First Contact

Category · Books, quotes & invoices

Fed up with your accounting software, or doing invoices by hand?

Receipts piling up, quotes written from scratch, an accounting package that fights you at every step. Here's what other owners are asking right now, and a short list of newer tools built for the problem.

See the tools No sign-up. Nothing to buy from us.
A phone and a pen resting on a folder of paperwork on a desk
Photo: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Sound familiar?

Owners asking recently

Tips from the replies: work out what's actually annoying you about your current software before you change it. If you're a tradie, track costs job by job. And if cash is tight, chasing late payers usually helps more than new software.

Tools worth a look

What each tool says about itself, from its own website or app listing. Some connect to your bank or your email, so read what they say about security before you sign up.

Tabby

Freelancers and 1–10 person businesses

United States US · built for US tax

AI bookkeeping that sorts your transactions and finds tax deductions

  • Categorises your bank transactions, scans receipts, sends invoices, shows a profit and loss
  • Connects to your bank read-only through Plaid; the builder says it never stores your bank login
  • Built by a named CPA (co-founder and CEO Ahad Ali); free plan to start, 30-day money-back
Free up to US$15K expenses/yr · paid from US$30/mo (half price for the first 3 months; 20% off yearly)Visit site →

Receiptor AI

Small businesses drowning in emailed receipts

Built from Malaysia, France and Italy (per its site)

Finds the receipts in your email, so you don't have to

  • Pulls the details out of each receipt, categorises it and sends it to Xero or QuickBooks
  • It reads your email inbox to do this. It connects to Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and others
  • The builder says it saves only message IDs and none of your email content, and that Google has validated its security (CASA Tier 2). We haven't checked that
From US$29/moVisit site →

Jupid

US sole traders and LLC owners who file a Schedule C

United States US only · built for US tax

AI bookkeeping and tax prep, run over WhatsApp or iMessage

  • For US Schedule C filers only. If you're outside the US, it isn't for you
  • CPA review and tax filing are included; connects to your bank through Plaid
  • The builder says it is SOC 2 Type II audited. We haven't seen the report
US$50/mo (US$390/yr) · first 100 transactions freeVisit site →

SMASH Invoices

Tradies, contractors and small service businesses

Australia Australia · Byron Bay, NSW (also has NZ and US pages)

Talk for about 30 seconds, get a priced, itemised quote or invoice

  • Voice-to-quote on your phone, so you can quote on site
  • Syncs with Xero and QuickBooks
  • Its privacy policy says voice recordings aren't kept permanently and your business data isn't sold or used to train AI
Free to download; in-app purchases (prices not published) · free tier of 5 quotes/invoices a monthVisit site →

Sphere

Small businesses, plus accountants and bookkeepers

Country not stated on its site (examples use US banks and a $ sign)

Bookkeeping, invoices and reports, with an AI assistant you can ask questions

  • Categorises bank transactions, sends invoices with online card or bank payment (through Stripe), shows P&L, balance sheet and cash flow
  • Connects banks and cards through Plaid. The AI assistant answers questions in plain English
  • Free plan, no card: 50 transactions, 5 invoices and 5 journal entries a month, and no online payment on invoices
  • Inventory/COGS, where it is based and whether the AI is read-only: not stated on its site
Free · Basic $25/mo · Business $100/mo (currency not stated) · invoice payments 2.9% + $0.30 by card, 0.8% by bank transfer (max $20)Visit site →

allwis

Service businesses, software companies, accounting firms and groups of companies

Australia Australian-hosted, AU and NZ compliance built in (head office not stated)

One system for the whole business, books included

  • CRM, quotes to invoices, jobs and timesheets, bank reconciliation, AU/NZ payroll, GST/VAT returns and a helpdesk in one place
  • Runs several companies together, with consolidated reports across AU, NZ, US and UK entities. It can sit beside Xero (read-only sync)
  • The AI drafts, flags and proposes. The site says its money and compliance proposals wait for a person
  • It prices by number of companies. A 30-day trial needs no card
Price on request · in A$, excluding GSTVisit site →

Building a finance tool?

We list newer or niche tools that solve what owners are asking about, using only what your own site says.

See what owners are asking →

Receiptor, Jupid and SMASH last checked 3 Oct 2026; Tabby prices on 12 Oct 2026; Sphere and allwis on 7 Oct 2026 (allwis wording rechecked 12 Oct). Prices as shown on each builder's site, in US$ (Tabby, Receiptor and Sphere show only a $ sign; Tabby and Receiptor are US-focused). allwis prices in A$.

Picking between them

  1. Are you a US sole trader who wants the books and tax done? Jupid or Tabby. Jupid includes CPA review and tax filing; Tabby has a free tier to start on.
  2. Are you drowning in receipts? Receiptor AI finds them in your email and passes them to Xero or QuickBooks.
  3. Do you quote on site? SMASH Invoices, if you'd rather talk than type.
  4. Run more than one company, or want the whole business in one place with AU/NZ payroll and GST? allwis. It's the only one here priced in A$ that says it covers GST and AU/NZ payroll.
  5. Want to ask a chatbot about your books? Sphere. It looks US-focused, so check it covers your country first.

Want a shortlist for your setup?

Tell us what you use now and what's getting in the way, and we'll reply with the tools that fit.

Free tools for this Email us

info@in2fpa.com

How we pick

First Contact is a small marketing team. We aren't paid by any tool on this page and these aren't endorsements. We list newer or niche tools that solve the problem owners are asking about, using only what each tool says on its own site. We don't list the big names (Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB and so on); you already know them. Where we can't check a claim, we say "the builder says".

Several tools here are US-focused and don't say they cover GST or BAS. Check before you move.

Not accounting or tax advice. Talk to your accountant or bookkeeper before you move your books.

Spotted something wrong, or want your tool listed? Email info@in2fpa.com.