Updated November 6, 2026. Quick answer: Three of the eleven products read state that an accountant seat costs nothing extra: SparkReceipt on every plan, QuickBooks Online on its paid plans, and FreshBooks on Plus, Premium and Select (up to 10 accountants). Xero states no per-user license fees. Dext, Wave, Zoho Expense, Expensify, Shoeboxed and Smart Receipts do not state a price for an accountant seat on the pages read, so confirm it before you assume it is free. A shared folder plus a CSV ledger needs no seat at all.
What accountant access can mean
Vendors use the phrase for three different arrangements, and they differ in what they cost and what the accountant can change. An invited seat gives your accountant a login to your account, with a role. An export handoff means you send a file (a CSV of the ledger and the receipt images) and the accountant never logs in. A shared folder is the free version of the second one. Which you need depends on how your accountant already works: ask whether they prefer a login or a file before you pay for either.
The table below records, for each product, what its own pages say about an accountant seat. Plan names, prices and limits are as printed on each vendor page on November 6, 2026, and vendors change them. Where a page does not say, the cell says so; none of it has been tested by Clear Money Guide.
Accountant access, product by product
| Product | Accountant access and who pays | What the accountant can do | Plan and price (page read) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SparkReceipt | An Accountant role the account owner invites; the help page says it is free on every plan and does not use a paid seat | View, edit, review and download every document. With Admin permissions (the default for a new accountant invitation) also add documents and manage the account | Pro $69.00 billed annually (shown as $5.75 a month); Elite $129.00 billed annually ($10.75 a month); one user each; 7-day free trial (Nov 6, 2026) |
| Dext (Business plan) | A Business Admin or User Admin can invite an external accountant, or you can add the accountant as an Admin user. The invitation page does not say whether the seat costs the client anything; another page says an accountant or bookkeeper may pay for the business account through a practice subscription | View documents, edit and process items, and publish to accounting software. An accountant who does not use Dext receives an email invitation to start a free trial | Business plan: free 14-day trial, no payment details required; base plan shown at $25.21 a month with $302.50 billed annually (250 documents a month, 5 users) (Nov 6, 2026) |
| QuickBooks Online | An accountant invitation on the paid plans; the Free plan has no accountant access. The invitation is free; Simple Start includes access for 2 accountants and Advanced for 3 | Works in the account once the invitation is accepted, with a separate login (no shared credentials); you can delete the access at any time | Simple Start $38 a month list ($19 a month for 3 months promo); Essentials $85, Plus $140, Advanced $340 list; Free $0 (Nov 6, 2026) |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur | Simple Start has accountant access; Free and Lite do not Whether the accountant seat is free or paid is not stated on the page read. | The page says you can securely share records with an accountant or export documents | Lite $20 a month list ($10 promo); Simple Start $38 list ($19 promo); Free $0 (Nov 6, 2026) |
| Xero (with Hubdoc capture) | Users such as accountants can be invited and roles control what each can access; Xero charges no per-user license fees on its US plans | Role-by-role permissions were not read in detail. | Early $27 a month list ($5.40 a month for the first 3 months); Growing $59; Established $97 (Nov 6, 2026) |
| FreshBooks | Accountant access is included on Plus, Premium and Select, not on Lite. Up to 10 accountants per business at no extra cost; other team members cost extra | Access reports, add journal entries, manage the Chart of Accounts; the permissions list includes managing expenses | Lite $23 a month list; Plus $43 ($8.60 promo); Premium $70; Select custom pricing (Nov 6, 2026) |
| Wave | Accountants and tax preparers can be invited as users. Only Pro Plan subscribers can invite Admins, Editors and Viewers. No per-seat price is stated on the pages read | Admin and Editor have full access to Purchases and Accounting; only an Admin can export data; a Viewer is view-only. Invited users can see bank and credit card transaction histories | Starter $0; Pro $190 a year billed annually; Receipts add-on $8 a month or $72 a year. The pages differ on Pro billed monthly ($16 a month on the receipts page, US$19 a month on the fees page) (Nov 6, 2026) |
| Zoho Expense | Custom roles can be created; one example role lets an accountant view all company reports only. Custom user roles are listed under the Standard plan; the Free plan allows a maximum of 3 users An accountant seat price is not stated. | Depends on the role you define; the example role is view-only for company reports | Free $0 (max 3 users, 5 GB receipt storage); Standard $3 per user a month billed annually (Nov 6, 2026) |
| Expensify | A workspace Auditor role can view and comment on reports and has read-only access to workspace settings; people admins can invite Auditors The page does not give a seat price. | View and comment on reports | Free for individuals; Collect $5 per member a month; Control as low as $9 per active member a month (Nov 6, 2026) |
| Shoeboxed | A bookkeeper can be invited to track and export. No separate price is stated: invited users count within the plan’s user count | Track and export | Starter $9 a month or $97 a year; Pro $29 a month or $297 a year (Nov 6, 2026) |
| Smart Receipts | The landing page speaks of exporting reports an accountant accepts. A separate accountant invite or seat is not stated on the pages read | Not stated. | Free (manual entry) $0; Pro $99.99 a year; Max $139 a year (Nov 6, 2026) |
| Shared folder and CSV ledger (no software) | No vendor and no seat. You choose who can open the folder. | Whatever your folder permissions allow. Nothing matches a receipt to a transaction for you. | $0. Phone camera, one folder, one spreadsheet. The baseline described on Bookkeeping for a One-Person Business. |
What your accountant needs from each receipt
Whatever the access arrangement, the handoff has to carry the right facts. The IRS describes what supports an expense entry: “Your supporting documents should identify the payee, the amount paid, proof of payment, the date incurred, and include a description of the item purchased or service received that shows the amount was for a business expense.” A seat that shows the image but not the business purpose leaves the accountant to ask you. Whichever route you pick, check that the receipt image, the date, the amount and a note on purpose all travel together.
Which setup fits which reader
You have an outside accountant who wants to see the receipts. The documented free seats are the cleanest fit: SparkReceipt says its Accountant role is free on every plan, and QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks each say the accountant invitation costs nothing extra on their paid plans. If your accountant already works in QuickBooks Online, the QuickBooks route has the shortest path because the invitation is the accountant’s own login. The wider decision is laid out in Receipts and expense records for a one-person business.
You want the accountant to receive documents already processed for their software. Dext’s invitation page describes an accountant who can view, edit, process and publish to accounting software, which is the arrangement built for a bookkeeper. The pages read do not say what the seat costs the client, so ask.
You file alone or your accountant only needs a year-end file. You may not need a seat at all. A CSV ledger with the receipt images in a dated folder is a handoff an accountant can use without a login, and it costs nothing.
A note on roles: SparkReceipt’s help page says a new accountant invitation defaults to Admin permissions, which can add documents and manage the account. Wave’s page says invited users can see bank and credit card transaction histories. Check the role before you send the invitation.
Free and low-cost routes, with their real limits
The documented free options are narrower than the paid ones. QuickBooks Solopreneur Free has no accountant access and caps receipts at 2 per month. Wave’s Starter plan is $0, but only Pro subscribers can invite an accountant. Zoho Expense Free allows 3 users and has custom roles only on Standard. Expensify is free for individuals, and the Auditor role sits in workspaces. Smart Receipts is free for manual entry. Plan names, prices and limits are as printed on each vendor page on November 6, 2026, and vendors change them.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a free seat means a free plan. The accountant seat can be free while the plan it sits on is not: QuickBooks Online’s Free plan has no accountant access, and SparkReceipt lists Pro and Elite on its pricing page.
- Sending an invitation without checking the default role. A role that can add documents and manage the account is more than a reviewer needs.
- Paying for a seat before asking the accountant. Some accountants want a login; others want one file at year end.
- Treating a vendor’s accountant page as a promise about price next year. Prices on this page are dated November 6, 2026.
Related: Bookkeeping for a One-Person Business, and Schedule C (Form 1040).
Sources
- SparkReceipt: understanding access levels and user roles page, pricing page, how to invite your accountant page
- Dext: how to invite your accountant to access your dext account page, dext plans for businesses page, pricing page
- QuickBooks Online: pricing page, multiple users page
- QuickBooks Solopreneur: solopreneur page
- Xero: pricing plans page, accountants bookkeepers page, user roles page
- FreshBooks: pricing page, How do I invite and manage team members page, How do I get started as an accountant page
- Wave: Invite or remove collaborators from your business page, pricing page, Understanding user types and permission levels for collaborators page, Receipts and Pro Plan subscription fees page, receipts page
- Zoho Expense: create roles page, pricing page
- Expensify: Managing Workspace Members page, pricing page
- Shoeboxed: receipt scanner business page, pricing page
- Smart Receipts: home page page
- IRS, What kind of records should I keep
- IRS, How long should I keep records
Vendor details were read from the pages linked above on November 6, 2026; vendors change plans and prices, so confirm on the vendor’s own page before you buy. Clear Money Guide has not used these products. General information, not tax advice.