Privbooks
ArticlesBooks that stay on your device.
Invoicing, payables, banking, FIFO inventory, and multicurrency, with real double entry in the browser, backed by SQLite you can export. Built for professional services, construction and trades, retail and e commerce, healthcare operations, real estate and property, transport and logistics, restaurant and hospitality, nonprofits, and any SMB tired of slow cloud ledgers. Industry templates merge extension accounts; your file stays yours. Tax math stays transparent: we do not file returns or run payroll compliance. Start free; upgrade when you want live feeds or clean client PDFs.
- CSV banking always free. If a feed misbehaves, you are not stuck.
- Plaid on paid tiers.
- PWA works offline after first load.
Own the file
Portable sqlite backups. If a vendor raises prices or limits access, your ledger file still leaves with you.
Straightforward tiers
Starter stays useful without a card. Paid plans align with real costs such as Plaid.
Built for operators
FIFO lots, COGS on ship, sales tax codes you control, FX and translation: get the engine right first.
Industry chart templates
Each vertical adds real chart of accounts lines. Templates merge missing codes and never delete accounts you already created. Scope is honest in each summary below.
Professional & technical services
Consulting, agencies, IT and managed services, marketing, legal bookkeeping (operational GL only, not trust accounting).
Construction & skilled trades
General contractors, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, concrete: materials, subs, equipment; extend COA for typical field spend.
Retail, wholesale & e-commerce
Stores, distributors, Shopify and Amazon sellers: merchandise, refunds, marketplace fees, shipping.
Healthcare & clinical operations
Practice style operators: fee for service revenue splits, clinical supplies, equipment leases; bookkeeping layer only.
Real estate & property management
Property managers and small landlords: security deposits, owner remittances, CAM style pass throughs.
Transportation, logistics & roadside
Fleets, towing, carriers, brokers: fuel, maintenance, tolls, factoring style receivable hygiene.
Restaurant & hospitality
Food and beverage: sales categories, comps, merchant fees, smallwares; tip payable as liability if you track house owed amounts.
Nonprofit & associations
Associations and small programs: contributions, grants, restrictions as memo discipline, not full NFP GAAP automation.
What we hear, and what we do
Common themes from teams using large cloud accounting suites: slow UI, noisy upsells, surprise pricing, bank feeds that drop data. Privbooks stays narrow: local ledger first, transparent tiers, no clutter.
Common gripe
The app feels slow even on fast internet.
Privbooks
After load, core work hits your device SQLite instead of waiting on a remote server for every action.
Common gripe
Pop ups, upsells, AI noise. I paid for accounting.
Privbooks
No lending promos, ads, or assistants: registers, journals, invoices, reports.
Common gripe
Price went up again or I am forced into a tier I do not need.
Privbooks
Starter stays capable and free. Upgrades pay for real vendor costs. Your data exports as a normal file.
Common gripe
The bank feed dropped transactions. I do not trust sync.
Privbooks
CSV import and rules are always free. Plaid on Plus is optional, never the only way to reconcile.
Common gripe
Sales tax feels like a black box.
Privbooks
You define codes and basis points; invoice math follows your rules. We do not auto file returns.
Common gripe
I feel locked into their cloud.
Privbooks
Your books are not trapped in our hosted general ledger: back up the sqlite file anytime.
How it works
- 1
Sign in
Email link or instant session. Your ledger is created locally.
- 2
Run the business
Contacts, invoices, bills, bank CSV, or Plaid after you upgrade.
- 3
Close and export
Reports, GL CSV, full database backup whenever you need it.
Pricing
Below typical entry SaaS accounting while staying honest about what costs money. Live Stripe prices come from your environment; figures shown are defaults we suggest.
Starter
Free$0
Full double entry books on your device. Fleet, tow, logistics, and field service shops get serious inventory and tax math without cloud lock in.
- Chart of accounts, journal, invoices, bills, expenses
- Inventory: locations, lots, explicit FIFO receive and ship with COGS, not a black box average cost toy
- Sales tax codes you define, with precise invoice line math (we do not file or prepare government returns)
- Multicurrency: FX rate table, foreign journal legs, presentation currency trial balance, asset revaluation (no payroll withholding)
- Bank registers, rules, and CSV import (always on fallback when feeds misbehave)
- P&L, balance sheet, aging, budgets, backups (sqlite)
- Customer PDFs show a small “Created with Privbooks” line
Plus
Popular$22/mo · $220/yr yearly
Live Plaid when you want sync, plus CSV forever so you are never stuck with a single brittle feed.
- Everything in Starter
- Plaid bank feed (paid accounts cover provider cost)
- Unbranded invoice and statement prints
- Global search and command palette, same powerful core
Pro
$52/mo · $520/yr yearly
Heavy operations: card payments, parts inventory, multi entity books, Connect, receipts, FIFO, consolidated translated trial balance.
- Everything in Plus
- Stripe Connect onboarding and invoice checkout links
- Receipt queue: post cash and sales to your ledger
- FIFO inventory and consolidated trial in a presentation currency (same file multi company)
Questions
Where does my accounting data live?
In your browser: a real SQLite ledger with stronger durability when the site is cross origin isolated (OPFS). Your file exports with you.
Why would this feel faster than big cloud accounting suites?
After the app loads, everyday work hits your local database, not a round trip on every register scroll or journal post. You still need the network for signup, bank link providers, and updates.
Do you show lending promos, ads, or an AI assistant in the workspace?
No. The UI is for your books: not cross sell panels, loan offers, or chatbots trained on your ledger.
Why is Plaid limited to paid plans?
Plaid charges per bank connection. CSV import stays free forever on the Starter tier so you always have a path to reconcile.
Bank feeds are flaky on other apps. How do you handle that?
We never take away the CSV path. Use manual import and rules whenever a provider hiccups; add Plaid on Plus when live sync is worth it. Two paths beat betting everything on one feed.
Is sales tax as automatic as in QuickBooks or Xero?
You define sales tax codes and rates in Privbooks; calculations follow those rules on invoice lines. We do not auto update jurisdiction tables or file returns electronically (see our README for scope).
How does multicurrency work?
You maintain dated FX rates (functional currency per unit of foreign currency). Journal entries can carry foreign amounts with automatic functional rounding to account 6950. Reports can show a trial balance translated into another currency, and you can revalue foreign asset balances that track foreign units. No automated tax or payroll filings.
Can I switch from QuickBooks?
There is no one click vendor migration. Bring opening balances, contacts, and activity via CSV and journals. Many teams plan a clean month end cutover instead of fighting a brittle converter.
What does "Created with Privbooks" mean?
Starter prints include a small attribution. Plus and Pro remove it from invoice and statement previews you send customers.