Running a business without good accounting software is like taking a road trip without a map app — technically possible, but likely to end in frustration and confusion. Intuit’s QuickBooks® Online comes with a lot of name recognition, but does the cloud-based software also have the features to keep your small business on track for success? Read CNBC Select’s review to find out.
QuickBooks® Online
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Cost
Costs may vary depending on the plan selected – click “Learn More” for details
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Standout features
Tracks your business expenses as they happen, as well as your income. Users can use app to do invoicing, accept payments, manage their cash flow, maximize tax deductions, track travel miles, run reports, send estimates, manage bills and 1099 contractors, plus pay employees
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Categorizes your expenses
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Links to accounts
Yes, bank and credit cards, plus third-party apps like PayPal and Square
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Availability
Accessible from any web browser and also offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
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Security features
Verisign scanning, password-protected login, firewall protected servers and the same encryption technology (128 bit SSL) used by the world’s top banks. QuickBooks also offers multiple permission levels that you can set for additional users’ access
How does QuickBooks work?
Once you sign up for one of QuickBooks Online’s four pricing plans and create an account, you can sync data from your sales channel, bank accounts and more with the accounting software platform. For instance, you might sync your Stripe account, which allows you to accept payments for your e-commerce store, so that QuickBooks can understand how much money your business earns and help you file your taxes correctly.
In addition to tracking your business’s money, QuickBooks also has features that help with your operations, including accepting payments through invoicing, tracking inventory, paying contractors and more. QuickBooks locks some of its features to certain plans, so make sure you know what you need from the accounting software before deciding which plan to sign up for.
QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop
In addition to QuickBooks Online, Intuit also offers QuickBooks Desktop. Both are subscription-based services, but with QuickBooks Desktop you install the software on a computer rather than accessing it on the cloud. QuickBooks Desktop lacks some of the features found with the Online version, it has the advantage of limited functionality even if your internet connection is out.
QuickBooks pricing and features
QuickBooks currently offers four pricing tiers: Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced. Here’s a breakdown of what each of those packages offers.
Quickbooks Online Pricing and Features
| Plan | Cost | Included features |
| Simple Start | $35/month ($17.50/month for first 3 months) | – Access to a tax expert – Income and expense tracking – Automated bookkeeping – Send invoices and accept payments – Basic reporting – Track cash flow – Send custom estimates – Upload receipts – Manage 1099 payments – Organize bill payment – Automatically track miles – Sync to 1 sales channel – Sales tax calculation |
| Essentials | $65/month ($32.50/month for first 3 months) | All the features from the Simple Start plan plus: – More detailed reporting – Sync to 3 sales channels – Sell and collect payments in multiple currencies – Accommodate up to 3 users on the account – Add billable employee time to invoices |
| Plus | $99/month ($49.50/month for first 3 months) | All the features from the Essentials plan plus: – Inventory tracking and enhanced sales reports – Sync to as many different sales channels as you need – Accommodate up to 5 users on the account – Track profitability of your projects – Create budgets with real-time data |
| Advanced | $235/month ($117.50/month for first 3 months) | All the features from the Plus plan plus: – Accommodate up to 25 users on the account – Automatic asset tracking – Sync data to Excel – Create invoices in batches – Customize user permissions – Create automatic workflows – Automatically backup and restore company data – 24/7 support – Automated revenue recognition for compliance |
QuickBooks offers a promotional 50% off for the first three months across all pricing plans. This way, you can try out its features without having to invest too much money right off the bat.
Features in a nutshell
QuickBooks has a slew of useful features for tracking and managing your business’ money. Some of the most prominent features across all pricing tiers include:
- income and expense tracking
- automatic bookkeeping
- invoice management
- profit, loss and expense reporting
- automatic sales tax calculation
- bill payment organization
- 1099 payment management
Of course, more advanced features are available with higher-cost tiers. For instance, the ability to connect QuickBooks to multiple sales channels is only available through the Essentials, Plus and Advanced plans.
These same tiers also offer the ability to add multiple account users. This can be helpful if you’d like to provide QuickBooks access to your accountant or any employees involved with managing your business’ finances without sharing your login information. And with these tiers, you can also control which features additional users get access to so you can avoid sharing sensitive information with the wrong people.
The Simple Start plan doesn’t include this kind of access, which is why you’ll want to carefully consider your business needs before choosing a plan.
The Plus plan and Advanced plan also include features for inventory tracking, which can be most useful to businesses that sell physical goods as opposed to most service-based businesses.
Potential customers can also take a short quiz on the QuickBooks website to figure out which plan is right for them.
QuickBooks perks
QuickBooks offers live assistance from an expert for free for 30 days. This is an opportunity for new customers to take advantage of assistance with connecting their accounts, learning how to use the features that are best for their business and more.
Customers can also navigate several resources offered through QuickBooks including a blog on growing and running your business, a community forum and tools like calculators for sales taxes, paychecks, timesheets and payment costs. Other tools also include a balance sheet template, an income statement template and invoice templates.
QuickBooks pros and cons
Before you sign up for QuickBooks, consider these pros and cons.
Pros
- Each plan offers a robust set of features, including the most basic plan option.
- Offers a strong 3-month introductory discount.
- Offers live expert support.
- QuickBooks offers ample educational resources like blog posts.
- Connects to over 750 apps to help you manage your business.
Cons
- QuickBooks is more expensive compared to other services on the market.
- Customers cannot add additional users with the Simple Start plan.
- Customers can only connect one sales channel to their QuickBooks account with the Simple Start plan.
Availability and ratings
The QuickBooks Online app is available in the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android). It’s also accessible from a web browser.
Rating in App Store at time of writing: 4.7 out of 5 (over 200,000 ratings)
Rating on Google Play at time of writing: 3.9 out of 5 (over 61,000 ratings)
QuickBooks alternatives
If you aren’t convinced that QuickBooks is right for you, take a look at these options.
QuickBooks vs. Xero
Xero
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Cost
Starts at $3.75 per month for three months (with discount; regular pricing starts at $15 per month)
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Benefits Administration
Yes, through a partnership with Gusto
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HR tools
Yes, in partnership with Gusto; When you sign up for Xero you get 30 days of Gusto for free and after that, you must pay Gusto’s standard charges
One major drawback to QuickBooks is that it’s relatively expensive. Xero, on the other hand, is much easier on the wallet — its basic plan (Early) costs just $15 per month. Xero also offers a discount that brings the monthly price of that plan down to just $0.75 per month for the first three months.
The most expensive plan from Xero costs $80 per month without a discount (Established plan). QuickBooks, by contrast, can cost as much as $235 per month without a discount (Advanced plan).
When you compare what each software’s basic plan offers, QuickBooks has a more robust suite of features. These span income and expense tracking, automatic bookkeeping, live expert tax help, basic reporting, bill and receipt capturing, mileage tracking, automatic sales tax calculation, custom estimates and more.
The most basic plan from Xero, on the other hand, only includes a sales tax calculator, 1099 and W-9 payment management, short-term cash flow snapshots, bill and receipt capturing, and a limited number of bills and invoices you can enter.
So while QuickBooks can be significantly more expensive, it does back up that price with useful features. That said if Xero’s offerings meet your needs, choosing it could be the smart financial move.
QuickBooks vs. Wave Accounting
Wave Payroll
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Cost
Starts at $20/month + $6/month per employee + $6/month per contractor
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Benefits Administration
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HR tools
QuickBooks offers four different pricing plans while Wave only offers two. Depending on how overwhelmed you get from sorting through different plans and price tiers, Wave’s relative simplicity could be a benefit.
Wave’s basic Starter plan costs $0, a hard price to beat. Features in this place include unlimited bills, invoices, estimates and bookkeeping records, a mobile app and a dashboard to manage cash flow and customers.
With Wave, you do have the option to accept online payments, in which case you’ll have to pay a fee starting at 2.9% plus $0.60 per credit card transaction (for the Starter Plan) or 2.9% + $0 per credit card transaction for the first 10 transactions per month (for the Pro Plan).
Otherwise, the Pro Plan with Wave costs just $16 per month. Again, this is cheaper than QuickBooks but QuickBooks does offer a lot in terms of its features.
Both platforms also offer a payroll service if you’d like to do accounting and payroll on the same platform.
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FAQs
Can I do bookkeeping without QuickBooks?
It is possible to do bookkeeping without QuickBooks, or any software. However, manual bookkeeping is prone to human error, especially if you aren’t an expert. You may also hire your own independent bookkeeper or opt for a service other than QuickBooks.
Can I get QuickBooks for free?
No, you can’t get QuickBooks for free, but the platform does offer a significant discount for the first three months of service.
What happens if you don’t do bookkeeping for your business?
Keeping a financial record for your business helps you measure your success, create attainable goals, track what’s coming in and what’s going out and so much more. It’s also important to have a record of income and expenses during tax time.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of small business products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
