The five-tool stack I run my entire one-person business on
No bloated SaaS shelf. Five tools, each earning its keep, covering money, ops, content and launch for a solo digital business in Europe.
Financial analyst & solo founder · 3 June 2026 · updated 9 June 2026 · 2 min read
The fastest way to spot a struggling solopreneur is their tool list: 14 subscriptions, 9 of them barely opened. A one-person business doesn’t need a software department. It needs five things that don’t fight each other. Here’s the stack.
The stack at a glance
| # | Tool | Job it replaces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notion | Notes app + calendar + CRM + project board |
| 2 | Xolo | Bookkeeper + EU VAT/OSS filing + company admin |
| 3 | Wise | A bank skimming 2–4% on every foreign invoice |
| 4 | Systeme.io | Page builder + email tool + checkout, in one |
| 5 | Editor | Whatever ships words/code fastest |
Five tools, five jobs, no overlap. Below is why each earns its place.
1. The brain — Notion
One workspace for notes, the content calendar, a light CRM and project tracking. The point isn’t features; it’s one place so I’m never wondering where a thing lives. If you’re weighing it against ClickUp or Obsidian, that’s the project management tools roundup.
Set up your workspace2. The money & admin — Xolo
EU invoicing, bookkeeping and accountant in one. As a solo I refuse to spend quarter-end reconciling spreadsheets, and the EU VAT/OSS side is not something to hand-roll. If you want to weigh it against the self-serve alternatives, that’s the invoicing & accounting roundup.
Try Xolo3. The money layer — Wise
Multi-currency account so cross-border clients pay me without a bank skimming the FX. More on why in getting paid across borders.
Open a Wise account4. The launch engine — Systeme.io
Landing pages, email list and a checkout in one place, so I’m not stitching together five tools to sell one product. For a solo, “all-in-one” beats “best-in-class but five logins” almost every time — the full comparison is in the all-in-one platforms roundup.
Start free5. The editor — your code/writing tool of choice
The one I won’t name a brand for, because it’s personal. The rule: whatever gets words and ships fastest with the least ceremony.
The principle behind the list
Every tool must replace work, not add a tab. If a subscription needs another subscription to be useful, it’s not a tool — it’s a project.
Audit your own stack against that line once a quarter. Most solos can cut a third of their SaaS spend without losing a single capability they actually use.
Want to go deeper on two of the five layers? The email marketing roundup compares Kit, Brevo, MailerLite and Systeme in detail. The AI tools roundup covers what actually moves the needle — and what is just another tab.