Home / Shortlists / Best free project management for a bookkeeper
Best free project management for a bookkeeper
Bookkeeping is one checklist run many times, once per client, on a monthly clock. So the tool that fits is the one holding a repeatable template plus several copies of it, which makes board and space caps matter far more than gantt charts a bookkeeper never opens. Trello gives ten boards at $0/mo and lets you copy a monthly close board per client. ClickUp gives five work streams at $0/mo with unlimited members. Asana gives unlimited projects to fifteen teammates at $0/mo but keeps templates for paying plans. Basecamp gives one project to five users. Notion gives databases, but its free tier is built for one individual rather than a shared client workspace.
Prices last re-checked 2026-10-05. Numbers are read from each vendor's own pricing page; any exception is flagged under "What to watch".
Which one should you pick?
- Pick ClickUp if you need the best overall. Visit ClickUp
- Pick Trello if every client gets a board. Visit Trello
- Pick Notion if you are the written procedure. Visit Notion
- Pick Basecamp if you need the best flat price per client load. Visit Basecamp
- Pick Asana if you need the best free project count. Visit Asana
The short answer
Short answer: ClickUp is the best free fit for a bookkeeper: Free Forever is $0/mo with unlimited members and five work streams, which is five client folders before you pay. Trello free follows with ten boards at $0/mo. Asana gives unlimited projects for 15 teammates, Basecamp free seats five on one project, and Notion's free plan is individual-scoped.
Best overall: ClickUp
ClickUp Free Forever is $0/mo with unlimited members, five work streams, 100 MB storage and a capped monthly automation allowance, and a work stream is where a client folder of recurring close tasks lives. The first paid tier is $7/mo per user billed annually, so a solo bookkeeper crosses to paying at the sixth client for $7/mo, which is the cheapest client-count expansion on this page.
See ClickUp pricingBest if every client gets a board: Trello
Trello free is $0/mo with ten boards per workspace, unlimited cards and unlimited members, and copying a monthly close board per client is the cheapest template trick available anywhere here. Standard is $5/mo per user billed annually when you need unlimited boards plus advanced checklists, so the eleven-client threshold costs $5/mo on a single seat. Keep the shared client boards on free and pay only for the seat that runs the workspace.
See Trello pricingBest for the written procedure: Notion
Notion Free is $0/mo for individuals with databases including subtasks and dependencies, and it is the right place to store the written close procedure and client onboarding notes rather than the checklist itself. Plus is $10/mo per member with unlimited collaborative blocks and file uploads. Because the free tier is individual-scoped, treat Notion as the solo bookkeeper's documentation layer next to a task tool rather than the client tracker.
See Notion pricingBest flat price per client load: Basecamp
Basecamp free is $0/mo for five users on one project with 1 GB of storage, and one project is the wrong shape for a bookkeeper with several clients. What earns it a slot is Freelancer at $25/mo for the whole account with up to 3 active projects, and Studio at $59/mo for 10 active projects with unlimited users and no per-user fees. Basecamp prices client files rather than accountants, which suits a shop that hires seasonal help every spring.
See Basecamp pricingBest free project count: Asana
Asana Personal is $0/mo for up to 15 teammates with unlimited tasks, projects and messages, so every client project fits on free with no project cap at all. Starter is $10.99/mo per user billed annually and brings timelines, the workflow builder and reporting. The one thing Asana free withholds is project templates, and a bookkeeper's entire workflow is a template, so plan to rebuild the checklist by hand each month or pay Starter.
See Asana pricingThe prices, plan by plan
ClickUp
ClickUp is free for unlimited members with 100MB storage, then $7 per user per month on Unlimited, $12 on Business and a custom quote for Enterprise, billed annually.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | Free | Unlimited members, 100MB storage, unlimited tasks, board and list views |
| Unlimited | $10/mo, or $7/mo billed annually | Per user. Unlimited storage, integrations, dashboards, Gantt, 1,000 automations/mo |
| Business | $19/mo, or $12/mo billed annually | Per user. Advanced automations, time tracking, workload, 10,000 automations/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom quote. SSO, advanced permissions, white labelling |
What to watch: ClickUp prints the annual per-user rate by default; the monthly-billing rates come from the page's monthly toggle.
Source: https://clickup.com/pricing, read 2026-10-27.
See ClickUp pricingTrello
Trello is free for unlimited cards and up to 10 boards per workspace, then $5 per user per month on Standard, $10 on Premium and $17.50 on Enterprise, billed annually.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per workspace, 10MB attachment limit |
| Standard | $6/mo, or $5/mo billed annually | Per user. Unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields, 250 workspace command runs/mo |
| Premium | $12.5/mo, or $10/mo billed annually | Per user. Calendar/Day/Table/Timeline/Dashboard views, AI, 1,000 command runs/mo |
| Enterprise | $17.5/mo (no annual discount published) | Per user. Organization-wide permissions, SSO, 250 workspace command runs/mo |
Prices checked 2026-10-05.
What to watch: Trello prints the annual per-user rate by default; the monthly-billing rates come from the page's monthly toggle. Enterprise is quoted at the same rate either way.
Source: https://trello.com/pricing, read 2026-10-05.
See Trello pricingBasecamp
Basecamp is free for 1 project and up to 5 users, then $25/mo on Freelancer (up to 3 active projects, 20 users max), $59/mo on Studio (up to 10 active projects, unlimited users) and $99/mo on Pro (up to 25 active projects, unlimited users). The unlimited-everything Unlimited Edition is $299/mo billed annually. No Basecamp plan charges per user - every price is for the whole account.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | $0/mo for the whole account. One free project for personal use, 1 GB storage, 5 users max. No project templates, multiple tools per project or time tracking. |
| Freelancer | $25/mo | $25/mo for the whole account. Up to 3 active projects, 5 GB storage, 20 users max with no per-user fees, 24/7/365 support. Free 30-day trial. Annual billing marked not included on this tier. |
| Studio | $59/mo | $59/mo for the whole account. Up to 10 active projects, 25 GB storage, unlimited users with no per-user fees, unlimited tools per project, project templates. Free 30-day trial. Annual billing marked not included on this tier. |
| Pro | $99/mo | $99/mo for the whole account. Up to 25 active projects, 100 GB storage, unlimited users with no per-user fees, project templates, time tracking. Free 30-day trial. Annual billing marked not included on this tier. |
| Unlimited | Custom | $299/mo billed annually, for the whole account. Unlimited projects, 1,000 GB storage, unlimited users with no per-user fees, time tracking, enhanced admin features, priority 24/7/365 support, personalized onboarding. Free 45-day trial. |
What to watch: Basecamp prices the whole account, never per user - the bill does not grow with headcount. The plan cards mark Annual billing as not included on Freelancer, Studio and Pro, and the only annual-billing price the page prints is Unlimited at $299/mo billed annually, with no month-to-month rate shown for it. The page's own FAQ answers 'Could we really add 500 users and run unlimited projects and still just pay $300/month total on the Unlimited Edition?' with yes - one fixed, capped price.
Source: https://basecamp.com/pricing, read 2026-10-19.
See Basecamp pricingAsana
Asana is free for up to 10 teammates, then $10.99 per user per month on Starter, $24.99 on Advanced and a custom quote for Enterprise, billed monthly.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | Free | Up to 10 teammates, unlimited tasks and projects, list/board/timeline views |
| Starter | $10.99/mo (no annual discount published) | Per user. Timeline, workflow builder, 250 automations/mo, 500 form submissions/mo |
| Advanced | $24.99/mo (no annual discount published) | Per user. Goals, portfolios, workload, time tracking, 25,000 automations/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom quote. SSO, SCIM, data residency, advanced reporting |
What to watch: Asana's pricing page shows the same per-user rate whether you pay monthly or yearly, so we record no annual discount rather than inventing one.
Source: https://asana.com/pricing, read 2026-11-02.
See Asana pricingNotion
Notion is free for individuals. Plus is $10 per member/mo and Business is $20 per member/mo on the rates printed on notion.com's pricing page; Enterprise is custom quote.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | For individuals: databases with subtasks and dependencies, basic forms and sites, Notion Calendar |
| Plus | $10/mo | Unlimited collaborative blocks and file uploads, custom forms and sites, unlimited charts, basic connections |
| Business | $20/mo | Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search, SAML SSO, private teamspaces, premium connections |
| Enterprise | Custom | SCIM provisioning, audit log, advanced security, domain management, zero data retention with LLM providers |
What to watch: The pricing page prints one rate per member/mo behind a monthly/yearly toggle ('Save up to 20% with yearly'); only the single printed rates ($10 Plus, $20 Business) are recorded here and the separate monthly-billing rates are not printed as numbers on the page we read, so they are not guessed.
Source: https://www.notion.com/pricing, read 2026-11-02.
See Notion pricingQuestions people ask
What is the cheapest option here?
ClickUp, Trello, Basecamp, Asana and Notion all have a $0/mo plan on this page. Trello free and ClickUp Free Forever fit a bookkeeper's per-client checklist best, since Trello gives ten boards and ClickUp gives five work streams with unlimited members, while Basecamp free stops at one project and Notion's free tier is scoped to an individual.
How many clients fit on a free plan?
Trello free holds ten boards per workspace at $0/mo, ClickUp Free Forever holds five work streams at $0/mo, and Basecamp free holds one project for five users. Asana Personal allows unlimited projects for up to 15 teammates at $0/mo, so on raw client count Asana's free plan is the roomiest even though it withholds templates.
What does it cost once the client list outgrows free?
Trello Standard is $5/mo per user billed annually for unlimited boards, ClickUp is $7/mo per user billed annually, and Asana Starter is $10.99/mo per user billed annually, with Notion Plus at $10/mo per member. Basecamp moves to $25/mo for the whole account on Freelancer and $59/mo on Studio, the only price here that does not scale with seats.
Can one person use a team tool without paying per seat?
Yes. ClickUp Free Forever has unlimited members at $0/mo, Asana Personal seats one person for nothing, Basecamp free seats five on one project for nothing, and Notion Free is $0/mo for individuals. A solo bookkeeper can work entirely free on any of them, and the bill only appears when the client folders outgrow the free cap.
Which tool handles a recurring monthly close best?
Trello on free, because a board of repeating card lists copied per client is the simplest monthly close template and costs nothing until board eleven. ClickUp Free Forever is the stronger long-term choice since recurring task automation carries across work streams, but its capped free automation allowance is where a busy bookkeeper hits the wall first.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We do not accept payment for placement, and the price tables are generated from the same dataset we re-check weekly. Full disclosure. How we check prices.