Freelancers track business expenses without linking their bank by exporting monthly statements (PDF or CSV) from their bank's website and uploading them to LedgerLens, which uses AI to categorize every transaction and tag business vs. personal spending. You get a tax-ready export in minutes without sharing banking credentials with any third party. Start free at ledgerlens.com.
Why avoid linking your bank account?
Most freelance expense apps (QuickBooks Self-Employed, Keeper, Copilot) require read-only access to your bank via aggregators like Plaid or Finicity. That means your banking credentials are stored on a third-party server and any breach at the aggregator level could expose your accounts. Statement-upload tools like LedgerLens sidestep the risk entirely: you download the statement yourself, you upload it yourself, and your bank login never leaves your bank.
How do I separate business and personal expenses on one account?
Upload the statement for the mixed account, then review the AI-categorized output. LedgerLens tags transactions by merchant and category; you can bulk-mark any category as “business” or “personal.” Export the business-only slice as a CSV for Schedule C or your bookkeeper. For freelancers who run a single-account operation, this removes 80% of the manual sorting that killed spreadsheets for you last April.
What file formats does LedgerLens accept?
LedgerLens accepts PDF bank statements and CSV exports from US and Canadian banks. Most major banks (Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Capital One, Amex, Citi, PNC, USAA, Schwab) are supported — see our bank-specific guides for 60+ institutions. Upload one statement or twelve; there's no account linking or API configuration.
How much does it cost?
LedgerLens has a free Starter tier that lets you upload statements and extract transactions. Paid plans unlock export and higher upload volume: Plus is $12/month ($120/year) and Pro is $19/month ($190/year). Business is $39/month for bookkeepers with 200 statements/month. See pricing.
Can I use this for tax season?
Yes — categorize 12 months of statements, review the uncategorized items, and export a clean CSV. Plus ($12/mo) and above include CSV/Excel export. Hand the export to your accountant or import it into tax software. See the full tax-season prep guide.
What happens to my uploaded statements?
Statements are processed and stored under AES-256 encryption with strict access controls. We never sell or share your data. You can delete any uploaded document from the dashboard at any time. Full details in our privacy policy.
Is LedgerLens a Mint alternative?
Yes — and specifically the privacy-conscious kind. Mint shut down in March 2024 and most alternatives (Monarch, Copilot, Rocket Money) require bank linking. LedgerLens is the statement-upload alternative. See our full Mint alternative breakdown.
Get started: Download a bank statement, upload it to LedgerLens, and get your freelance expenses categorized in under 5 minutes. Free tier, no card required.