Patriot’s fast facts |
|---|
| Our rating: 4.0 stars out of 5 Pricing: Starts at $20.00 per month Key features
|
Patriot offers accounting software with a focus on ease and affordability. While it isn’t the cheapest option out there, it offers unlimited invoicing and unlimited users ― two things other software often charge more for. That, combined with its top-notch customer support, can make Patriot a decent value for some businesses.
Still, Patriot doesn’t have any showstopping accounting tools, and you can find cheaper software that offers more features. So if standout customer service doesn’t sound like something you need, you may want to consider some alternatives to Patriot instead.
Jump to:
Patriot has just two plan options. Both plans give you unlimited users and unlimited invoicing, but the Premium plan gives you more features overall.
You can get a free 30-day trial of Patriot accounting software ― perfect for testing out all the features on either plan.
The Accounting Basic plan costs $20 per month. It gives you essential accounting tools, like double-entry accounting, invoicing, credit card payments and sales tax tracking.
That said, this plan is missing some of the features we’d expect ― like bank account reconciliation and even basic invoice customization.
It’s also worth noting that the $20 price point makes Patriot’s starting plan relatively expensive, especially considering the missing features. Most of the best accounting software starts well under $20 and gives you tools like account reconciliation. With that in mind, it’s hard to justify the cost of this plan.
If you want to use Patriot accounting software, we recommend the Premium plan over the Basic plan.
Patriot’s Premium plan costs $30 per month. That’s a lower cost than premium plans for many competitors ― but remember that Patriot’s Premium plan has more in common with starting plans from other software. In other words, Patriot pricing isn’t quite as competitive as it might look.
Still, the Premium plan does give you more tools to work with than the Basic plan. Along with bank account reconciliation and invoice customization, you also get features like subaccounts, user permissions, estimate creation, recurring invoices and receipt management.
Note that the Premium plan still does not include time or attendance. That’s an extra $6 per month, plus $2 per employee.
Both Patriot accounting software plans come with invoicing ― and unlimited invoices to unlimited customers, no less. That’s a nice touch, given that some accounting software (like Freshbooks) limits how many clients you can invoice per month.
Figure A
And Patriot makes it easy to create and manage invoices. You can even upload contacts in CSV format to make invoicing faster. With the Premium plan, you can convert accepted estimates to invoices with just a couple clicks. Plus, you can accept credit card payments through CardConnect.
That said, Patriot’s invoicing has some big limitations ― mostly when it comes to customization. Only Premium users can customize invoices at all. Even then, you have to choose from just three very basic templates, and you can only update the logo and accent color.
Figure B
Most accounting software lets you make those kinds of changes on even their most basic plans. Many of them give you more invoice template choices too.
In other words, Patriot’s unlimited invoicing can appeal to businesses that invoice a lot of clients each month ― but you’ll have to settle for basic, utilitarian templates.
Both Patriot plans let you add unlimited users to your accounting software at no extra cost. While you can find other accounting software that gives you unlimited users (like Wave), popular solutions like QuickBooks and FreshBooks charge you more for more users. So we appreciate that Patriot lets you add every team member, your accountant and anyone else you want.
If you want to control what users see and do with your accounting software, though, you’ll need Patriot’s Premium plan. That plan offers user permissions, letting you tailor everyone’s access as you see fit.
Figure C
For instance, you want to keep most users from viewing payroll reports that have private identifying information. Or you may want to let your accountant see all your receipts, documents and reports without being able to change your bank info or add new users.
But between Patriot’s unlimited users and the ability to customize permissions, you don’t have to be stingy with access to your accounting software, which can help you prevent bottlenecks in your team’s workflow.
There’s one thing most Patriot account software reviews agree on: Patriot has great customer service. It earns glowing praise for its customer service ― a nice contrast to complaints about companies like Intuit. And while some accounting software (like Wave) limits you to email or chat support, Patriot offers phone support too.
Patriot reviews from customers report that its customer service team has quick response times, meaning you never have to wait too long for help. Plus, reviewers say Patriot’s team is actually helpful. Reps have the expertise to answer questions and solve problems.
Unfortunately, Patriot doesn’t offer 24/7 support. It does have extended weekday hours, though, with availability until 7 p.m. EST. So you can handle issues that pop up in the late afternoon, no problem.
While not every business needs tons of help, its robust support team is actually one of our favorite Patriot features: For teams that do need assistance, Patriot’s support can save you tons of time and frustration ― and help keep your accounting accurate.
Oh, and if you happen to prefer a more self-guided approach, Patriot still has you covered. Patriot has an extensive training library with all kinds of guides to its software. Many of those guides include videos, so you can see exactly how to use Patriot accounting software.
While Patriot software may work well for businesses that need a simple, user-friendly experience, many businesses will do better with a different accounting software. After all, Patriot doesn’t have many standout features, and it isn’t particularly competitively priced. So you may prefer one of these more affordable, more scalable or more powerful solutions.
| Patriot | FreshBooks | Intuit QuickBooks | Wave | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $20mo. | $13.60/mo. | $15/mo. | $0/mo. |
| Unlimited users | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Enterprise plans | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Time tracking | Paid add-on | Yes | Paid add-on | No |
| Mileage tracking | No | Some plans | Yes | No |
Pricing and product details up to date as of 8/30/2023.
FreshBooks offers a better invoicing experience than Patriot at an affordable price. While some FreshBooks plans do limit how many clients you can invoice per month, its premium plans give you unlimited clients (like Patriot). And all FreshBooks plans give you more invoice customization than Patriot does. Plus, FreshBooks includes time tracking (while Patriot makes you pay extra), and you can sync your time data with your invoices. A client portal for estimates, invoices and payments is the cherry on top.
If you’ve got a growing business, you likely want an accounting software that can grow with you. Intuit QuickBooks is very scalable, with cheaper options for small businesses all the way up to enterprise accounting software. So you can start off with basic accounting tools, then you can get advanced features like field service management, forecasting and more. Simply put, your business can keep using QuickBooks long after it would have outgrown Patriot.
Wave offers completely free accounting and invoicing software, making it a much more affordable alternative to Patriot. While Wave doesn’t have the most feature-rich software out there, it still offers plenty of accounting tools, like expense tracking, bank connections and accounting reports. Plus, like Patriot, Wave gives you unlimited users. Note that Wave does have paid add-ons for receipt capture, payroll and credit card payments. Even so, you’ll likely pay less than you would with Patriot.
Before we began to review Patriot, we spent a long time learning about the software and its features. We had some hands-on time with Patriot through both a demo and a free trial. Then we scored Patriot on everything from its pricing to its accounting tools to its ease of use. Finally, we used our data and scores to see how Patriot compares to other popular accounting software.
