Quickbooks Software Review: A Beginner’s Guide For Business

Starting a business can be exciting and rewarding, but also stressful for those who are just starting. Bookkeeping, payroll, invoice trackers, and taxes can all be time-consuming and a burden. When creating spreadsheets isn’t your favorite task, look for common software such as Quickbooks to save time. Throughout this Quickbooks software review, I will explain how this popular accounting tool can help manage your business’ finances.

What is Quickbooks?

Quickbooks is an accounting and financial management tool for any business. Small businesses and independent contractors alike can benefit from the software.

Quickbooks is part of Intuit Inc, a company specializing in financial software. Intuit was founded in 1983 by Scot Cook after a similar success with Quicken. Other products that are part of Intuit include TurboTax, Credit Karma, Mint, and Mail Chimp.

As one of the most popular accounting software tools on the market, Quickbooks has a lot of extensive features that business owners can take advantage of. Such features include:

• Bookkeeping
• Payroll
• Invoice management
• Bank reconciliation
• Expense tracking
• Financial reporting
• Tax management

How does Quickbooks work for businesses?

Quickbooks can benefit any type of business while making financial tracking easier to manage. With the accounting software, some of the key features are as follows:

Invoicing

By managing invoices, Quickbooks reconciles the books automatically. The software reduces the time spent processing paper invoices.

Customers can also track when they view and pay invoices in real time. When a customer makes a payment, you will be notified when the payment is received. The payments can then be viewed in your account.

Recurring payments are another convenient option for you and your customers. When you want them to happen at the right time, it’s easier. There are several payment methods available, including credit cards, debit cards, and ACH bank transfers.

Payroll *

In business, payroll is not the most exciting part of having employees or contractors. However, there are automatic features available to focus on with Quickbooks.

Not only does Quickbooks provide payroll guides, but comes with extra support as well. They include tax penalty protection, time tracking, same-day direct deposit, and automated taxes/forms.

*When handling payroll, Quickbooks offers separate plans. An in-depth article about payroll plans is a much better place to focus on the topic of payroll. We will discuss payroll features in a future post since this post focuses on the accounting aspect.*

Cash Flow Management

Cash flow is essential to the health of any business. A cash flow statement shows how much money goes into and out of your business (or bank account).

A business with a steady cash flow generates more money than it spends. Quickbooks’s guide to cash flow includes the following:

• Custom planning- it allows you to plan while staying on track with money coming in or going out
• A look at your accounts at a glance
• Checking (cash) account included

Track your expenses

Mobile features make it easy to scan receipts (on the go) via your phone. These features help keep receipts organized. They certainly come in handy at tax time.

Receipts can also be attached to invoices. It helps if you invoice clients for a wide range of expenses.

Manage bills

In Quickbooks, you can track due dates and send payments directly. You can schedule payments in advance, which makes it easier and much faster to manage your expenses.

What are some options for Quickbooks by the solution?

Regardless of your business needs, there are options available to anyone looking at their accounting issues. By solution, Quickbooks has the following options available:

Accounting (basic)

With basic accounting, you can track income and send invoices.

Accounting with live bookkeeping

Quickbooks offers bookkeeping services to make accounting easier. At an additional cost, live bookkeeping can help you stay focused on your business (while doing less work).

Quickbooks comes with 99% accuracy guaranteed. If you request it, Quickbooks will cover it if your accountant makes a costly error.

If you’re interested in getting live bookkeeping, you can schedule a free consultation to determine if it’s a good fit for your business.

Advanced accounting

A great choice, if you’re looking to scale your business, is advanced accounting. For larger businesses, Quickbooks offers additional features through separate plans. If interested, check it out here for more details.

Can Quickbooks help manage your business more easily?

Operating your business can be one thing, but managing your finances (cash flow) is another. Small businesses benefit from having extra work taken away from what they should be focusing on.

Excel spreadsheets, for example, can be helpful when reviewing numbers in your business. Nonetheless, they can be time-consuming and limit your options. Additionally, they can be messy and less accurate than what you end up with.

With Quickbooks, business numbers can be better managed. Using features such as automatic tracking and work designed to minimize data entry, can dramatically reduce your workload. QuickBooks saves small business owners an average of 25 hours per month on manual data entry.

Having everything in one place is also convenient. Instead of bouncing between other software, you can spend more time on what you need.

Additionally, Quickbooks provides extra features in addition to its basic functionality. For example, you can use Quickbooks to manage payroll for your company.

Pricing

Quickbooks offers a couple of plans to suit your business needs. You can try it for free for 30 days to see if it’s a suitable fit for your company. All plans are included in the trial. Discounts may be offered at certain times throughout the year.

Self-Employed/Freelancer: $15/month Designed for new business owners and freelancers- it covers all the essentials to running a business

Simple Start: $25/month For those who need the basics (i.e. collecting sales tax, invoicing)

Essentials: $50/month Allows small businesses to do more in one place (e.g. track billable hours or pay bills)

Plus: $80/month All the necessary features, along with the following information: -Ability to track inventory -Track project profitability

Advanced: $180/month All features available include: -Business analytics and insights -Manage employee expenses -Batching invoices and expenses -On-demand online training -Automated processes and tasks

As well as these options, live bookkeeping and payroll services are also available. These are separate from the Quickbooks accounting packages.

All plans include the following:

• Receipt capture
• Customer support
• App integration: apps include Paypal, Square, Shopify

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Everything is organized in one place (i.e. bills, invoices, taxes, etc.)
• Automatically captures data- helps minimize manual data entry
• Has desktop version for different programs (along with mobile versions)
• Provides basic cash flow guide- helps determine the health of your company, along with future growth

Cons

• Overwhelming if you’re new to business, or learning about new software
• Prices are somewhat high for providing software plans
• Additional features and add-ons are nice, but they are not indispensable- viewed as upsells
• Software can be glitchy- technical issues have been reported from time to time

Is Quickbooks worth it?

Rating: 4/5

Quickbooks is a popular choice for small businesses because of its long history. With time, Quickbooks has added new features to make managing business finances easier.

However, is it a viable choice for new entrepreneurs? I would not recommend it for those just starting in business.

Although Quickbooks has a lot to offer, some of its add-ons are not necessary. If you are just starting, you don’t need these features, and they look distracting from the real purpose of Quickbooks.

Additionally, I think Quickbooks is designed for businesses growing and need to delegate. Quickbooks may be a smart fit for your business if you want to minimize administrative tasks.

Final Words

Quickbooks is a well-known software program that helps business owners save time on their finances. Whether it’s automating bookkeeping or getting a definite guide on cash flow, Quickbooks provides solutions to overcome these challenges.

It may not work for every business, but it can reduce the number of hours spent tracking invoices and doing payroll. These tasks can be time-consuming, and Quickbooks can take care of these tasks at ease.

You may enjoy the overall feel and look of Quickbooks. Check out one of their plans today if you’re willing to give it a try. Try it for 30 days for free today. Quickbooks can help you save a lot of time and get back to focusing on growing your business.

Your Turn

Have you heard of Quickbooks before reading this review? What are your thoughts on Quickbooks? Would you consider checking it out, or recommending it to others?

Feel free to leave your thoughts by leaving a comment below. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and I’ll gladly respond promptly.

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Eric is a content writer and the site owner of notimekillers.com. He takes great pride in helping people manage their time and grow their businesses. Eric is a firm believer in time freedom, as he believes in taking ownership of time. 

“Time is your most important asset. It can be your best friend or worst enemy. How you use your time can shape the future you desire to have.” In his leisure time, Eric loves to write and read whenever possible. He enjoys going for long walks outdoors while doing in-home workout videos every week. You can follow Eric on LinkedIn.