For a sole trader, the choice turns on one question: are you registered for GST? If you are not, you have no GST to report, and a free plan such as Zoho Books (for revenue under $50,000) or Tyro Accounting, or MYOB Solo at $99 a year, covers invoices and expenses. If you are, software that prepares or lodges your BAS costs about $200 to $450 a year at standard prices, and Hnry will lodge it for you for 1 per cent of your income plus GST.
Every price below was read from the company's own website on 23 September 2026. They are standard rates without introductory offers, shown as each company shows them: Xero, QuickBooks and Zoho say theirs include GST, MYOB's own offer figures show its prices do too, Hnry quotes its fee plus GST, and the others do not say. Balaana is not launched yet, so it is described at the end rather than ranked in the tables.
Which accounting software does a sole trader need?
Three questions sort the field faster than any feature list.
- Are you registered for GST? You have to register once your turnover reaches the $75,000 GST threshold. Until you do, there is no GST to report, and a plan that sends invoices and tracks expenses is enough.
- Who lodges the BAS? Some software lodges it with the ATO once you have checked it, some prepares the figures for you to lodge yourself, and a few services lodge it for you. The less you do, the more it costs.
- Do you pay anyone? Payroll is where prices climb. Xero includes one person on its cheapest plan, MYOB and QuickBooks charge per employee, and Rounded does not run payroll at all.
What does each option cost?
Standard monthly prices for the cheapest plan of each, with the free plans first.
| Software | Price | BAS |
|---|---|---|
| Sole | Free with limits after 30 days, paid from $14.99 a month | Advertises automated BAS, lodging not stated |
| Zoho Books | Free under $50,000 revenue, paid from $19.80 a month | Prepares it, you lodge |
| Tyro Accounting | Free plan, paid from $29.95 a month | Lodged for you on the $119 plan |
| MYOB | From $11 a month (Solo) | Lodges from Lite, $35 a month |
| Rounded | From $23.95 a month | Pro, $29.95, prepares it and you lodge |
| Reckon One | From $24 a month | Reports the GST for it |
| QuickBooks Online | From $33 a month | Lodges, on every plan |
| Xero | From $37 a month (Ignite) | Lodges, on every plan |
| Hnry | 1% of income plus GST, no monthly fee | Lodged for you |
Two of these limit invoices on their cheaper plans. Xero Ignite allows 20 invoices a month, and Zoho's free plan allows 1,000 a year. MYOB, QuickBooks, Hnry, Tyro Accounting, Sole and Reckon advertise unlimited invoices, and Rounded does not state a limit.
Which is cheapest once you are registered for GST?
Once you have a BAS to lodge, compare what a year costs on the cheapest plan that handles it. Standard prices, subscriptions cheapest first, then the two services:
| Plan | A year | The BAS |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho Books Standard | $198 billed yearly, or $237.60 monthly | Prepares it, you lodge |
| Reckon One Accounting Plus | $264.96 billed yearly, or $288 monthly | Reports the GST for it |
| MYOB Business Lite | $315 billed yearly, or $420 monthly | Lodges it |
| Rounded Pro | $329.95 billed yearly, or $359.40 monthly | Prepares it, you lodge |
| QuickBooks Simple Start | $396 | Lodges it |
| Xero Ignite | $444, with 20 invoices a month | Lodges it |
| Hnry | 1% of income plus GST, at most $1,650 | Lodges it for you |
| Tyro Accounting, Done-for-you BAS & Tax | $1,428 | Lodges it for you |
If your revenue is under $50,000, Zoho's free plan also generates a BAS, which takes the cheapest option to nothing. Hnry and Tyro Accounting cost more because they are a service as well as software: both lodge your tax return as well as the BAS. Hnry's fee is 1 per cent of every payment into your Hnry account plus GST, so on $80,000 of income it is $880, and it stops rising at $1,650.
What is the catch with the free plans?
Three of these have a free plan, and each one draws its line somewhere different.
- Zoho Books is free while your revenue is under $50,000 a financial year, for up to 1,000 invoices a year, one user plus your accountant, and no add-ons. It tracks GST and generates a BAS, which you lodge yourself.
- Tyro Accounting, the product formerly called Thriday, has a free plan with unlimited invoices and quotes, unlimited bank accounts and GST tracking. Help with the BAS itself starts on the paid plans.
- Sole advertises its free plan as free forever, with limits that apply after 30 days. We could not load its plan-by-plan limits when we read its site, so check them before you move your books.
Free is sold in several different ways, and what free actually means in accounting software explains how to tell which one you are being offered.
Which ones lodge your BAS for you?
There are three levels of help, and it is worth knowing which one you are paying for.
- Lodges from the software. Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB Business Lite and above send the BAS to the ATO once you have checked the figures. MYOB Solo cannot.
- Prepares it, you lodge. Zoho Books and Rounded Pro work out the figures, and you lodge them with the ATO yourself or through your tax agent.
- Lodged for you. Hnry and Tyro Accounting's Done-for-you plan lodge the BAS on your behalf, along with your tax return.
Reckon One reports the GST for your BAS, and Sole advertises automated BAS and GST tracking, but neither says on its pricing page whether it lodges the statement, so ask before you rely on it. If the BAS itself is new to you, what a BAS is and what goes on it covers the basics.
Is Wave available in Australia?
No, although it still appears in plenty of lists of free accounting software. Wave's help centre, in an article updated on 9 September 2026, says it now focuses only on the US and Canada, and that users elsewhere can no longer send invoices or reminders through it. A list that recommends Wave to an Australian sole trader is out of date. What a Wave user in Australia can do now covers moving your books out and the free options that replace it.
Where does Balaana fit?
Balaana is not launched yet, which is why it is not in the tables. Its free plan has unlimited invoices and quotes, unlimited clients, expense and receipt capture, GST tracked on every transaction, a BAS summary each quarter and a profit and loss statement, for one user. The Plus plan is $7 a month and adds payment collection, a bank feed and up to three users. Balaana prepares the BAS figures and you lodge them, and it does not run payroll, inventory or multiple currencies.
If you are weighing up the two biggest names, Xero vs MYOB puts every plan side by side, and our pricing page has Balaana's full plan split.
Related reading
- Xero vs MYOB, plan by plan
- What each Xero plan costs
- What each MYOB plan costs
- What each QuickBooks plan costs
- Xero alternatives, and what each one gives up
- What "free" actually means in accounting software
- What is a BAS?
Frequently asked questions
It depends on whether you are registered for GST. If you are not, a free plan such as Zoho Books, for revenue under $50,000, or Tyro Accounting, or MYOB Solo at $99 a year, covers invoicing and expenses. If you are, software that prepares or lodges your BAS costs about $200 to $450 a year at standard prices, from Zoho Books Standard at $198 billed yearly to Xero Ignite at $444. If you would rather someone else lodge it, Hnry charges 1 per cent of your income plus GST, capped at $1,500 plus GST a year.
Yes. Zoho Books is free for businesses with revenue under $50,000 a financial year, for up to 1,000 invoices a year. Tyro Accounting, formerly Thriday, has a free plan with unlimited invoices and GST tracking. Sole advertises a free plan with limits that apply after 30 days. Balaana, which is not launched yet, also has a free plan. Each draws its limit in a different place, so check the one that will bind first.
No. You must keep records of your income and expenses for five years, but you do not have to use software to do it, and a spreadsheet works while you are small. Software earns its keep once you are registered for GST, because it tracks the GST on each transaction and produces the figures for your BAS.
Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB Business Lite and above lodge the BAS from the software once you have checked it. Hnry and the Done-for-you plan from Tyro Accounting lodge it on your behalf, along with your tax return. Zoho Books and Rounded prepare the figures and you lodge them yourself. MYOB Solo tracks GST but cannot lodge a BAS.
No. Wave says in its help centre that it now focuses only on the US and Canada, and that users elsewhere can no longer send invoices or reminders through it. Older lists of free accounting software still recommend it, so check the date on any list you read.
Sources
- Xero, Pricing Plans and its Ignite plan page: plan prices including GST, the Ignite invoice limit and payroll headcount.
- MYOB, MYOB pricing and its AI BAS page: plan prices, BAS capability and the payroll add-on, and, read on 2 October 2026, totals stated including GST.
- Intuit, QuickBooks Online pricing: plan prices including GST, BAS lodgement on every plan and the payroll add-on.
- Reckon, Reckon One: plan prices and GST reporting.
- Rounded, pricing and its help article on activity statements: plan prices, and how the BAS is lodged.
- Hnry, pricing: the 1 per cent fee, its cap, and what Hnry lodges.
- Tyro, Tyro Accounting: plans and prices, and the change of name from Thriday.
- Zoho, Zoho Books pricing: plan prices including GST, and the free plan's limits.
- Sole, Sole for small business: free plan terms and starting prices.
- Wave, help centre: service outside the US and Canada.
Every figure was read from the company's own site on 23 September 2026, not from a third party. Yearly totals are the monthly price times twelve, worked out by us. Products whose Australian prices we could not confirm on the day, such as FreshBooks and Sage, are left out rather than guessed at. Prices move, so check the live page before you decide, and treat anything here older than a quarter as out of date.