Income, expenses, and quarterly tax estimates — all in one place.
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If you run a one-person business and you're using QuickBooks Online at $35/month, you're probably using 8% of the features and paying for the other 92%. This bookkeeper tracks income, expenses, Schedule C categorization, and quarterly tax estimates for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. It does what 90% of solo businesses actually need — and stops at the line where "real" accounting starts (payroll, inventory, multi-entity, accrual basis).
Sole proprietors, single-member LLCs, freelancers, contractors, consultants. Anyone running a Schedule C business with revenue under $250K and no employees. If you have employees or inventory, you need real accounting software. If you don't, you need THIS.
1. Set your tax year and target tax rate. Default is the current calendar year and 22% set-aside. Adjust if your bracket is higher.
2. Add every income event. Date, customer name, amount, type. Each entry takes 15 seconds. Do it as you go — Friday's "let me catch up on the week" sessions ALWAYS turn into 2-hour reconstructions.
3. Add every expense. The categories match Schedule C exactly: advertising, car & truck, commissions, contract labor, insurance, legal & professional, office, supplies, taxes, travel, meals (50% deductible), utilities, other. Pick the category at entry time, not at tax time.
4. Review your monthly P&L. The tool shows income, expenses, and net profit per month. Compare January-to-January to see trend. If a month is anomalously low, check whether you stopped sending invoices or stopped following up on collections.
5. Watch the quarterly tax number. Top-right of the dashboard. The tool runs (net profit × tax rate) and divides by 4. That's roughly what you should set aside each quarter for estimated tax. Mail it (or pay it online) on April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15.
6. Export at tax time. Download as CSV, hand to your tax preparer, or use the totals directly in TurboTax/H&R Block self-employed.
Reconcile monthly, not annually. The first weekend of every month, sit down with your business bank statement and check every entry matches the tracker. 45 minutes a month vs. two weekends in March of pure reconstruction stress.
Track mileage in the tracker AND on a separate phone app (MileIQ or similar). Cross-checking prevents missed deductions.
Don't deduct everything. The IRS pays attention to extreme ratios. If 60% of your revenue is "office expense" you'll get flagged. Honest categorization wins.
If your meals deduction line exceeds 15% of your expenses, expect questions. Stick to legitimate business meals (with a customer/prospect/employee), not personal meals.
Home office deduction: only if the room is EXCLUSIVELY used for business. Not "I sometimes work from the kitchen." Either it's a real home office (different door, different room, exclusively business) or it isn't.
The sample uses generic Schedule C categories. Your version can be customized for YOUR industry (rideshare drivers have unique categories; consultants have different ones; e-commerce has yet another set), YOUR state's filing requirements, and YOUR specific income types. $19 personalization, $97 fully custom at yoursaas.diy. Excel-compatible. CSV export.