About our publication
How we test accounting software
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This site compares software. It does not give tax, legal or accounting advice.
The idea
Every tool on Accounting Tested runs the same made-up month of books. Because the files, the tasks and the answer key are identical, the results line up across pages.
The made-up business
Riley Park Design is a one-person freelance web designer in the United States. It is a sole proprietor, books are in US dollars, and the year is the calendar year. The month tested is September 2026.
Nothing in the test is real. The business, the clients and the amounts are made up, and every client email address ends in @example.com.
The test files are:
- A client list: 5 clients.
- An invoice list: 12 invoices totaling $8,425, each due 14 days after its date.
- An expense list: 20 expenses totaling $612.28.
- A bank statement: 28 lines. These are 7 paid invoices, 1 partial payment and 20 expenses.
The six tasks
| # | Task |
|---|---|
| 1 | Set up the business (name, US, US dollars, sole proprietor) and add the 5 clients. Use the tool's import if it has one; otherwise type them. |
| 2 | Create all 12 invoices with their dates, due dates and amounts. Send two of them to our own email address to see what a client receives. |
| 3 | Record the 20 expenses with their categories. Use import if the tool has it; otherwise type them. Note any categories the tool did not have. |
| 4 | Bring in the bank statement and match the 8 deposits to their invoices and the 20 withdrawals to the expenses. |
| 5 | Check that one invoice shows $150 paid and $150 still owed. Then send a payment reminder for another invoice. If the tool cannot send reminders on the plan we used, we write that down. |
| 6 | Run a profit and loss report for September 2026 and export it as a PDF. |
The answer key
We worked out what a correct September profit and loss looks like from the test files, before running any tool.
| Basis | Income | Expenses | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accrual (invoices issued) | $8,425.00 | $612.28 | $7,812.72 |
| Cash (money received) | $5,575.00 | $612.28 | $4,962.72 |
We compare each tool's report with this key. If a report differs, or a plan offers only one of the two bases, we say so on the page.
Who does what
An AI assistant carried out the tasks in our own accounts. A person did the sign-ups and logins and approved every email and download. We did not enter a credit card at any sign-up.
We report the steps and problems for each task, not minutes. Test emails went to our own address, and every client in the test is made up.
Which plan each tool ran on
We test on what a new user gets without paying. That is not always the plan you will end up on, so each page says which plan we used.
| Tool | Plan we tested | Date run |
|---|---|---|
| FreshBooks | Free trial (plan name not shown) | October 20, 2026 |
| QuickBooks Online | Free trial, Simple Start | October 20, 2026 |
| Xero | Free trial, Early | October 21, 2026 |
| Wave | Starter, which is free with no time limit | October 21-22, 2026 |
Findings apply to the plan we tested. A feature we did not find on a trial or on Wave's free plan may exist on a paid plan, and we say "we found no" rather than "it does not have" unless the record shows otherwise. QuickBooks advertises a separate free plan on its pricing page, which we did not test.
Where prices come from
We read prices from each company's own pricing page and print the date we read them. All four were read on October 22, 2026. Where a page showed lower introductory prices, we say that it did and print the regular price. Prices change; check the pricing page before you buy.
What we record
- What happened at each step, including setup problems and anything confusing or broken.
- What the tool did well.
- What each report showed, next to the answer key.
- Screenshots of the tasks, kept on file.
Only measured results go on a page. If a task was not comparable across tools, the page says so. For example, Wave's free Starter plan cannot email invoices or send reminders, so nothing was sent from Wave.
Limits of this test
- It is one made-up month for one kind of business. It does not cover payroll, sales tax, inventory, multiple users or a business that is not a US sole proprietor.
- Each tool was run once, by us, on the plan named above.
- Software changes. Each page shows the date we tested.
- It is not a ranking of which tool is best for you. Read the "Who should pick which" section on each comparison and decide from your own needs.
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