FreeAgent vs Patriot Accounting

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Our analysts compared FreeAgent vs Patriot Accounting based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Accounting Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

FreeAgent Software Tool
Patriot Accounting Software Tool

Product Basics

FreeAgent is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small businesses and freelancers. It streamlines tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and tax filing, offering a user-friendly interface and mobile app for on-the-go management. FreeAgent shines for its intuitive design and automation features, making it ideal for those with limited accounting knowledge. Key benefits include automatic bank feeds, expense categorization with receipt scanning, and HMRC-compliant VAT returns. Popular features like project tracking and time billing further cater to freelancers and service-based businesses. Compared to similar products, user reviews praise FreeAgent's ease of use and excellent customer support. However, its focus on simplicity may lack the advanced features sought by larger businesses or those with complex accounting needs. Pricing starts at a monthly subscription fee, with additional costs for features like multiple users or payroll. FreeAgent offers a free trial to allow potential users to test its capabilities before committing.

Pros
  • Easy to use
  • Mobile app access
  • Automated tasks
  • Freelancer-friendly
  • Good customer support
Cons
  • Limited features for complex needs
  • Higher cost for multiple users
  • Not ideal for large businesses
  • Invoice customization limited
  • Reporting could be more robust
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Patriot Accounting is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small businesses and their accountants. It offers a user-friendly interface and comprehensive features for managing finances, including income and expense tracking, invoicing, bill pay, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. Patriot caters to businesses with basic to moderate accounting needs, making it suitable for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners who lack accounting expertise. Its key strengths lie in its affordability, ease of use, and customer support. Users praise its intuitive interface, clear navigation, and helpful tutorials, making it easy to learn and navigate even for accounting novices. Additionally, Patriot boasts excellent customer support, readily available to assist users with any questions or concerns. Popular features include customizable invoices, automatic bank feeds, inventory management, and payroll integration (with an additional fee). Compared to similar products, Patriot stands out for its emphasis on user-friendliness, affordability, and exceptional customer service. While it may lack some advanced features found in competitor software, its core functionalities and ease of use make it a compelling choice for many small businesses. Pricing starts at $20 per month for the basic plan, offering essential accounting features. The premium plan, at $30 per month, adds unlimited users, advanced features, and payroll integration. Both plans come with a free 30-day trial, allowing users to test the software before committing.

Pros
  • Easy to use and navigate
  • Affordable pricing
  • Excellent customer support
  • Automatic bank feeds
  • Inventory management (paid add-on)
Cons
  • Limited features compared to competitors
  • No mobile app
  • Payroll integration requires additional fee
  • Not ideal for complex accounting needs
  • Limited customization options
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$6.50 Monthly
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$20 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Product Assistance

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24/7 Live Support
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Product Insights

  • Effortless Time Saving: Automate tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and tax filing, freeing up time for what matters most.
  • Simplified Organization: Stay on top of your finances with a clear overview of income, expenses, and cash flow, all in one place.
  • Enhanced Accuracy and Compliance: Reduce errors and ensure compliance with automatic bank feeds, VAT returns, and HMRC filing.
  • Mobile Access on the Go: Manage your finances from anywhere with the convenient mobile app, perfect for busy freelancers and entrepreneurs.
  • Streamlined Collaboration: Easily share invoices, track project progress, and collaborate with clients and team members.
  • Peace of Mind and Support: Gain confidence knowing your finances are in order, backed by excellent customer support whenever you need it.
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  • Streamlined accounting processes: Patriot Accounting simplifies and automates many accounting tasks, such as invoicing, bill payment, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. This saves time, reduces errors, and helps you stay on top of your finances effortlessly.
  • Improved financial visibility: The software provides real-time insights into your business's financial health through clear dashboards and reports. This allows you to track income and expenses, monitor cash flow, analyze profitability, and make informed financial decisions.
  • Enhanced organization and control: Patriot Accounting helps you organize your financial data, maintain accurate records, and easily access information whenever needed. This promotes better financial management and compliance with tax regulations.
  • Simplified tax preparation: The software generates tax-ready reports that streamline the tax filing process, saving you time and effort. It also integrates with popular tax software, further simplifying tax preparation.
  • Accessibility and collaboration: Patriot Accounting's cloud-based platform allows you to access your financial data from anywhere with an internet connection. It also enables collaboration with your accountant or bookkeeper, promoting efficient financial management and timely financial advice.
  • Enhanced decision-making: The financial insights and reports provided by Patriot Accounting empower you to make data-driven decisions about your business's finances. This can lead to improved profitability, cost savings, and overall financial growth.
  • Peace of mind and confidence: Knowing that your accounting is organized and accurate can reduce stress and provide peace of mind. You can focus on running your business, confident that your financial data is secure and accessible.
  • Scalability for growth: Patriot Accounting can grow with your business, accommodating increased transactions and complexity as your business expands. This ensures you have the support you need to manage your finances effectively, even as your operations grow.
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  • Estimates: Send estimates and invoices via email and keep a tab on the approval and rejection. Convert accepted estimates into invoices. Manage outstanding amounts with the Invoice Timeline. 
  • Expenses: Save photos of the receipt directly from the mobile phone. Keep a tab on the running balance for reimbursement by tracking employee expenses. Track payments using live bank feeds or by importing bank statements.  
  • Tracking: Keep a record of when work was completed. Create an invoice for unbilled time and send it to the client. Check where time is spent across the active projects with timesheet reports.Payment tracking can be done by uploading a picture of the receipt through the mobile app. Reminders for making payments are sent automatically by setting up recurring invoices. Track invoices, taxes, estimates, alongside expenses. 
  • Dashboard: Monitor profit and loss with cash flow reports and the invoice timeline. 
  • Project Management: Create a project by adding billing rates, tasks, default currency, budget, start and end date. Attach charges and billable and non-billable time to projects and invoice the cost to customers. 
  • Expense Management: Categorize charges by currency and link them to a particular activity. Track and document expenses once the invoice is settled. Forgo the need to upload bank statements with the feed enabled. Include bank statements in the reporting after uploading. 
  • Navigation: Display data and keep track of the business’s financial health. Access invoices, time slips, estimates and projects from the dashboard. 
  • Payment: Integrate with PayPal, Stripe and GoCardless to pay bills easily. Make direct payments and add links to the payment system in the invoice templates. Conduct transactions in more than 80 countries around the globe. 
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  • Income and expense tracking: Record and categorize income and expenses to monitor cash flow and profitability.
  • Invoicing: Create and send professional invoices, track payments, and send reminders to customers.
  • Bill pay: Pay bills and track expenses easily, ensuring timely payments and organized records.
  • Bank reconciliation: Match bank transactions with your records to ensure accuracy and prevent discrepancies.
  • Financial reporting: Generate various reports, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and tax reports.
  • Customizable chart of accounts: Create a chart of accounts that aligns with your business's unique needs and structure.
  • Automatic bank feeds: Import bank transactions automatically, saving time and reducing manual data entry.
  • Inventory management (paid add-on): Track inventory levels, manage stock, and generate purchase orders (available for an additional fee).
  • Payroll integration (paid add-on): Integrate with Patriot's payroll software to streamline payroll processing and tax filings (available for an additional fee).
  • User-friendly interface: Navigate the software easily with intuitive menus, clear labels, and helpful tutorials.
  • Excellent customer support: Access free US-based customer support via phone, email, and live chat.
  • Cloud-based platform: Access your data from anywhere with an internet connection, ensuring flexibility and security.
  • Mobile-friendly access: View your account and manage basic tasks from a mobile device.
  • Secure data storage: Rest assured that your financial data is protected with bank-level security measures.
  • Free 30-day trial: Try the software for free before committing to a subscription.
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Product Ranking

#86

among all
Accounting Software

#369

among all
Accounting Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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63
89
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Platform Security
Financial Statements and Revenue Management
Mobile Support
Project Accounting
Tax Management
Banking and Cash Management
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

FreeAgent
Patriot Accounting
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Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Banking And Cash Management Budget And Expense Management Financial Statements And Revenue Management General Ledger And Chart Of Accounts Integration And Extensibility Inventory Management Journal Entries Mobile Support Multi-company Accounting And Asset Management Platform Capabilities Project Accounting Reporting And Analytics Tax Management 89 84 79 68 98 88 85 78 81 97 70 89 97 70 95 89 90 94 49 71 75 42 58 46 20 57 67 50 54 83 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 200 reviews
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87%
of users recommend this product

FreeAgent has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 87% when considering 200 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

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4.3 (29)
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4.4 (125)
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4.3 (46)
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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Intuitive interface: Users consistently praise FreeAgent's user-friendly design, making it easy to navigate and find features even without accounting expertise.
Automated tasks: FreeAgent automates many time-consuming accounting tasks, such as bank reconciliation, VAT calculation, invoice creation, and mileage tracking.
Comprehensive features: The software offers a wide range of features to manage all aspects of accounting, including invoicing, expenses, projects, taxes, and payroll.
Mobile app: FreeAgent's mobile app allows users to manage finances on the go, access key features, and capture receipts with ease.
Excellent customer support: Users consistently rate FreeAgent's customer support highly, with quick and helpful responses to queries.
Integrations: FreeAgent integrates with various popular business tools, such as bank accounts, payment gateways, and expense management apps.
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User-friendly interface: Patriot Accounting is known for its intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, making it suitable for users with varying levels of accounting experience.
Affordable pricing: Patriot Accounting offers competitive pricing plans, making it an attractive option for small businesses and freelancers on a budget.
Strong customer support: Patriot Accounting provides responsive and helpful customer support through multiple channels, including phone, email, and live chat.
Basic accounting features: Patriot Accounting covers essential accounting tasks like invoicing, bill pay, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting.
Integration with popular payment processors: Patriot Accounting integrates with popular payment processors like Stripe and PayPal, streamlining payment collection.
Mobile app availability: Patriot Accounting offers a mobile app for managing finances on the go.
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Limited customization options: While FreeAgent offers some customization, users report feeling restricted in terms of branding and layout compared to other accounting software.
Learning curve for complex features: Some users find FreeAgent's advanced features, like inventory management or project accounting, have a steeper learning curve compared to basic functionalities.
Higher pricing for larger businesses: FreeAgent's pricing scales with the number of users and features needed, making it potentially expensive for larger businesses with complex accounting requirements.
Limited integrations with some industry-specific tools: While FreeAgent integrates with popular business tools, some users in specific industries might miss integrations with specialized software they rely on.
Occasional bugs and glitches: Some users report encountering occasional bugs or glitches within the software, although FreeAgent's customer support is generally praised for responsiveness.
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Limited inventory management: Lacks advanced features like barcode scanning, serial number tracking, and purchase order management, making it unsuitable for businesses with complex inventory needs.
No multi-currency support: Only supports transactions in a single currency, which can be limiting for businesses operating internationally.
Limited reporting capabilities: May not provide the level of customization and detail needed by some businesses, especially those with complex reporting requirements.
Scalability limitations: May not be suitable for large businesses with a high volume of transactions or complex accounting needs, as its features and capabilities may not scale effectively.
Integration limitations: Integrates with a limited number of third-party applications, which may restrict users who rely on specific software or require extensive integrations with other business systems.
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FreeAgent carves a niche for itself in the accounting software world, earning enthusiastic praise from users seeking an intuitive and automated solution to manage their finances. Its user-friendly interface and wealth of automated features like bank reconciliation and VAT calculation, often cited as lifesavers, make it ideal for solopreneurs and small businesses who want to ditch spreadsheets and manual data entry. This convenience, however, comes with a trade-off: some users feel limited by FreeAgent's customization options, especially compared to the robust branding and layout control offered by competitors like Xero. FreeAgent's strengths truly shine in its mobile app and excellent customer support. Users adore the on-the-go access and quick, helpful resolutions to queries. This agility differentiates FreeAgent from some software giants notorious for sluggish mobile experiences and frustratingly long wait times for assistance. However, power users with complex accounting needs might find FreeAgent's advanced features, like project accounting, less intuitive than Xero's, requiring a steeper learning curve. Ultimately, FreeAgent's user reviews paint a picture of a friendly, efficient, and mobile-first accounting solution. It excels at simplifying finances for non-accountants and automating tedious tasks, but its customization limitations and potential learning curve for advanced features might make larger businesses or those seeking extensive control look elsewhere. In the quest for simplicity and time-saving automation, FreeAgent stands out as a top contender, especially for solopreneurs and small businesses just starting their financial journey.

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Patriot Accounting carves a niche among accounting software with its user-friendly interface, affordable pricing, and strong customer support. Users with basic accounting needs, like freelancers and small businesses, praise its intuitive design and straightforward features for invoicing, bill pay, and bank reconciliation. The mobile app and integrations with popular payment processors like Stripe further enhance its convenience. However, Patriot Accounting's limitations become apparent as businesses grow or require more complex functionalities. Users often cite its lack of advanced inventory management, multi-currency support, and in-depth reporting as dealbreakers. Compared to competitors like QuickBooks, which offers a wider range of features and integrations, Patriot Accounting might feel restrictive. Businesses with international operations or intricate inventory systems may find themselves needing to upgrade to a more robust solution. Ultimately, Patriot Accounting's suitability hinges on a user's specific needs and priorities. For those seeking a beginner-friendly and budget-conscious accounting solution, it stands out with its ease of use and affordability. However, businesses with more intricate accounting requirements or aspirations for future growth might find themselves needing a software that can scale alongside their ambitions.

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