Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Bill.com vs Cone

Bill.com logo

Bill.com

Accounting

Automate your financial workflows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cone logo

Cone

Proposals

Proposal to payment software for accounting and bookkeeping firms, with engagement letters and direct debit

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bill.com has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bill.com limited customization of approval workflows and user permissions for complex business needs; Cone the product is shaped around accountancy engagements, so a freelancer or agency outside professional services pays for engagement letter and compliance features they will never open.
  • They diverge on capability: Bill.com covers AP automation, Cone covers Engagement letters.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bill.com and Cone actually diverge.

Attributes where Bill.com and Cone differ
AttributeBill.comCone
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
CategoryAccountingProposals
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bill.com

  • AP automation
  • AR automation
  • Payment processing
  • Approval workflows
  • Document management
  • Vendor management
  • Cash flow insights
  • Mobile approvals

Only in Cone

  • Engagement letters
  • Electronic signature
  • Recurring billing
  • Direct debit collection
  • Scope creep flagging
  • Service line templates
  • Client onboarding tasks

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bill.com

  • Invoice processingnot Cone
  • Bill paymentsnot Cone
  • Vendor paymentsnot Cone
  • Cash flow managementnot Cone
  • Financial automationnot Cone

Cone

  • A bookkeeping practice moving clients from ad hoc invoicing onto signed recurring fee agreementsnot Bill.com
  • An accountancy firm that needs engagement letter wording attached to every proposal for compliance reasonsnot Bill.com
  • A practice losing revenue to out of scope work that is never billed because nobody notices itnot Bill.com
  • Standardising pricing across a firm so that partners stop quoting the same service at different ratesnot Bill.com

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bill.com

  • Limited customization of approval workflows and user permissions for complex business needs
  • Limited international payment capabilities compared to specialists like Tipalti
  • Customer support response times are slow, with agents often lacking product expertise

Cone

  • The product is shaped around accountancy engagements, so a freelancer or agency outside professional services pays for engagement letter and compliance features they will never open.
  • Recurring collection depends on which payment rails are supported in your country, and direct debit coverage varies enough that the headline benefit may not apply to your client base.
  • Practice management integration is shallower than the incumbents, so client records often exist in two systems and have to be reconciled.
  • Pricing is not published, which makes it hard to compare against a general proposal tool without entering a sales process first.
  • As a younger vendor in a market that consolidates through acquisition, roadmap continuity carries more risk than choosing an established practice software supplier.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bill.com

Free
  • Essentials$49/month
    • Core AP and AR functionality
    • Manual CSV import/export
  • Team$65/month
    • Automatic 2-way sync with QuickBooks Online, Xero
  • Corporate$89/month
    • Procurement features
    • Custom approval policies
    • Sync with NetSuite, Dynamics

Cone

On request
  • Cone$undefined/year
    • Proposals and engagement letters
    • Electronic signature
    • Recurring billing and direct debit mandates

Which should you pick?

Choose Bill.com if

  • You need ap automation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want ar automation.
Bill.com review

Choose Cone if

  • You need engagement letters.
  • You also want electronic signature.
Cone review

Questions people ask

Is Bill.com or Cone better?
Neither clearly leads. Bill.com starts at Free and Cone at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bill.com or Cone?
Bill.com has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bill.com and On request for Cone.
Does Bill.com or Cone run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Bill.com for free?
Yes. Bill.com has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cone starts at On request.
What is Bill.com best used for?
Bill.com is most often used for invoice processing, bill payments, vendor payments, cash flow management. Of those, invoice processing and bill payments are not what Cone is typically brought in for.
What can Bill.com do that Cone cannot?
Bill.com covers AP automation, AR automation, Payment processing, Approval workflows. Cone covers Engagement letters, Electronic signature, Recurring billing, Direct debit collection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bill.com: What payment methods does Bill.com support?

Bill.com supports ACH transfers, checks, corporate cards, and international transfers. ACH payments cost $0.59 per transaction, checks cost $1.99, and card payments incur a 2.9% fee.

Source
Cone: Is this only for accountants?

It is designed for accounting and bookkeeping firms. Other professional services firms use it, but general freelancers will find most of it irrelevant.

Bill.com: Does Bill.com offer a free tier?

Yes. Bill.com offers a free Spend & Expense plan for access to credit lines from $1,000-$5M with corporate cards, budgets, and expense tracking.

Source
Cone: Does it handle recurring fees?

Yes, and that is the main reason firms adopt it. Acceptance creates the fee schedule and the collection mandate together.

Bill.com: Which accounting systems does Bill.com integrate with?

Bill.com integrates with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Enterprise, Oracle NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics, and Xero, with automatic two-way syncing on most plans.

Source
Cone: How are payments collected?

Through supported card and direct debit providers, whose processing fees apply on top of the subscription.

Cone: What is scope creep flagging?

It compares work performed against the scope agreed in the proposal and surfaces the difference so it can be billed rather than absorbed.

Cone: Is pricing published?

Not in a form that can be quoted reliably. Expect a sales conversation before you can compare it on cost.

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