If you’re self-employed in Canada, you’ve probably heard of QuickBooks. It’s the default name that comes up when you start looking for accounting software. A lot of people try QuickBooks Self-Employed because it seems like the safe choice.
But once you get into it, you might realize it feels a bit much. The interface is built around U.S. tax rules, some features don’t work well in Canada, and you’re often paying for tools you don’t actually need.
That’s why we built Accountly. It’s designed for the way Canadians work, especially if you’re running a solo business.
Made for Canadians, not just compatible
QuickBooks Self-Employed is a U.S.-first product. It can track income and expenses, but when it comes to Canadian-specific needs like GST or HST, or preparing for your T2125 tax form, it falls short.
Accountly is built for those exact things. It helps you stay organized, keep your receipts, and figure out what you owe come tax time in a way that actually makes sense for Canadian freelancers and gig workers.
What’s the difference?
Here’s a simple breakdown of how the two tools compare:
When QuickBooks Self-Employed might make sense
There are situations where QuickBooks Self-Employed can be a decent fit. If you’re based in the U.S., or already using other QuickBooks tools for your business, it might be easier to stick with it. It also works if you have an accountant who’s familiar with their system and prefers to stay in that ecosystem.
But for Canadians working on their own, it can feel like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Who Accountly is for
Accountly is made for people who just want to keep things simple. If you:
- Work for yourself
- Don’t want to overpay for features you won’t use
- Want to understand your finances without hiring a bookkeeper
- Are looking for something built for Canadian tax rules
Then Accountly is probably going to feel like a better fit.
Why we built Accountly
Before we started building Accountly, we talked to a lot of self-employed Canadians. Freelancers, gig workers, and small business owners. Over and over, we kept hearing the same things.
People were spending hours trying to organize receipts. Some were paying their accountants extra just to clean up their books. Others were stuck using spreadsheets or paying too much for tools that felt confusing or built for someone else.
Most of them just wanted something simple that helped them stay organized and made tax time less stressful.
So that’s what we focused on.
Accountly helps you track your income and expenses, upload receipts, stay on top of GST and HST, and prepare for taxes without the hassle. It does exactly what you need it to do, and it costs less than $10 dollars a month.
