Cocktail Caterers 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 Cocktail Caterer earns $42,000/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.
Cocktail Caterers face unique challenges: Staffing and scheduling enough bartenders and barbacks for the guest-count-to-bar ratio. Batch-prepping large-format cocktails to hold quality while serving hundreds quickly. Coordinating with food caterers and planners on timeline, footprint, and shared logistics. Managing glassware, ice, and bar inventory at scale across multiple service stations. On top of all that, FreshBooks charges $33/month ($396/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Cocktail Caterer earns $42,000/year. Software at $396/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Multiple portable bar stations and a back-of-house prep area 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 cocktail caterers 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.
Running bars at scale is a kitchen-and-staffing operation, not a single bartender's gig. Days ahead I build batches: barrel-aged negronis, large-format punches, and infusions that need time to develop, all calibrated so the hundredth pour tastes like the first. I staff to the count, working the rule of roughly one bartender per fifty to seventy-five guests plus barbacks to keep ice and glassware flowing, then schedule a crew and brief them on the menu and the timeline. Coordination with the food caterer and planner is constant, agreeing on where my stations sit, when bars open relative to dinner service, and how we share load-in and power. On event day my team sets multiple stations, racks glassware, and stages batched cocktails in dispensers so a line of two hundred moves fast. The barbacks run an endless relay of ice and clean glasses while I float between stations fixing bottlenecks and watching pour consistency. Behind the scenes I am tracking inventory across every bar so none runs dry mid-service. Breakdown is its own operation: striking stations, packing glassware for the wash, reconciling what poured, and settling the staff payroll for the night.
Real cocktail caterers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a cocktail caterer? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every cocktail caterer 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 $2,112/year on software — and Cocktail Caterer face their own version of that math. TN state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Chattanooga metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Cocktail Caterers 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