Beancount vs Lexware Office Comparison

Why choose Beancount

• Has a free plan (Lexware Office does not)
• Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 4/10)
• Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 4/10)
• Includes Multi-currency, which Lexware Office lacks

Why choose Lexware Office

• Higher Compliance score (8/10 vs 2/10)
• Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 3/10)
• Better fit for small business (8/10 vs 4/10)
• Better fit for freelancers (9/10 vs 6/10)
• Includes Online Payments, which Beancount lacks

Beancount

Pros

• Free under the GPLv2, with no subscription or per-user fees.
• Ledgers are plain text, so they can be version-controlled in Git and reviewed through pull requests.
• Strict balancing checks, and bean-check catches errors before reports are run.
• Handles any commodity, including currencies and investments, with price-based conversion in reports.
• The Fava web interface gives interactive income statement, balance sheet and holdings views.

Cons

• Requires command-line comfort, and customization often relies on scripts or regular expressions.
• Bank importers must be written or assembled by the user for each institution.
• No invoicing, payments, payroll or tax filing features.
• The documentation is non-prescriptive and partly dated, so users have to design their own structure.
• No commercial support or hosted offering from the project.

Lexware Office

Pros

• Users on OMR Reviews and testers on Experte.de describe receipt scanning and bank matching as fast and easy to set up.
• Creates ZUGFeRD and XRechnung e-invoices and files VAT returns directly to ELSTER.
• Every plan can be cancelled monthly, and users are unlimited according to Für-Gründer.
• Tax advisor access and DATEV export make it easy to hand the books to an accountant.
• An optional payroll add-on handles social security and tax filings for up to 50 employees.

Cons

• Invoices can only be issued in euros.
• Cannot manage several companies, and has no approval workflow and no cost-centre reporting.
• Bookkeeping and VAT returns need the L plan, and recurring features need higher tiers.
• Users report bank connections that drop and support that is hard to reach by phone.
• There is no postal invoice sending and no built-in time tracking.