sevDesk alternative
Backbone vs. sevDesk: back office with AI or accounting suite?
sevDesk is one of the best-known accounting tools in the DACH region — cash-basis accounting (EÜR), VAT filings and receipt management included. Backbone (formerly Billy) is a different thing: a back office that connects time tracking, invoices and quotes, dunning, receipts and bank statements, and hands the books to your tax advisor. On top sits an AI assistant you talk to in plain sentences.
The honest short version: if you want to do your bookkeeping inside the tool, sevDesk is the safe pick. If your core job is billing your work and getting paid — while your tax advisor handles the books — Backbone is built for exactly that.
Why freelancers switch from sevDesk to Backbone
sevDesk does a lot — but if you mostly write invoices, you are navigating an accounting interface. Backbone flips that: hours, invoice, reminder and receipt live in one calm place, and much of it is one sentence to the assistant.
- Invoice from a sentence: "Bill Kinetik Studio for the September hours" — the assistant drafts it, and it only goes out after your OK
- Dunning with a reminder and two formal stages, statutory late-payment interest and the €40 fee where the law allows — scheduled automatically from Studio
- Time tracking, receipts with AI matching and bank-statement upload in every plan
- Germany AND Austria in one interface (§14 UStG / §11 öUStG, small-business rule, reverse charge), plus ZUGFeRD e-invoices and a QR code to pay
- One ZIP for your tax advisor (receipts, sent invoices, statements, CSV report) — or a free bookkeeper login
Backbone vs. sevDesk at a glance
| Backbone | sevDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| AI & automation | ||
| Create an invoice from an AI prompt | Yesassistant Billy, also in Claude/ChatGPT | No |
| AI executes actions (send, update) | Yesdrafts, sends after your OK, chases | Nosuggestions only |
| Automatic dunning | Yeswith interest + €40 fee; scheduled from Studio | Partiallymanual per invoice; dunning levels need the accounting plan |
| AI receipt capture (OCR) | Yesreads receipts, matches payments | Yes |
| Design & interface | ||
| Ready-made invoice designs | Partially2 templates: Basic, Minimal | Yes11 layouts, 6 of them Premium |
| Custom branding | Partiallylogo, accent color | Partiallylogo, color from a palette; custom layout only as a paid service |
| Invoicing from a mobile app | Partiallyweb app, no native app | YesiOS & Android |
| Invoicing workflow | ||
| Recurring invoices | Yesevery plan | Yes |
| E-invoicing (XRechnung/ZUGFeRD) | PartiallyZUGFeRD; XRechnung coming soon | Yeseven in the free tier |
| Countries, bookkeeping & price | ||
| Austria (§11 öUStG) | Yessame interface | Yesseparate offering: sevdesk.at |
| Bookkeeping (EÜR / VAT filing) | Noexport for your tax advisor | Yesin the accounting plan |
| DATEV export | NoZIP of PDFs + CSV report | Yes |
| Entry price (net/month) | €19 incl. VAT (Solo); net ≈ €15.97 (DE) / €15.83 (AT) | from €12.90 ("Rechnung" plan); free tier: 3 invoices/month |
sevDesk pricing and feature claims per the vendor, verified on August 2, 2026, prices net. Backbone details per back-bone.io as of October 9, 2026; Backbone prices incl. VAT. Subject to change.
Backbone in detail
When sevDesk is the better choice
To be fair: if you want to handle EÜR, VAT filings and bank reconciliation yourself inside the tool, or your tax advisor insists on DATEV, sevDesk is the more complete solution — that is what it is built for. sevDesk also does XRechnung for public-sector clients today; at Backbone it is coming soon. It has a free tier and native apps too. Backbone deliberately skips the bookkeeping and is faster at billing, chasing payment and collecting receipts.
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