Accounting

The best mileage tracker app should efficiently log and track business mileage and expenses automatically and categorize trips easily as business-related or personal. It should also strike a balance between affordability and features. With that in mind, we have compiled the five best mileage tracker apps for small businesses: : Best overall mileage tracker : Best for self-employed individuals : Best for QuickBooks users : Best for growing companies : Most affordable option for simple mileage tracking Quick Comparison of Best Mileage Tracker Apps See fullscreen table × TripLog: Best Overall Mileage Tracker Expert Opinion is our best mileage log app because of the extended features you get in the paid plans. If you get the Premium + Time & Scheduling option, you’ll have a scheduler, timesheet, and expense tracker, all from one provider. We recommend TripLog because it saves you the cost of subscribing to other third-party expense trackers or timesheet apps. Instead, with a fee of less than $10 per user, per month, you can get three trackers (mileage, expense, and time trackers). If you find it costly, we recommend checking for its affordable pricing. Hurdlr: Best for Self-employed Individuals Expert Opinion We recommend Hurdlr for freelancers and self-employed individuals who need a mileage tracker, an expense tracker, and simple accounting features. Its Premium and Pro plans can also be great QuickBooks alternatives because of its bookkeeping and invoicing features. If you’re looking for a dedicated mileage tracker, we recommend choosing or for simple mileage tracking. QuickBooks Online: Best for QuickBooks Users Expert Opinion Because is also our best small business accounting software, it’s a great choice for a new company looking for both accounting software and a mileage tracker—it’s a cost saver to have a combined bookkeeping software and mileage tracker. It features tax computation for mileage deductions, wherein users can choose between standard mileage rates and actual expenses. However, we advise that you look at the other mileage trackers on this list if you need just a dedicated mileage tracker. and are good alternatives for QuickBooks Online because they have tax features that can help in reporting mileage expenses. Everlance: Best for Growing Companies Expert Opinion is a mileage tracker that features expense tracking and tax management. We like its tax-saving tool—this allocates money for your taxes automatically whenever new income enters your bank account, and we find it to be a great budgeting tool for tax expenses. If you decide to expand from self-employed into a small business, you can upgrade to an Everlance Business account easily. Though it includes advanced mileage features, it lacks an integrated bookkeeping system. If you need the latter, we recommend either or . Hurdlr has accounting and bookkeeping capabilities under its Pro Plan while QuickBooks Online is a small business accounting software by default but with mileage tracking features. MileIQ: Best for Simple Mileage Tracking Expert Opinion is an excellent alternative to complex mileage trackers because of its simplicity and easy-to-use interface. It’s an ideal mileage tracker for individuals who drive occasionally but need mileage tracking for expense tracking. Although having more features in a mileage tracker is good, some won’t make use of all of them. In that case, a simple app like MileIQ will do the job. While it lacks automatic tax deduction, we still recommend it for those wanting a simple mileage tracker. If you think MileIQ is too simple for your needs, we recommend checking out . How We Chose the Best Mileage Tracker Apps We ranked the best mileage log apps based on their affordability, ease of use, and the availability of the essential mileage tracking features we like to see, including automatic mileage tracking, bank and credit card integration, expense receipt capture, and route planning. Based on our methodology, we evaluated each mileage tracker app across the following criteria: When To Use a Mileage Tracker A mileage tracker can be used to project tax deductions, control mileage costs, and plan for future expenses. Not all individuals or businesses need to use a mileage tracker. However, the need arises when: The user intends to deduct mileage expenses for tax purposes: The IRS has strict requirements for documenting business mileage. Taxpayers must keep a detailed log of trips showing the date, number of miles, and purpose of the trip. The company has a high volume of mileage expenses and reimbursements: If your line of business involves delivery, or if you provide gas allowance to employees, a mileage tracker makes reimbursements easier, faster, and more accurate. The user’s job is driving (like rideshare driver or company driver): Individuals registered to drive for Uber or Lyft can use a mileage tracker to track their daily route, maximize earnings, and reduce tax liability. Frequently Asked Questions Are there free mileage tracking apps? All of the mileage tracker apps in our list have free plans, except for QuickBooks Online. The free versions are suitable for occasional drivers needing mileage deductions. But if you want a comprehensive mileage tracker for your business, TripLog offers many features suitable for a small business setup. Do I need a mileage tracker for my business? That depends on the nature of your business. If you deliver products to customers or meet with clients, you need a mileage tracker to monitor your mileage and fuel expenses, as well as determine tax deductible amounts. What’s the best way to track my mileage? GPS tracking is the most accessible way to track mileage since smartphones have GPS capabilities and cellular service. Through this feature, you can track mileage accurately, regardless of the route you’ve taken and maximize your mileage tax deductions. However, GPS tracking consumes smartphone battery, especially if you leave it running in the background. As such, it’s best to always charge your smartphone while using this feature. Bottom Line Each mileage tracker app in our guide has its own strengths and weaknesses, so the best option greatly depends on your particular requirements. For instance, if you’re managing a team of delivery drivers, you can benefit from route planning feature. If you need a simple and affordable way to track mileage, you should consider . If you’re currently using , then you can try its built-in mileage tracker and see if it’s enough for you. and are also worthy choices if mileage deduction is your top concern for getting a mileage tracker.

QuickBooks Online is best for companies needing multiple users who can access the platform from anywhere since they handle accounting tasks remotely. While QuickBooks Desktop is more expensive for multiple users, one license can be used to keep the books for an unlimited number of companies.

Integrating WooCommerce, a popular and free ecommerce solution, and QuickBooks can save you hundreds of hours and prevent costly errors from transferring data manually. Intuit, which created QuickBooks, has a native connector, but there are third-party integrations as well. Each plugin works differently—some offer two-way data transfer—and supports different versions of QuickBooks, so you need to choose the right one for your business needs. The four most popular plugin options for integrating WooCommerce with QuickBooks are: We’ll walk through how to choose the best one for your business and the steps to set up each integration: Step 1: Determine Your Data Transfer Needs Data transfers work differently depending on which plugin you choose. There’s one-way data transfer, which moves data from one app to another, and two-way data sync, which offers real-time updates and data transfer from and to both apps. Step 2: Choose a WooCommerce & QuickBooks Plugin Zapier only offers one-way data transfer, and there’s a monthly fee ranging from free to $49 for small businesses. MyWorks and Webgility both offer two-way data sync and integrate with both online and desktop versions of QuickBooks. Only Webgility doesn’t have a free plan and is the most expensive as far as starting price. WooCommerce & QuickBooks Integration Pricing * Based on an annual plan Step 3: Integrate WooCommerce With QuickBooks Using Your Chosen Plugin Choose Intuit, Zapier, MyWorks, or Webgility below for step-by-step integration instructions. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About WooCommerce & QuickBooks Bottom Line WooCommerce and QuickBooks are powerful systems for managing your sales, inventory, and accounting, but if you use these two programs separately, you’ll have to do quite a bit of manual entry to reconcile your business data. The best solution to save you time and sanity is to connect WooCommerce to QuickBooks, either with the native connector provided by Intuit or a third-party plugin. Choosing the right WooCommerce and QuickBooks integration depends on a few things. Aside from the version of QuickBooks you’re using, you should consider how many orders you receive each month. If it’s less than 100, and you don’t track inventory or products in QuickBooks, Zapier’s free option can work for you. Otherwise, opt for the affordable MyWorks plugin to get two-way data sync. Webgility can be useful for connecting multiple stores to one QuickBooks account. Of course, for free and simple sharing of data, Intuit (QuickBooks’ home company) provides its own connector. You May Also Like … Are you still using spreadsheets for tracking your ecommerce sales? Try one of the best ecommerce accounting solutions instead to save time. Outgrowing your current online store? It might be time to upgrade your ecommerce platform. Still can’t decide which platform to use to build your online store? Compare BigCommerce to Shopify to see which would be best for you.

Business expense trackers allow owners and employees to track expenses electronically, process reimbursements, and keep records of receipts. When looking for the best apps for business expenses, consider flexible pricing plans, ease of learning and use, automatic record of credit card expenses, and documentation features to reduce paperwork. Here are our six recommendations for the best business expense tracker apps to help your business automate expense management and synchronize with your existing systems: : Best overall expense tracker with affordable pricing plans : Best free business expense tracker : Best complete bookkeeping system : Best for real-time card fees : Best for third-party integration : Best for freelancers and solopreneurs Best Business Expense Tracker Compared See fullscreen table × Zoho Expense: Best Overall Expense Tracker With Affordable Pricing Plans Our Expert Opinion We recommend Zoho Expense as our best overall because of its affordable pricing and wide array of expense tracking features. It can also integrate easily with Zoho Books, Zoho’s dedicated accounting software, and other popular small business accounting software your business may use. Emburse Spend: Best Free Business Expense Tracker Our Expert Opinion If your focus is real-time expense tracking and reimbursements, we recommend Emburse Spend, as its real-time expense reporting makes approval and reimbursement faster. However, if you want to fully utilize its features, we recommend that you use Emburse Cards as it’s easier for users to submit and process expense reimbursements. Your existing corporate card program can still work in Emburse Spend but there will be applicable charges. QuickBooks Online: Best for Small Businesses That Need a Complete Bookkeeping System Our Expert Opinion QuickBooks Online is our best overall small business accounting software, and it can also serve as a small business expense tracking tool. Given that it’s a full-fledged accounting system, choosing it’s a cost-efficient option since it’s already a combination of an expense tracker and bookkeeping software. As such, we highly recommend it if you want a two-in-one software solution for accounting and expense management. If you’re already using QuickBooks Online but are still in need of an app for expense approval and reimbursement, then we recommend or as an auxiliary and standalone expense tracking app. Fyle: Best for Real-time Card Feeds Our Expert Opinion Fyle is a convenient solution if you already have a corporate card program using Visa. However, its expense tracking solutions are still worth it even if you use non-Visa cards or don’t use cards at all. For non-Visa cards, you still get feeds from your card provider, but they’re not real-time. As for its expense tracking features, it can give you a 360-view of all expenses, from submission until reimbursement, rivaling the functions of Zoho Expense. We recommend Fyle if pricing isn’t a major factor in your decision because it’s a bit expensive. Otherwise, choose for more flexible pricing tiers. Rydoo Expense: Best for Third-party Integration Our Expert Opinion Rydoo is an affordable expense-tracking service for travel expense tracking and one of our best mobile accounting apps. It’s a great expense tracker for established small businesses that use different kinds of software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps. However, while it helps manage expenses, it doesn’t have a built-in reimbursement feature like . FreshBooks: Best for Freelancers & Solopreneurs Our Expert Opinion We recommend FreshBooks for freelancers and entrepreneurs because it’s an all-in-one app that contains accounting, expense tracking, time tracking, and project management. It’s also easy to learn and suitable for business owners who prefer to do the bookkeeping themselves. However, it isn’t suitable for businesses needing inventory management or those requiring at least more than three users. is a great alternative to FreshBooks, as it has outstanding inventory accounting and other bookkeeping features as well. Bottom Line The ideal business expense tracker app isn’t the same for everyone. The apps we’ve recommended in our list perform well in a given area or business function and are the best for their intended use—although each has its respective drawbacks. We suggest that you analyze your business’s needs and choose the app that can best meet them.

When hiring a virtual bookkeeping service for your business, you have to understand which accounting tasks you want to outsource now and which services you might need when your business scales. Most importantly, you have to shop around and evaluate your options based on different factors, such as a bookkeeper’s fees, the accounting software they use, and how they will communicate with you to work on your books. Step 1: Determine Which Services You Currently Need First, think about how much work you want to do yourself and what can be outsourced easily based on your situation. For instance, if you’re a freelancer or sole proprietor, you might need to outsource tax filing and catch-up bookkeeping to a company like or check out our guide to the best online bookkeeping services for freelancers. If you’re a medium-sized or large company needing to outsource payroll, you might consider . Step 2: Decide Which Services You Might Need in the Future As your business grows, so will its needs, and you don’t want to have to change your bookkeeper when you scale. That’s why it’s important to identify a bookkeeper or a company that can grow with you, such as , which offers full-service bookkeeping at flexible plans based on the size and needs of your business. Services that you may find yourself needing in the future include payroll and human resources (HR) management, tax filing and advisory services, and chief financial officer (CFO) advisory services. Step 3: Evaluate Your Prospective Virtual Bookkeepers Once you understand what you need exactly, it’s time to do your research and talk to your prospective virtual bookkeepers. To narrow your options down, you must consider important factors, including the following: Meetings: Some online bookkeepers allow you to schedule meetings on a monthly basis, while others allow you to schedule as often as necessary. Communication can be as simple as a phone call or as elaborate as a one-way video conference with the ability to screen-share your documents. Dedicated bookkeeper: Decide whether it’s important to have a dedicated bookkeeper―so that you can always talk to the same person. Software: Know which accounting software your prospective bookkeeper uses. Review the most popular small business accounting software to see which program suits your needs. Online portal: Ask your prospective bookkeeper if they use an online portal. It can be a valuable way to communicate with them, see their ongoing task list, schedule future appointments, and share private documents. Price: Some virtual bookkeepers offer the option of paying for services on an as-needed basis, whereas others let you customize your services by paying an additional hourly rate. We have compiled the best online bookkeeping services to help you decide which fits your needs. Step 4: Preview Your Top Choice, Then Hire Once you have selected your top choice, you should preview the fit for your business with either a free trial or demonstration. Some virtual bookkeeping services provide a short-term contract, which allows you to change your mind without losing a large financial investment. Once you sign up, you’ll begin the onboarding process. You may be required to provide your bank account statements or software file to set up your account, but if you have elected to have a dedicated bookkeeper, then they should be able to assist with that. How Can a Virtual Bookkeeper Help Your Business? Virtual bookkeeping services are often less expensive than hiring a local bookkeeper. Because they work online, they tend to be very tech-savvy and can view and adjust your books with very little effort from you. Unlike local bookkeepers who may not take advantage of cloud-based accounting software, a virtual bookkeeper will never ask you to provide them with paper reports, save digital backups for them, and post your own adjusting journal entries. Typical Services Provided by Virtual Bookkeeping Companies Account reconciliation: One of the most common services that virtual bookkeeping companies provide is account reconciliation and the performance of a month-end close, ensuring that your books are accurate. Invoicing customers: Often available as an add-on service, many companies will take on the task of billing your customers for you. Paying bills: Bill pay services are also provided by online bookkeeping services for an additional fee, with the ability to process payments via automated clearing house (ACH) or check. Reports: The complexity of financial reports provided varies, from a basic profit and loss (P&L) statement to reports that are customized for your industry. Tax management: Many online bookkeeping firms also provide tax services, including tax preparation, filing, and advice. CFO advisory services: Growing startups and other venture-backed companies may be interested in solutions such as CFO advisory or controller services. Be sure to check out our top-recommended online bookkeeping services to find the provider that fits the bill. Virtual Bookkeepers vs Traditional Local Bookkeepers Of course, not all local bookkeepers are strictly traditional, and many will likely use some of the modern tools of the virtual bookkeeper, such as Zoom meetings and cloud-based accounting software. Bottom Line You need to determine exactly what bookkeeping assistance you need, now and in the future, before shopping for an online bookkeeping service. Once you’ve compiled a list of bookkeepers that meet your needs, you should consider other factors, such as the service’s price and the type of communication available.

Accounting controls are methods and procedures that prevent, detect, and correct misstatements that occur within the financial accounting process until the formation of the financial statements. They are one type of a larger set of internal controls that every business should follow. When we talk about accounting controls, we’re referring to controls within the accounting cycle, such as preparing journal entries, posting in the general ledger, and gathering source documents. We’ll discuss the specific preventive, detective, and corrective controls for the accounting department with a small business setup in mind. 1. Preventive Controls A preventive accounting control prevents a misstatement from entering the accounting system. It’s the first line of defense, and misstatements spotted here are considered before the fact. An effective preventive control can spot misstated transactions easily at input level. Below are the four common preventive controls: 2. Detective Controls A detective accounting control uncovers misstatements that have entered the accounting system. These misstatements are considered after the fact, and it’s up to the company’s detective controls to spot where these misstatements lie. Detective controls are your business’ second line of defense because they prevent misstatements that slipped through the preventive controls. 3. Corrective Controls Corrective accounting controls are directives that aim to resolve weaknesses in preventive and detective controls and correct misstatements. Corrective controls aren’t common in the accounting department since improvements in preventive and detective controls can resolve weaknesses in accounting controls. But for the sake of explaining this concept, here are some examples of corrective controls: Updating the accounting manual of the business to modify or correct processes that are susceptible to fraud or error Updating the accounting software regularly to solve software errors in the old version; if you’re using , you don’t have to worry about this because web-based accounting software is always updated Releasing memorandums to instruct accounting employees for minor updates and remedies Subjecting poorly performing accounting staff to appropriate disciplinary action in worse cases Role of Compensating Controls in a Small Business Setup A compensating control is an alternative control put in place to satisfy the requirements of a good internal control system when traditional controls are impossible. It exists in small businesses because it’s often impractical to follow optimal controls when there are only a few employees (fewer than 10) handling administrative and accounting functions. This limitation makes it difficult to comply with the segregation of incompatible duties because it’s possible that one or two employees might handle several custody, authorizations, and recording functions. In small business bookkeeping, the owner might only hire one to two accounting staff to record daily transactions, reconcile customer or vendor accounts, or even handle assets. Due to the limitation, compensating controls must be in place to solve any deficiencies. For small businesses, the best compensating control is the participation of the small business owner in the accounting process. The owner must take an active role by supervising and monitoring accounting activities, and they may delegate minor tasks to managers or supervisors to filter out issues that are material to the small business. Bottom Line Accounting controls are necessary, even for a small business. They help owners monitor business transactions and ensure that every transaction has been properly recorded in the books. Without controls, you risk your business losing assets or having unreliable financial information that could lead to over or underpaying taxes.

Sage 50cloud and QuickBooks Online have many similar features, such as banking, invoicing, and inventory management. However, we found some significant differences worth noting. For instance, Sage 50cloud is more difficult to use than QuickBooks Online, making it more suitable for businesses working with experienced bookkeepers. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online is ideal for business owners managing their own books. Sage 50cloud vs QuickBooks Online at a Glance When To Use Each When To Use an Alternative Free accounting and invoicing: Sage 50cloud and QuickBooks Online are both premium accounting software that come at a cost. If you want a free accounting solution with a decent feature set, we recommend (formerly Sunrise). Outstanding customer support: is one of the best providers in terms of customer support. You can call its support hotline, which is something you can’t do with Sage 50cloud and QuickBooks Online. Businesses with large accounting teams: If you work with an accounting team with many members, then you may prefer . You can add as many users as needed at no additional cost, making it our best QuickBooks alternative for businesses that want unlimited user access. Fit Small Business Case Study We created a case study to help us assess the performance of Sage 50cloud and QuickBooks Online across 11 key areas of accounting. The graph below sums up the results. FSB case study comparing Sage 50cloud and QuickBooks Online Sage 50cloud vs QuickBooks Online: Pricing *All users are included in the price of each QuickBooks Online plan, while only one user is included in the base price of each Sage 50cloud tier—and you have to pay an additional fee for each seat. For instance, Premium Accounting costs $92 for one user, $115.58 for two, and $211.67 for five. QuickBooks Online is more affordable than Sage 50cloud, especially if you require multiple users to work on your accounting files. If you require access for up to five users, then you’ll only pay $80 per month with QuickBooks Online Plus, whereas with Sage 50cloud, you’ll have to pay more than $200 per month for five users with Premium Accounting. Sage 50cloud vs QuickBooks Online: Features Banking & Cash Management Sage 50cloud and QuickBooks Online both have the essential bank reconciliation features we look for, but QuickBooks Online is much easier to use. QuickBooks Online allows you to group multiple customer checks into a single deposit slip. This is a great feature as it makes it easy for you to trace and match transactions in your check register to your bank statement. Accounts Payable QuickBooks Online is better than Sage 50cloud as it can read an uploaded receipt and match the receipt to a transaction automatically. However, this isn’t a big deal for many businesses. A huge factor to consider is the ease of use—Sage 50cloud’s A/P module interface is crowded with too many features, making it overwhelming for users with no or little knowledge of accounting software and accounting principles. Accounts Receivable QuickBooks Online is slightly better in terms of accounts receivable due to its ability to issue checks for customers with credit balances. Another advantage is that it calculates the total tax rate for each sale automatically based on the customers’ address, which is useful if you sell products or services out of your state. Inventory Management Sage 50cloud nearly has the same inventory capabilities as QuickBooks Online, but some of its features are limited. For instance, it can be difficult to enter a partial receipt of inventory on purchase orders. However, despite the minor weaknesses, Sage 50cloud has the important features we want to see, such as the ability to track the cost of goods sold (COGS) and calculate ending inventories. QuickBooks Online is slightly better, as its inventory module is easier to use than Sage 50cloud’s. Sage 50cloud vs QuickBooks Online: Ease of Use One of QuickBooks Online’s biggest trump cards against Sage 50cloud is the ease of use. As a complete cloud-based accounting software, it’s easier for you and your accountant to access your files. Sage 50cloud offers remote data access—through cloud hosting—but for an additional price. QuickBooks Online also has a more streamlined user interface than Sage 50cloud. Sage 50cloud is crowded with too many buttons and drop-down menus, which makes it difficult to navigate the program. Sage 50cloud vs QuickBooks Online: Integrations Sage 50cloud has fewer than 100 integrations available, as compared to 825 for QuickBooks. While Sage 50’s are mainly focused on the apps associated with Microsoft 365, QuickBooks offers a wide range, including QuickBooks Payroll, Shopify by OneSaas, Service Trade, and Fathom. Sage 50cloud vs QuickBooks Online: Mobile App Functionality Sage 50cloud has a mobile app called Sage Capture that’s available for both iOS and Android devices. However, it’s limited to capturing receipts and posting associated transactions. With the QuickBooks Online mobile app, all of your financial data is at your fingertips. You can use your device to accept payments online, track business mileage, and view reports, which are things you can’t do with the Sage 50cloud mobile app. Sage 50cloud vs QuickBooks Online: Assisted Bookkeeping QuickBooks Online beats Sage 50cloud in assisted bookkeeping. QuickBooks offers assisted bookkeeping services in the form of , where you’ll be assigned a dedicated bookkeeper who’ll work with you to clean up your books and maintain them on a monthly basis. In addition, you can find a local independent QuickBooks ProAdvisor easily to assist you with your bookkeeping. Meanwhile, Sage 50cloud users can seek bookkeeping support in the form of Sage-certified accountants, which can be difficult to find in the US. Sage 50cloud vs QuickBooks: Customer Support While Sage 50cloud and QuickBooks have various options for customers seeking support, you’ll prefer QuickBooks Online if you value telephone support. While it isn’t possible to call support directly, you can submit a request online and wait for an agent to call you. This is useful if you encounter more complicated issues that need personalized answers and solutions. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 1. When is Sage 50cloud better than QuickBooks Online? Sage 50cloud is better if your company has multiple business divisions or units that require completely separate bookkeeping, you prefer locally installed software, and you need enhanced project accounting features, including the ability to compare estimated and actual costs.  2. When is QuickBooks Online better than Sage 50cloud? If you want something that is easier to use and a program that you can access remotely, choose QuickBooks Online. Many small businesses also prefer QuickBooks Online because of the assisted bookkeeping add-on, QuickBooks Live, and the availability of QuickBooks ProAdvisors to support their bookkeeping needs.  3. Are QuickBooks Online and Sage 50cloud free programs?  No, both are paid accounting software. If you need a free alternative to support your basic accounting needs, check out our guide to the best free accounting software for small businesses.  Bottom Line Both and are great accounting software programs packed with outstanding features. However, Sage 50cloud is more difficult to use, so we recommend it for businesses with internal accounting departments. QuickBooks Online is more user-friendly and is a great option for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that manage their books on their own.

To become a QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor to demonstrate your specialty in QuickBooks products or connect to potential clients and grow your practice, you must first sign up for a free QuickBooks Online Accountant subscription. This will give you access to all training materials to help you prepare for and pass the certification exam. I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of how to become a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. I’ll also share the benefits of becoming a ProAdvisor, along with some useful tips for passing the exam based on my personal experience. Recertification as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor Your ProAdvisor certification doesn’t last forever. Recertification frequency varies, depending on the type of certification you hold: QuickBooks Desktop Certification: To remain a Gold Level member, you must be certified in one of the three most recent versions of the QuickBooks Desktop Certification or certified within the past year for QuickBooks Online. However, we recommend that you update your QuickBooks certification status annually to provide the highest level of knowledge and support to your clients. Only members who are certified in the latest version of QuickBooks are listed in the top section of the QuickBooks Find a ProAdvisor website. QuickBooks Online Certification: Your QuickBooks Online certification is valid until July 31 of the following year. We recommend that you take the updated exam each year to stay current. As with QuickBooks Desktop Certification, members who are certified on the latest version of QuickBooks Online are listed in the top section of the QuickBooks Find a ProAdvisor website. QuickBooks Point of Sale (POS) Certification and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Certification: These certifications are offered on a two-year cycle. To stay updated, you only need to certify in these once every two years. QuickBooks Desktop Advanced Certification: Once you complete the QuickBooks Desktop Advanced Certification exam, you never need to take it again, and you remain Advanced Certified as long as you maintain your annual QuickBooks Desktop Certification and complete the required nine CPE credits of ACE-approved training every three years. Benefits of Becoming a QuickBooks ProAdvisor There are many benefits that come with being a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, including valuable knowledge of the most popular small business accounting software. In addition to discounts on products and services and dedicated telephone and chat support, you’re added to the online directory listing. This allows you to connect with potential clients, build your client list, and earn their trust. Also, you unlock the QuickBooks Online Advanced Certification exam, which helps improve your visibility on the directory, giving you more opportunities to connect to new clients. Your ProAdvisor Profile also climbs in the ranking as you earn more points. As you advance in rankings, you can grow your business and take advantage of more features of this program, discounts, product support, and training opportunities. Here’s a summary of additional benefits: Display your ProAdvisor certification badge on your website, emails, and business cards Boost your credibility and increase your profile ranking Distinguish yourself as a true expert with QuickBooks software Access unlimited United States-based phone support from QuickBooks experts Receive free or discounted products and supplies If you plan to support clients who use QuickBooks Desktop instead of QuickBooks Online products, you can add QuickBooks Desktop to your membership for $499 a year. In addition to the benefits we’ve discussed, you also receive the following: $5,000 worth of QuickBooks Desktop software 30% discount on QuickBooks software that you can pass along to clients Expert US-based chat and phone support Training materials for QuickBooks desktop products Access to certification for QuickBooks desktop products If you’re a bookkeeper or accountant who offers bookkeeping and payroll services, it’s extremely beneficial to become certified in QuickBooks. QuickBooks has more than 80% of the market when it comes to the accounting software that small businesses use most often, meaning that the majority of your clients will use QuickBooks. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 1. Can anyone become a QuickBooks ProAdvisor? Yes, anyone can become a ProAdvisor as long as they are willing to prepare for and pass the exam. However, note that being a QuickBooks ProAdvisor doesn’t make you a certified accountant or bookkeeper. If you are an accountant or bookkeeper, then being a QuickBooks ProAdvisor helps you advance your career and obtain QuickBooks benefits, such as free or discounted QuickBooks products and free CPE credits.  2. Is it free to obtain a QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification? Obtaining a QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor certification is free. You only need to sign up for a free QuickBooks Online Accountant subscription, study the training materials, and pass the exam. However, if you wish to become a QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor, you’ll need to pay a membership fee of $799 per year 3. Will my QuickBooks certification expire? Yes, and recertification frequency depends on the type of certification you hold. For QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors, they need to recertify every year by June 30 to maintain their certifications.  Bottom Line You just learned the steps on how to become certified in QuickBooks Online. To get started, we recommend that you sign up for a free account with . If you want to improve your knowledge of QuickBooks Online, be sure to check out our free QuickBooks tutorial series. It includes 46 lessons that provide QuickBooks instruction and serve as a resource for training clients on how to use the software.