Should I track time if I charge flat fees?

Yes — for capacity calibration, scope creep detection, and evidence for client negotiations. The SE tax obligation doesn't change with your pricing model. And understanding how long each engagement actually takes lets you price future projects accurately.

What is self-employment tax?

SE tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of net self-employment earnings, covering both the employee and employer portions of Social Security and Medicare. At $100K net profit, this is approximately $14,000-15,000 on top of income tax — money that was withheld automatically when you were employed.

When do I need a CPA as a solo consultant?

When net profit approaches $60K-80K (S-corp election threshold), when you have international clients, multiple revenue streams, or revenue above $150K. Below $80K with a clean single-income situation, self-filing is reasonable.

Business Infrastructure · Finance Layer · Brief 40

Tax & Accounting OS for Solo Consultants:
QuickBooks Solopreneur vs FreshBooks vs Keeper (2026).

Taxes are not an April event — they are a year-round operating loop. The right software automates the capture → categorise → estimate → file pipeline. QuickBooks Solopreneur for TurboTax filers. FreshBooks for CPA-partnered solos. Keeper for consultants who suspect they're leaving deductions on the table. Updated May 2026 with current pricing and the QBSE discontinuation note.

Updated: May 2026 · Pricing verified

The year-round system

Taxes are not an April event. They are a year-round operating loop.

The four-stage loop runs continuously: expense capture → categorisation → quarterly estimate → safe-harbour payment. The right software automates as much of that loop as possible. The wrong software — or no software — means doing the work manually, usually in a panic the week before a quarterly deadline.

Read this first — the self-employment tax surprise

Self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings, covering both the employee and employer portions of Social Security and Medicare. A solo consultant earning $100K net profit owes approximately $14,000–$15,000 in SE tax on top of income tax — money that was withheld automatically when they were employed.

The quarterly payment obligation: if you expect to owe $1,000+ in taxes for the year, you must pay estimated taxes quarterly (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15). Underpayment generates penalties plus interest. The 50% SE tax deduction — you can deduct half your SE tax as an above-the-line deduction — is frequently missed by first-time self-filers.

Tool snapshots

Three tools, three different jobs.

QuickBooks Solopreneur (formerly Self-Employed) — Built for the TurboTax Filer

Important note: QuickBooks Self-Employed is discontinued for new users as of 2024. Existing subscribers remain. New users sign up for QuickBooks Solopreneur, which builds on QBSE's core features with an improved interface. Pricing: Free (very limited — 2 invoices/mo, 5 mileage trips); Solopreneur: ~$10/mo introductory → ~$20/mo standard. QuickBooks Live Tax add-on available for CPA review and filing.

Schedule C expense categorisation built into the core product — every transaction maps to an IRS Schedule C line item automatically. Real-time quarterly estimated tax calculator that updates as income and expenses change. GPS mileage tracking via mobile app. Personal/business expense separation via swipe. The TurboTax integration is the killer feature — one-click data handoff from bookkeeping to filing eliminates double entry. If you're not using TurboTax, QuickBooks Solopreneur's tax-specific advantage narrows considerably.

Best for: Sole proprietors and single-member LLC owners earning $40K–$150K who file their own taxes via TurboTax. The TurboTax ecosystem integration is the primary reason to choose this over alternatives.

FreshBooks — Best Accounting Layer for CPA-Partnered Solos

FreshBooks is covered as a billing and invoicing platform in the FreshBooks vs Wave comparison. This article focuses on its accounting and tax-layer capabilities. FreshBooks supports double-entry bookkeeping, a proper balance sheet, and an accountant access role — a stronger full-featured accounting suite than QuickBooks Solopreneur. Pricing: Lite $19/mo (no double-entry), Plus $33/mo (double-entry, bank reconciliation), Premium $60/mo (1099 contractor management).

Clean accountant access: invite a CPA directly with role-based permissions, no CSV export needed. P&L, balance sheet, and general ledger exportable for tax prep. What FreshBooks does not do: no quarterly estimated tax calculator, no TurboTax integration, no mileage tracking. FreshBooks produces reports for a CPA; it does not hand off to the filing layer.

Best for: Consultants who already use FreshBooks for invoicing (zero switching cost), or who work closely with a CPA and want clean, professional-grade books to hand off at year-end.

Keeper — AI Deduction Finder for the Missed Write-Off Problem

Keeper's differentiator is AI-powered expense categorisation — it connects to bank and credit card accounts, scans transaction history, and surfaces potential write-offs that a manual review would miss. It is primarily a deduction-finding and tax-filing tool, not a full accounting system. The retroactive scan use case: run it on last year's transactions before you set up for this year.

Plan	Price	Key unlock
Monthly (tracking only)	$20/mo	AI deduction scanning, no filing
Standard (annual)	$199/yr	Federal + state filing included, 10 linked accounts, quarterly payment support
Premium (annual)	$399/yr	Dedicated accountant, quarterly estimates filed for you, audit support

What Keeper is not: not a bookkeeping system — no invoicing, no P&L report, no balance sheet, no bank reconciliation. Cannot replace FreshBooks or QuickBooks for billing. Best for: Consultants whose primary tax pain is missed deductions and annual filing; the $199/yr all-in plan is the lowest cost for consultants who want both tracking and filing handled.

All-in cost comparison

What you actually pay through filing.

Setup	Annual tracking + filing cost	Filing included?
Keeper Standard	$199/yr	Yes (federal + state)
QuickBooks Solopreneur + TurboTax SE	~$418/yr	No (TurboTax separate ~$178)
FreshBooks Plus + CPA	$396 + $1,500–$2,500 CPA	No (CPA separate)
Wave (free) + CPA	$0 + $1,500–$2,500 CPA	No (CPA separate)
Bench Premium	~$4,800/yr	Yes (sole proprietor)

Decision framework

Four questions to find your tool.

Q1 — Do you file your own taxes or work with a CPA?

Self-file → QuickBooks Solopreneur (if in TurboTax ecosystem) or Keeper (lower all-in cost, AI deduction capture). CPA → FreshBooks (if using for invoicing) or Wave; skip the TurboTax integration argument entirely.

Q2 — Is your primary pain "missing deductions" or "disorganised at year-end"?

Missing deductions → Keeper (the AI scan of historical transactions is the specific solution). Disorganised year-end / quarterly estimate uncertainty → QuickBooks Solopreneur (real-time estimate calculator, Schedule C categorisation all year).

Q3 — What is your net annual profit?

Below $80K, simple structure → Any of the three primary tools work; Keeper Standard at $199/yr is often the best value. $80K–$150K → QuickBooks Solopreneur or FreshBooks + CPA; complexity warrants a CPA consultation. Above $150K → FreshBooks + CPA, or Bench; the accounting layer needs to be CPA-grade.

Q4 — Are you already using FreshBooks for invoicing?

Yes → The marginal cost of using FreshBooks for accounting is nearly zero. Add CPA access and use its P&L and reconciliation features rather than adding a second tool. No → Evaluate QuickBooks Solopreneur or Keeper on their merits.

The S-corp question

When software stops being enough.

Below $80K net profit with a clean, single-income situation, self-filing is reasonable. Above $100K, or with any structural complexity, CPA engagement is worth the cost. The S-corp election threshold — where FICA savings exceed compliance costs — is commonly modelled at approximately $60K–$80K net profit, though this varies by state. Verify with a CPA before making the election; it requires payroll, Form 941 filing, Form 1120-S, and a CPA relationship. QuickBooks Solopreneur and Keeper Standard are insufficient for S-corp structures — Keeper Business ($1,199/yr) or QuickBooks Online (not Solopreneur) are the paths forward at that level.

Automatic CPA territory: S-corp election, international clients, multiple revenue streams, revenue above $150K. At $150K+ net profit, a CPA charging $1,500–$3,000/year for a straightforward sole proprietor return is nearly always the correct ROI decision.