An online accounting platform keeps your books, tracks expenses and produces the figures you need for your quarterly filings. It is not the same thing as invoicing software, though most tools sell both together.
If all you need is to issue invoices, you are in the wrong article: start with the best invoicing platform for Spain instead.
Here we compare the platforms that actually keep accounts for Spanish freelancers and small companies, what each covers, and which ones are certified for Verifactu.
The distinction matters because most people buy the wrong thing.
Accounting means keeping your books: recording income and expenses, reconciling your bank, classifying transactions and producing the figures that go into your tax returns. If you run a company, it also means the formal ledgers and the annual accounts filed at the commercial registry.
Invoicing means issuing documents to clients with the right fields, numbering and tax treatment. It is a smaller job and a separate one.
Most platforms sell both, which is why the categories blur. But the plan that covers invoicing rarely covers accounting, and that is where people get caught.
We looked at each provider's own pricing page and compliance documentation, not at press releases or third-party roundups.
Four criteria: what the entry plan actually includes, whether the vendor has filed and published its Verifactu responsible declaration, whether the interface and support work in Spanish, and what happens to your data if you leave.
Spanish tool built for local tax rules, aimed at freelancers and small businesses, with automatic reading of expense invoices.
Verifactu: yes, and it publishes the document. The declaration is signed by Quipu App S.L. on July, 29th 2025, covering version 5.52.3, and the system runs exclusively in VERI*FACTU mode, meaning records go to the tax agency in real time.
Best for freelancers who want Spanish tax logic out of the box and do not need an ERP.
Spanish platform covering accounting and invoicing, widely used by gestorías as well as by businesses directly.
Verifactu: included in all five plans. It describes itself as adapted to the common regime and the four foral tax agencies. It does not publish its responsible declaration, so ask for it in writing before signing.
Price, on annual billing: Básico €3.99, Avanzado €9.99, Profesional €19.99, Empresarial €46.66, Premium €66.66 a month. Invoice and user limits rise with each tier.
Best for small companies that want broad functionality for what it costs, especially if their gestoría already uses it.
The option from a large, established vendor, with more accounting depth than the rest of this list.
Verifactu: yes.
Price: €25 a month on the entry plan, with the first three months at €12.50. Five users included.
The catch: it is not available in the Basque Country, Navarre, the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla. If you invoice from Bilbao, Pamplona or Las Palmas, this option is out before you start. And if you work alone, you are paying for five users you will not use.
Best for mainland companies that need real bookkeeping and work with an external accountant.
The accounting module of the Zoho ecosystem, built for international use.
Verifactu: yes, and it publishes its responsible declaration on its own site. Note that the feature is enabled by default only on new accounts; existing customers have to request activation.
Price: Standard $12, Professional $24, Premium $36 a month per organisation. Billed in dollars, so your real cost moves with the exchange rate.
Best for freelancers and companies with international clients who want one tool for everything.
Widely used internationally, particularly in English-speaking markets.
Verifactu: no, and Xero has not committed to it. The request sits on its public product ideas board marked "Gaining Support". The last official response, dated 1 November 2025, says the idea has been reviewed and it is now up to the community to back it. No development, no timeline.
What that means: invoices issued from Xero will not be valid in Spain from your compliance date unless you bolt on a third-party solution.
Best for groups with companies in several countries who will handle Spanish invoicing elsewhere. Not a standalone option for Spain.
A full ERP with accounting inside, alongside CRM, inventory and project management.
The trade-off: it does far more than accounting, and you pay for all of it. Plenty of freelancers end up on a plan whose CRM and inventory modules they never open. If that is your situation, the alternatives to Holded covers where else to go.
Best for businesses that genuinely need the whole operation in one system.
An accounting firm with a platform: real accountants alongside the software, rather than software alone.
The honest limitation: it is not a like-for-like replacement for an ERP. If what you valued in Holded was the CRM, the inventory or the project tracking, they are not here. It is also built for Spain, not for international group structures.
Best for people whose problem is not the tool but not knowing whether their numbers are right.
From 1 January 2027 for companies and 1 July 2027 for autónomos, every invoice must be issued through a certified system that produces a QR code and an immutable record.
That turns compliance into the first filter rather than the last. A platform that is not certified stops being an option on your date, whatever it costs.
Worth knowing: there is no official list of approved software published by the tax agency. Certification works by the vendor's own responsible declaration, so "approved" on a marketing page proves nothing. Ask for the document. Of the platforms above, Quipu and Zoho Books publish theirs openly.
The full compliance checklist is in Verifactu for autónomos.
Accounting and invoicing are different purchases, and most people arrive here wanting the second one. These cover it properly:
Invoicing software issues documents to clients. Accounting software keeps your books, reconciles your bank and produces the figures for your tax returns. Most platforms sell both, but the cheapest plans usually cover only invoicing.
Of the ones compared here, Quipu and Zoho Books publish their responsible declaration openly. Anfix says it complies but does not publish the document. Sage Active complies. Xero does not.
No. Certification works by the vendor filing its own responsible declaration, not by prior approval from the tax agency. Ask each vendor for the document rather than trusting a marketing claim.
For group accounting, yes. For issuing invoices in Spain from your compliance date, no, unless you add a certified third-party layer. Xero has not committed to supporting Verifactu.
The platform records and calculates. Whether someone reviews your numbers and files on your behalf is a separate service, explained in tax advisor in Spain.
You are responsible for compliance, not the vendor. Export your full history now, and migrate to a certified alternative in good time rather than in the last quarter.
