You're Switching from QuickBooks. Here's Why Photographers 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 photographer, former QuickBooks customer
The Bottom Line
Photographers 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 photographer earns $42,000/year, so QuickBooks's annual cost is roughly 1.6% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
Key Numbers
$42,000
Median photographer income
4.2%
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 Photographers 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 just finished a 6-hour wedding. Tomorrow you have an engagement session at golden hour. You need to send contracts to two new leads, collect a deposit from a family portrait booking, and schedule delivery reminders for three galleries — all while editing 800 photos from last weekend. HoneyBook charges you $39/month and takes a payment processing fee on the $4,000 wedding package you just invoiced.
Photographers face unique challenges: HoneyBook takes a percentage of every contract payment on top of the monthly fee. Managing deposits, payment plans, and final balances across 15+ active clients. Contract management — sending, signing, tracking for every shoot. Tracking expenses across shoots (travel, second shooters, prints). Dubsado has a brutal learning curve that takes weeks to set up. On top of all that, QuickBooks charges $55/month ($660/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median photographer earns $42,000/year. Software at $660/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Camera bodies (Canon R5/R6, Sony A7IV, Nikon Z6 — $2,500+ each) 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."
— Photographer 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 photographers 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 photographers actually deal with
HoneyBook takes a percentage of every contract payment on top of the monthly fee
Managing deposits, payment plans, and final balances across 15+ active clients
Contract management — sending, signing, tracking for every shoot
Tracking expenses across shoots (travel, second shooters, prints)
Dubsado has a brutal learning curve that takes weeks to set up
A day in the life of a photographer
You just finished a 6-hour wedding. Tomorrow you have an engagement session at golden hour. You need to send contracts to two new leads, collect a deposit from a family portrait booking, and schedule delivery reminders for three galleries — all while editing 800 photos from last weekend. HoneyBook charges you $39/month and takes a payment processing fee on the $4,000 wedding package you just invoiced.
The tools a working photographer actually owns
Camera bodies (Canon R5/R6, Sony A7IV, Nikon Z6 — $2,500+ each)
Lens collection ($1,000-$2,500 each)
Speedlights and studio strobes
Light stands, softboxes, modifiers
Memory cards and card readers
Editing workstation with calibrated monitor
Camera bags and hard cases
Why photographers leave the big platforms
honeybook: $39/month plus they take a cut of every payment processed. On a $5,000 wedding, that's real money gone. And the templates look generic.
dubsado: Took me 40 hours to set up properly. Workflows are powerful but the UI is confusing. Every update breaks something.
17hats: The interface feels like it hasn't been updated since 2017. Clunky, slow, and missing basic features other CRMs have.
Where photographers actually talk shop
r/photography (Reddit)
r/WeddingPhotography (Reddit)
r/photobusiness (Reddit)
r/AskPhotography (Reddit)
Fred Miranda Forums (Forum)
DPReview Community (Forum)
Peter McKinnon (YouTube)
Vanessa Joy (YouTube)
Local photographers on Nexa
Real photographers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee.
Are you a photographer? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time.
Or browse every photographer on Nexa →
FAQ
Is Nexa really a QuickBooks replacement for photographers?
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.
Photographers in Portland
The average solo operator there spends about $2,688/year on software — and photographer face their own version of that math. ME state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Portland metro. Your situation will vary.
If You Need These — Nexa Has Them
Specific gaps Photographers 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.
Peter McKinnon, Vanessa Joy, Taylor Jackson, Pat Kay
Podcasts
The Business of Photography, Bokeh Podcast, Six Figure Photography, The Photographer's Podcast
"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."
— Photographer, switched from QuickBooks
Stop Losing $660/Year to QuickBooks
$2,214 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.