QuickBooks is powerful accounting software with a monthly bill. If you mainly want to see income versus expenses, your net profit, and how much to set aside for tax, CashFlow does that in one offline web page. No account, no subscription.
QuickBooks is built for full small-business accounting, and it prices and behaves accordingly: a monthly subscription, an online account, and far more machinery than many freelancers need just to answer "how am I doing this month and how much is the tax man’s?"
CashFlow answers exactly those questions. Log income and expenses, categorize them, and watch net profit, a category breakdown and a monthly chart update live. The standout for freelancers is the tax set-aside: tell it your rate and it shows how much of your income to park for tax, so quarter-end is not a shock. It runs in your browser, stores data locally, and costs $12 once.
| QuickBooks | CashFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly subscription | Free version + one-time $12 Pro |
| Account required | Yes | No account, ever |
| Where your data lives | QuickBooks cloud | Only in your browser (local) |
| Income vs expenses | Yes | Yes, with net profit |
| Category breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Tax set-aside helper | Varies | Yes, built-in |
| CSV export | Yes | Yes (UTF-8) |
| Works fully offline | No | Yes, zero network requests |
| Best for | Full bookkeeping & filing | Quick freelance money clarity |
QuickBooks plans and features change over time — check their site for current details. CashFlow is a money tracker, not full filing-ready accounting software, and does not provide tax advice.
Income minus expenses, updated as you type — no spreadsheet formulas.
Set your rate and see how much to hold back, so tax season is boring.
See where the money goes, with a monthly income-vs-expense chart.
Hand a clean CSV to your accountant or open it in any spreadsheet.
Log the income you billed in InvoicePro and watch the month add up.
Your numbers live in your browser only — nothing uploaded.
If you need bank-feed syncing, filing-ready reports, payroll, sales-tax automation or a setup your accountant works in directly, QuickBooks earns its subscription. CashFlow is the lightweight, private way to stay on top of income, expenses and the tax you should be setting aside — not a replacement for formal accounting or professional tax advice.
No setup or bank linking — open the tracker and log this month’s income and expenses now. Get the single tool for $12, or all five in the $39 Freelance Tools Suite.
Part of a set of five offline, no-subscription tools that share a CSV format:
Income, expenses, profit and tax set-aside. No account, nothing uploaded.