Best Accounting Software for Sole Traders (Australia, 2026)

Features and plan structures reviewed August 2026. Prices move often - check each vendor's site before you buy.

Comparison table

Prices below are placeholders pending a manual check against each vendor's own pricing page - Australian plan names and promotional discounts change several times a year, so anything marked [verify] must be confirmed before you rely on it. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.

Xero

Xero is the default in Australian small business, which matters more than any feature list: your accountant almost certainly works in it daily, so your file gets reviewed and your return prepared without a translation step. The entry plan covers invoicing, bank feeds, GST tracking and a BAS report, and the mobile app captures receipts. It is bookkeeping software, not a tax service - it prepares the numbers, you or your agent lodge.

Pros

• Practically every Australian accountant and bookkeeper can open your file, which cuts fees and errors at tax time.
• Bank feeds and reconciliation are mature, so GST coding stays accurate quarter after quarter.
• Scales cleanly - when you take on your first employee, Single Touch Payroll is a plan upgrade rather than a migration.

Cons

• The cheapest plan caps how many invoices and bills you can send each month, and that cap bites sooner than most sole traders expect.
• Price rises are regular and unavoidable - budget for the tier above the one you sign up on.
• It does not lodge anything for you: the BAS still has to be submitted, and an unlodged BAS still attracts penalties.

Best for: GST-registered sole traders who want the industry-standard file their accountant can pick up instantly. Full head-to-head in Xero vs MYOB.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks' sole trader and simple-start tiers are usually the cheapest genuinely BAS-capable option, and Intuit discounts aggressively for the first year. Feature-for-feature at the entry level it is close to Xero: invoicing, bank feeds, GST tracking, receipt capture, mileage. The trade-off is a slightly smaller pool of Australian advisers who use it as their primary ledger.

Pros

• Typically the lowest sticker price among the full-feature platforms, with heavy introductory discounts.
• Unlimited invoicing on most tiers, so you are not rationing invoices the way Xero's cheapest plan forces.
• Strong mobile app for receipt photos and vehicle logbook tracking on the road.

Cons

• Introductory pricing ends and the renewal figure is materially higher - check the ongoing rate, not the first-year rate.
• Fewer Australian accountants use it day to day, so you may be charged for the conversion if you later switch.
• Some GST and BAS reporting steps feel less Australian-native than Xero or MYOB.

Best for: Price-sensitive sole traders who are GST-registered and comfortable lodging their own BAS. Detail in QuickBooks vs Xero.

MYOB Business Lite

MYOB Business Lite is the entry rung of a long-established Australian platform, with GST and BAS reporting built for local rules and lodgment paths through the product. It is a reasonable choice if your bookkeeper or your industry already runs on MYOB, and a slightly harder sell otherwise - the Lite tier's quotas are tight and the interface is less loved than Xero's.

Pros

• Australian-built GST, BAS and payroll compliance, with lodgment supported inside the platform.
• Well established with bookkeepers, particularly in trades and regional practices.
• Clear upgrade path to payroll and inventory when the business grows past sole-trader shape.

Cons

• Lite tiers limit invoice and quote volumes, so growth pushes you up a plan quickly.
• The interface and bank-feed setup are generally rated behind Xero and QuickBooks for first-timers.
• Fewer third-party app integrations than Xero if you want to bolt on job or time tracking.

Best for: Sole traders whose existing bookkeeper works in MYOB, or who expect employees soon.

Hnry

Hnry is a different category dressed as software. Your clients pay into a Hnry account; Hnry calculates and withholds income tax, GST, HELP and optionally super on every payment, passes on the rest, and lodges your BAS and tax return. It structurally prevents the set-aside failure that causes most sole-trader tax debt - and it charges a percentage of income received rather than a flat monthly fee.

Pros

• Handles tax and GST lodgment entirely - BAS and your annual return are filed for you, not just prepared.
• You cannot spend money that has already been withheld, which removes the single biggest cause of ATO debt for sole traders.
• No separate accountant fee, no plan quotas, and nothing to reconcile at 30 June.

Cons

• It charges a percentage of income (capped annually), so on higher revenue it costs far more than a $30 subscription plus an accountant.
• Expense-heavy operators - tradies with vehicles, tools and materials - get less value, because the model rewards remittance discipline rather than deduction craft.
• Your income has to flow through Hnry, which is a real change to how you invoice and get paid.

Best for: Expense-light freelancers and contractors who would rather pay a premium than ever think about BAS again.

Reckon One

Reckon One sells in modules, so a sole trader can buy invoicing and GST tracking without paying for payroll, projects or inventory. That makes it the cheapest paid entry point for someone who is GST-registered but has genuinely simple books. The trade-off is a smaller ecosystem and less adviser familiarity.

Pros

• Modular pricing means the monthly cost can be a fraction of a full Xero or MYOB plan.
• Australian product with GST and BAS reporting designed for local rules.
• No invoice quotas of the kind that force upgrades on entry-tier competitors.

Cons

• Fewer accountants use it, so handover or migration may cost you later.
• Useful features sit behind extra modules, and stacking modules erodes the price advantage.
• Smaller app marketplace and fewer integrations than the big three.

Best for: Budget-focused GST-registered sole traders who only need invoicing plus GST tracking.

Free options: Wave and ATO myDeductions

The truly free row has two answers. The ATO's myDeductions tool inside the ATO app photographs receipts, tracks a vehicle logbook and pre-fills the deductions into your tax return - it is free, official, and enough for a lot of sole traders under the GST threshold. Wave adds free invoicing and basic accounting, but its Australian GST and bank-feed support is limited, so treat it as invoicing with records attached rather than as BAS software.

Pros

• Zero cost, which is the right price when your affairs are a bank account and twenty expenses a year.
• myDeductions data flows straight into your ATO pre-fill, cutting the work at lodgment time.
• No plan quotas, contracts or renewal price rises.

Cons

• Neither option lodges a BAS, and neither replaces GST-capable software once you are registered.
• Discipline is the product - free tools do not chase you, so records slip and years get missed.
• Export quality is poorer, and your accountant's time reconstructing it can cost more than a subscription would have.

Best for: Sole traders under the GST threshold with simple, low-volume expenses.

Xero vs MYOB for sole traders

For a sole trader, the honest difference is not features - both do invoicing, feeds, GST and BAS reporting at the entry level. It is who else touches your file. Xero's dominance among Australian accountants means a cheaper, faster handover, more bookkeepers who can fix a mess without learning your setup, and a bigger app ecosystem if you later add time or job tracking.

MYOB earns the nod in two situations: your bookkeeper already works in it, or you are close to hiring and want payroll and lodgment handled inside one Australian platform. Otherwise the invoice quotas on Lite and the steeper interface make it the harder recommendation for a one-person business. The longer version, including migration cost, is in Xero vs MYOB.

Do sole traders actually need accounting software?

Honestly, no - not all of them. If you are under the GST threshold, invoice a handful of clients, and have few expenses, a clean business bank account plus a spreadsheet and the ATO's myDeductions app is genuinely enough. Nothing in the tax law requires software; it requires records you can substantiate.

Software starts earning its keep at three trigger points: you register for GST and now have a quarterly BAS to get right, you invoice regularly enough that chasing payment matters, or you take on an employee and need Single Touch Payroll. Coding GST accurately across a quarter repays a $30 subscription on its own. Before those triggers, buying software mostly buys the feeling of being organised. What actually prevents tax debt is setting money aside on every invoice - and if you have already fallen behind, a subscription is not the catch-up.

What about doing BAS yourself?

Plenty of sole traders lodge their own BAS successfully - the risk is not the form, it is missing the deadline or mis-coding GST, so start with the BAS due dates and the lodgment concessions available through a registered agent. If you would rather have the coding done properly from the start, our guide to online accounting for small business covers setup, bank feeds and what to hand your accountant.

General information only - not personal tax, financial or legal advice. Consider your own circumstances or speak to a registered tax agent. Remission of penalties or interest and payment plans are decisions of the ATO and outcomes can't be guaranteed.