QuickBooks is a small business accounting software with features for contractor management, bookkeeping, and detailed dashboards to gain insights into your business.
Pros
- Business dashboard
- Mobile app for keeping track of receipts
- Wide library of integrations
Cons
- Plans are relatively expensive
- No free plan
- No direct integration with Slack
QuickBooks at a Glance
Ideal for: Small businesses that need an online accounting system
Price range: Starting at $12.50 for the basic plan
Key features: Invoices, expenses, and contractor management
Apps: Web, Android, iOS
Integrations: PayPal, Square, TSheets
QuickBooks Ease of Setup and Use
QuickBooks prioritizes customer engagement. If you are considering using the software for your accounting needs, it is recommended that you first contact the QuickBooks sales team, which is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. In addition, QuickBooks has developed comprehensive onboarding documents to guide customers through the setup process. QuickBooks is an intuitive and easy-to-use platform. The web interface and mobile apps allow small businesses to update their accounts from the office or on the go.
QuickBooks Pricing and Plans
Users can sign up for different levels, from the Basic Plan to the Advanced Plan, which is ideal for experienced users and includes up to 25 users.
Additionally, Payroll Core costs an additional $22.50 per month, plus $4 per employee for monthly processing.
QuickBooks Features
Project Profitability Tracking
QuickBooks allows users to track the profitability of each of their projects. QuickBooks can pull data from an enterprise’s cost and expense database (CODB) to calculate the profitability of each ongoing project. For companies managing projects, this feature makes it easy to identify cost overruns and maintain profitability goals.
Real Time Inventory Tracking
QuickBooks provides real-time inventory tracking for online sales organizations. In addition, QuickBooks includes an inventory tracking system designed to prevent both overstocks and shortages. Customers can receive instant notifications of expected inventory levels as soon as purchase orders (POs) are entered into the system. Demand reports make it easy for businesses to quickly identify their best-selling products. Online sales reports can be synchronized with major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Etsy, and Shopify.
General Ledger and Expense Tracking
Expense Scanning
Users can record expenses in QuickBooks by scanning them and uploading them directly to the platform or by emailing them to an address specifically associated with their account. Once they have collected receipts, they can categorize them in the system. Additionally, QuickBooks uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to automatically determine the content of scanned receipts, including the date of payment, vendor, payment method used, and amount paid. Payments can also be attached to invoices issued. This feature is useful for businesses and freelancers who bill their clients for expenses incurred.
Billing and Invoicing
Bill Organization
QuickBooks allows you to enter invoices to track payables and receivables. With QuickBooks, businesses can settle outstanding balances by credit or debit card, as well as by bank transfer. All payment options can be managed from the user area. All paid invoices are recorded and tracked through the system. In addition, users can connect their bank accounts to automatically track and categorize incoming and outgoing payments. The system also supports deferred invoice payments to increase cash flow.
Professional Invoicing
One of the main features of QuickBooks is, of course, the ability to create and send invoices. With QuickBooks, users can:
- Apply theme settings to match the design and color scheme of their invoices to their internal style and brand guidelines.
Set up recurring invoices. This is perfect for businesses that pay their customers in installments. - Add chargeable hours. To simplify the import, users can integrate with Google Calendar or TSheets and import recorded hours.
QuickBooks Integrations
QuickBooks supports a wide range of integrations, allowing customers to optimize their online accounting platform by connecting it with other online services.
They include:
Calendar and time tracking apps. QuickBooks integrates with Google Calendar and TSheets to automatically import recorded time into customer accounts and invoice them.
There are also e-commerce connectors. One example is BigCommerce’s QuickBooks app, which allows businesses to automatically create the documents needed for online sales.
QuickBooks Mobile Apps
QuickBooks has apps for Android and iOS, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, respectively. The app version only offers the features available in Online Simple Start. Therefore, at the time of writing, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced plan customers will not be able to access its additional features from their mobile versions of the installation. Additionally, the mobile versions allow you to access multiple accounts. Those who want to make and process payments directly from their mobile devices can do so using the mobile card reader. Customers can create invoices directly from the app.
QuickBooks Customer Support
Need to contact QuickBooks Customer Support? Intuit has a comprehensive online troubleshooting section designed to help users resolve their issues before contacting the team.
If they are unable to resolve their issue through the documentation or community forum, they can start a support conversation via live chat or phone. Live chat is available Monday through Friday (Pacific Time) from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Saturdays from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The phone line is available Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM and is closed on weekends.
Bottom Line
QuickBooks is a powerful invoicing and accounting system preferred by small businesses around the world. Its features include tracking contractor expenses, project profitability reports, and recording receipts via direct upload and email. There is no free tier, but paying users can choose the premium tier that best suits their needs.
