Best for
Best for freelancers and sole traders in Germany who want invoicing, bookkeeping and their tax returns in one app.
- Freelancers
Accounting & Invoicing Comparison
Accountable vs. Patriot Software
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for US small businesses that want low-cost online accounting and invoicing, with the option to add payroll as a separate product.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Accountable | Patriot Software |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free invoicing plan, otherwise from €12.40 / month plus VAT Billed monthly, per month plus VAT: Invoicing plus €12.40, Bookkeeping €24.90, Taxes €37.40 and Max €74.90. Yearly billing lowers these to €9.90, €19.90, €29.90 and €59.90 per month. Max carries a 12-month commitment. | From $20 / month Accounting Basic plan at its regular monthly price; aimed at US small businesses. Payroll is a separate product. |
| Free trial | No free trial of the paid plans; a free invoicing plan in the mobile app, and a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans | Free for 30 days |
| Users | More than 40,000 self-employed people in Germany, according to the vendor | Not stated |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Made in | Not stated | United States |
| Invoicing and quotes | Yes, invoices and quotes with XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoices; recurring and instalment invoices and personalised layouts from Invoicing plus | Yes, unlimited customers and invoices, with card and ACH payments; Premium adds estimates, recurring invoices and payment reminders |
| Bookkeeping and bank feeds | Yes, bank account connection (one account on the free plan, five from Bookkeeping). Only actual taxation (Ist-Versteuerung) is supported, and the Belgian site states that double-entry accounting is not supported | Yes, automatic bank imports, income and expense tracking and account reconciliation |
| Expenses and receipts | Yes, receipt scanning with AI auto-recognition; five expenses per month on the free plan, unlimited from Bookkeeping | Yes, income and expense tracking; Premium adds receipt and document management |
| Tax and compliance | Yes, Germany: VAT advance returns (USt-VA) from the Taxes plan, plus income tax, EÜR, trade tax and yearly VAT returns in the yearly closing. For errors caused by the app, a tax guarantee refunds resulting back taxes up to €500 per filing on Taxes and up to €10,000 on Max | Yes, 1099 contractor tracking and 1099 e-filing |
| Payroll | Not stated | Available as a separate product: Basic Payroll from $17 per month plus $4 per employee, Full Service Payroll from $37 per month plus $5 per employee |
| Reports and exports | Profit and loss statement (EÜR), DATEV-format export and access for a tax adviser | Yes, profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balances, general ledger, check register, accounts receivable and payable aging, unpaid customer invoices, customer and vendor payment history, account reconciliations, sales tax and 1099 summary reports, with a cash-basis and accrual-basis toggle and downloads as PDF or spreadsheet |
| Integrations and API | Not stated | No public developer API or developer platform is documented. Prebuilt integrations cover Plaid for automatic bank imports, Stripe for card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and ACH payments, QuickBooks Online, and Patriot's own payroll and HR products |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Chat, Email helpdesk | more entries Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat |
| Onboarding | Live online demos and webinars, Guided onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials |
| Company size | Freelancers | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | DATEV | more entries Plaid, Stripe, QuickBooks Online, Patriot Payroll |
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Accountable Free invoicing plan, otherwise from €12.40 / month plus VAT Patriot Software From $20 / month
- Free trial Accountable No free trial of the paid plans; a free invoicing plan in the mobile app, and a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans Patriot Software Free for 30 days
- Company size Accountable Freelancers Patriot Software Freelancers, Small and mid-sized
- Hosting Accountable Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps Patriot Software Cloud (SaaS)
- Support Accountable Chat, Email helpdesk Patriot Software Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Accountable
Strengths
- Free plan with unlimited XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoices in the mobile app
- Yearly closing with income tax, EÜR and trade tax returns, for small businesses from the Bookkeeping plan and for all from Taxes
- Chat support from tax coaches on the Taxes plan, and a personal tax coach on Max
- DATEV-format export and adviser access
Limitations
- Not designed for corporations such as a UG or GmbH
- Only actual taxation (Ist-Versteuerung); accrual-based VAT (Soll-Versteuerung) is not supported
- The free plan has no web access, one bank account and five expenses a month
- No free trial of the paid plans, only a 30-day money-back guarantee
Patriot Software
Strengths
- Low monthly cost aimed at US small businesses
- Unlimited customers and invoices on both plans
- 1099 contractor tracking and e-filing included
- 30-day free trial
Limitations
- Aimed at the United States rather than internationally
- Payroll is a separate product rather than part of the accounting plans
Plans
Pricing
Accountable
- Free Invoicing €0 Mobile app only, one bank account, five expenses per month, unlimited ZUGFeRD and XRechnung e-invoices.
- Invoicing plus €12.40 Per month plus VAT billed monthly, €9.90 billed yearly. Web access, unlimited quotes, recurring and instalment invoices, AI Tax Advisor.
- Bookkeeping €24.90 Per month plus VAT billed monthly, €19.90 billed yearly. Five bank accounts, unlimited expenses, yearly closing for small businesses.
- Taxes €37.40 Per month plus VAT billed monthly, €29.90 billed yearly. Quarterly VAT returns, yearly closing for all, tax guarantee up to €500 per filing, chat with tax coaches.
- Max €74.90 Per month plus VAT billed monthly, €59.90 billed yearly, 12-month commitment. Personal tax coach, onboarding call, four coach calls a year, €10,000 tax guarantee.
Patriot Software
- Accounting Basic $20 / month Unlimited customers and invoices, automatic bank imports, income and expense tracking, reconciliation and 1099 tracking.
- Accounting Premium $30 / month Everything in Basic, plus estimates, recurring invoices, payment reminders, receipt and document management and subaccounts.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Accountable
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Patriot Software
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
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Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Accountable https://www.accountable.de/en · no check date recorded yet
Patriot Software https://www.patriotsoftware.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-08
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.