QuickBooks Review: Pricing, Features, and Ratings
Check Out FeaturesWhy should you use QuickBooks? It's the best option for small to medium-sized businesses since it has too many features that fit this category. QuickBooks is the industry standard and most accountants work with it. It's also ideal for small business owners without in-house bookkeepers, since it allows you to use its online version from any device.
- Easy and quick to set up with the support of non-accountants
- It integrates with most other small business software out there that has any sort of financial functionality
- It Provides good accounting and financial reports
- You can track old financial records and compare them to the current records to get valuable insight into the financial situation
- Easy to access from any device
- You can back up your data to the cloud and access it remotely
- You can only include 1000 daily records on the invoice
- The banking function takes several days to sync up to the banking balance
- Not all bank accounts would link originally to the software
- Problems with exporting the data as you can’t even export to Google Sheets
- Too many features confuse business owners

QuickBooks's Features
The best part of the quick book is that it is easy to use and has different options right from having different tabs for accounts payable and accounts receivable also there are other options to create invoices, expense booking, journal entries, payment received entry, and other important options directly from the dashboard. I love using Quickbooks, and also love the facility to use the loader to process multiple invoices at the same time.
I love that it enables me to keep track of all my invoices, including when they should be coming in. Likewise, I dislike that it is a little clunky to get to the page where all my pending invoices are, so I bookmarked that page in particular.
It helps generate invoices and receipts based on real-time information. Now it is very easy for me to check the authenticity of the invoices because this tool has filled the gap between our project estimation department and finance department.
Invoicing
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QuickBooks has helped streamline the invoice process, making it easier to understand and more efficient than manually.
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This has been especially beneficial when sending invoices to clients in other countries because processing takes only 1–2 days instead of several weeks by snail mail.
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We think it's better than doing that manually, since it helps streamline the invoicing process. It also supports the ability to forward invoices/receipts to QuickBooks Online (QBO) and have them auto-matched.
How could it be improved?
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If it were easier to customize the invoice’s template with the brand identity.
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If they make it easier for clients to pay recurring invoices by requiring them to sign up for an Intuit account first.
Expense Tracking
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We’ve used Quickbooks for tracking job costs via the check register, and it makes categorizing and recording expenses and income easier and more accurate.
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We’ve noticed duplicate entries, auto-categorization rules that categorize expenses, and auto-categorization rules that turn on without approval.
How could it be improved?
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if the process of accruing expenses could be more automated or set up to be more streamlined.
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Not only can the admins see the expense of each project to understand how profitable it is.
I like that the program automatically calculates expenses and validates them according to my provided specifications. It makes these calculations without errors and quickly, just like the payroll.
Tracking expenses is a breeze, too, as you can easily print out reports and statements for any account on QuickBooks Online. we can more quickly, efficiently, and productively manage expenses for clients. And, we have constant access to complete statements and reports for each account.
It is fast to make an invoice; it remembers your most-used expenses, and you can put in an email address and send it directly. You can spy on who has viewed your invoice and quickly re-send it. Easy to see monthly expenses and incoming.
It imports bank and credit card data plus allows for receipts and invoices to be uploaded with most of the data extracted automatically. This substantially streamlines processes, saves time, and increases accuracy. When I add rules for the bank feeds, I have effectively automated 80%of the normal bookkeeping data work. It has saved time and allowed me to spend more time reviewing and understanding the information. This makes me a better value add to the organization.
It helps with keeping the bank analyzed and reconciled. This allows for timesaving at the year-end, as we can go back to the last bank reconciliation if something is not correct.
I am enjoying the bank interface. The entries get fed directly from the banking system. I just need to categorize the entries into relevant accounts for recording purposes.
Bank Feeds
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The bank account/credit card reconciliation functionality is excellent. What’s more interesting is that QBO gives administrators the ability to reconcile bank activity without giving them access to the bank accounts.
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The bank connection automatically pulls all bank statements from the bank itself, deducts the payment on the due date for the vendors, and gives notifications for the payment received.
How could it be improved?
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If the bank connection works better without lags.
Tax Management
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It quickly gives you all the tax documents you need to file taxes at the end of the year. The best thing about QuickBooks is that it calculates tax rates quickly.
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We’ve noticed that it’s very manual when filing employee and employer taxes. We really appreciate the TurboTax integration, which limits paperwork.
How could it be improved?
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If it makes taxes easier for business owners without a finance background.
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If the troubles with the payroll tax in different states are limited.
It keeps track of all of your financials in one place and keeps you on track for tax season. It integrates with a wide variety of software, making it even easier to use.
It is easy to track expenses and incoming income, as well as any taxes, and at the end of the year, monthly or quarterly; you can pull reports on the profitability of your company, as well as share data with your bookkeeper for year-end taxes.
Having payroll taxes calculated automatically and paid with the click of a button.
Inventory Management
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QuickBooks can automatically track and update the amounts and unit costs of inventory. Moreover, it has several reports to help manage inventory.
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It also has the ability to store information on vendors, including their billing information, and create critical financial documents for presentations.
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It automatically updates the organization's stock level whenever purchases and sales are made, improving stock and inventory tracking.
How could it be improved?
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It makes managing inventory in multiple locations easier. Instead, you should use different item codes to differentiate the items placed at different locations.
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If it was better to address inventory management concerns.
I am using QuickBooks to improve the accounting process and inventory control. This has helped me to overcome the minimal errors that have been reported while using manual accounting methods. In return, I have realized a 30% to 60% decrease in accounting errors, which also helped me to track my inventory and vendor management properly.
Unfortunately, my organization needs to move away from QBO to a traditional ERP due to the lacking Inventory management capabilities. Other than that, I have no complaints about QBO.
The reporting is much better in the desktop version than in the online version. The charts are not customizable, and the report builder is limited. Also, cleaning up outdated reports is time-consuming, and exporting reports to Excel or PDF format is inconsistently reliable.
I would recommend this software to smaller enterprises looking for an advanced accounting tool at an affordable price. If your work requires you to generate reports, i would highly recommend subscribing to this software.
We are happy to use the technology in finance because we save a great time to generate reports at the end of the month or the end of the accounting cycle. It works great, it is extraordinary, and we can be more objective.
Accounting Reports
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The financial reports are well-designed and easy to understand, especially the balance sheet and profit and loss.
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The ability to manipulate the reports was much more comprehensive in the desktop version.
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We’ve noticed that only admins can run reports to see if the job was profitable.
How could it be improved?
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The reports could be a little more detailed and with more necessary data.
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It would be better to pull live data directly into any sheet in Excel, instead of static reports.
Customer Services
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We’ve tested the customer service, which is decent, but it would be better if it rebounds faster.
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Quickbooks moved its customer support office from the United States to another country a couple of years ago, and the new office seems a lot more like a call center.
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The quality of the support has decreased, which is understandable as the number of users has greatly increased.
How could it be improved?
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Customer quick support could be better.
Customer service is good, but it took a while to get to the right person to be able to help with our support questions. Everyone was friendly, but it just took way too long.
If you are a big business, I guess you should use it. But only if you can pay for the "extra" customer support. It's a great tool, they only need better customer service.
Navigating online customer service topics is not always intuitive, and calling for support can sometimes take a long time.
Pricing
- Track income & expenses
- Send custom invoices & quotes
- Connect your bank
- Track GST and VAT
- Accounting reports
- Capture & organize receipts
- Progress invoicing
- Manage bills & payments
- Track employee time
- Multi-currency
- Recurring transactions and bills
- Track inventory
- Track project profitability
- Manage budgets
- Number of users
Simple Start
$17/ /mo
- One user, plus your accountant
Essentials
$26/ /mo
- Three users, plus your accountant
Plus
$36 /mo
- Five users, plus your accountant
How Does QuickBooks Compare to other alternatives?
Why should you use QuickBooks? It's the best option for small to medium-sized businesses since it has too many features that fit this category. QuickBooks is the industry standard and most accountants work with it. It's also ideal for small business owners without in-house bookkeepers, since it allows you to use its online version from any device.
- Easy and quick to set up with the support of non-accountants
- It integrates with most other small business software out there that has any sort of financial functionality
- Provides good accounting and financial reports
- You can track old financial records and compare them to the current records to get valuable insight into the financial situation
- Easy to access from any device
- You can back up your data to the cloud and access it remotely
- You can only include 1000 daily records on the invoice
- The banking function takes several days to sync up to the banking balance
- Not all bank accounts would link originally to the software
- Problems with exporting the data as you can’t even export to Google Sheets
- Too many features confuse business owners
Who should you use ZohoBooks? Small/medium-size or new cleaning business owner. It has the best price and comes bundled as a part of Zoho One.
- Supports a free plan
- It has detailed reporting, creating a report for Sales Person, Items and Customer, overdue invoices, and payment reminders
- Supports multi-currency on every payment plan
- It has all the accounting features with a friendly interface
- Easy to access from any device
- Very simple to categorize funds, and connect with other tools in Zoho Suite
- Becomes costly as the number of users increases
- It supports a few payment gateways
- It’s a little tricky to set the profit-and-loss statement to cover the right months
- It misses some QuickBooks features such as Payroll
Positive Reviews About QuickBooks
We can handle receivables and payables, set up rules for posting to cut down on time for posting (which equals cheaper accounting costs!), and quickly produce useful reports with this software.
On the accounting side, QBO for years has been the standard for ease of accounting. Our accountant with 30+ years of XP swears by its ease. The UI is actually decent and for the most part, the software works as it should. There are some nice features that work together although limited (like customer historical data working with projects, POs, etc.).
I like the ability to customize how invoices and emails look. I appreciate the ability we had to import our clients' details and past invoices when we started up with Quickbooks. The plethora of reports and customizable reports are very useful. I also appreciate being able to process payments through Quickbooks. The search ability is decent and helpful in looking for specific invoices, amounts, or other specific data.
It is very organized and anybody can use it with a basic knowledge of accounting and bookkeeping, which makes financial management easy. The remote capabilities, because it is online, are very nice. Easy to invoice from a job site or customer location.
The best feature of Quickbooks Online is that it's a cloud platform-based product. This means anyone can access it from anywhere, unlike desktop versions, which are not very flexible. Also, it is lite and does not freeze or hang my computer.
Integrates with other accountants' practice software seamlessly. Easy to set up and get started.
I appreciate the easy connectivity with apps, so I can connect my e-commerce shop. The layout makes the difficult task of financial management not seem so overwhelming. Reconciling with my banks is convenient and matches my transactions well. I also depended on it to aid me in tracking sales tax.
It is relatively easy to use. The fact that it pre-populates fields for you when possible is nice, but you have to be careful about its pre-filling dates. It fills the date field with the last date used anywhere in the software. Not good.
If you know how to set up the chart of accounts, including using Locations and Classes, you can fairly run non-profit accounting very smoothly. Data entry is simple. Reporting is fairly good. Import and export functions are very good.
The online setup was relatively simple to implement, as was the set-up and use of payroll.
Creating invoices is the standout feature of this software. We used to prepare invoices in Word, but now it is simplified, and customized for a better professional look. Reports are the next most helpful feature of QBO. User Management is convenient with an option to add accountants and restrict the view of the books. Accounts Receivables/Payables management is easier with the ability to generate an outstanding report periodically.
Negative Reviews About QuickBooks
Quickbooks and Intuit support as a whole has declined over the years as the company's focus has been less on the customer than their profits, Superbowl stadiums, and ads.
We've run into a few issues over the years with little to no resolution, including a failed implementation because of a non-deletable line item that should be easy to bypass. Also, the template forms are limited in functionality (can't edit a packing slip, no sales orders), and they make it hard to implement an outside payment processing system and constantly push ads to use their services (ads as a Paid service). This system is not good for tracking inventory as well.
If you plan to stay small then QBO may just fit you, or if you ONLY plan to use accounting that may be fine.
Going in we expected the online software features to be limited compared to the desktop product and we were right. In particular, the absence of tools to manage reimbursable items (e.g., items acquired and re-billed to clients) was a dealbreaker.
We found out well into the process how poor these features were and ended up operating for a couple of years with QuickBooks desktop for accounting, invoicing, and bill payment and QuickBooks Online for ONLY payroll and payroll reporting.
Some of the features are hard to use for first-time users and do not have a lot of flexibility for user management.
Updating my bank accounts takes at least 10 attempts, and then you get a 50/50 chance of success. They are so strict on the API that software that "integrate" can only do so in a very limited fashion, requiring almost as much time to clean up data that you might as well do it manually.
You can not create a credit note from an invoice which would be useful, instead, you need to start from a blank document and type in the invoice information.
It was quite a challenge to get everything up and going when we started with Quickbooks There are some features that are limited and seem to operate oddly, such as deleting some clients vs marking some as inactive. If I have completed services with certain clients, I want to keep their data, but mark them inactive.
When I mark them as inactive, the system puts them in a state of "deleted", which makes me very concerned when I see that. I don't want to lose their data.
I'd want to create bespoke purchase orders with additional signatures, but I'm not able to do so at the moment. The ability to perform genuine bank reconciliations from within the program would be an added bonus. The process of comparing receipts to invoices is likewise time-consuming.
There are serious limitations to issuing end-of-year donation statements. One can't filter out sales and can't customize the statement text to meet regulations. The statements are very inflexible.
The in-app ads for add-on tools. They take up valuable real estate on the page, and after you've closed an ad for QB Payments a thousand times, they ought to figure out that you're not a good prospect for that service.
When looking at a General Ledger account activity, the fact that columns don't indicate which are debits and which are credits, and sometimes the debits are on the right.
It's nice and easy, but it lacks the depth of good accounting software. In an attempt to make it lite and user-friendly, a lot of critical account features are lost. If not lost, then those functions just work to the bare minimum. Reports are not interactive.
As someone that has used QuickBooks Online for many years, I don't love the cost of QuickBooks Online. They are constantly adding new updates and features, but in my opinion, the cost increase has been excessive in comparison with the added functionality.
Also, on several occasions, I've run into technical glitches in the software. Customer support is always kind, but they're rarely able to help solve the issue and the problems are escalated and take a lot of time to rectify.
Creating invoices is the standout feature of this software. We used to prepare invoices in
There is no export-all feature for exporting all the ledgers at once. As QBO is moving away from India, this feature would have been most helpful at the need of the hour.
Author
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Abdulrahman is a financial advisor with +3 experience writing about accounting and banking. He finished his accounting degree at Banha University, took the Nanodegree from Udacity with a degree in Marketing, and had previously finished a banking degree from The University of Illinois. Frequently appears on History, Yahoo News, and GoBankingRates as a financial expert. His side hustle is search engine optimization (SEO) as he gains this experience while working as a writer for a couple of large sites.