Car Audio Installers on FreshBooks pay $33/month — $396/year. Over three years, that's $1,329. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 8.5 months. The median Car Audio Installer earns $48,000/year, so FreshBooks's annual cost is roughly 0.8% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
That's $1,329 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
You're not the only one who's had enough.
Car Audio Installers face unique challenges: Customers underestimating install time, expecting a four-speaker-and-head-unit job to be an hour when it's most of a day with dash disassembly. Vehicle-specific dash kits, wiring harnesses, and steering-wheel-control adapters that show up wrong or backordered. Tuning a system the customer thinks should be louder when the real limit is their door rattle or alternator output. Comebacks for rattles, blown fuses, or a sub that's bottoming out because the customer cranked the gain at home. On top of all that, FreshBooks charges $33/month ($396/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Car Audio Installer earns $48,000/year. Software at $396/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Panel removal / trim tools and door clip pullers is yours. You bought it once. Nexa works the same way — $279 once for invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, and full accounting. All connected. All offline-capable. You own it like you own your tools.
FreshBooks is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
Want this breakdown emailed to you?
Your exact FreshBooks cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
| Feature | FreshBooks | Nexa |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| CRM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Full Accounting | ✗ | ✓ (SIMPL) |
| Task Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | $33/mo forever | $279 once or 3 × $99 |
| 3-Year Cost | $1,329 | $279 |
| Stop paying? | Lose everything | Keep everything forever |
Most car audio installers are fully switched before the weekend.
Go to Settings → Export Data. Download clients, invoices, expenses, and time entries.
15-minute setup. Import your client list and expense categories from CSV.
Run both for 1-2 weeks. Verify invoice history and recurring invoices.
Cancel subscription. Download a final data export for your records.
The day opens with a full system going into a sedan: head unit, components up front, coaxials in the rear, an amp, and a sub box. The customer thinks it's a couple hours, but you're pulling the dash apart, fishing power wire through the firewall grommet, and building a fused distribution block by the battery. You crimp and solder every connection because a cheap crimp is a future comeback. Vehicle-specific parts are always the wait, and today the steering-wheel-control adapter for this model is on backorder so you wire it temporarily and schedule the customer to return. After lunch you're tuning an install from yesterday, setting gains with the scope so nothing clips, and the customer wants it louder than his factory wiring can cleanly deliver, so you have a conversation about a big-three upgrade. There's a comeback in the afternoon, a door panel rattle on a job from last week that you chase down to a loose clip and a wire slapping the sheet metal. You finish by deadening a door with sound mat and reassembling trim carefully so nothing creaks. End of day you're updating the schedule, ordering the harness adapters you ran out of, and reminding the firmware customer to come back.
Real car audio installers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a car audio installer? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every car audio installer on Nexa →
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. FreshBooks may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. FreshBooks is $33/month — that's $1,329 over 3 years. Which is more? And if you'd rather split it, Nexa is also available as 3 payments of $99.
Yes. Nexa is $279 as a one-time payment, or 3 payments of $99 ($297 total). Either way it's a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring fees ever.
30-day money-back guarantee. Full refund. If Nexa doesn't save you $500 in year one, you get every penny back.
Export your data from FreshBooks as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
The average solo operator there spends about $4,000/year on software — and Car Audio Installer face their own version of that math. California 13.3% top rate. Highest cost of living in the US. Solopreneurs need premium pricing just to survive. San Jose requires a Business Tax Certificate. California CSLB license for contractors. Santa Clara County has additional home-based business rules.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the San Jose metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Car Audio Installers run into with FreshBooks, and what Nexa does instead.
$1,329 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.
Get Nexa — $279 Once