Flight Instructors 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 flight instructor 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.
Flight Instructors face unique challenges: Weather cancellations on training days that were paid-up-front. Aircraft rental rate + your instructor rate billed separately. FAA practical test prep timeline (checkride scheduling 6+ weeks out). Logbook entries per flight — FAA-required, never automated. Student loan / FAA-medical paperwork support unpaid hours. On top of all that, FreshBooks charges $33/month ($396/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median flight instructor 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 Pilot logbook (paper + electronic — ForeFlight) 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 flight instructors 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.
7am morning weather check — VFR conditions, you call your 8am student. 8am pre-flight briefing, then a 1.5-hour cross-country. 10am back at the FBO, logbook entries for that flight. Noon ground school with a student prepping for the written. 2pm second flight — pattern work with a pre-solo student. 4pm checkride prep with a different student. 6pm you reconcile aircraft rental against student invoices.
Real flight instructors near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a flight instructor? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every flight instructor 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 flight instructor face their own version of that math. IL state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Springfield metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Flight Instructors 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