A focused tax service for independent earners rather than firms managing client portfolios.
Before the feature detail, the choice is architectural: keep Hnry at the centre and add the missing pieces around it, or run the firm and its clients on one rebuilt record.
A cloud ledger at the centre, a separate practice manager, AI tools reading a copy of the data, and paid connectors holding the parts together. Every join is another sync to watch, another subscription, and another place the same number can disagree.
COUNT rebuilt the ledger and the practice engine together. Practice Manager and COUNT Workspace are two experiences on one system, with the intelligence reading live data — a single source of financial truth for the firm and its clients.
For a sole trader who wants tax to simply happen, Hnry is genuinely hard to beat. Income arrives, tax is deducted and paid, returns are filed, and the fee only applies when you earn. It is not a general ledger and never intended to be one, so it stops working the moment you incorporate, hire, hold inventory, or need an accountant to run a portfolio. COUNT keeps the automatic feel and adds the accounting system underneath it.
The natural next step when you outgrow a tax service: the same automatic feel on a full, modern accounting platform, with your advisor working in the same system as you.
Solo contractors and freelancers with straightforward income who want tax fully outsourced.
How the two products differ on the things firms and businesses tell us matter most.
| Capability | COUNT | Hnry |
|---|---|---|
| Full general ledger | Yes | No, by design |
| Suits companies and teams | Yes | Sole traders only |
| Practice management | Included; clients on COUNT are free | Not offered |
| Invoicing and bills | Invoices, estimates, bills, approvals and payment runs | Invoicing and quotes only |
| Bank feeds and reconciliation | Plaid, Akahu and direct bank connections | Not used; money flows through the Hnry account |
Expand any area for a line-by-line view of how COUNT and Hnry differ.
These are different categories of product. The comparison matters mainly at the point you outgrow a tax service.
| Capability | COUNT | Hnry |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Accounting system and practice platform | Managed tax service for sole traders |
| General ledger and trial balance | Yes | No |
| Financial statements | Full statement suite, including print-ready report packs | Tax-focused summaries |
| Suits a limited company | Yes | Designed for sole traders |
| Suits an employer | Yes | No payroll for employees |
| Multi-entity | Unlimited workspaces, consolidated reporting free on all tiers | Single earner |
| Capability | COUNT | Hnry |
|---|---|---|
| Tax paid automatically as you earn | Provisional tax scheduling and reminders | Deducted from each payment automatically |
| GST returns | Generated from the ledger and filed to IRD over a direct OAuth connection | Prepared and filed by Hnry where registered |
| Income tax return filed for you | By your COUNT-partnered accountant | Included in the fee, Hnry acts as tax agent |
| ACC levies and student loan | Tracked in the ledger | Deducted and paid automatically |
| Audit trail and fixed asset register | Full audit logs, asset register with Investment Boost support | Not applicable |
| Capability | COUNT | Hnry |
|---|---|---|
| Bills, approvals and payment runs | Batch bill payments with approvals and a bank-ready file | Not offered |
| Expense handling | Receipts, staff expense claims and recurring expense detection | Expenses reviewed by Hnry's team |
| Multi-currency | Native, with automatic gain and loss postings | Not offered |
| Payroll | Full payroll in the US; manual payroll entry elsewhere | Not offered |
| Integrations and API | Stripe, Shopify, Square, Gusto, Microsoft 365, partner API and an MCP server | Narrow API and a Zapier app |
| Capability | COUNT | Hnry |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly subscription | 1% + GST of income received |
| Cost at NZ$60k revenue | Fixed plan price | ~NZ$600 + GST per year |
| Cost at NZ$150k revenue | Fixed plan price | NZ$1,500 + GST (capped) |
| Cost when not earning | Plan price continues | Nothing |
| Capability | COUNT | Hnry |
|---|---|---|
| Manage a portfolio of clients | Yes, free Practice Manager | Not offered |
| Practice workflow and deadlines | Tasks, projects, period close and time tracking | Not offered |
| Refer clients to an advisor | Free advisor access on every plan, plus a partner directory | Hnry is the accountant |
Hnry details sourced from public information as at August 2026: Hnry pricing, How Hnry works. Pricing and features change; check the vendor for current details.
Bring across income and expense history as opening data.
Keep the automatic feel with COUNT's Cruise Control coding and GST prepared from the ledger.
Grow into full accounting when you hire, incorporate or take on suppliers.
We'll import a copy so you can compare like for like.
