Best free accounting software in Australia (2026)

Yes, you can keep proper books in Australia without paying a cent. Billbook Free, Zoho Books Free, Gimbla Starter and Sole's free tier are all free for as long as you use them, not trials. They aren't the same, though. Each one leaves something out, and the thing it leaves out decides who it suits.

Here's what each free plan includes as at October 2026, where it stops, and how to choose. We make one of these (Billbook), so we've stuck to facts from each company's own pages and linked them, so you can check for yourself.

The free plans at a glanceLink to this section

What counts as free hereLink to this section

We've only included plans that are free with no end date. A trial is a fair way to test software, but it isn't free software. By that measure, Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks and Reckon One don't make the list: as at October 2026 none of them has a free plan, only trials and then a monthly price. If you're weighing those up, our list of cheaper Xero alternatives covers them.

Billbook FreeLink to this section

Billbook Free is the full set of books for one person, with no revenue limit and no cap on invoices or bills. That covers:

• quotes, invoices, credit notes and repeating invoices, with payment reminders
• bills, purchase orders and supplier credits
• bank statement import (CSV or OFX files) with reconciliation and bank rules
• GST on every transaction and your BAS worked out from your books (BAS is the form you send the tax office each quarter)
• payout files from Shopify, Square, Stripe, PayPal and Afterpay, matched to your bank
• stock, projects, fixed assets, budgets and multi-currency
• profit and loss, balance sheet and the other reports
• your accountant in the same books, free

Pro adds your team, receipts read for you, bills emailed in or imported from a spreadsheet, and Ask Billbook.

Coastal Coffee Co+$1,254.00$1,254.00OK

Servo, Brunswick−$72.15$72.15OK

You lodge your BAS yourself in the ATO's online services, which is free: Billbook gives you the figures, then you record the lodgment back in your books.

Suits: sole traders and small businesses without staff who want unlimited invoices and proper double-entry books for free.

Zoho Books FreeLink to this section

Zoho Books (opens in a new tab) has a free plan for businesses with revenue under $50,000 a year (checked October 2026). It's for one user plus your accountant, with up to 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year. There are no bank feeds on the free plan, so you import statements instead, and no add-ons. Receipt scanning is included, at 50 scans a month.

Zoho Books doesn't do Australian payroll on any plan. It works out your BAS, and you lodge it on the ATO's portal yourself.

Here's how Billbook and Zoho Books line up, with sources:

Suits: a small side business or new sole trader that will stay under the revenue limit, and may want to move up to Zoho's paid plans later. More detail in Billbook vs Zoho Books.

Gimbla StarterLink to this section

Gimbla's Starter plan (opens in a new tab) is described as "100% free, no trials and no hidden fees" (checked October 2026). It covers invoicing and bills, bank reconciliation, double-entry books, GST tracking, reports and daily backups, with unlimited users.

Starter doesn't include bank feeds, payroll or lodging your BAS. Those are on Gimbla's paid Plus plan, along with multi-currency and projects.

Suits: a small team that wants everyone signed in on a free plan, and is happy importing bank statements.

Sole's free tierLink to this section

Sole (opens in a new tab) says it "remains free forever on the free tier" (checked October 2026). Its pricing page works out the paid price by industry, and there's a 30 day trial of the paid features with no card needed. Sole's page doesn't spell out everything the free tier includes, so check what you get for your trade before you set it up.

Suits: sole traders who want a simple app and are happy to check the free tier's limits against how they work.

What about Wave?Link to this section

Wave was a popular free option for years, but it isn't one for Australians now. Wave stopped new sign-ups outside the US and Canada from 30 November 2020, and its support page (opens in a new tab) points people elsewhere to Zoho Books (checked October 2026). Older review sites still list it, so it's worth knowing.

What to check on any free planLink to this section

Free plans in Australia usually differ in the same three places. Know them before you start, so nothing catches you out at BAS time.

Getting your bank lines inLink to this section

A bank feed brings your transactions in from your bank every day by itself. The free plans from Zoho Books and Gimbla have you import statements instead: you download a file (usually CSV or OFX) from your bank's website and upload it. Once a week or once a month is plenty for most small businesses.

Paying staffLink to this section

Paying staff in Australia means reporting every pay run to the tax office through Single Touch Payroll and paying super (the retirement money you pay for your staff). Zoho Books has no Australian payroll, and Gimbla keeps payroll for its paid plan. If you have employees, check how each program handles it before you pick one.

Lodging with the ATOLink to this section

Working out your BAS and lodging it are two different things. Billbook and Zoho Books both work out the figures from your books, and you lodge them yourself in the ATO's online services, which is free. It's a few minutes of copying numbers across each quarter. Or your accountant can lodge it for you.

How to chooseLink to this section

Start with what your business actually does each month, not the feature list.

Already in another program? Moving your books to Billbook is one export from your old software, and we check the totals match before you switch over. There are step by step guides for Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon and Zoho Books.

The short versionLink to this section

If you want the most for nothing, Billbook Free gives you unlimited invoices and bills and full books, with your accountant in the same books. If you're under $50,000 a year and might grow into a bigger paid program, Zoho Books Free is a fair start. If you need more people signed in for free, look at Gimbla Starter. Whichever you pick, check the limits on their own page first.