

Ask HN: Best Account Software for small ISV? - cmalpeli

I've been using Quickbooks for years (ugh!) - i'm looking at Xero and Freshbooks.  Does anyone have experience for either of these?  I run a few websites, including a SaaS based business.  Looking for something simple/elegant to use.
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ScottWhigham
The advantage of QB, for my small software training company, is that there is
no longer a learning curve and there is no future cost with it. Once you've
paid for it, that's it. We're still running a QB 2008 package and it's fine.
We paid something like $150 back then for it. It does the basics that a small
ISV would need - credits and debits, invoicing.

When I look at Xero or Freshbooks or others, the recurring cost is just
outrageous by comparison. The cheapest plans they offer are $240/year. When I
look at what I get vs. the cost, it's just not worth it for my business. Over
the past four years, I've invested $150 into Quickbooks. If I used Freskbooks,
for ex, for four years, I'm looking at a $960 cost. I don't need features that
they offer so it makes no sense for my business to pay that recurring cost
(time tracking, iPad apps, etc). Of course, there are coupons/promotions that
I _might_ be able to take advantage of one time but regardless the recurring
cost is too much. QB2008 was solid enough that I struggle to think, "What
would it take for me to upgrade to the new version of QB?" I can't think of a
killer feature, for my business, that's worth another $190 (the new price) let
alone $240/year in perpetuity.

