QuickBooks Product Comparison Guide

QuickBooks Simple Start is a good fit for businesses that are seeking a double-entry accounting system and for those with inventoriable costs employees because of its integration with QuickBooks Payroll. Starts at $4,668/year for one user (only offered as a monthly subscription). We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. Monitor product levels, cost of goods, and receive notifications when inventory is low so you never run out. Deciding which type of software works best for your business model can make your QuickBooks choice a whole lot easier.

QuickBooks Online offers four standard plans—Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced—with prices ranging from $35 to $235 per month. They vary in the number of users and features included and are built for different purposes. Requires a separate QuickBooks Payments account which is subject to eligibility criteria, credit and application approval.

1. 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.
2. A good certified QuickBooks accountant will make this so much easier for you as the business owner – at Units Consulting Ltd. we aim to be the best.
3. Since you don’t have the additional cost of file hosting and servers, cloud-based software can actually be cheaper overall than desktop-based bookkeeping software.
4. This takes into account customer management, revenue recognition, invoice management, and collections.

Other businesses should consider whether tracking P&L by class and location is worth the extra $34 per month. With QuickBooks Essentials, you can track billable time by job and assign it to a specific customer—something you can’t achieve with Simple Start. Once you’ve recorded your billable time, you can add it to your invoice and then send it to your client.

QuickBooks Mac Plus: Best For Mac Users

Additionally, QuickBooks Premier supports up to five users, whereas QuickBooks Pro only supports a maximum of three. QuickBooks Pro only supports up to three users, and you have to pay per user. QuickBooks Online supports up to 25 users based on the plan you select. Learn more about the differences between QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Pro.

QuickBooks Online VS QuickBooks Mac Plus

If you want cloud-based software, there’s QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Solopreneur. If you want locally-installed software, you can take your pick from QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, or QuickBooks Enterprise. However, QuickBooks Mac Plus does noticeably lack some of the features available on QuickBooks Online, including recurring invoices and live bank feeds. QuickBooks Mac Plus also has no integrations, whereas QBO has more than 750.

However, businesses with three or fewer users that plan to use only the standard version of QuickBooks Premier are better off saving their time (and money!) by signing up for QuickBooks Pro. QuickBooks Online is cloud-based software, so it offers more mobility. But what QuickBooks Pro Plus sacrifices in mobility, it more than makes up for in its features, which are more developed than what you’ll find in QuickBooks Online. Pricing varies based on the number of users and the level of customer support you need, and if you need to add QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

QuickBooks Premier Features

In addition, QuickBooks Solopreneur, a new and improved version of QuickBooks Self-Employed, is designed for one-person businesses and is available for $20 monthly. QuickBooks Solopreneur is a “lite” version of the online product that’s ideal for people who earn income from a variety of sources and helps to separate personal and business finances. Customer support includes 24/7 help from a virtual assistant (chat bot) as well as live phone and chat support during daytime hours, Monday through Saturday.

You also can have one to five users with QuickBooks Premier (instead of QuickBooks Pro’s three-user limit). QuickBooks Desktop Premier is the step up from QuickBooks Pro and is best for medium-sized businesses. QuickBooks Premier is robust, locally-installed software with plenty of features and 200+ integrations. Not only does Quickbooks Solopreneur help freelancers navigate the scary waters of estimated quarterly taxes, but it also gives them basic bookkeeping tools to track income and expenses.

This table takes a deep look into each program’s features, so you’ll know exactly what each version of QuickBooks is capable of. Comparing QuickBooks features is one of the best ways to decide which version of the software is the best fit for your business. Unfortunately, QuickBooks no longer offers this option for purchase online. To purchase QuickBooks Desktop Pro, you will need to contact QuickBooks Sales by phone. QuickBooks Solopreneur (formerly QuickBooks Self-Employed) isn’t quite accounting software. QuickBooks Self-Employed is tax software created to help freelancers manage their finances.