Home Distillers on FreshBooks pay $43/month — $516/year. Over three years, that's $1,548. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 6.5 months. The median home distiller earns $35,000/year, so FreshBooks's annual cost is roughly 1.5% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
That's $1,548 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
You're not the only one who's had enough.
Home Distillers face unique challenges: Distilling spirits for sale is tightly licensed, so a federal distilled-spirits permit and bond plus state approval are required before legally selling a drop. Making clean cuts separates the safe, good-tasting heart from the foreshots and tails, so a misjudged cut ruins flavor or keeps unwanted compounds. Excise tax on spirits is steep and demands precise proof-gallon records, so every run has to be measured and logged to the proof gallon. Aging ties up barrels and capital for months or years, so cash and inventory are locked up long before any bottle can be sold. On top of all that, FreshBooks charges $43/month ($516/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median home distiller earns $35,000/year. Software at $516/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your copper pot or reflux still 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 | — | ✓ |
| Works offline | — | ✓ |
| Price | $43/mo forever | $279 once or 3 × $99 |
| 3-Year Cost | $1,548 | $279 |
| Stop paying? | Lose everything | Keep everything forever |
Most home distillers 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 expenses from CSV.
Run both for 1-2 weeks. Re-create unpaid and recurring invoices in Nexa; keep the FreshBooks export as your invoice history.
Cancel subscription. Download a final data export for your records.
Legitimate operation begins with paperwork, because distilling spirits to sell requires a federal permit and bond and state sign-off, and the records start the moment the still is fired. A wash that's been fermenting goes into the pot, and the run is a patient watch: he tracks temperature and reads proof off the parrot, collecting into jars so he can make cuts. Cuts are the craft, separating the harsh, unsafe foreshots and the off heads from the clean heart, then knowing where the heart fades into the tails, because a sloppy cut either keeps compounds he doesn't want or throws away good spirit. He measures everything with a hydrometer, since excise tax is assessed by the proof gallon and the records have to be exact down the line. Some product goes straight to proofing and bottling; some goes into oak, and that barrel is now capital and inventory locked up for months or years before it can ever be sold. He labels, logs the run's volume and proof, and updates which barrels are aging toward what date. The afternoon is dilution to bottling proof, cleaning the still, and reconciling proof-gallon numbers against the tax records that the run created. Every step is measured, because the regulators and the flavor both demand precision and there's no informal version of this business.
Real home distillers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a home distiller? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every home distiller 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 $43/month — that's $1,548 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 $1,400/year on software — and home distiller face their own version of that math. Chile requires SII electronic invoicing. IVA at 19%. Requirements vary by country and locality. Check local regulations.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Temuco metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Home Distillers run into with FreshBooks, and what Nexa does instead.
$1,548 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.
Get Nexa — $279 Once