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Accounting software for sole proprietors in Japan: Money Forward, freee and Yayoi
For a sole proprietor filing in Japan, compare the plan that covers your filing and monthly records. Money Forward Personal Mini starts at ¥10,800 a year before tax, freee Starter at ¥11,760 and Yayoi Online Self at ¥11,800 at regular renewal rates. Receipt limits, consumption-tax filing and support can change which tier you need.
All contents
Three accounting options for sole proprietors in Japan
| Service | Regular annual price, before tax | What to compare |
|---|---|---|
| Money Forward Personal Mini | ¥10,800 | Income-tax filing; no consumption-tax filing |
| freee Starter | ¥11,760 | Receipt uploads: five per month; consumption-tax filing is Standard and above |
| Yayoi Online Self | ¥11,800 | Same product functions across tiers; support differs |
Japanese products for Japanese filing. Standard renewal prices are shown; trial and first-year offers are separate. Availability of a feature does not determine your personal tax obligations.
Try a month of bookkeeping during the trial
Use sample records or a small set of permitted transactions to test the work you do regularly.
List the functions you need
Include filing, bank feeds, invoices, receipt storage, support and exports. Mark what is essential.
Check your actual institutions
Confirm the bank, account type, card and payment service, along with how far back transactions can be imported.
Process the sample month
Review imported transactions, correct suggestions, match invoices and attach receipts. Time the remaining manual work.
Export a small sample
Open the journal, reports and attachments outside the service. Check missing fields, text encoding and formats accepted by a future replacement.
Pick the filing features before comparing the lowest price
For consumption-tax filing, Money Forward lists Personal at ¥15,360 a year before tax, and freee lists Standard at ¥23,760. A Starter or Mini headline price therefore does not describe the same job. Confirm your filing requirements before comparing subscriptions.
Use the current plan page rather than an undated campaign: a temporary feature promotion may not apply to the year or account you will use. These are software features, not a determination of whether you must file.
Match support and receipt volume to your work
Money Forward Personal Mini includes 15 receipt scans per month; freee Starter includes five uploads, including uploads from a computer. If you handle more, compare the appropriate higher tier before doing an annual-cost calculation.
Yayoi’s Online plans share product functions and differ mainly in support: Self uses web FAQs, Basic adds operation support, and Total adds bookkeeping and business consultation. If you already know the process, paying for support may be unnecessary; if you need help with it, a low entry price alone is a poor comparison.
Define the filing requirement first
The Japanese services cited here offer different filing and bookkeeping features. List the returns and daily tasks your business needs before comparing prices. If you operate elsewhere, first check whether the product supports that jurisdiction.
Use official tax guidance for the obligation and the vendor help center for the product capability. A marketing label such as 'for freelancers' is not the requirement.
Test the monthly transaction workflow
Connect only a safe test account or import sample data first. Check matching rules, duplicate prevention, receipt attachment and correction of misclassified transactions.
Measure the manual minutes left each month. A cheaper plan with unreliable feeds may cost more in recurring bookkeeping time.
Include people and support
If an accountant, employee or assistant participates, compare permissions and extra-seat pricing. Shared passwords are not a substitute for role-based access.
Ask what support is available when a filing deadline approaches and whether plan downgrades change the response channel.
Try exporting records before committing
Export transactions, journal entries, documents and reports from sample data. Check format, attachments and what remains accessible after cancellation.
Keep legally required records outside a vendor account where appropriate. Switching cost belongs in the original purchase decision, not only in a future migration project.
Example: 100 transactions a month
Assume the software saves 30 seconds per transaction. This is a calculation example, not a measured product result.
- Transactions
- 100 per month
- Time saved
- 30 seconds × 100 = 50 minutes
- Other work
- Invoices, payment matching and receipt checks
- Costs to compare
- Base subscription plus required invoice or storage products
Use your own transactions to estimate the benefit. A long list of supported banks does not show whether your records import correctly.
Things to watch for
Choosing by the number of integrations
Test the accounts and transaction history you need.
Counting only the accounting subscription
Add invoice, storage, user and support charges where applicable.
Leaving exports until cancellation
Try exporting while you have time to fix missing fields or attachments.
Compare the work left each month
Keep the tested bank connections, correction time, additional fees and export results together. Choose the service that suits those tasks. Confirm individual tax decisions with the appropriate official source or adviser.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheapest for a sole proprietor in Japan?
Among the three entry plans here, Money Forward Personal Mini has the lowest regular annual price. That does not make it the cheapest suitable plan if you need consumption-tax filing, more receipt scans or phone support. Compare the same required features and the renewal year.
Is the cheapest accounting plan enough?
It can be if it covers your required filing, feeds, invoices and support. Include extra products and the manual work that remains.
What should I test in a free trial?
Try importing transactions, correcting entries, matching invoices, attaching receipts and exporting reports. Use a representative sample of your normal month.
What should I save before cancelling?
Check which journals, reports, filing documents, receipts and contact records you need. Confirm export formats and post-cancellation access with the provider.
Scope and key points
Who this helps
- You are comparing bookkeeping tools for a solo business.
- You want to include monthly work and future data export in the comparison.
Limits of this guide
- Confirm the filing requirements that apply to your business first.
- The cited Japanese products may not support returns in other countries.
Key points
- Start with the filing functions your business needs
- Bank feeds and invoice workflows determine recurring labor
- Export, support and switching conditions belong in total cost
What the sources say
Current freee tiers, receipt limits and consumption-tax filing
Money Forward prices, scanning limits and filing features
Yayoi regular renewal prices and support differences
References
- 1.個人向け会計プラン
freee · Retrieved Sep 15, 2026
- 2.クラウド確定申告
マネーフォワード · Retrieved Sep 15, 2026
- 3.やよいの青色申告 オンライン 料金プラン
弥生 · Retrieved Sep 15, 2026
About this article
We checked the three vendors’ official Japanese pricing tables on September 15, 2026. Recommendations combine documented features with editorial workflow examples; we did not measure bookkeeping speed in a hands-on product test.
How we use AI in our research and writing ↗