Children Book Illustrators 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 Children's Book Illustrator earns $45,000/year, so FreshBooks's annual cost is roughly 0.9% 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.
Children Book Illustrators face unique challenges: Self-publishing authors don't understand the standard 32-page picture-book structure or how a story breaks across spreads and page turns. Keeping a character perfectly on-model across 14 spreads, same nose, same proportions, same outfit, page after page. The brutal gap between the glowing RGB art on my screen and the duller CMYK version that comes off the printer. Authors want unlimited revisions to a child's facial expression and expect me to hold full copyright over to them as part of the flat fee. On top of all that, FreshBooks charges $33/month ($396/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Children's Book Illustrator earns $45,000/year. Software at $396/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil running Procreate 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?
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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 children book illustrators are fully switched before the weekend.
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A picture book lives or dies on the page turn, so I start a new project by breaking the author's manuscript into the standard 32-page signature, deciding what art falls on each spread and where the surprise reveal should land after a turn. I thumbnail the whole book small and fast, because composition problems are cheap to fix in pencil and expensive in finished paint. Once the author approves the thumbnails I move to character design, and this is where the real grind begins: I build a model sheet so my fox has the same snout, the same proportions, and the same little scarf in every single one of the fourteen spreads, because kids notice instantly when a character drifts off-model. Mid-day I'm rendering in Procreate, layering color and texture, then the afternoon brings the revision the author always has, they want the girl to look 'a little happier' on page nine, which means reworking a face I'd considered finished. Before anything goes to the printer I soft-proof in CMYK and tweak the saturated skies and warm skin tones, because the screen lies and the printed book is what the child actually holds. Late in the day we have the awkward conversation about rights, the author assumes the flat fee buys full copyright when my quote was for a licensed use, so I point back to the agreement before I package the final files at full print resolution with bleed.
Real children book illustrators near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a children's book illustrator? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every children's book illustrator 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 $2,208/year on software — and Children's Book Illustrator face their own version of that math. VA state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Hampton metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Children Book Illustrators 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