Mural Painters 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 Mural Painter earns $45,000/year, so FreshBooks's annual cost is roughly 1.1% 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.
Mural Painters face unique challenges: Weather wrecks the schedule, rain, heat, and humidity stop exterior work cold and a single storm can cost me days of booked time. Wall prep is huge and invisible to clients, pressure-washing, patching, and priming a rough exterior before a drop of color goes on. Permits, property-owner sign-off, and HOA or city approvals stall projects for weeks and clients assume I handle all the red tape. Quoting square footage on a three-story wall means scaffolding rental, lift permits, and height risk that a flat 'per wall' price never covers. On top of all that, FreshBooks charges $43/month ($516/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Mural Painter earns $45,000/year. Software at $516/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your scaffolding and an extension ladder 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 mural painters 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.
A mural day starts by checking the forecast before anything else, because I paint outdoors and a surprise afternoon storm can ruin fresh acrylic and blow a day I've already booked. If the weather holds, the real first work is prep that the client never pictures: I pressure-wash the wall, patch the cracks and spalling, and prime the whole surface, because color laid over a dirty or chalky exterior peels within a season. I scale the design up, often projecting it onto the wall after dark the night before and chalking the grid, because freehanding a thirty-foot figure to the right proportion is how you end up with a wonky face visible from the highway. Then I'm up on scaffolding or a lift, blocking in the large fields with a sprayer and switching to brushes and cans for detail, constantly stepping back across the street to check that the scale reads from a distance. Midday the sun moves and the heat speeds drying, so I chase shade and adjust. There's always a logistics layer humming underneath, the property owner's sign-off, the city permit, the sidewalk closure, and the client assumes I'm handling all of it. Before I leave each day I tarp my materials, and on the final day I roll on a UV and anti-graffiti sealant so the piece survives the weather and the taggers, then I photograph it in good light for my portfolio and the client's records.
Real mural painters near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a mural painter? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every mural painter 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 $3,120/year on software — and Mural Painter face their own version of that math. AK state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Fairbanks metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Mural Painters 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