Best Accounting Software for a Handyman Business (QuickBooks & More)

Most accounting software reviews compare dashboards and bank feeds. A handyman business has more specific questions: Did the deck repair make money once I count the second trip to the store? Where do the receipts from five supply runs a day go? How do I pay the helper I bring in on bigger jobs, and file his 1099? This guide answers those, with prices from each vendor’s official website as of October 27, 2026. It’s not tax advice: talk to an accountant about your situation.

Why handyman books are different

Every job is a small project

A handyman might do six jobs in a day, each with its own materials, drive time and sometimes a helper. Totals for the month don’t tell you much; what you want to know is which kinds of jobs pay. That’s job costing: income from the job minus its materials, labor and other costs.

You can get it in two places:

• In your field service app, where the job already lives. As of October 27, 2026: Housecall Pro lists job costing on every plan (from $79/month), Markate lists job costing in its base plan ($49.95/month for an owner-operator), Tradify includes it from Pro ($51 per user per month) and Jobber from Grow ($299/month for 5 users).
• In the accounting software, by tagging income and expenses to a project or customer. QuickBooks Online includes project profitability on Plus ($140/month), FreshBooks on Premium ($70/month) and Xero project time and costs on Established ($97/month).

For most small handyman businesses, job costing in the field app plus simple accounting software is cheaper than the top accounting plan.

Receipts from many small supply runs

Materials are often bought the morning of the job, sometimes on two or three cards. If receipts aren’t captured and matched to the job the same day, you lose both the deduction and the cost on the job. Look for receipt capture from your phone: FreshBooks includes expense receipt capture from Plus ($43/month), Xero lists Smart Document Capture on every plan, and Wave sells receipt scanning as a paid add-on. Many field apps also let you attach receipts to the job.

Mileage between jobs

Driving between small jobs is a real cost and, for many businesses, a deduction. Log each business trip (date, purpose, miles) as it happens. FreshBooks includes mileage tracking on every plan, and QuickBooks says you can track business miles even on QuickBooks Free. The IRS publishes the standard mileage rate each year; ask your accountant whether to use it or actual vehicle costs.

Subcontractors and 1099s

When a job needs a second pair of hands, or a licensed electrician or plumber, you may pay someone as an independent contractor. Two habits keep this clean:

1. Collect a Form W-9 before the first payment. The IRS describes it as the form a payee uses to give you their correct taxpayer identification number.
2. File Form 1099-NEC for nonemployee compensation above the IRS threshold. Check the current threshold and deadlines in the IRS instructions.

Whether a helper is really a contractor depends on control over how the work is done, not on what you call them. The IRS sets out the test on its worker classification page; get advice before you decide, because misclassification can mean back taxes and penalties.

Deposits and progress payments

Bigger jobs (a bathroom refresh, a fence) usually start with a deposit for materials and end with one or more progress invoices. Whichever tool collects the money, make sure the deposit and the final invoice end up in the books once, linked to the same job. FreshBooks lists deposits on every plan; Tradify includes progress invoicing and deposits from Pro; Markate lists progressive invoices with payment schedules. Ask your accountant how they want deposits recorded. For invoicing tools that handle deposits well, see handyman invoicing software.

The options compared

QuickBooks Online: the safest default

QuickBooks Online is what most US accountants use, and most handyman apps sync with it (Jobber from Connect at $139/month, Housecall Pro from Essentials at $189/month, Markate and Tradify on their listed plans; our handyman software that syncs with QuickBooks guide compares the plan and price you need for each). As of October 27, 2026, Simple Start is $38/month for one user, Essentials $85/month for three and Plus $140/month for five, which adds project profitability. There’s a 30-day trial and a QuickBooks Free plan for the very smallest businesses.

To pay subcontractors, QuickBooks Contractor Payments costs $25/month (regular price) with 20 contractors included and $2 per additional contractor, direct deposit and unlimited 1099 e-filing; bundled with Simple Start it’s $50/month. QuickBooks currently advertises introductory discounts; the figures here are the regular prices.

Wave: free to start

Wave’s Starter plan is free, with unlimited estimates and invoices; Pro is $19/month ($190 a year) and adds automatic bank imports. Card payments cost 2.9% + 60¢ on Starter; Pro drops the fixed fee on the first 10 card transactions each month. Bank (ACH) payments are 1% with a $1 minimum, which is cheap on a $2,000 job. Receipt scanning and payroll are paid add-ons.

For a part-time handyman, Wave is hard to beat on price. On many small card payments, though, the 60-cent fixed fee adds up: on 60 payments of $180 a month, that’s $36 in fixed fees alone. Our free handyman software guide covers Wave and the other free options in more detail.

FreshBooks: mileage and deposits built in

FreshBooks includes mileage tracking, estimates and deposits on every plan. Lite is $23/month for 5 billable clients, Plus $43/month for 50 (adds expense receipt capture) and Premium $70/month for unlimited clients (adds bill receipt capture and project profitability). Team members cost $11/month each; cards are 2.9% + 30¢ and ACH 1%. There’s a 30-day trial with no card.

The catch is client limits. A handyman who works mostly for a few landlords, property managers or realtors can live with Plus; one who serves dozens of homeowners a month will need Premium.

Xero: no per-user fees

Xero’s US plans are Early $27/month, Growing $59/month and Established $97/month, with no per-user license fees and W-9 + 1099 management on every plan. Early is limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills a month, which suits a handyman who invoices from a field app (Tradify, for example, integrates with Xero). Project time and costs and mileage claims are on Established. Payroll runs through Gusto at $36/month plus $6 per employee or contractor.

A monthly bookkeeping routine for a handyman business

1. Reconcile bank and card accounts. Match processor payouts to the invoices they cover, and record the processing fees as an expense.
2. Match materials receipts to jobs. Anything left over without a job is either overhead or a cost you forgot to bill.
3. Check job costing. Compare what small repairs, installs and multi-day jobs earned per hour worked. Raise your minimum charge or your rate for the kinds of jobs that don’t pay; our hourly rate calculator helps.
4. Log mileage you haven’t recorded yet.
5. Review unpaid invoices and open deposits. Chase the first; make sure the second are tied to a job.
6. Keep W-9s and contractor payments up to date so January’s 1099s take minutes.
7. Set aside taxes. Move a fixed share of each month’s profit to a separate account; your accountant can suggest the percentage.

Sales tax on materials and labor

Sales tax is where handyman businesses get caught most often, because the rules differ by state and by type of work. In some states you charge tax on materials you sell to the customer; in others you pay tax when you buy the materials and don’t charge it again; some states also tax certain repair labor. The answer can differ between a repair and an improvement to real property. Check with your state department of revenue or your accountant before you set up tax rates, then put them in your field app or accounting software so every invoice is right. Keep collected tax out of your revenue figures.

Which one for your business

Your business	Start with
Part-time or just starting	Wave Starter
Solo or small team, accountant uses QuickBooks	QuickBooks Simple Start + job costing in your field app
Paying subcontractors regularly	QuickBooks + Contractor Payments, or Xero
Few repeat clients (landlords, realtors)	FreshBooks Plus
Office helper or bookkeeper logging in	Xero Growing

Who this guide is for (and who it isn’t)

For: handyman businesses in the US, from part-time owner-operators to small teams with helpers or subcontractors.

Not for: anyone looking for tax advice. Worker classification, sales tax, deductions and 1099 rules depend on your situation and state; ask a qualified accountant.

The bottom line

QuickBooks Online is the safest default for a handyman business, with Contractor Payments ($25/month for 20 contractors) for paying subs and filing 1099s. Wave is the cheapest start, FreshBooks includes mileage and deposits from its cheapest plan but limits clients, and Xero suits businesses with someone in the office. Get job costing from your field app if you can, and check current prices on each vendor’s site: these come from official pages on October 27, 2026.