Accounting
Best Accounting Software for Contractors & Trades (2026)
Your accounting software is where your books live — and what your field-service tool syncs to. We compare the options trades actually use, organized by how much accounting you really need. Real pricing, honest trade-offs, affiliate-transparent.
The short answer
For most trades businesses in 2026, QuickBooks Online is the default pick — it has the deepest field-service-software integration, so your scheduling tool and your accountant both speak it. Choose Xero for unlimited users and cleaner pricing, FreshBooks if you're solo and mainly need great invoicing, or Wave (free) when you're brand-new. Confirm what your FSM actually syncs to before deciding — that matters more than a few dollars of monthly price. No vendor pays for placement.
The headline filter: how much accounting do you need?
Full double-entry accounting (QuickBooks Online, Xero) is the standard once you have employees, inventory, or an accountant — and it's what nearly every FSM integrates with. Invoicing-first (FreshBooks) is ideal for solo and small service businesses that prioritize billing over deep books. Free (Wave) fits brand-new or very small operations watching every dollar. The biggest practical factor for trades: QuickBooks has the deepest field-service integration, so check what your scheduling tool syncs to before you choose.
Complete accounting — bank reconciliation, A/R and A/P, reporting — that scales with the business. The standard once you have employees, inventory, or an accountant. Every major FSM integrates with these.
QuickBooks Online
The default small-business accounting platform — and what your FSM syncs to
From $20/mo
- G2 / Capterra
- — / 4.4
- Founded
- 1983
- Free trial
- 30 days
- Best team size
- 1-500
Best for: Most trades businesses that want the safe default — universal FSM integration, accountant familiarity, and room to scale — and can absorb Intuit's pricing
Xero
Full-featured accounting with unlimited users and predictable pricing
From $25/mo
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.3 / 4.5
- Founded
- 2006
- Free trial
- 30 days
- Best team size
- 1-500
Best for: Growing trades businesses that want full accounting with unlimited users, predictable pricing, and a cleaner interface than QuickBooks — and whose FSM integrates well with Xero
QuickBooks Desktop / Enterprise
The deepest job costing in the QuickBooks line — where established contractors graduate
From $142/mo
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.3 / 4.5
- Founded
- 1992
- Free trial
- 30 days
- Best team size
- 5-40
Best for: Established GCs and specialty trades (HVAC, electrical, plumbing) running multiple simultaneous jobs, subcontractors, and change orders, who need the deepest QuickBooks job costing and can absorb the cost
Sage (Sage 50 + Sage Accounting)
Real job costing and inventory in a desktop-grade package — plus a cheap cloud tier
From $10/mo
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.2 / 3.9
- Founded
- 1981
- Free trial
- 30 days
- Best team size
- 1-40
Best for: Established contractors who need real job costing, phases/cost codes, and inventory without jumping to a full ERP — with solos able to start on the ~$10/mo cloud tier
Zoho Books
The best-value full accounting — a real free tier and built-in project tracking
Free
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.4 / 4.4
- Founded
- 2011
- Free trial
- Free plan
- Best team size
- 1-50
Best for: Cost-conscious solo and small trades (plumbers, electricians, HVAC, handymen, small GCs) wanting affordable full accounting with light per-job tracking — especially if using other Zoho apps
Patriot Accounting
Dirt-cheap, dead-simple US bookkeeping — best paired with Patriot Payroll
From $20/mo
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.8 / 4.8
- Founded
- 2002
- Free trial
- 30 days
- Best team size
- 1-25
Best for: Cost-conscious solo and micro US trades (plumber, electrician, small HVAC, handyman) wanting tidy, simple books — ideally bundled with cheap Patriot Payroll
Built around invoicing, time tracking, and getting paid, with lighter bookkeeping. Great for solo and small service businesses that prioritize billing over deep accounting.
FreshBooks
Invoicing-first accounting for solo and small service businesses
From $21/mo
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.5 / 4.5
- Founded
- 2003
- Free trial
- 30 days
- Best team size
- 1-15
Best for: Solo and small service contractors (handymen, cleaners, painters, small crews) who prioritize easy professional invoicing and getting paid over deep double-entry accounting
Core accounting and invoicing at no monthly cost, monetized through payments and payroll add-ons. Best for very small or new businesses watching every dollar.
Wave
Free accounting and invoicing for very small and new businesses
Free
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.4 / 4.4
- Founded
- 2009
- Free trial
- Free plan
- Best team size
- 1-5
Best for: Brand-new, solo, or very small trades businesses that want free, simple accounting and unlimited invoicing while watching every dollar
Heavier accounting for larger or multi-entity operations.
Striven
All-in-one ERP-lite built for contractors — native accounting + dispatch in one system
From $35/mo
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.5 / 4.8
- Founded
- 2014
- Free trial
- No
- Best team size
- 5-50
Best for: Small-to-mid contractors (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, GC) who want to replace the QuickBooks-plus-scheduling-plus-CRM patchwork with one platform that has native accounting and dispatch
Pays your vendors, subs, and suppliers (ACH, check, or card) and syncs to your books — an accounts-payable layer that sits alongside accounting rather than replacing it.
Melio
Free ACH bill-pay that syncs to your books — pay subs and suppliers, even check-only ones
Free
⚠ Heads up
Documented pattern of sudden account freezes and held payments during automated compliance reviews, with email-only support for suspended accounts; BBB rates Melio F.
- G2 / Capterra
- 4.5 / 4.2
- Founded
- 2018
- Free trial
- Free plan
- Best team size
- 1-50
Best for: Small US contractors (GC, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, landscaping) who pay subs and suppliers and want free ACH bill-pay that reconciles to QuickBooks or Xero — used with a backup for time-critical payments
Where to start
Most trades shops default to QuickBooks Online because their FSM and accountant both speak it. Want unlimited users and cleaner pricing? Xero. Solo operator who mainly needs great invoicing? FreshBooks. Brand-new and watching every dollar? Wave (free). Before deciding, confirm what your field-service software actually syncs to — that integration matters more than a few dollars of monthly price.