Xero

Xero covers the parts of bookkeeping a creator actually meets: invoices, bank reconciliation, expenses and the reports an accountant asks for in January. Nothing in it assumes you have taken an accounting class. There is no free plan, and the cheapest tier stops at twenty invoices a month, which a busy freelancer clears by the third week.

Early is $25 a month and caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills, which is the tier most solo creators want and the one they outgrow first. Growing is $55 and lifts both caps. Established is $90 and adds multiple currencies, project costing and expense claims. Xero runs a rolling promotion on the first six months, so the first bill is often a tenth of the list price and the fourth one is not.

A creator whose income has outgrown a spreadsheet and who pays other people. Somebody with one revenue stream and no contractors is paying for machinery they will not touch.