QuickBooks Self-Employed alternatives for trades: what to look for

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If you've been using QuickBooks Self-Employed, or looked for it and ended up somewhere else, you're probably shopping for something new. We cover what Intuit itself says about QuickBooks Self-Employed on our QuickBooks Self-Employed alternative page, with links to Intuit's help articles. This guide is the other half: a short checklist for comparing apps if you run a trade, like lawn care, cleaning, detailing, or handyman work.

Start with how your day actually goes

Trades work happens in the truck, at the customer's door, and in the supply store parking lot. Most money tasks get done in two-minute gaps between jobs, on a phone. So the first question for any app is simple: can you log a job or an expense on your phone in under a minute, standing up? If the answer is "only from a laptop," it probably won't get used.

The checklist

1. Quick income and expense logging

Look for a fast way to log money in and out from your phone, with categories that fit your work. Repeat customers are the norm in the trades, so shortcuts for repeat work save the most time.

2. Receipt scanning

Supply, fuel, and parts receipts pile up fast. A good app lets you snap a receipt and turns it into an expense, so it doesn't sit in the cupholder until April. Check whether you get to review what the scan read before it's saved. The IRS expects your records to be backed by supporting documents like receipts, so keep the originals or clear copies too.

3. Mileage

If you drive to customers, mileage matters. Look at how trips are logged (by hand or automatic), which IRS rate the app applies, and where trips are stored. The IRS asks for the date, miles, destination, and business purpose of each business trip. Our mileage log guide covers the details.

4. A tax set-aside number

For many solo operators, the quarterly tax number was the main reason to open QuickBooks Self-Employed. Look for a running estimate of what to set aside and a card that shows the next quarterly due date, and check whether the app says how it's calculated. Any such number is an estimate, not tax advice.

5. Cash flow, not just history

Seasonal work makes some months lean. An app that only shows last month tells you where the money went; a cash flow projection helps you see a slow stretch before it arrives.

6. Getting your data in and out

If a bookkeeper or tax preparer helps you, ask how your numbers get to them. File import and export (like CSV or a QuickBooks file) means you aren't locked in and they can work in the tools they already use.

7. A price you can predict

Read the pricing page closely: what each plan includes, any limits on receipts or trips, and whether there's a contract. Prices change, so check the vendor's own site on the day you decide.

Compare the options side by side

We wrote honest comparisons that check each app's own pricing and help pages and list the date we checked:

• MiniCFO.io vs Keeper
• MiniCFO.io vs Everlance
• MiniCFO.io vs Wave
• MiniCFO.io vs QuickBooks Solopreneur
• MiniCFO.io vs a spreadsheet

Each one says where the other option is the better fit, too.

Where MiniCFO.io fits

MiniCFO.io is a simple AI financial assistant for busy mobile service businesses. Against the checklist above:

• Logging: log income and expenses from your phone in a few taps, with quick-add templates and Log again for repeat customers.
• Receipts: receipt scanning, where the AI pulls out the merchant and amount and you check them before you log.
• Mileage: a manual mileage log at the IRS standard rate for each trip's date. Trips are saved on this device.
• Taxes: a tax set-aside card and a due-date card with the next quarterly due date. It's an estimate, not tax advice.
• Cash flow: a 6-month cash flow projection and a weekly summary, plus plain-English questions about your own numbers (AI Insights).
• Data: works side by side with QuickBooks through file import and export, plus CSV export.

To be clear about limits: MiniCFO.io doesn't connect to your bank, so money is logged by hand or from a scanned receipt, and it doesn't file tax returns.

This guide is general information and an estimate, not tax advice. Rules change and your situation matters, so check with a tax professional.

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