# Alternatives to Pilot

> Source: https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot/alternatives/ (re-verified)
> Updated: 27 October 2026

## At a glance

| Name | Best for | Starts at | A month at 100 transactions | Better than Pilot at | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its books done for it in QuickBooks Online | Price not established | $137 | — | 26 October 2026 |
| [Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle.md) | A US startup on Mercury, Brex, Ramp, Stripe and Gusto that wants to replace QuickBooks | Price not established | $30 | Ledger included, Setup or onboarding fee | 26 October 2026 |
| [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md) | UK sole traders and small limited companies filing their own VAT and Self Assessment | From about $13 a month | About $25 | Ledger included, Setup or onboarding fee | 26 October 2026 |
| [Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books.md) | Small businesses and startups that want one ledger plus the wider Zoho app suite | Free, then $20 a month | $20 | Ledger included, Sends invoices | 26 October 2026 |
| [Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai.md) | A business or bookkeeping firm already on QuickBooks Online or Xero | Price not established | $156 | Your data trains AI, Several businesses | 26 October 2026 |
| [Stampli](https://tickmarkbooks.com/stampli.md) | Finance teams with high invoice volume, many approvers and several entities | On quote | — | Pays your bills, People check the books | 26 October 2026 |
| [SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai.md) | Accounting firms and finance teams processing high volumes of invoices and bank statements | From $79 a month | $106 | Past your plan’s limits, Setup or onboarding fee | 27 October 2026 |
| [Bookkeeper360](https://tickmarkbooks.com/bookkeeper360.md) | Startups and growing small businesses wanting books, tax and CFO help from one US team | From $19 a month | $638 | Catching up past months, Accrual books and reports | 27 October 2026 |
| [Zeni](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zeni.md) | U.S. startups that want AI bookkeeping and a dedicated finance team | From $549 a month | — | Catching up past months, Pays your bills | 30 October 2026 |
| [Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its own AI-kept ledger in place of QuickBooks | From $65 a month | $65 | Ledger included, Setup or onboarding fee | 27 October 2026 |

“About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

The ones people open most here come first, then the closest matches.

## Shortlist

### 1. Puzzle

AI-native accounting software with optional bookkeeper services for startups and small businesses.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Ledger included: yes — It is the ledger; no QuickBooks or Xero needed. Puzzle is a double-entry general ledger of its own, sold as a QuickBooks replacement (Core card: 'Your QuickBooks replacement').](https://puzzle.io/legal/faq)
- [Setup or onboarding fee: no — No setup fee; onboarding calls are free. No plan card or FAQ names a setup or onboarding fee.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/7179694-quick-start-guide)
- [Catching up past months: yes — From $300 per month of books. Catch-up bookkeeping is a one-time add-on on the pricing page: the team reviews, cleans up and closes each unfinished month, from $300 per month of books (the page's example: eleven months is $3,300).](https://puzzle.io/pricing)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — You reconcile on Starter; AI drafts it from Complete. Every plan has a reconciliation screen where you match the month's transactions to the statement until the difference is $0, then Puzzle runs an auto-validation check.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/6986882-how-to-reconcile-bank-and-credit-card-accounts-in-puzzle)
- [PayPal: partial — PayPal, Square not named. PayPal: not named on any page read.](https://puzzle.io/integrations/stripe)
- [Square: no — PayPal, Square not named.](https://puzzle.io/integrations/stripe)

[View Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle)

### 2. FreeAgent

UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Ledger included: yes — FreeAgent is the accounting ledger itself: it keeps the books, builds the accounting reports and files the returns, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/accounting-software/)
- [Setup or onboarding fee: no — The vendor states plainly that it charges nothing to set up an account, and the UK pricing page lists no onboarding or implementation fee beside any plan.](https://www.freeagent.com/us/pricing/)
- [Sends invoices: yes — You create, send and automate invoices and reminders from web or mobile, and customers pay in one click through Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless or Tyl, which records the payment against the invoice.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [People check the books: no — Checking the AI is yours: Smart Capture ends with you approving each captured bill or receipt, and no plan includes a bookkeeper reviewing the books, only UK support accountants answering questions.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/expenses/)
- [Shopify: no — Its partner directory carries Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless, Tyl, SumUp, WooCommerce and a paid Amazon UK add-on, but no Shopify, Square or Gusto appear in any category of that directory.](https://www.freeagent.com/integrations/)
- [Square: no — Its partner directory carries Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless, Tyl, SumUp, WooCommerce and a paid Amazon UK add-on, but no Shopify, Square or Gusto appear in any category of that directory.](https://www.freeagent.com/integrations/)

[View FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent)

### 3. Zoho Books

Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Ledger included: yes — Zoho Books is the accounting ledger itself, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it; the plan fee covers invoicing, banking, journals and the reports.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
- [Sends invoices: yes — Invoices, recurring invoices, credit notes, payment reminders and a customer portal are on every plan, with online payment links and offline payments recorded against the invoice.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)
- [Accrual books and reports: yes — Profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow sit among 70+ built-in reports you can run at any time; the pages read do not state whether the books are kept on a cash or accrual basis.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/accounting-software/accounting-financial-reports/)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [Categorizes transactions: partial — Zia pre-fills the account and vendor against each imported bank line, so it suggests rather than posts by itself, and the page does not claim it learns from your corrections.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/accounting-software/ai-in-accounting/)
- [Stripe: partial — Stripe, PayPal, Square and Authorize.Net are supported payment gateways and Shopify stores connect on Elite and above (up to two)](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)
- [Shopify: partial — Stripe, PayPal, Square and Authorize.Net are supported payment gateways and Shopify stores connect on Elite and above (up to two)](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)

[View Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books)

### 4. Booke AI

An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Your data trains AI: partial — Trains a model kept for your account only. That per-client model is itself trained on your books (privacy policy section 10 is titled 'How Your Data Trains AI Models').](https://booke.ai/data-handling)
- [Several businesses: yes — Each business adds $129 a month, on one bill. Several businesses sit on one subscription; each is priced at the per-business rate ($129 a month monthly, $116 a month billed annually), prorated when added mid-period and joined to the combined charge at renewal.](https://booke.ai/pricing)
- [Canada: yes — US, Canada, UK and Australia, in local currency.](https://booke.ai/)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — Prepares reconciliation; your team completes it. In QuickBooks Online it prepares work for reconciliation and does not promise a reconciled file; in Xero it can perform 'supported reconciliation actions for eligible configured cases' and leaves the rest open.](https://booke.ai/bookkeeping-automation-software)
- [People check the books: no — No: software only; your team reviews exceptions. No bookkeeper or accountant from Booke reviews the work on any plan.](https://booke.ai/)
- [Your own bookkeeper: no — No bookkeeper is included. No bookkeeper or accountant comes with any plan.](https://booke.ai/)

[View Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai)

### 5. Stampli

Procure-to-pay workspace for invoices, vendors, payments and card spend, with AI coding and routing.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Pays your bills: yes — This is the core of the product: invoices are captured, coded, routed for approval and then paid by check, bank transfer, virtual card or international payment in the same workflow.](https://www.stampli.com/payments/)
- [People check the books: yes — Review is explicitly yours: Billy prepares work and routes exceptions, and the vendor says authorized people keep approvals, posting and payment release.](https://www.stampli.com/billy/)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: yes — Stampli claims its AI suggested values are correct 92% of the time and shows the measurement behind it: 29.6 million of 34.3 million fields in April 2026 across 2,248 customer environments.](https://www.stampli.com/ai-information/)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — Payments are reconciled one-to-one against the bank transaction and the record in your accounting system, but Stampli reconciles its own payments rather than closing out every bank and card account each month.](https://www.stampli.com/payments/)
- [For accounting firms: partial — There is a partner program for accounting firms built on referrals and revenue sharing, not a console where a firm runs many clients under its own branding.](https://www.stampli.com/partners/)

[View Stampli](https://tickmarkbooks.com/stampli)

### 6. SimpleAI

AI agents that extract, classify and reconcile accounting documents, then publish them into Xero or QuickBooks.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: yes — Past the monthly credit allowance you buy add-on packs at a published rate, but the number of packs is capped per month, so very heavy months force a plan upgrade rather than open-ended overage.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/pricing)
- [Setup or onboarding fee: no — The vendor states onboarding, training and ongoing assistance are in every plan, and no one-time setup or implementation fee appears on any plan card or in the pricing FAQ.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/pricing)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: partial — The vendor claims high precision in extraction and classification and says accuracy improves with your corrections, but it publishes no accuracy percentage and no description of how any figure was measured.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/contact)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [People check the books: no — No bookkeeper of the vendor's checks the output: review sits with you inside the platform, and NOVA requires human approval before anything is committed to the records.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/contact)
- [Xero: partial — The vendor names Xero, QuickBooks and Accurate as the ledgers it currently supports, with Accurate limited to Indonesia QuickBooks Desktop and NetSuite are absent from that list, and no page says which QuickBooks or Xero plans are required.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/contact)
- [Moves your history in: no — There is no migration of historic books: the vendor positions the product as running alongside the accounting system you keep, feeding entries into it rather than replacing or importing it.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/contact)

[View SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai)

### 7. Bookkeeper360

US-based outsourced bookkeeping, tax and CFO team working in your QuickBooks Online or Xero.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Catching up past months: yes — Catch-up and prior-period cleanup is sold as a one-time project from $1,000, covering uncategorized transactions, reconciliations and catch-up entries before monthly service starts.](https://bookkeeper360.com/services/bookkeeping/)
- [Accrual books and reports: yes — Accrual-basis books are standard, with deferred revenue and accrued expenses handled, and a monthly Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet delivered; the home page also promises cash flow reports.](https://bookkeeper360.com/pricing/)
- [People check the books: yes — The work is done and reviewed by people: a dedicated US-based accountant keeps the books and walks through them with you each month, so checking is not left to the buyer.](https://bookkeeper360.com/services/bookkeeping/)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [Categorizes transactions: partial — Categorization is done for you, but the vendor credits its dedicated accountant rather than software, and nothing on the site claims the product categorizes transactions itself or learns from your corrections.](https://bookkeeper360.com/services/bookkeeping/)
- [Square: partial — Square appears only in a logo strip, which is not a claim.](https://bookkeeper360.com/services/bookkeeping/)
- [Getting your books out: partial — The ledger stays in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero account with full audit access to entries, so the general ledger and reports remain yours, but the agreement promises no transition help beyond paid retainer value.](https://bookkeeper360.com/services/bookkeeping/)

[View Bookkeeper360](https://tickmarkbooks.com/bookkeeper360)

### 8. Zeni

AI bookkeeping with a dedicated finance team, built on QuickBooks Online Plus.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Catching up past months: yes — Cleanup of the books is named as part of what the AI Accountant does, and past data is migrated during onboarding, but no price or scope for catching up months you are behind on is published.](https://www.zeni.ai/product/ai-bookkeeping)
- [Pays your bills: yes — Zeni reads bills, routes them through approvals, schedules payments, and tracks payment status.](https://www.zeni.ai/ai-accountant-agent)
- [Sends invoices: yes — The terms list invoicing among the finance functions bundled into the platform, and the AI Accountant tracks what customers owe you alongside what you owe; matching incoming customer payments to invoices is not described.](https://www.zeni.ai/ai-accountant-agent)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [Xero: no — the vendor does not document Xero, Desktop, or NetSuite support.](https://www.zeni.ai/ai-accountant-agent)

[View Zeni](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zeni)

### 9. Digits

AI-native general ledger that books and reconciles itself, replacing QuickBooks or Xero for US businesses.

**Where it improves on Pilot:**
- [Ledger included: yes — Digits is the general ledger itself, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it; the vendor positions it as a replacement system of record.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)
- [Setup or onboarding fee: no — The vendor states plainly that signing up carries no setup fee, and its firm FAQ adds that there are no client migration fees either.](https://digits.com/pricing/)
- [Catching up past months: yes — Digits says it handles after-the-fact and catch-up bookkeeping on the same platform as ongoing monthly work, and publishes no separate catch-up or cleanup fee anywhere on its pricing pages.](https://digits.com/accountants/)

**Trade-offs against Pilot:**
- [Your own bookkeeper: no — No bookkeeper comes with a subscription; Digits is software and refers businesses that want a person to certified partner firms, who bill separately for full-service accounting.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)
- [QuickBooks Online: no — Digits does not run on top of QuickBooks Online, Xero, QuickBooks Desktop or NetSuite: it is the ledger, and those platforms are migration sources rather than integrations.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)
- [Xero: no — Digits does not run on top of QuickBooks Online, Xero, QuickBooks Desktop or NetSuite: it is the ledger, and those platforms are migration sources rather than integrations.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)

[View Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits)