Are you a freelancer or a small business owner looking for the best accounting software to streamline your financial processes? Look no further! QuickBooks is the go-to choice for many professionals, and there are several reasons why it stands out from the competition.
General Features
QuickBooks offers a wide range of features that make managing your finances a breeze. Here are some standout features you can expect from this powerful accounting software:
Invoicing and Payments
With QuickBooks, you can create professional-looking invoices with your logo and send them to your clients directly from any device. You can also accept online payments, track your invoices, send payment reminders, and automatically match payments to invoices.
Tax Management Tools
Tracking expenses and income is essential for tax purposes, and QuickBooks simplifies this process. You can categorize your transactions into tax categories, export your books to your accountant at tax time, and even send important tax documents directly through QuickBooks.
Reporting
QuickBooks offers a wide range of accounting reports, including profit and loss, expenses, and balance sheet reporting. You can also create custom tags in your reports to track metrics that are important to your business. Plus, you can access these reports effortlessly through your QuickBooks dashboard.
Expense Management Tools
Managing expenses has never been easier with QuickBooks. You can capture receipts using your mobile device, organize them into relevant tax categories, and track mileage expenses by using your smartphone’s GPS. The software even creates shareable reports of miles driven and associated deductions.
Pricing and Value
QuickBooks offers four pricing plans to cater to businesses of all sizes. Each plan includes all the features of the previous-tier plan, plus additional tools. Here’s a breakdown of the features and pricing for each plan:
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Simple Start: $30 per month ($15 for the first three months) – income and expense tracking, invoicing and payment tools, general reports, tax management tools, receipt and mileage tracking, cash flow reporting, sales and sales tax management tools, estimates, and the ability to pay contractors.
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Essentials: $60 per month ($30 for the first three months) – all Simple Start features, plus up to three users, bill management, and time tracking.
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Plus: $90 per month ($45 for the first three months) – all Essentials features, plus up to five users, inventory tracking, and project profitability tracking.
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Advanced: $200 per month ($100 for the first three months) – all Plus features, plus up to 25 users, business analytics and insights, employee expense management, batch invoices and expenses, customized access by role, and automated processes and tasks.
Please note that signing up for a free trial will not make you eligible for the 50% discount on your first three paid months.
Add-Ons and Extras
In addition to its core features, QuickBooks offers add-ons that can enhance your accounting experience. Here are two notable add-ons:
Tax Assistance
With QuickBooks’ partnership with TurboTax, you can tap into unlimited expert tax assistance to maximize tax credits and ensure accurate tax filing. This feature is available at an additional one-time or monthly fee, depending on your entity type.
Assisted Bookkeeping
For an extra $50 per month, you can access unlimited bookkeeping assistance. This includes getting your questions answered, learning best bookkeeping practices, setting up automations, and reviewing business reports.
Reputation
QuickBooks has garnered positive reviews on popular software review platforms. With a 4.3-star rating on Capterra and a 4.4-star rating on G2, it is clear that users appreciate its comprehensive accounting features and user-friendly interface. However, some users have mentioned that resolving issues can be time-consuming and frustrating.
Our Experience
In our testing, we found QuickBooks to be incredibly intuitive and easy to use. Whether you’re setting up workflow automations or navigating the dashboard, the software guides you every step of the way. We tested QuickBooks on a Mac laptop using the Safari browser, and the setup process was a breeze.
Once you’re up and running, QuickBooks provides a checklist of items to complete your account setup and customization. The left-hand menu offers easy access to all the tools you need, and the platform provides shortcuts to your most-used tools for quick and efficient accounting.
One standout feature is the ability to set up automations using templates. Whether it’s scheduling reports or setting up reminders, these templates make the process simple and intuitive.
While we appreciate QuickBooks’ features and user experience, we would prefer less upselling within the platform. At times, it can be frustrating to be redirected to purchase add-ons when exploring included features.
According to Margeurita Cheng, CFP & RICP, one of our advisory board members, clients with larger businesses prefer QuickBooks for its robust functionality and excellent support team.
Who Should Use It?
QuickBooks is an excellent choice for freelancers and small businesses that need a straightforward way to track expenses, organize receipts, and log mileage. Its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features make it a top contender in the accounting software market.
To learn more about QuickBooks and its capabilities, read our full QuickBooks review.