The #1 accounting software for small businesses.
Grade: A — Score: 95/100
QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based accounting software that provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing finances, invoicing, and payroll. It leverages advanced technology to ensure real-time data access and seamless integration with various financial applications.
The platform streamlines workflows by automating routine tasks, allowing users to focus on growing their business. With features like expense tracking, invoicing, and financial reporting, QuickBooks Online enhances productivity and efficiency for users.
However, businesses must be aware of potential risks such as data security concerns and reliance on internet connectivity. Ensuring compliance with financial regulations and maintaining data integrity are critical for users of QuickBooks Online.
Simple Start: $38/month
Essentials: $75/month
Plus: $115/month
Advanced: $275/month
Consider switching to Xero: Xero offers similar features with a focus on user-friendly design and strong reporting capabilities.
QuickBooks Online holds roughly 80% of the US small business accounting market with 7M+ users, compared to Xero's 4.6M subscribers globally. QuickBooks charges per user (1 user on Simple Start at $38/month, up to 25 on Advanced at $275/month), while Xero includes unlimited users on all plans ($27-$75/month). QuickBooks offers native payroll add-ons, phone support on all paid plans, and deeper US tax integration including 1099 management and sales tax automation. Xero is stronger internationally and provides a cleaner interface with lower entry pricing, but lacks phone support and requires a third-party Gusto integration for US payroll.
No. Payroll is a separate add-on on all QuickBooks Online plans. QuickBooks Payroll starts at $50/month (Core) plus $6.50 per employee, with Premium at $88/month and Elite at $134/month offering additional features like same-day direct deposit and tax penalty protection. You add payroll during checkout (step 2 of the sign-up process) or at any time after subscribing. The payroll add-on integrates directly with QuickBooks Online so payroll transactions, tax liabilities, and employee data sync automatically.
User limits depend on your plan: Simple Start allows 1 user with access for 2 accountants, Essentials allows 3 users with 2 accountant seats, Plus allows 5 users with 2 accountant seats, and Advanced allows 25 users with 3 accountant seats. Accountant access is free and does not count against your user limit. If you need more users than your plan allows, you must upgrade to a higher tier. This per-user model is a key difference from Xero, which includes unlimited users on every plan.
Simple Start ($38/month) works for solo businesses that need basic invoicing, automated bookkeeping, and expense tracking with one user. Essentials ($75/month) adds multi-currency, time tracking, and appointment scheduling for up to 3 users. Plus ($115/month, marked 'Customer Favorite' by Intuit) is required for inventory tracking, project profitability, budgeting, and class/location tracking with up to 5 users. Advanced ($275/month) targets larger teams needing up to 25 users, workflow automation, custom dashboards, Excel sync, forecasting, and Priority Circle 24/7 support.
Inventory tracking is available on the Plus plan ($115/month) and Advanced plan ($275/month) only. It is not included in Simple Start or Essentials. The Plus plan covers inventory quantities, cost-of-goods-sold calculations, purchase orders, sales orders, item receipts, and shipping labels. Advanced adds enhanced project tracking and custom reporting for deeper inventory analysis. For businesses with complex inventory needs (lot tracking, manufacturing, multi-warehouse), QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise or a third-party integration like Fishbowl may be more suitable.
All plans include Intuit Intelligence with smart expense categorization, a business tax deduction maximizer, and 25 AI chat prompts per month for instant financial insights. Essentials adds Accounting AI (automated bookkeeping cleanup) and Payments AI (invoice follow-up automation). Plus adds Sales Tax AI (automated sales tax calculation, beta) and Customer AI (lead sourcing and follow-up). Advanced adds Finance AI (tailored financial insights and forecasting) and Project Management AI (beta). These agents are part of Intuit's broader 'Connected Intelligence' platform.
Yes. QuickBooks Online offers a 30-day free trial with full access to features on any plan. Alternatively, new customers can skip the trial and get 50% off the first 3 months instead. Phone support is included free during the trial period. After the trial or promotional period ends, the standard monthly rate applies: $38 for Simple Start, $75 for Essentials, $115 for Plus, or $275 for Advanced. You can switch plans or cancel at any time with no cancellation fees.
QuickBooks Online uses TLS encryption for data in transit and stores data on firewall-protected servers using tokenization and encryption per NIST guidance. Intuit maintains SOC 2 Type II reports (available through intuit.com/compliance/), ISO 27001 certification, and PCI DSS compliance. The platform is DigiCert secured and has maintained 99.8% uptime over the past three years using redundant servers with self-correcting error detection. Always-on Activity Log and Audit Trail features record every login and transaction change and cannot be turned off by users.