If you’re a single freelancer, you won’t need to manage any other employees, and you won’t need to track many sales (if any) – so the Self-Employed Plan is best for you. We’ve ranked the best self-employed accounting software, and QuickBooks is at the top. Setting up the software involves plenty of one-time tasks that you’ll want to get right the first time, like connecting your bank account and setting up a series of automated processes and templates. Through Live Bookkeeping, you’ll get a single one-on-one session that can clear up any questions and start your accounting software subscription off on the right foot. The QuickBooks Online plan that’s best for you largely depends on the number of users who will be using the program, the size of your business and your particular needs. If you are a small business or a startup, consider QuickBooks Simple Start.
Because of these added functions, it also comes with slightly more advanced reporting. The biggest difference between QuickBooks Essentials and Plus is who they’re intended for. Essentials is designed for service-based businesses that don’t have physical product offerings. Its focus is on managing your bills and expenses, sample employee handbook template tracking income and accepting payments. FreshBooks’ pricing starts at $17 per month, so it costs a little less than QuickBooks’ $20-per-month plan.
Whether QuickBooks Online is a better deal than QuickBooks Desktop depends on the needs of your business. QuickBooks Online can be a more cost-efficient option for businesses with multiple users that don’t want to navigate the steep learning curve of QuickBooks Desktop. However, QuickBooks Desktop may be the better value for businesses that want a locally installed software option with enhanced accounting features.
This option is best for large businesses that could benefit from the extra support features, like a dedicated manager or virtual training classes. Any sized business has paperwork, even just a 3 essential ingredients for every leader's inner circle single freelancer. But with the right accounting or invoicing software for small businesses, filing tax information can be a simple and streamlined process. QuickBooks makes this process even easier thanks to a huge range of integrations and plug-ins you can use, with familiar names such as PayPal, Shopify and MailChimp all present and accounted for. QuickBooks Online also offers more automation features, which might be a better fit for small businesses — the more tasks you can delegate to the software, the more efficient your business will be.
She uses her experience managing her own successful small business to write articles about software, small business tools, loans, credit cards and online banking. Kristy's work also appears in Newsweek and Fortune, focusing on personal finance. Another similarity is the limit placed on the chart of accounts. Because Plus has more capabilities for tracking your inventory, it can also offer project profitability tracking. You can get detailed reports on budgeting and classes to see how much money you’re making and where it’s coming from.
Intuit typically offers deals where new users can get a discount on QuickBooks Payroll by bundling it with a QuickBooks Online subscription. Join the thousands of people like you already growing their businesses and knowledge with our team of experts. We deliver timely updates, interesting insights, and exclusive promos to your inbox. Each add-on feature comes with an additional fee that QuickBooks clearly states on its website. While QuickBooks Online is among the most well-known accounting solutions on the market, it may not be the best fit for every business.
The Essentials plan is a great fit for growing small businesses that have an increased number of suppliers, employees, and clients. Simple Starts includes all the features from the Self-employed Plan but adds a range of helpful additions covering everything from basic bookkeeping to budgeting. All Plus features, plus a dedicated account team, employee expense management, batch invoicing, workflow automation and more. All Essentials features, plus project tracking and inventory tracking. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. If you invoke the guarantee, QuickBooks will conduct a full n evaluation of the Live bookkeeper’s work.
If you’d like additional help, there are tutorials available on a wide range of accounting terms, skills and how-tos in our QuickBooks Tutorials section. You can also visit our Learn and Support page to search by topic. Protect sensitive data with user-level access to specific features and share reports with up to 5 log-ins. Go beyond bill pay and track bill status, how to become an auditor in 7 steps create recurring payments, and pay multiple vendors at once.