Xero is powerful cloud accounting with a monthly subscription, a bank feed and a team of features most freelancers never touch. CashFlow does the part that actually matters day-to-day — income versus expenses, net profit, and how much to set aside for tax — in a single offline web page. No account, no subscription.
Xero earns its reputation as a full-featured cloud accounting platform. For a solo freelancer billing a handful of clients, it can feel like industrial machinery for a small workshop: a monthly subscription, bank-feed syncing, a chart of accounts, and an interface optimized for bookkeepers.
CashFlow focuses on the three questions a freelancer actually asks every month: how much came in, how much went out, and how much is really mine after the tax I owe? It runs in your browser with zero network requests, stores everything locally, and costs $12 once. No bank linking, no accountant access, no monthly fee.
| Xero | CashFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly subscription | Free version + one-time $12 Pro |
| Account required | Yes | No account, ever |
| Where your data lives | Xero cloud | Only in your browser (local) |
| Bank-feed reconciliation | Yes | No |
| Income vs expenses | Yes | Yes, with net profit |
| Tax set-aside helper | No | Yes, built-in |
| Category breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| CSV export | Yes | Yes (UTF-8) |
| Best for | Full bookkeeping + bank feeds | Quick freelance money clarity |
Xero plans and features change over time — check their site for current details. CashFlow is a money tracker, not filing-ready accounting, and does not provide tax advice.
Income minus expenses updated as you type — no 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.
No linking, no syncing — just type in what happened.
If you need bank-feed reconciliation, multi-currency accounting, payroll, GST/VAT filing assistance, or a setup your accountant works in directly, Xero is worth its subscription. CashFlow is the lightweight, private way to stay on top of income, expenses and the tax to set aside — not a replacement for formal accounting or professional tax advice.
No bank linking or setup needed — open the tracker and log this month in minutes. 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.