QuickBooks Lite is the new QuickBooks plan built for the self-employed and freelancers in Canada. Launched in July 2026, it's made for freelancers, contractors, and solopreneurs who want professional invoicing, automatic expense tracking, and GST/HST handled in one place.

Lite is the newest addition to the QuickBooks Online family, built for the way solo business owners work. And if you've used QuickBooks Self-Employed, while it is still supported, Lite is the new version built on the QuickBooks Online platform: it adds tools Self-Employed didn't have—like account reconciliation and a proper balance sheet—plus room to grow into a bigger plan without starting over.

While QuickBooks Lite is the recommended option, this guide will walk you through all plans available in Canada specifically for self-employed individuals and freelancers, and compare them.

Which QuickBooks products for the self-employed are available in Canada?

Not every QuickBooks product you'll read about online is available in Canada. If you're shopping from Canada, here's what's really offered for self-employed individuals and freelancers:

• Available in Canada: QuickBooks Lite (the ideal, recommended plan for freelancers and the self-employed), QuickBooks Self-Employed (still supported), and QuickBooks EasyStart (the next step up when you need payroll or an accountant in the file).
• Not available in Canada: QuickBooks Solopreneur is a US-only product and not offered here. If you came across it in a US article or the US app store, the Canadian equivalent is QuickBooks Lite.

A quick tip: make sure you're on the QuickBooks Canada site (quickbooks.intuit.com/ca/) so you see Canadian products, features, and pricing rather than US ones.

What is QuickBooks Lite?

QuickBooks Lite is the newest, entry-level QuickBooks Online plan, built specifically for a one-person business. It's dedicated to freelancers, contractors, and the self-employed and brings the parts of QuickBooks a freelancer actually uses into one place. It automates as much of it as possible so you can spend your time on work that matters rather than data entry.

QuickBooks Lite is built on the QuickBooks Online platform, so everything you track can grow with you if you take on staff or expand later.

Here's what you can do with it:

1. Send unlimited invoices and estimates

Create professional, branded invoices with no monthly send limits. Add your logo, set your payment terms, and send an invoice in minutes, quickly adding the details you need for each. You can also send an estimate and turn it into an invoice in just one click once the client agrees.

• Unlimited custom invoices and estimates
• Automatic payment reminders so that you don’t have to keep chase clients
• GST/HST added to each invoice automatically (optional)

2. Get paid online

Add QuickBooks Payments and clients can pay straight from the invoice by credit card or bank transfer. The invoice will contain a “Pay Now” button that makes it easy for the client and for you. When the payment lands, it matches itself against the right invoice and you’re left with nothing to reconcile manually.

• Card and bank-transfer payments on every invoice
• Payments matched to the right invoice automatically
• (QuickBooks Payments is an add-on, subject to eligibility.)

3. Track expenses automatically

Connect your bank and credit card accounts and Lite pulls in your transactions for you. Add a receipt and it's matched to the right transaction and categorized. This way, your business is kept separate from your personal, and your expense tracking makes tax time easy.

• Automatic categorization, with an automatic business/personal split
• Account reconciliation, so your books always match your bank
• Receipt capture and contractor tracking to stay ready for T4A slips

4. Track mileage automatically

Log your business trips in Lite (just add the date, distance, and purpose) and turn them into a report you can use at tax time. No logbook, and no trying to remember the drive you took three months ago.

• Mileage tracking built in; log trips from the web
• A shareable mileage report for your records or your accountant

5. Handle GST, HST, and PST

QuickBooks Lite calculates sales tax on your invoices and keeps a total of what’s owed. A built-in tax centre shows where you stand.

• Sales tax automatically applied on invoices
• A tax hub that tracks what you've collected and what you owe
• Reporting that lines up with what the CRA expects

6. See how your business is doing

Core financial reports give you a clear picture of your business’ financial standing without a spreadsheet. Check your profit at a glance, or pull the exact summary your accountant asks for at tax time.

• Profit and loss
• Balance sheet
• Account summary

How much does QuickBooks Lite cost?

QuickBooks Lite starts at about $20 per month (but watch out for sales; QuickBooks often has sales of up to 90%). Because pricing and promotions change, check the current offer on the QuickBooks Lite page before you sign up.

For that price you get everything above in one plan, with no per-invoice fees.

QuickBooks Self-Employed vs. QuickBooks Lite vs. QuickBooks EasyStart: which do you need?

Here's how the three QuickBooks options for solo and small businesses stand against each other. For most freelancers and the self-employed, Lite is the sweet spot; EasyStart is the step up when you hire, bring in an accountant, or just need more reporting and accounting power.

A good rule of thumb is that if it's just you and your clients, Lite is enough. The day you hire someone or want your accountant working on the file with you, move up to EasyStart (check all our plans and pricing).

Why choose QuickBooks if you're self-employed?

Because the admin runs in the background while you focus on paid work. A few ways that plays out in a normal week with Lite:

• You send a $2,000 invoice and Lite adds 13% HST ($260) automatically—you bill $2,260 without doing the math, and the payment matches itself when your client pays online. No manual reconciliation; everything is already done for you.
• You buy a $50 software subscription and the receipt is matched to the transaction and categorized, with business kept separate from personal so you don't lose the deduction.
• Your GST/HST is tracked as you go, so when it's time to file, the numbers are already there — no weekend spent rebuilding three months from bank statements.

That's the point of Lite: less time on bookkeeping, more time on the work that puts money in your business’ account. Ready to get started? Explore QuickBooks’ latest offers, plans, and pricing.