QuickBooks Online Review 2024: Features, Pros & Cons

But with 12 months of accurate books, your finances are accurate and ready to file taxes at year end. Your bookkeeper will go over your reports to help you understand your financial situation, but may not provide financial or business advice https://accountingcoaching.online/ (even if they’re a credentialed CPA). Because your bookkeeper can’t represent your business before the IRS, they can’t give tax advice or guidance. At your request, QuickBooks will conduct a full evaluation of your bookkeeper’s work.

Setting up the software involves plenty of one-time tasks that you’ll want to get right the first time, like connecting your bank account and setting up a series of automated processes and templates. Through Live Bookkeeping, you’ll get a single one-on-one session that can clear up any questions and start your accounting software subscription off on the right foot. If you need a rock-solid, feature-packed accounting solution at a fair price, QuickBooks is the best. But other accounting tools come with slightly different strengths, so read our complete guide to the best small business accounting software to see if another option is best for your unique needs. To manage payroll through QuickBooks Payroll, you’ll need to pay a fee for this add-on service, with plans ranging from $45 to $125 per month, plus an additional $5 to $10 per employee per month.

The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships. The cost begins at $17.99 and varies depending on which form you need and how many. If you purchase QuickBooks Online payroll, these forms may be included, depending on your chosen payroll plan.

Monitor product levels, cost of goods, and receive notifications when inventory is low so you never run out. Use class tracking to sort transactions and categorize income and expenses. The main dashboard will give an overview of your QuickBooks account, showing your profit and loss overview, invoices, expenses and sales. I enjoy being able to work on our books from any computer or even a cell phone.

Is QuickBooks Online a better deal than QuickBooks Desktop?

Even after initial setup, the software must also let users modify information like company name, address, entity type, fiscal year-end, and other company information. With Plus, you can create projects and add income, expenses, and wages. The Projects tool helps you manage different jobs and projects for your clients and track costs related to labor and materials. However, the problem with Plus or any of the other versions is that you can’t compare cost estimates to actual costs by project. Retailers and wholesalers should choose Plus so that they can track the quantity on hand and the cost of inventory.

Xero is most often used by small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Although it has the lowest starting price, at $12 per month, it can be a little more difficult to navigate than QuickBooks or FreshBooks. Because there is an unlimited number of users that can use the program, you can maximize its use if you have a team of professionals who need access to your accounting software. For Xero’s Early plan ($13), the number of invoices that users can send each month is capped at 20, but for all other Xero plans, users can send unlimited invoices. Service or project-based businesses should choose accounting software that can track project costs, revenues, and profits. The software must have tools to track time, record billable hours or expenses, send invoices for progress billings, or monitor project progress and performance.

Compared with QuickBooks, Xero’s plans and pricing structure are simpler and less expensive. Like QuickBooks, Xero offers a free 30-day trial or discounted pricing for the first few months of use. If you’re shopping for QuickBooks as a small-business accounting solution, first decide whether you’d like online, cloud-based software or a desktop product that locally stores your information. QuickBooks pricing varies quite a bit depending on which product you choose, as well as on how many users you need. If you choose to cancel your QuickBooks Online subscription, you will still have access to your QuickBooks Money account and data. If you are a small business or a startup, consider QuickBooks Simple Start.

Find a plan that’s right for you

You’ll need to file business taxes manually, and update your QuickBooks account with the information afterward. You can track KPIs with in-depth analysis tools, consolidate data from multiple companies into singular reports, and compare different companies, clients, or franchises. You also get access to exclusive premium apps such as LeanLaw, HubSpot, DocuSign, Bill.com, Salesforce, and more. Reporting tools are available on the Simple Start plan but they are a bit limited. Vehicle tracking is included, too, should you need to invoice for fuel and driving time for any job.

Each Desktop plan comes with one user; additional licenses cost extra. If you’d like additional help, there are tutorials available on a wide range of accounting terms, skills and how-tos in our QuickBooks Tutorials section. You can also visit our Learn and Support page to search by topic. QuickBooks Online is not free to use, but new customers can choose between a 30-day free trial or a 50% discount for three months.

1. They’ll provide guidance, answer your questions, and teach you how to do tasks in QuickBooks, so you can stay on track for tax time and run your business with confidence.
2. All Gold features, plus advanced inventory, advanced pricing rules and workflow approvals.
3. Read our detailed review of QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping to learn more about this assisted bookkeeping add-on.

After you sign up for QuickBooks Online, you’ll be able to log in to your account and access the main dashboard view. If you’re moving to QuickBooks from another accounting software, you can import your existing files to your new account. All plans include 24/7 live chat support; phone support is available 5 a.m. Today’s leading accounting platforms offer standard security features such as data encryption, secure credential tokenization and more. While human error will always play some role in security breaches, you can be confident in your accounting platform when it comes to keeping your information safe. It’s important to note that FreshBooks is the most competitively priced software solution we found.

The tax penalty protection at the Elite level is a great added layer of security, and it comes partnered with a white glove/curated experience for business owners short on time. If your company does not have a bookkeeper, accountant, or HR team in charge of payroll and benefits management, QuickBooks can keep your payroll seamless while offering tools to meet those other needs. Its range of features can support very small operations as well as growing companies that need granular reporting tools to assess different areas of their business. Moving up to the Essentials Plan, you’ll pay $16.50 per month for the first three months, $45 per month. This plan adds up to three users to the account so that the right people have access to data at their fingertips.

QuickBooks Online Integrations

There is no need to download QuickBooks Online because it is connected to the cloud, which means you can access online accounting from any device with an internet connection. You can download the QuickBooks Online mobile app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. In evaluating pricing, we considered the billing cycle (monthly or annual) and number of users. A notable new feature is Spreadsheet Sync, which helps you generate consolidated reports across multiple entities easily. It is an advanced feature that lets you import and export data between QuickBooks and Microsoft Excel.

This is especially useful if you have many expenses to record, such as business travel expenses, office supplies, and equipment purchases. You can upload expense receipts in bulk, categorize them according to the appropriate expense account, and then submit them for approval. Plus allows you to assign classes and locations to your transactions, so you can see how your business performs across divisions, locations, rep areas, or any units that are relevant to your business. If you run businesses in multiple locations and you want to see which one is most profitable, an upgrade to Plus from Essentials is worth the price. With Essentials, you can track your unpaid bills easily and pay them directly within QuickBooks. You just need to select the bills you want to pay from the Pay Bills window, place a checkmark next to the bills, and then select Save or Save and Print.

Best Accounting and Bookkeeping Apps for Small Businesses

You should know exactly how much QuickBooks Online is going to cost before you commit to a plan. The QuickBooks Online Simple plan costs $30/month and supports one user. QuickBooks Online allows up to 25 users on its most expensive plans.

Some of Xero’s plans cost less than QuickBooks’ plans, but most do not. Xero’s plans cost $13, $37, and $70 per month, compared to the QuickBooks $20, $30, and $60 per month plans. However, the “Secure” brand of checks what is not sufficient funds offer in-depth fraud protection measures that may justify the price, provided you anticipate security risks at your business. Also available from the service is a lending program called QuickBooks Capital.