# MacBusinessSuite vs GrandTotal, business suite or invoicing app

> GrandTotal is an invoicing app for Mac. MacBusinessSuite is a business suite with projects, CRM, time tracking and invoicing in one app. From official sources.

GrandTotal by Media Atelier is a mature invoicing app for Mac, on the market since 2008, with a very wide range of e-invoice formats and Peppol sending. MacBusinessSuite is a newer all-in-one business suite for Mac that puts projects, a CRM, built-in time tracking and invoicing into one app and is built for companies working in several countries. If invoicing and e-invoicing are all you need, GrandTotal covers more formats. If you also want project boards, a sales pipeline, a mailbox and a timer in the same app, MacBusinessSuite does that.

As of October 2026. https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/grandtotal/

## The short answer

- **Choose GrandTotal** if invoicing is the center of your work and you need e-invoices for many countries, sending through Peppol access points, interactive online estimates or several people working on one file.
- **Choose MacBusinessSuite** if you want projects, Kanban boards, a CRM with pipeline and mailbox, time tracking and invoicing in one app, with documents in your customers' languages and several companies in different countries.
- Both are native Mac apps, both keep the data on your Mac, and both handle XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, the Swiss QR bill and DATEV.

## MacBusinessSuite and GrandTotal side by side

As of October 2026. GrandTotal from its vendor's official pages (see sources), MacBusinessSuite from its documentation. Not documented means the vendor's pages do not say, not that the feature is missing.

|  | MacBusinessSuite | GrandTotal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type of product | Native macOS app, one app for projects, CRM, time tracking and invoicing | Invoicing app for Mac, on the market since 2008, current version 10.0 (October 2026) |
| Platforms | Mac only, macOS 15 or later. No iPhone, iPad or web version | Mac, macOS 10.15 or later; phones and tablets through Web Access in the browser, with the Mac acting as server |
| Where the data lives | On your Mac, in the app's container. No account, no sync between devices | In a GrandTotal file on your Mac at a location you choose; optional AES-256 encryption |
| Several users | One user per data store | Several users can work on one file in a shared cloud folder such as Dropbox |
| Projects and tasks | Projects with status, budget, profitability and a project log; Kanban boards with tickets, subtasks and recurring tickets | Projects, revenue by project and project budgets; internal annotations and to-dos |
| CRM | Customers and contact persons, sales pipeline, customer and project log, IMAP mailbox, mail to ticket | Customers and contacts, labels, customer statistics. Sales pipeline, tickets and mailbox not documented |
| Time tracking | Built-in menu bar timer, manual entries, suggestions from the calendar, open hours to invoice | Imports hours from 19 time tracking apps and from the macOS calendar. A built-in timer is not documented |
| Quotes and invoices | Quotes with optional items, order confirmations, delivery notes, partial, final and recurring invoices, credit notes, dunning | Estimates, interactive online estimates, invoices, credit notes, partial and progress invoices, recurring invoices, reminders |
| E-invoices | ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, XRechnung and EN 16931 as UBL or CII, Peppol BIS as a file. No sending through the Peppol network | XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, Peppol BIS, EHF, PINT A-NZ, FatturaPA, Facturae and further national formats; sending through Peppol access points; receiving from a Peppol inbox |
| Payments and bank | CAMT, OFX, QFX and CSV import with matching you confirm; read only sync with Wise Business (Wise accounts in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia) and Mercury (checking and savings accounts in US dollars); SEPA direct debit files | CAMT.053 and CAMT.054 matching, import from MoneyMoney and iFinance, Stripe payments, SEPA direct debit |
| Taxes and exports | OSS, reverse charge, US sales tax per state (one combined rate you maintain, only where you confirmed nexus), data for the German UStVA and ZM, DATEV batches, GoBD export. No direct filing | DATEV, UStVA and ZM handed to Steuererklärung.app, Swiss VAT return, Belgian Intervat, UK Making Tax Digital through MTD Sheets |
| Languages and currencies | Interface and documents in 15 languages, document language per customer, several currencies with ECB rates | Foreign currencies; layouts in several languages with the recipient's number format. App interface languages not documented |
| Several companies | Several companies with their own country, legal form and tax regime. One user; team members are records without logins | Multi-client capable |
| Pricing model | Annual subscription in the Mac App Store, handled by Apple. Data stays readable and exportable after it ends | Subscription in four editions (S, M, L, XL), monthly or yearly; access after the subscription ends; trial version; sold directly by Media Atelier |
| Availability | Coming soon to the Mac App Store | Download from mediaatelier.com; we found no Mac App Store listing |

## Where GrandTotal is ahead

- **E-invoice formats for many countries.** Besides XRechnung, ZUGFeRD and Factur-X, GrandTotal lists EHF for Norway, PINT A-NZ, FatturaPA, Facturae and national variants for Portugal, Spain, Austria, Italy and the Netherlands.
- **Peppol sending and receiving.** Invoices go out through the access points e-invoice.be and recommand.eu, and incoming e-invoices arrive from a Peppol inbox. MacBusinessSuite writes Peppol BIS as a file only.
- **Several users on one file** through a shared cloud folder, and **Web Access** from a phone or tablet browser.
- **Interactive estimates** that the customer opens in the browser, with optional items to switch on or off.
- **Tax returns for more countries,** such as the Swiss VAT return, Belgian Intervat and UK Making Tax Digital through MTD Sheets.
- **Long track record.** GrandTotal has been on the market since 2008.

## Where MacBusinessSuite is ahead

- **Projects and boards in the same app.** Every project can have a Kanban board with tickets, subtasks, due dates and recurring tickets, plus a project log and a profitability view.
- **A CRM with pipeline and mailbox.** Inquiries move from inquiry to won or lost, and mail from your own IMAP account becomes a ticket, an inquiry or an inbound receipt.
- **A built-in timer** in the menu bar. GrandTotal imports hours from other time tracking apps instead.
- **15 interface languages,** the same 15 for documents and mails, chosen per customer.
- **US sales tax per state** next to OSS and reverse charge, for companies with US and EU business.
- **Widgets, Shortcuts, AppleScript and Spotlight** are documented features of MacBusinessSuite. For GrandTotal they are not documented on the official pages.

## Which one suits companies working in several countries?

Both apps are built with international customers in mind, with different strengths. GrandTotal covers more national e-invoice formats and tax returns, from Belgium to Australia. MacBusinessSuite focuses on running several companies in different countries side by side, each with its own legal form, tax regime, home currency and VAT registrations, and on US sales tax next to EU OSS.

MacBusinessSuite keeps one language per customer for quotes, invoices, mails and status reports in 15 languages, uses ECB exchange rates and records realized exchange differences. Read more on the [international features](https://macbusinesssuite.app/#international).

## The comparison by topic

- [Invoicing and quotes](https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/grandtotal/invoicing-quotes/)
- [Time tracking](https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/grandtotal/time-tracking/)
- [Customers and projects](https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/grandtotal/customers-projects/)
- [Reports, taxes and e-invoices](https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/grandtotal/reports-taxes/)
- [Data storage, privacy and sync](https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/grandtotal/data-privacy-sync/)
- [Pricing model](https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/grandtotal/pricing-model/)
- [Ease of use and macOS integration](https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/grandtotal/macos-integration/)

## Questions and answers

### Is MacBusinessSuite a GrandTotal alternative?

For many small businesses, yes. Both are native Mac apps that keep the data on the Mac and write quotes, invoices and e-invoices. MacBusinessSuite adds projects with Kanban boards, a CRM with pipeline and mailbox and a built-in timer. GrandTotal offers more e-invoice formats, Peppol sending and several users on one file.

### Can MacBusinessSuite send e-invoices through Peppol like GrandTotal?

No. MacBusinessSuite writes Peppol BIS as a file, which you can pass on yourself. GrandTotal sends through the Peppol access points e-invoice.be and recommand.eu, according to Media Atelier.

### Do both apps keep my data on my Mac?

Yes. GrandTotal stores its data in a file on the Mac at a location you choose, and MacBusinessSuite stores it in the app's container on the Mac. GrandTotal also lets several users share the file through a cloud folder, MacBusinessSuite has no sync.

### Does GrandTotal have a built-in timer?

A built-in timer is not documented on Media Atelier's pages. GrandTotal imports hours from 19 time tracking apps, for example Timing, Tyme or Harvest, and from the macOS calendar. MacBusinessSuite has its own timer in the menu bar.

## Sources

- [GrandTotal, product page with the S, M, L and XL feature lists (mediaatelier.com)](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/GrandTotal/)
- [GrandTotal, German product page (mediaatelier.com)](https://www.mediaatelier.com/de-DE/GrandTotal/)
- [GrandTotal 10, release article](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/GrandTotal10)
- [Support and release notes](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Support/)
- [Licenses](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Licenses/)
- [Collaboration](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Collaboration/)
- [Integrations](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Integrations/)
- [Time tracking](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Time-Tracking)
- [XRechnung](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/XRechnung-E-Invoice-Germany)
- [E-invoices in Belgium and the Peppol network](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/E-Invoices-Belgium)
- [Inbound invoices](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Inbound-Invoices)
- [Web Access](https://www.mediaatelier.com/Posts/Web-Access)
- [Interactive estimates](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Interactive-Estimates)
- [CAMT import](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/CAMT-Import)
- [Compatibility and version history](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Compatibility/)
- [PDF/A archive format](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/PDF-A-Archive-Format)
- [Swiss QR bill](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Swiss-QR-Bill)
- [SEPA QR codes](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/SEPA-QR-Codes)
- [Cumulative partial invoices](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Cumulative-Partial-Invoices)
- [Customer care, statistics and labels](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Customer-Care)
- [Migration](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Migration/)
- [New file format](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/New-File-Format)
- [Sync setup](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Sync-Setup)
- [Making Tax Digital](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/making-tax-digital-vat-mac)
- [Swiss VAT return](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Swiss-VAT-Net-Tax-Rate)
- [Send to bookkeeping](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/Send-To-Bookkeeping)
- [Ask GrandTotal](https://www.mediaatelier.com/Posts/Ask-GrandTotal)
- [MCP server](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Posts/MCP-Server)
- [Privacy policy (connections to Media Atelier servers)](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Privacy/)
- [Imprint](https://www.mediaatelier.com/en/Imprint/)

GrandTotal is a trademark of its owner and is offered by Media Atelier. The name is used here only to identify the product. MacBusinessSuite and DigitalFreedom Global LLC are not affiliated with Media Atelier, and Media Atelier has not reviewed or endorsed this page.