figures with input tax credits; US contractors who pay other contractors get the 1099-NEC wizard.
An invoice with your terms, ready to send as PDF.
Books for a business of one, done in an evening a month
Import the month's bank and card statements, let the rules sort the regular ones, and match the payments to your invoices. Scan the receipts that are still on the table.
At year-end, run the profit and loss for January to December and send it, with the balance sheet, to whoever does your taxes.
What is in the licence
The whole job, in one price
Sales and money in
Purchases and money out
Banking and books
Payroll and people
Stock and jobs
Reports and sharing
The year's profit and loss, ready for your tax preparer.
What it does not do
· Windows 10 and 11 for now (a Mac version is coming soon); no phone app.
· No automatic bank feed for most banks: it imports the statement file your bank provides, and downloads directly from banks that offer OFX Direct Connect.
· Card payments go through a Stripe payment link rather than a built-in processor.
· One company per file; open as many files as you have businesses.
· It does not prepare your income tax return; it gives you the profit and loss and other figures your preparer needs.
Questions people ask
Before you download
Is full accounting software overkill for one person?
It does not have to be. Use invoices, bank import and the profit and loss, and ignore the rest until you need it. The advantage is that payroll, inventory and multi-user are already there if the business grows.
Can it keep my personal and business spending separate?
Use a separate bank account and card for the business, import those statements, and record money you take out as owner's draws. Spending you put on a personal card can be entered and paid back as a contribution.
Can I track mileage?
Yes. The mileage log records trips at the rate you set (the default is 72.5 cents, the IRS rate for the first half of 2026; change it to 76 cents for driving from July 1), and you can bill a customer for the trips that belong to their work.
Does it work out my self-employment tax?
No, it gives you the net profit; your tax software or preparer does the return. For a quick estimate, the free self-employment tax calculator on this site works from your net profit.
Do I need to collect sales tax or GST/HST?
That depends on what you sell and where. If you do, set up the tax once and it is charged on each invoice and tracked for your return. In Canada, registration is required once taxable sales pass $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters.
Coming from something else?
How it compares to what you use now
Get started
Keep the books, keep the subscription money.
Try it free for 15 days with your own invoices and bank statements.
No card. No account. Nothing to cancel.