You're Switching from QuickBooks. Here's Why Glassblowers 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 glassblower, former QuickBooks customer
The Bottom Line
Glassblowers 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 glassblower earns $34,000/year, so QuickBooks's annual cost is roughly 1.9% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
Key Numbers
$34,000
Median glassblower income
1.5%
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 Glassblowers 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.
Your furnace runs 24/7 at $800/month in gas. You blew 12 pieces today — 2 cracked in the annealing kiln. A gallery wants 10 pieces on consignment at 50/50 split. Your Etsy shop has custom pendant orders. Between furnace costs, materials, breakage, and gallery splits, you need to sell $4,000/month just to break even. Do you know your per-piece cost? No.
Glassblowers face unique challenges: Gas and electricity costs for furnace operation are enormous. Breakage and cracking during annealing destroys completed work. Custom art glass pricing is subjective and hard to systematize. Gallery consignment splits and delayed payments. On top of all that, QuickBooks charges $55/month ($660/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median glassblower earns $34,000/year. Software at $660/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Glass furnace or torch setup 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."
— Glassblower 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 glassblowers 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 glassblowers actually deal with
Gas and electricity costs for furnace operation are enormous
Breakage and cracking during annealing destroys completed work
Custom art glass pricing is subjective and hard to systematize
Gallery consignment splits and delayed payments
A day in the life of a glassblower
Your furnace runs 24/7 at $800/month in gas. You blew 12 pieces today — 2 cracked in the annealing kiln. A gallery wants 10 pieces on consignment at 50/50 split. Your Etsy shop has custom pendant orders. Between furnace costs, materials, breakage, and gallery splits, you need to sell $4,000/month just to break even. Do you know your per-piece cost? No.
The tools a working glassblower actually owns
Glass furnace or torch setup
Annealing kiln
Colored glass rods and frit
Blowpipes and hand tools
Why glassblowers leave the big platforms
quickbooks: $55/month on top of $800/month furnace costs. Every dollar matters when overhead is this high.
wave: Can't factor furnace running costs into per-piece pricing or track consignment splits.
Where glassblowers actually talk shop
r/glassblowing (Reddit)
r/lampwork (Reddit)
r/glasspipes (Reddit)
TalkGlass.com (Forum)
Lampwork Etc Forum (Forum)
Corning Museum of Glass (YouTube)
Revere Glass (YouTube)
Bear Mountain Studios (YouTube)
Local glassblowers on Nexa
Real glassblowers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee.
Are you a glassblower? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time.
Or browse every glassblower on Nexa →
FAQ
Is Nexa really a QuickBooks replacement for glassblowers?
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.
Glassblowers in Palmdale
The average solo operator there spends about $2,352/year on software — and glassblower face their own version of that math. CA state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Palmdale metro. Your situation will vary.
If You Need These — Nexa Has Them
Specific gaps Glassblowers 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.
If you want to compare notes or see how other glassblowers are running their tools, here's where the conversation happens.
Reddit
r/glassblowing, r/lampwork, r/glasspipes
Forums
TalkGlass.com, Lampwork Etc Forum
YouTube
Corning Museum of Glass, Revere Glass, Bear Mountain Studios
"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."
— Glassblower, switched from QuickBooks
Stop Losing $660/Year to QuickBooks
$2,214 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.