Plans That Grow With Your Business
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- 50 free scans — never expire
- Receipts + bank statements
- Auto-matching
- Tax reports + CSV export
- 50 free scans — never expire
- Receipts + bank statements
- Auto-matching
- Tax reports + CSV export
- 200 scans/month
- Same features as Free
- Top up anytime
- Email support
Bookkeeping Options for Contractors Compared
None of those tools are bad. They're just not built for you. Here's the honest difference — feature by feature, from the perspective of a Canadian contractor who needs CRA-compliant records without paying for a system designed for a business ten times their size.
| What matters to contractors | RECOMMENDED Zoombooks | QuickBooks | Wave | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for Canadian tax rules | ✓ By Canadian accountants | ✗ US-focused, adapted | ✗ US-focused | ✗ No |
| Zero accounting knowledge required | ✓ Yes | ✗ Learning curve | ✗ Some knowledge needed | ✗ Significant |
| GST/HST auto-tagging | ✓ Automatic | ✗ Limited | ✓ Basic | ✗ Manual |
| ITC-compliant receipt capture | ✓ Yes | ✗ Basic photo only | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| CRA 6-year record retention | ✓ Digital, timestamped | ✓ Yes | ✓ Basic | ✗ You manage |
| Business vs personal mileage log | ✓ Separate logs | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ Manual |
| T2 corporate & T2125 reports | ✓ Both supported | ✗ US Schedule C only | ✗ No T2125 | ✗ No |
| Built for solo corporations | ✓ Core use case | ✗ Sole proprietors only | ✗ No T2 support | ✗ No |
| Free to start | ✓ Yes | ✗ Paid monthly | ✓ Free (limited) | ✓ Yes (no features) |
Comparison based on publicly listed pricing and features as of August 2026 — verify current details with each provider.
Bookkeeping App FAQ
What is the best free bookkeeping app for Canadian contractors?
Zoombooks is a free bookkeeping app built in Canada, by Canadian tax accountants (Instaccountant). It tracks receipts in real time, syncs automatically with Canadian banks via Plaid, categorizes every transaction, tags expenses by job or client, and exports GST/HST-ready reports and Schedule 125 / T2125 to PDF or Excel — with no trials and no ads.
Can it track my expenses automatically?
Yes. Connect your business bank account (read-only, via Plaid) and Zoombooks auto-imports transactions and suggests categories using your history. Or snap a receipt in two taps and let OCR pull the vendor, amount, and GST/HST.
Can I tag expenses by job, client, or subcontractor?
Absolutely — this is core to Zoombooks. Every expense can carry a client, job/site, and person tag, so at year-end you know exactly which project earned what, and which subcontractor cost what.
Can I export my books for taxes?
Yes. One tap generates a Schedule 125, T2125 self-employment summary, or full expense export — as PDF or Excel — ready for your accountant or CRA filing.
Does it work outside Canada?
Zoombooks is built for Canadian tax rules (GST/HST/PST, T2125, Schedule 125), but you can log multi-currency expenses (USD, EUR, etc.) that auto-convert to CAD — useful for cross-border contractors.