A Practical Software Directory for Solo Builders
Understanding what your business activity earns
Sales figures show part of the picture. Tracking the costs behind those sales helps you understand what your business activity is returning.
Monitor income, compare costs and explore results by product, project, customer group or marketing channel. Some tools specialise in online shops or subscriptions, while others analyse client work or financial records. Revenue, profit and advertising returns measure different things, so check which costs each report includes and whether it connects with the systems your business already uses.
✓ Personally tested | ◇ Research reviewed | ○ Directory listing
ChartMogul helps subscription businesses understand recurring income and how it changes over time. Connect a supported billing system or import your data to track new subscriptions, upgrades, downgrades and cancellations. Reports show monthly recurring revenue, customer retention and other measures, with filters for comparing plans or customer groups. This can help reveal whether growth comes from attracting customers, retaining them or increasing their spending. Its free plan supports businesses up to US$10,000 in monthly recurring revenue and includes one billing-system connection. Paid plans scale with revenue and add features and connection allowances, depending on the subscription.
○ Directory listing
Fathom turns accounting records into visual reports about profitability, cash flow and business performance. Connect supported accounting software, including Xero and QuickBooks, or import financial information from spreadsheets. Compare results with budgets and previous periods, monitor your chosen performance measures and explore how changes could affect future results. It works alongside your bookkeeping system and may suit an established business wanting more detailed financial analysis or reports to discuss with an accountant. A 14-day trial requires no card details. Continued use requires a paid subscription, with pricing based on the number of companies connected.
○ Directory listing
Harvest connects time records, expenses and billing to help service businesses understand the returns from client work. Track billable and non-billable hours, record project costs and compare the work completed with your estimates. Detailed profitability reports use billing and internal cost rates to show margins by project, client or team. Its free plan supports one person and two projects for basic time, expense and invoice tracking. Detailed profitability reporting requires a higher paid plan. A 30-day trial needs no card details; paid subscriptions charge per person, with usage charges applying to some features.
○ Directory listing
Triple Whale brings commerce revenue, advertising spend and customer information into a shared reporting system. Connect supported platforms to compare sales and marketing results without repeatedly combining separate reports. Its free offering includes business dashboards, first- and last-click attribution and AI-assisted questions about your data, with no credit card required to start. This can help online sellers explore which channels introduce customers and which receive credit for a sale. Check the integrations and features included for your store, as the wider platform also offers additional measurement products. The figures depend on the connected data and attribution method.
○ Directory listing
TrueProfit helps Shopify sellers calculate profit by bringing sales together with product costs, shipping, transaction fees, advertising spend and other expenses. Connect supported services and add the costs that apply to your business, then use the dashboard to monitor profit and margins. Depending on the plan, further reports explore product performance, customer lifetime value and marketing attribution. It may suit store owners wanting a clearer view of what remains after the costs behind each sale. Paid plans include monthly order allowances, with additional charges above those limits. A 14-day free trial is available before subscribing.
○ Directory listing
