You're Switching from QuickBooks. Here's Why Craft Vendors Choose Nexa.
QuickBooks
$55/mo
$660/year — every year, forever
Nexa
$279
Once. Own it forever.
or 3 payments of $99
Break even in 5.1 months. Then it's free forever.
"Switched from QuickBooks after the last price increase. Nexa does everything I needed for $279. Wish I'd done it sooner."
— Verified craft vendor, former QuickBooks customer
The Bottom Line
Craft Vendors on QuickBooks pay $55/month — $660/year. Over three years, that's $2,214. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 5.1 months. The median craft vendor earns $25,000/year, so QuickBooks's annual cost is roughly 2.6% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
Key Numbers
$25,000
Median craft vendor income
2%
Typical SaaS spend as % of revenue
5.1 mo
Break-even vs QuickBooks
$1,935
3-year savings switching to Nexa
What QuickBooks Is Costing You
The Damage
QuickBooks monthly$55/mo
Annual drain$660/yr
Year 2 (11.4% SaaS inflation)$735
Year 3$819
3-year total$2,214
That's $2,214 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
Your QuickBooks subscription has cost you $0.00 since you opened this page.
Why Craft Vendors Leave QuickBooks
✗Annual price increases of 10-15%
✗User caps force expensive tier jumps
✗Complex interface overwhelms small operators
✗Desktop version being sunset - forced to Online
✗Payment processing fees add up fast
✗No offline capability
✗QB controls 85% of this market. It's technically a monopoly. The FTC has a long issue with Intuit over pricing.
✗400% increase since 2023. We used to update every 2 years for $250. Now subscription is $689.
✗An almost 70% price increase for your most used product and all you guys are adding is a bunch of AI slop.
You're at a craft fair from 8am to 5pm. You paid $150 for the booth, drove an hour to get here, and loaded your car with $2,000 in handmade jewelry. By 3pm you've sold $450 — Square took $12 in fees. Your material costs for those items was roughly $120, booth was $150, gas was $30. You think you made $138 but you're not sure because you don't track per-item costs. By the end of the season you have no idea which items or which fairs are actually profitable.
Craft Vendors face unique challenges: Tracking profit per item when material costs vary by batch. Square processing fees on low-margin handmade items. Managing inventory across craft fairs, online shops, and consignment. Booth fees and travel costs eating into already thin margins. On top of all that, QuickBooks charges $55/month ($660/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median craft vendor earns $25,000/year. Software at $660/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Display setup (tables, racks, signage) 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.
Your Full Stack Cost
QuickBooks is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
Want this breakdown emailed to you?
Your exact QuickBooks cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
"I was paying QuickBooks $55/month and didn't question it until I did the math. $2,214 over 3 years for tools I don't even own. Nexa was $279. Once. Done."
— Craft vendor business owner
What You Get Instead
Feature
QuickBooks
Nexa
Invoicing
✓
✓
Scheduling
✗
✓
CRM
✗
✓
Time Tracking
✗
✓
Full Accounting
✗
✓ (SIMPL)
Task Management
✗
✓
Price
$55/mo forever
$279 once or 3 × $99
3-Year Cost
$2,214
$279
Stop paying?
Lose everything
Keep everything forever
Switching Takes 1-2 Days
Most craft vendors are fully switched before the weekend.
1
Export your data
Go to Reports → export to CSV. Download clients, invoices, expenses.
2
Set up Nexa
15-minute setup. Import your clients and expense categories.
3
Parallel run
Run both for 1-2 weeks. Verify everything transferred.
4
Cancel QuickBooks
Cancel subscription. Download final backup. You're done.
✓ Run both in parallel. Cancel QuickBooks when you're confident. Zero risk.
What craft vendors actually deal with
Tracking profit per item when material costs vary by batch
Square processing fees on low-margin handmade items
Managing inventory across craft fairs, online shops, and consignment
Booth fees and travel costs eating into already thin margins
A day in the life of a craft vendor
You're at a craft fair from 8am to 5pm. You paid $150 for the booth, drove an hour to get here, and loaded your car with $2,000 in handmade jewelry. By 3pm you've sold $450 — Square took $12 in fees. Your material costs for those items was roughly $120, booth was $150, gas was $30. You think you made $138 but you're not sure because you don't track per-item costs. By the end of the season you have no idea which items or which fairs are actually profitable.
The tools a working craft vendor actually owns
Display setup (tables, racks, signage)
Craft supplies and raw materials
Canopy tent and weights
Square reader and cash box
Why craft vendors leave the big platforms
square: 2.6% + $0.10 per swipe on a $15 handmade candle. That's $0.49 per sale. On a craft fair day selling 50 items, Square takes $25.
quickbooks: $55/month for a hobby-turned-business making $25K/year. That's 2.6% of gross revenue just on accounting.
wave: Free invoicing but can't track per-item material costs or per-event profitability. No inventory management.
Where craft vendors actually talk shop
r/craftfairs (Reddit)
r/Artisan (Reddit)
r/smallbusiness (Reddit)
r/Handmade (Reddit)
Craftcount Community (Forum)
Craft Fair Insider (YouTube)
Jennifer Maker (YouTube)
Made Urban (YouTube)
Local craft vendors on Nexa
Real craft vendors near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee.
Are you a craft vendor? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time.
Or browse every craft vendor on Nexa →
FAQ
Is Nexa really a QuickBooks replacement for craft vendors?
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. QuickBooks may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
$279 seems like a lot.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. QuickBooks is $55/month — that's $2,214 over 3 years. Which is more? And if you'd rather split it, Nexa is also available as 3 payments of $99.
Can I pay in installments?
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.
What if I don't like it?
30-day money-back guarantee. Full refund. If Nexa doesn't save you $500 in year one, you get every penny back.
Can I import my QuickBooks data?
Export your data from QuickBooks as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
Craft Vendors in Aurora
The average solo operator there spends about $2,352/year on software — and craft vendor face their own version of that math. IL state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Aurora metro. Your situation will vary.
If You Need These — Nexa Has Them
Specific gaps Craft Vendors run into with QuickBooks, and what Nexa does instead.
✗
QuickBooks gapNo scheduling/booking
✓
NexaBuilt-in scheduling and booking — no separate tier.
✗
QuickBooks gapNo CRM functionality
✓
NexaFull CRM module included in $279.
✗
QuickBooks gapNo project management for services
✓
NexaJob and project management in the same $279 — no upgrade needed.
What QuickBooks Users Are Saying Lately
Recent threads from Reddit and Hacker News mentioning QuickBooks. Sentiment scored automatically — click through to read the full thread.
"QuickBooks raised prices again and I was done. Found Nexa — $279 once. I own it. No more 'we're updating our pricing' emails. Best business decision this year."
— Craft vendor, switched from QuickBooks
Stop Losing $660/Year to QuickBooks
$2,214 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.