Last updated: March 27th, 2025
No matter how small your business is, you don’t want to look like an amateur, lose sight of whether you’re actually making a profit, or mess up your taxes.
I’ve been running my freelance business — using FreshBooks for invoicing and expense management — for over 10 years. I’ve learnt a lot that time, but there’s always room to refine how I operate.
So I was curious about the ‘new kid on the block’ that’s targeted squarely at sole traders — Solo by MYOB.
| Key Takeaways. |
|---|
| Solo by MYOB is a visually appealing, elegant mobile app ideal for sole traders that need to invoice and accept payments on the go. |
| FreshBooks offers a more in-depth invoicing, time tracking and reporting solution, suited to service-based businesses. |
| Solo is cheaper so it’s ideal for those starting out, as the app’s feature set will likely grow with you. |
MYOB Solo vs FreshBooks: My Quick & Dirty Verdict.
MYOB (the fully featured product) has always had the edge over FreshBooks – if you have more than ~5 staff and/or complex accounting needs.
And now, with the launch of Solo in late 2024, MYOB offers a purely sole trader-focused product.
Important!
You can tell Solo ‘gets’ sole traders. A complex web interface? No thank you. Just a ridiculously easy-to-use app with the most vital accounting functions, so you can get paid and record expenses on the go.
FreshBooks, meanwhile, is more comprehensive than Solo – but won’t overwhelm you if you don’t have bookkeeping experience.
It offers a web-based version plus a native app.
(Related: Best Accounting Software For Small Businesses).
The entry-level tier includes a depth of features that Solo doesn’t have. They aren’t critical, but definitely useful — like time tracking, estimates, recurring invoices, and the ability to accept deposits.
But it could be overkill for some sole traders. And the lowest tier of FreshBooks is still more than double the price of Solo ($24 vs $11 per month).
It comes down to your required functionality and budget. If you need:
- A no-fuss app to streamline invoicing, track income and expenses, and your tax is simple — Solo is better value.
- More granular control, more flexible ways to engage customers, and detailed reporting, you’ll prefer FreshBooks.
| Solo by MYOB Is Best For: | FreshBooks Is Best For: |
|---|---|
| Beginner sole traders with a simple business model upgrading from spreadsheets. | Sole traders with growth plans but no accounting know-how. |
| Handling your admin quickly and outside an office setting. | Professional services and project-based offerings. |
| Budget-conscious solopreneurs. | People who want nuanced control and reports. |
1. Set-Up Speed.
| Solo by MYOB | 9/10 |
| FreshBooks | 8/10 |
Both products offer a standard kind of sign-up experience you’d expect from modern software-as-a-service companies.
You can either pay immediately for FreshBooks or do a 30-day free trial without providing your credit/debit card details. You can also sign up using your Google or Apple credentials if you’d prefer not to create a new login.
You’ll get complete access to all of its features in that time, and no unexpected bill.
FreshBooks asks for details about your earnings, your industry, how you operate and deliver services — it feels onerous just to get access to a trial.
(Related: Solo vs Quickbooks: Which Is Best For Sole Traders)?
Signing up for Solo is easier.
You start with a 14-day free trial period, but you will need to add your payment information (and remember to cancel if you don’t want to keep using it).
Then you’re prompted to download the Solo mobile app (iOS or Android) and log-in using the account details you just created.
With Solo’s app, only one user can access the account, while you can add additional team members in FreshBooks (at $16 per user per month).
2. Usability And Mobile App.
| Solo by MYOB | 8/10 |
| FreshBooks | 8/10 |
It’s clear from the online reviews of FreshBooks that people love the look and feel of its interface.
Personally, I find it a breath of fresh air compared to many other apps I’m forced to interact with to run my business.
The mobile app is also intuitive to use and has all the core functionality. It’s handy for being able to mark invoices as paid as soon as I’m alerted by my bank that funds have hit my account.
A favourite element of the FreshBooks UI: the first dashboard you see upon signing in shows your outstanding revenue:
- How much money you’re currently owed.
- The timeframe for when you can expect to get paid (e.g., 0-30 days).
- And how much of that is from overdue invoices that you need to chase.
If you ever get stuck, there’s Help Centre content, a chatbot, and email support tickets.
Solo is a mobile-first application — minimising the need for any extra hardware and meaning you can update your records in real-time from wherever you work.
On the plus side, it’s easy to find what you need, because the features are pared down compared to full stack accounting software.
It takes this mobile-first convenience a step further with the ability to securely take in-person payments using your phone.
Customers can easily tap their card or mobile wallet to your phone — no need for a separate EFTPOS machine or payment terminal.
I’m an unusual millennial in that I don’t like texting.
But I don’t think I’m alone in finding it fiddly to fill in forms via mobile — so adding client details in the Solo app wasn’t fun.
Important!
Both the Solo and FreshBooks mobile apps let you set up biometric sign-in to avoid entering a password and doing two-factor authentication every time.
If you’re keen to professionalise your approach, yet do minimal admin and you’re rarely chained to a desk, Solo can meet your needs.
I can see it’d be perfect for sole traders who:
- Do manual work, such as a craft or lawn-mowing business.
- Deliver services in-person at customer’s home or workplace.
- Sell goods at physical venues, outdoor markets and events.
- Have a small stream of freelance work as a side hustle.
Solo has an attractively designed user interface, with the essentials on the home screen — capture expenses, create invoice, or add a customer/supplier.
Plus, you can see cashflow and overdue invoices at a glance.
3. Invoicing And Payments.
| Solo by MYOB | 8/10 |
| FreshBooks | 9/10 |
Creating a new invoice is a breeze in both apps, and you can create unlimited invoices.
You select your customer, add a due date, describe what you delivered, add the fee (with or without GST), and hit send.
Important!
You can apply your business’ brand to every invoice easily with both Solo and FreshBooks by uploading a logo and selecting a theme colour.
Critically, both apps help you automate sending payment reminders to customers:
- Solo lets you toggle reminders on when you create an invoice. If you opt for reminders, they’ll be sent three days before due date, on the due date, and when it’s overdue by one day.
- FreshBooks lets you select if and exactly when reminder/s are sent on each invoice, plus you can set up universal reminder settings for all invoices or specific clients.
Accepting payments by bank deposit is straightforward in both apps — but what if you want to offer a variety of payment methods?
- Solo enables in-person contactless payments using your mobile. Customers can pay with credit/debit cards or mobile wallets (e.g., Apple Pay on a smart watch). You have to apply and be approved and extra fees apply. But it saves you having to buy/rent an EFTPOS machine or card reader.
- FreshBooks lets you integrate with Stripe and/or PayPal to accept online payments via credit/debit card. You can also generate a link for payment to embed on a website. Its ‘Advanced Payments’ enables in-person credit card charging and subscription-based billing (at an extra $28 per month).
Important!
For mobile payments, Solo takes 1.6% of the value plus a flat fee of $0.30 per transaction. That’s roughly on par with popular alternatives — Square Payments charges 1.6% per transaction.
That’s reinforced by one of Solo’s unique features — the ability to ‘share’ invoices with people via other apps, in addition to sending via email. For instance, through text, Messenger, or WhatsApp.
You can connect your bank account within both apps to automatically track any business income (and capture online/card purchases as expenses).
4. Reporting And Tax Management.
| Solo by MYOB | 8/10 |
| FreshBooks | 9/10 |
Again, Solo isn’t designed to be an accounting solution like FreshBooks — so it’s naturally less focused on reports.
Solo also offers profit and loss reporting and a general ledger (list of all transactions).
FreshBooks offers all that too.
And depending on the subscription tier you choose, you can also get more detailed break-downs of spending and income, double-entry accounting, bank reconciliation, and filter reports by client.
Both apps let you download reports to review yourself, or share with others like your accountant.
5. Value For Money.
| Solo by MYOB | 9/10 |
| FreshBooks | 7/10 |
Solo is in front by a huge margin with its sharp introductory pricing. You’ll pay $12 for the first 12 months, including 2 bank feeds and unlimited invoices.
The pricing will roll over to $11/month after the initial 12 month period is up.
Important!
This offer doesn’t include additional features like Tap To Pay.
FreshBook’s cheapest plan (Lite), meanwhile, is $24 per month, with the next tier (Plus) setting you back $36 per month.
The company will sweeten the deal by discouning your first 3 months by 50%. This is nice, but nowhere near as aggressive as Solo’s pricing.
Moverover, on FreshBook’s Lite plan, you can only create up to five clients.
Important!
Unless you’re constantly working with new people, and can delete and replace your 5 clients, that’s not enough.
Realistically, most sole operators looking to build a network of regular, paying clients — like a consultant, tradie, or beautician — will need to upgrade to a $36 per month plan on FreshBooks.
Clearly, Solo is a smarter choice if you have a narrow focus on digitising invoicing and keeping track of business payments and receipts.
MYOB Solo vs FreshBooks: My Conclusion.
Solo by MYOB neatly provides the essentials for invoicing and managing physical receipts.
FreshBooks has more to offer, but is more complex – and its higher price point reflects that.
Important!
Solo by MYOB is so new – it’s still being refined by MYOB’s team, which is open to ideas and highly responsive via the app’s built-in community forum.
With the backing of MYOB, you can be confident that more functionality will become available in Solo soon.
If and when advanced features come to fruition, it could make Solo harder to overlook.
Another factor that could sway some business owners is that MYOB is an Australian company, whereas FreshBooks is based in North America.
I’m a freelancer who spends my days WFH.
Having experienced the more granular control and extended features within FreshBooks — and not having any major complaints — I’d be unlikely to switch to Solo.
But if I was a sole trader who is usually on-the-run, a less expensive and less complex invoicing tool like Solo by MYOB would definitely be at the top of my list.
Jody
