Offering a product that our customers can depend on for their business is our top priority. While we like both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Self-Employed, for most businesses, QuickBooks Online is the better option. It’s more expensive, but it comes with far more features than the rather bare-bones QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Plans for up to five users are available and payroll can be added for an extra $500/year, plus $5/employee each month. QuickBooks Online Plus is ideal for businesses that sell both products and services. You can also connect with your accountant, making it easier at tax time. QuickBooks Essentials is best for small businesses that are starting to grow and need up to three users and time tracking. QuickBooks Plus is the most popular plan for businesses as it includes key features such as inventory, project management, and support for up to five users. QuickBooks Advanced is for larger businesses requiring up to 25 users and more advanced reporting and support.

Small Business Statistics

Its basic plan is in line with QuickBooks Simple Start, at $15 per month. QuickBooks Self-Employed is suitable for freelancers and independent contractors who want to be able to track all their business expenses (such as rent or marketing) in one place. If you how to price a bond report income on Schedule C of your personal income tax return, this cost-effective option might be best for you. If you don’t need accounting just yet, our new money solution offers banking, payments, and 5.00% APY—all with no subscription or starting fees.

  • Your receipts are inputted automatically with the “snap-and-store” function and the program tracks your miles for business-trip expense deductions.
  • Once your bookkeeper receives all the necessary documentation, they’ll typically complete your cleanup within 30 days.
  • Manual data entry is not only tedious and time-consuming but also opens the door to human error that creates inaccuracies or redundancies in your books.
  • If you’re uncomfortable connecting your bank account, you can upload your transactions in a QuickBooks Online format.
  • Vehicle tracking is included, too, should you need to invoice for fuel and driving time for any job.
  • In addition, third-party apps can be connected to make QuickBooks Online even more powerful, some of which you may already be using in your business.

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. With it, users can track their billable hours, categorizing them under the correct client and employee, while automatically adding them to invoices. These hours can be added by the manager manually, though the employee in question can also be given permission to add their hours themselves.

QuickBooks Online could have garnered a higher score in general features if it had the ability to import beginning balances, which could have helped make reconciliation and reporting easier. Also, setting up a company in QuickBooks Online takes time—you have to go through a series of steps, including entering your company name, email address, and entity type. You can either get a 30-day free trial or purchase right away and receive a 50% discount for three months. Simple Start runs basic reports, including cash flow statements, profit and loss (P&L) statements, and balance sheets. Some of the other 20-plus built-in standard reports available include P&L by month and customer, quarterly P&L summaries, and general ledger.

App integration

If you choose this funding option, there are no origination fees and no prepayment fees, but you will be expected to make weekly payments plus APR. Payments vary based on your loan amount, credit score, and term length. QuickBooks Online users can get access to QuickBooks’ lending service — QuickBooks Capital. QuickBooks Capital is a working capital loan to help small business owners run their operations, whether that’s covering new hires, ordering inventory, making payroll, etc.

Tax Forms & Support

You can also modify your chart of accounts, enter an additional user, and control how much access you want to give them. QuickBooks Online allows you to close books at year-end, which is important to prevent changes in your financial data. QuickBooks offers a free one-on-one meeting with a QuickBooks ProAdvisor for new users. Your ProAdvisor will help you set up your company file, including adding your business information, setting up accounts, and connecting your bank accounts.

QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Self-Employed: At a Glance

QuickBooks pricing varies quite a bit depending on which product you choose, as well as on how many users you need. QuickBooks Online Advanced is the newest subscription level in the QuickBooks family. It includes the features in Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus, with additional features for a growing business approaching mid-market size. You can set up a chart of accounts with an unlimited number of accounts to meet the needs of your business. QuickBooks will estimate quarterly tax payments and help you avoid late fees.

The iOS and Android apps for phones and tablets are available and included with your QuickBooks Online account. The app gives you access to all features of the service on your mobile device. Although QuickBooks is a low-cost accounting software platform, it’s not the least expensive option. Although less feature-rich than QuickBooks, Sage Accounting costs less, making it a potentially better choice if budget is a priority.

All Simple Start features for up to three users, plus bill management and the ability to add employee time to invoices. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. QuickBooks Online Plus is not a good fit for businesses with more than 250 active accounts, more than 40 classes and locations, and the need to manage more than five users.

QuickBooks Online Ease of Use & Customer Support

Those who want to take their accounting on the go will appreciate the mobile app. It brings most of the features of the online platform, plus it enables mileage tracking and receipt capture for quick and convenient recordkeeping. QuickBooks Online is a leader in the accounting industry with it being the bookkeeping software of choice for many accountants, certified public accountants (CPAs) and bookkeepers.

What is the difference between QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks Desktop, on the other hand, is locally installed with a license pricing model. Before we dive into the details of each QuickBooks plan and its value, here’s a look at the latest accounting software deals and discounts from the biggest and best QuickBooks alternatives on the market. The plans can be upgraded at any time, so if you’re in doubt, start with Core and see if it works for your payroll needs. The QuickBooks software offers dropdown menus for easy access to its many tools. You can track KPIs with in-depth analysis tools, consolidate data from multiple companies into singular reports, and compare different companies, clients, or franchises.