Status in Canada (2026)
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Actively sold
- NorthOS
- Actively sold
QuickBooks Self-Employed is $19.99 a month. NorthOS is $12, and goes further on CRA tax.
QBSE is still sold in Canada, and the web version is branded QuickBooks Lite at $20 CAD a month. Both tools cover receipts, expenses, sales tax, mileage, and invoices. NorthOS is about 40% cheaper and follows your expenses all the way onto the CRA T2125.
Where QuickBooks Self-Employed actually stands
QuickBooks Self-Employed is still sold. Intuit lists it at a regular price of about $19.99 a month in its mobile app. Intuit also still runs a QuickBooks Self-Employed support channel. If someone told you the product is going away, that is not what the evidence shows.
On the web, Intuit sells the same product under the QuickBooks Online family name: QuickBooks Lite, at $20 CAD a month. Same price band, same product code, near-identical feature list. The mobile app kept the older name. Above it sit the QuickBooks Online small-business tiers: EasyStart at $30, Essentials at $70, Plus at $110, and Advanced at $220 (prices as of 2026, from Intuit's Canadian pricing page).
Intuit advertises QBSE as covering receipts, expense sorting, sales tax (GST, PST, HST), mileage, invoicing, and a tax summary. That is a real feature set. So the honest comparison is not about whether the product works. It is about what it costs, and how far it follows you into a Canadian tax return.
NorthOS is $12 CAD a month, about 40% less, and covers the same ground. On top of it, NorthOS maps every expense to its specific CRA T2125 line, tracks the GST/HST $30,000 threshold on a rolling four-quarter basis, and includes a Quick Method calculator for all 13 provinces and territories. Intuit does not advertise those three.
Switch for the price and the CRA depth, not because anything is being taken away from you.
QuickBooks Self-Employed vs. NorthOS
| Feature | QuickBooks Self-Employed (QuickBooks Lite on the web) | NorthOS |
|---|---|---|
| Status in Canada (2026) | Actively sold | Actively sold |
| Monthly price (CAD, as of 2026) | About $19.99 in the app; $20 as QuickBooks Lite on the web | $12, or $119 a year |
| Receipt capture | Advertised: snap and save receipts | Yes, via North AI |
| Expense sorting | Advertised: sort expenses with a swipe | Yes, into a review queue you approve |
| Sales tax (GST, PST, HST) | Advertised: tracks GST, PST, and HST | Yes |
| Mileage tracking | Advertised: auto-track mileage | Yes, in the mobile app |
| Invoicing and online payments | Advertised: send invoices that are payable online | Send invoices, get paid online via Stripe |
| Tax summary | Advertised: see your tax summary | Yes |
| Every expense mapped to its specific CRA T2125 line | Not advertised | Yes, with an audit log |
| GST/HST $30,000 threshold, rolling four quarters | Not advertised | Tracked automatically |
| Quick Method calculator | Not advertised | All 13 provinces and territories |
| Import from a QBSE CSV export | N/A | Direct import, mapped to T2125 lines |
Monthly price (CAD, as of 2026)
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- About $19.99 in the app; $20 as QuickBooks Lite on the web
- NorthOS
- $12, or $119 a year
Receipt capture
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Advertised: snap and save receipts
- NorthOS
- Yes, via North AI
Expense sorting
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Advertised: sort expenses with a swipe
- NorthOS
- Yes, into a review queue you approve
Sales tax (GST, PST, HST)
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Advertised: tracks GST, PST, and HST
- NorthOS
- Yes
Mileage tracking
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Advertised: auto-track mileage
- NorthOS
- Yes, in the mobile app
Invoicing and online payments
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Advertised: send invoices that are payable online
- NorthOS
- Send invoices, get paid online via Stripe
Tax summary
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Advertised: see your tax summary
- NorthOS
- Yes
Every expense mapped to its specific CRA T2125 line
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Not advertised
- NorthOS
- Yes, with an audit log
GST/HST $30,000 threshold, rolling four quarters
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Not advertised
- NorthOS
- Tracked automatically
Quick Method calculator
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Not advertised
- NorthOS
- All 13 provinces and territories
Import from a QBSE CSV export
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- N/A
- NorthOS
- Direct import, mapped to T2125 lines
Why Canadian solopreneurs are switching to NorthOS
About 40% cheaper.
NorthOS is $12 CAD a month, or $119 a year. QuickBooks Self-Employed is about $19.99 a month, and QuickBooks Lite is $20 (prices as of 2026). Same core job, lower price.
Every expense lands on its CRA T2125 line.
Not a generic category that you or your accountant re-map in March. NorthOS puts each expense on the specific line you file on, and keeps an audit log of how it got there.
The GST/HST $30,000 threshold, tracked the way the CRA tests it.
On a rolling four-quarter basis, which is the test that actually applies and the one people trip over. PST for BC/SK/MB and marketplace facilitator rules are handled too.
A Quick Method calculator for all 13 provinces and territories.
The Quick Method can save a registered sole proprietor real money, and it is fiddly to work out by hand. NorthOS does the comparison for you.
“But what about my QBSE data?”
It comes with you. NorthOS imports your QBSE data directly: export your transactions from QBSE as CSV, upload the file to NorthOS, and it auto-detects the QBSE format and maps your categories to the correct Canadian T2125 lines.
Export before you cancel, because you lose access to your QBSE account once the subscription ends. That single step is the one people skip, and it is the one that costs them a year of history.
We've written two practical guides for this exact move: our QuickBooks Self-Employed Canada exit manual walks through exporting your data before you cancel, and our QBSE to NorthOS migration guide covers setting up on the NorthOS side.
Still weighing where to land? See how every option compares in our ranked guide to the best bookkeeping software for Canadian sole proprietors, or read the full NorthOS vs QuickBooks Online comparison.
If you want help getting your historical data into NorthOS, our team can walk you through it. Reach out at hello@northos.ca.
Frequently asked questions
Is QuickBooks Self-Employed discontinued in Canada?
No. It is still sold. As of 2026, QuickBooks Self-Employed is listed at about $19.99 per month in Intuit's mobile app, and the web version is sold as QuickBooks Lite at $20 CAD per month. Intuit also still runs a QuickBooks Self-Employed support channel. The QuickBooks Online small-business tiers above it are EasyStart at $30, Essentials at $70, Plus at $110, and Advanced at $220 (prices as of 2026).
How much does QuickBooks Self-Employed cost in Canada?
About $19.99 per month in the mobile app as of 2026, and $20 CAD per month on the web, where it is branded QuickBooks Lite. Those are the regular prices. NorthOS is $12 CAD per month, about 40% less. Current Intuit pricing is published at quickbooks.intuit.com/ca/pricing.
What does QuickBooks Self-Employed include?
Intuit advertises: snapping and saving receipts, sorting expenses with a swipe, tracking sales tax (GST, PST, HST), auto-tracking mileage, sending and tracking invoices, and seeing your tax summary. NorthOS covers the same ground at $12 CAD per month, and additionally maps every expense to its specific CRA T2125 line, tracks the GST/HST $30,000 threshold on a rolling four-quarter basis, and includes a Quick Method calculator for all 13 provinces and territories. Intuit does not advertise those three.
What is the best alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed in Canada?
For Canadian sole proprietors and side hustlers, NorthOS is purpose-built for this use case, at $12 CAD per month against about $19.99 for QuickBooks Self-Employed. It maps every expense to its specific CRA T2125 line, tracks the GST/HST $30,000 threshold on a rolling four-quarter basis, includes a Quick Method calculator for all 13 provinces and territories, and can import your QBSE CSV export directly.
Does NorthOS connect to my bank automatically?
Yes. NorthOS connects to your bank and credit card accounts (via Plaid) and imports transactions automatically. Each imported transaction lands in a review queue with a suggested CRA category, and nothing reaches your books until you approve it, so you stay in control of what gets claimed.
Can I migrate my QuickBooks Self-Employed data into NorthOS?
Yes. NorthOS imports your QBSE CSV export directly. Export your transactions from QBSE, upload the file to NorthOS, and it auto-detects the QBSE format and maps your categories to the correct CRA T2125 lines. We can also help walk you through getting your historical data in if you need a hand.
How does NorthOS compare to QuickBooks on price?
NorthOS is $12 CAD per month, or $119 CAD per year (about two months free). QuickBooks Self-Employed is about $19.99 per month and QuickBooks Lite is $20 CAD per month, so NorthOS is about 40% less. The QuickBooks Online small-business tiers above them are EasyStart at $30, Essentials at $70, Plus at $110, and Advanced at $220 (prices as of 2026).
Why would I switch from QuickBooks Self-Employed to NorthOS?
Price and Canadian tax depth. Both tools handle receipts, expense sorting, GST/HST/PST, mileage, invoices, and a tax summary. NorthOS is about 40% cheaper, and it additionally maps every expense to its specific CRA T2125 line, tracks the GST/HST $30,000 threshold on a rolling four-quarter basis, and includes a Quick Method calculator for all 13 provinces and territories. Intuit does not advertise those three.
Is NorthOS designed for Canadian sole proprietors specifically?
Yes. NorthOS is built in Canada by Apex North Enterprises (Ontario), specifically for Canadian sole proprietors and side hustlers. It handles CRA T2125 compliance, GST/HST registration thresholds, PST for BC/SK/MB, and marketplace facilitator tax rules out of the box.
Stop paying more for software built for someone else.
NorthOS is bookkeeping and tax compliance for Canadian sole proprietors. No employees, no payroll, no chart-of-accounts, just the tools you actually need.