Quickbooks Review - quickbooks mockup
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QuickBooks Review: A Detailed and In-depth Look

Quickbooks Review - quickbooks mockup

Image from Quickbooks

QuickBooks is so well known that, outside of the accounting world, it is the only business accounting software that most people can name. However, there are several lesser-known, very worthy competitors worth considering. We thought it was time to put these competitors side-by-side in a QuickBooks review.

What Should We Consider in a Quickbooks Review?

Quickbooks_logo1

Image from Quickbooks

QuickBooks is well known partially because it is the big brother to Intuit’s Quicken personal finance and TurboTax products and partially because it sets the standard for accessible (read: non-accountant) small- to medium-sized business bookkeeping/accounting software. Thus, any review of small- to medium-sized accounting software is inherently a QuickBooks review. Everyone is familiar with the product, so it becomes the anchor point for evaluating its competitors.

To make a QuickBooks review an apples-to-apples comparison, we focused solely on the online version. Many long-time users swear by the desktop version. However, the flexibility and ubiquity of the online version makes it a clear choice for those just getting started. It is cloud-based, so you can access it from multiple computers and never have to worry about a backup (Intuit has you covered and guaranteed there). There are packages ranging from a self-employed business to one with accounting needs big enough to require 25 separate users.

Each Package Handles Core Functions Admirably

Each platform we researched performed the core functions admirably. This includes maintaining expenses, invoices, revenues, banking accounts (checking, money market, credit cards, etc.), mileage, estimated tax, and the myriad of reports a business needs to analyze its cash flow and operations.Truth is, offerings from any of the companies we considered could operate and automate the bookkeeping/accounting side of your business if you spent enough time to become a power user. Accounting software has gotten this good. The major differences we found were in interface intuitiveness vs. how much you had to learn the software. We also considered the “bells and whistles” that (are supposed to) make each package carry more workload. For example, our QuickBooks review really impressed us with their smartphone integration and GPS-based mileage tracking log.Because the core functions all operated similarly, our research led us to focus primarily on ease of use and the implementation of these additional features. Basically, how much of the bookkeeping/accounting workload can you rely on each package to handle for you?

Product Specs

QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2019 [PC Disc]

QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2019 [PC Disc]

  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro helps you organize your business finances all in one place so you can be more productive
  • Stay on top of invoices, manage expenses, get reliable reports for tax time and import your data from a spreadsheet
  • Step by step tutorials show you how to create invoices, record expenses, and more
  • NEW Improve your cash flow by tracking invoice status at a glance
  • NEW View unpaid bills from a vendor to easily manage payments

The online system “requirements” for each product in our QuickBooks review boil down to: 1) do you have a high-speed internet connection and 2) can you afford the monthly rate (more on that below in “Pricing”)? It works with any of the major browsers (Google Chrome, Microsoft Explorer/Edge, Apple Safari, and Firefox), but requires a PDF plugin (yes, Adobe) for many reports and handling checks. We encountered users on Linux. However, this required some advanced Linux knowledge, which is way outside this QuickBooks review considerations. These specs repeat nearly verbatim for each competitor our QuickBooks review considers.

Pricing

Pricing for each of the brands considered in our QuickBooks review varies by included options. It ranges from $20/month ($240/year) for a package suitable for a home-based business to $150/month ($1,800/year) for a medium-sized business requiring 25 separate system login accounts, For simplicity, our QuickBooks review focuses only on core bookkeeping/account packages. Each company offers additional functionality (integrated POS transactions, payroll, and custom invoices) for additional charges, but we consider these outside of our QuickBooks review purview.

How It Compares

We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare:

  • Sage Pro Accounting 2019
  • Freshbooks
  • Xero Accounting Software

Quickbooks

QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2019 [PC Disc]

Ease of Use

One of the interface elements we fell in love with: the ease with which you can change accounts and categories for any transaction from anywhere. It takes at most two clicks from anywhere you encounter the line item. Find your “rent” expense in the wrong account. One click allows you to send it to the right place. A second click allows you to set up a rule that always sends it to that account and/or split it so the correct portion of it (assuming a home office) is expensed to “business/office” and the rest to “personal”.On the down-side, we encountered users frustrated with functionality buried deeper in menus, which made it difficult to find. This is not unique within our QuickBooks review. Bookkeeping/accounting is, by nature, a complicated, detail-oriented business function. Software robust enough to accommodate all its needs is complex, even with years of user interface refinement.Fortunately, Intuit (and YouTube users) provide innumerable video tutorials to help you find your way for these features. With a little training time investment, most users were able to solve their issues and advance their ability to make the best use of the platform.

Installation and Set Up Time

Installation is negligible in a cloud-based platform. Set-up time is contingent on your existing knowledge. QuickBooks is the easiest of all the platforms we reviewed, but still requires a significant time investment to set up properly. Note: The more time invested in setting up critical information, the more efficient QuickBooks will be for your business. Numerous QuickBooks users noted that this setup investment helped familiarize them with the program and advance their knowledge of using it.

Design Quality

QuickBooks defines design quality for the industry. Their user interface makes accessing (and discovering) functions as easy/fun as accounting can be and they continue to improve the user experience based on feedback.

Warranty and Support

The one area QuickBooks received criticism was customer phone support wait times. However, we found this to be a tax filing deadline-connected trend. Many customers wait until deadlines loom until before they dive into using the system, so phone lines back up. QuickBooks makes extensive efforts to alleviate this by providing help through discussion groups and videos (we keep referring to YouTube tutorials for a reason) to make most of the questions self-answerable. Unfortunately, we cannot account for procrastination in a product review.

Pros

  • Portability/Mobility across multiple computers and mobile devices
  • Accounting functionality/rigor; considered the industry standard
  • Ease of use

Cons

  • Customer service phone wait frustrations
  • Online version not as powerful as desktop version
  • Expense compared to competitors

Sage Pro Accounting 2019

Sage 50 Pro Accounting 2019

Ease of Use

Power users love it, but less accounting-oriented users expressed frustration.

Installation and Set Up Time

As with all cloud-based products, installation is painless via the major browsers. However, this is a less intuitive interface and may take additional effort during the set-up phase of the process.

Design Quality

One of Sage Pro’s pitch points is its integration with widely used Microsoft Office tools, including Outlook, Excel, and Word. This makes it convenient to move reports from the accounting software to tools the rest of your company is familiar with.The core functions match most of those in QuickBooks, including cash flow management, inventory management, change order processing, departmental accounting, quick-information dashboards, expenses and profit, reporting, and integrated bank feeds. However, Sage Pro’s tools end there. They do not have the level of reporting or integrated mobile apps that make QuickBooks accounting seem almost (dare we say it) fun.For the most part, Sage Pro’s interface is intuitive. However, they do not achieve the same level of “flatness” as QuickBooks. Functions are often buried in menus that do not make sense to the non-accountant.

Warranty and Support

Users expressed frustration with customer support, especially if they were moving from one version of Sage Pro to another.

Pros

  • Straightforward accounting package with all the core functions
  • Close integration with traditional Office software for the rest of your company
  • Graphic dashboards for key indicators

Cons

  • Moving between version or other accounting software is not a strong suit
  • Less intuitive for non-accountants

FreshBooks Cloud Accounting

freshbooks

Ease of Use

FreshBooks is often ranked as the next best competitor to QuickBooks. Their user interface shows it. While QuickBooks took an older desktop orientation and adapted it for the cloud, FreshBooks has the breezy feel of a design-for-the-cloud platform. This orients it toward easy to use, but reduces the robustness some power users desire in their bookkeeping/accounting software.

Installation and Set Up Time

Cloud = instant installation on the major browsers. Set-up requires some learning and detail work, but less so on FreshBooks platform. Expect to spend time here, but to enjoy the process (as much as you can enjoy accounting).

Design Quality

Here’s the trade-off: FreshBooks’ breezy cloud design started as an invoicing platform rather than a robust accounting package. In 2018 they added full accounting features to their offerings. This has left them less robust than a true accounting package. Bottom line: the platform is easier to use at the outset, but many users note that it is not as suited to grow with you as your business grows. It is missing some of the integration and functionality that make mature platforms harder to learn but more versatile for the accounting-adept. This includes FreshBooks limited allowed users, which can be confining if you plan to grow your business. FreshBooks is more oriented toward smaller businesses who plan to stay small and value ease of use over full functionality.

Warranty and Support

Of all products we reviewed, FreshBooks received the highest customer support reviews.

Pros

  • Ease of use
  • User interface is excellent
  • Customer service receives high marks

Cons

  • Most expensive platform we reviewed
  • Less robust than a full-featured accounting platform
  • Limited users allowed

Xero Accounting Software

xero

Ease of Use

If you are already an accountant, Xero fits nicely with your expertise. However, non-accountants remark that Xero should require an accounting degree before users are allowed to use it.

Installation and Set Up Time

Installation is instant on the cloud. True to Xero’s accounting-oriented focus, those who already know what they are doing will be able to set it up far more efficiently than the DIY user who is unfamiliar with accounting functions and procedures.

Design Quality

If it is not already clear, Xero is designed for actual accountants. They have all the robustness of QuickBooks (even more in some areas), but their user interface is close to impenetrable for the non-accountant who is not familiar with how an accountant sets up their books and functions. This is great if you are an accountant, as you do not need the hand-holding functionality built into the more scalable platforms like Quickbooks or the more basics-oriented FreshBooks. However, those just wanting to perform bookkeeping functions or just learn their way from intro-to-accounting through the advanced stuff will find more frustration than function.

Warranty and Support

Xero seems to be struggling with customer support issues. We found numerous complaints about the difficulty in reaching support and their limited ability to help you through issues when you did reach them.

Pros

  • Very robust for large businesses
  • Designed for the cloud, so very mobile/portable
  • Used by major accounting firms

Cons

  • Oriented toward already-large businesses
  • Steep learning curve
  • Low marks for customer support

Conclusion: Clear Choices Defined By Market-Segmentation

It is unusual in our reviews to find such a clear differentiation of products. In this instance, we have a clear overall winner in QuickBooks, which serves the novice well, but scales admirably from there to offer both ease of use and robustness for a large medium-sized business needing 25 individual accounts for users performing accounting-related functions. Given QuickBooks large ecosystem of users and support resources, this is our pick for best overall bookkeeping/accounting platform.Though Xero is definitely not oriented toward the small business or novice user, its robustness is such that larger accounting firms deem it their choice. FreshBooks fits where Xero does not; being the best choice for a small business needing basic accounting functions but not planning to grow. Given that Sage Pro Accounting had average marks on all fronts, we cannot recommend it.Placing our rankings on a one-to-five star system:***** QuickBooks – Best choice for all users except for large businesses**** FreshBooks – Best choice for very small businesses planning to stay small**** Xero – Solid choice for large businesses and accounting firms** Sage Pro – Not our choice

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