Danielle Bauter

Zoho Books and Xero are equally popular accounting software, but they have unique features, varied capabilities, and different price points. Ultimately, your budget and business situation will determine which one is right for you. If you’re a solopreneur or a freelancer wanting free invoice tracking, or an established small business needing advanced inventory reporting, go with Zoho Books. If you have a small business with many employees to pay, Xero is the more suitable choice. Zoho Books vs Xero At-a-Glance Comparison When To Use Fit Small Business Case Study Using the case study framework we designed, we examined Zoho Books and Xero in 11 key areas that an accounting software service should possess. The chart below is the side-by-side comparison of Zoho Books and Xero in all 11 key areas. Later in this article, we’ll provide an in-depth comparison of accounts receivable (A/R), inventory, and project accounting. These three areas are where Zoho Books and Xero go head-to-head. For an in-depth article that tackles all key areas of our case study, read our Zoho Books review and Xero review. Zoho Books vs Xero: Pricing We find that Xero’s Growing plan at $37 per month is the most affordable plan suitable to most users, especially if you’d like the capacity for unlimited users. However, if you need project accounting, Zoho’s Professional plan at $50 monthly may be your best option. Zoho Books Pricing Zoho Books, which offers a free 14-day trial, has six tiers with monthly fees ranging from $0 to $275 per month. The free plan supports a single user and includes basic features, such as bank reconciliation, expense tracking, and recurring invoices. However, it has limits, such as 1,000 invoices per year and $50,000 annual revenue. Meanwhile, the paid options give you access to advanced features, like sales orders and purchase order (PO) management, time tracking, and budgeting. Additional users can be added to any plan for $3 per user, per month. Xero Pricing Xero offers three packages with monthly prices ranging from $13 to $70. The Early plan is limited, allowing you to enter up to five bills and send 20 invoices. If you need to send unlimited invoices and enter unlimited bills, we recommend the Growing and Established plans. Zoho Books vs Xero: Features Zoho Books and Xero offer unique features but share a lot of similarities. Our case study found out that there are only a few striking differences between the two programs, yet they offer the features that ideal accounting software should have. Let’s go over the features of Zoho Books and Xero and emphasize certain key features from our case study. Invoicing (A/R) Zoho Books and Xero are even in terms of the functions we want to see in an A/R management system. You can create invoice items, accept short payments, view invoices, view balances per customer, and many more. However, the only feature with a striking difference is invoice creation. The invoices in Zoho Books are outstanding. It gives users a lot of design options and templates to make unique invoices. We like how Zoho went to the nitty-gritty of invoice creation, such as the font, alignment, orientation, and margins. It feels like you’re making an invoice straight out of word processing software because of the level of control you can exert in the overall look of your invoice. Xero, meanwhile, falls a bit short in invoice design—you can only edit the invoice line items. But as to the design, color, and font style, it lacks those features. You can create personalized invoices because you can replace the line items, but you can edit anything else for the invoice to be aligned with your branding. Inventory Management The inventory management system of Zoho Books and Xero is also commendable in terms of the features we want to see, such as creating inventory items, managing inventory costs, and accounting for the cost of goods sold (COGS). As full-featured accounting software programs, it comes with no surprise that these features are present. However, the only fine line we can highlight between Zoho Books and Xero is the expandability of inventory features—and here’s where Zoho Books comes at a bit of an advantage. Within the Zoho environment, it offers Zoho Inventory, a dedicated inventory management software that provides more inventory features than those found in Zoho Books. If you want to be detailed in tracking inventory, Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory are great partners within the Zoho suite, making Zoho convenient and easy to use. For Xero, you can integrate with more than 20 inventory management software choices through the Xero App Store. For some, the wider selection of integrations might be preferable to being restricted to only one app, as with Zoho Books. Project Accounting Tracking and managing projects on Zoho Books and Xero are a breeze. They both have the project accounting features we expect to see, such as project creation, assignment of project costs, project estimations, allocation of inventory used, and project reporting. The only feature we noticed that Zoho Books missed is the actual-to-budget comparison of inventories used on the project. Although it’s not a major miss for Zoho Books, we believe that it could’ve been better to include this feature in the budget-to-actual reports. Meanwhile, Xero has all the features in project accounting, so it garnered a perfect score in our evaluation. Zoho Books vs Xero: Ease of Use Zoho Books vs Xero: Integrations One of the biggest benefits of using Zoho Books is that it seamlessly integrates with other Zoho products, such as Zoho CRM and Zoho Inventory. On top of that, it integrates with payment gateways, such as PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net. Meanwhile, Xero has a more extensive marketplace, integrating with over 700 third-party software. Its many integrations include PayPal, Stripe, HubSpot, Mailchimp, BigCommerce, Shopify, Gusto, WorkflowMax, and simPRO. Zoho Books vs Xero: Mobile App Functionality *Recording bills through the Xero mobile app cannot record units for inventory purchases. It’s only suitable for operating expenses. Zoho Books gets the win here as the mobile app allows you to do all basic accounting and documentation work. Meanwhile, Xero’s app covers only a few basic functions. It can’t be used as an alternative way to do accounting work, so you’ll still have to use the web version. Zoho Books vs Xero: Assisted Bookkeeping Zoho Books doesn’t have a dedicated in-house team of bookkeepers, but you can seek assisted bookkeeping services in the form of certified, independent Zoho Books Advisors. Suppose you need help to manage your books or your business with Zoho Books. In that case, you can check Zoho Books’ directory for the list of independent accountants, bookkeepers, and financial advisors that have earned the Zoho Books Advisor designation. Xero certifies accountants and bookkeepers as Xero Advisors. You can find advisors near you by going to the page. It also uses third-party programs and services to provide assisted bookkeeping to its users. For instance, you can seek on-demand access to a professional bookkeeper through Bookkeeper360. Zoho Books vs Xero: Customer Support When it comes to customer service, Zoho Books beats Xero, hands down. Unlike Xero, Zoho Books offers live customer support via telephone or chat in all of its paid packages. If you need to contact the Xero support team, you’ll have to send an email and wait for a response. The good news is that they work 24/7, so the response will probably be less than 24 hours. Zoho Books offers live telephone and chat support in all paid packages, while the free plan only includes email support. In addition, it also has the following resources: Zoho Help Database: A comprehensive help guide that includes basic navigation instructions, keyboard shortcuts, and step-by-step instructions in banking, contacts, invoices, client portal, expenses, and items. Zoho Video Tutorials/Webinar: In the help database, you’ll also find video tutorials and a webinar on using Zoho Books. Xero doesn’t have the option to speak to a live person as you can with Zoho Books. However, it has Xero Business Help Center and Xero University: Xero Help Center: A robust help center with video tutorials and step-by-step how-to articles on both basic and advanced Xero topics. Xero U (University): Xero University includes video tutorial courses that you can take to learn how to use Xero. The topics are broken down into three user types: accountants, bookkeepers, and small business owners. Zoho Books vs Xero: User Reviews Zoho Books users appreciate that the platform has several useful features, such as inventory management and project accounting. Reviewers also praised its ability to seamlessly integrate with other Zoho products like Zoho Inventory and Zoho CRM. The tool’s biggest drawback is its limits on the number of users and invoices for each plan. It earned the following average scores on popular review sites: GetApp: 4.4 out of 5 based on about 510 reviews G2: 4.5 out of 5 based on around 130 reviews TrustRadius: 8.2 out of 10 based on about 120 reviews Meanwhile, those who left Xero reviews said that the software is easy to set up and use, with a simple and clean user interface along with intuitive features. Users also praised the fixed assets manager and the project accounting capabilities. The software’s biggest drawbacks are its inability to reconcile transactions without bank feeds and its lack of live phone and chat support. Xero earned the following average scores on popular review sites: G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on about 510 reviews GetApp: 4.4 out of 5 based on around 2,400 reviews TrustRadius: 8.7 out of 10 based on about 575 reviews Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What are the disadvantages of Zoho Books? Zoho Books has three main disadvantages: it has 1) restrictions on the number of users for each plan; 2) no payroll services; and 3) limited integration options other than its own suite of products, such as Zoho Inventory. Does Xero offer phone and live chat support? No, Xero doesn’t currently offer phone or live chat support. Is Zoho Books really free? Zoho Books offers a free plan for businesses with less than $50,000 in annual income, and it also offers paid plans that range in price from $20 to $275 per month, depending on the number of users and required features. How We Evaluated Accounting Software We evaluated the small business accounting software based on ease of use, pricing, and how well it performed against the ideal features we’re seeking, including project accounting, inventory management, and mobile accounting. Our evaluation was based on a rubric scoring methodology in six categories, each with a designated appropriate percentage. Our criteria for choosing the best small business accounting software are as follows: Bottom Line Zoho Books and Xero have their strengths and weaknesses, and the decision comes down to understanding your exact business needs. Choose if you only need a few people to access your accounting data or you’re already a Zoho user. On the contrary, pick if you have over 10 people in your accounting department or you have many employees to pay.

Whether Xero or QuickBooks Online is right for you depends on the specific features you need and how much you can afford to pay. If you need multiple user access at a low price and you manage fixed assets, you might consider Xero. However, if you’re willing to pay more for a comprehensive bank reconciliation feature and strong customer service, QuickBooks Online is preferable. Xero vs QuickBooks Online At-a-Glance Comparison When To Use Fit Small Business Case Study We compared Xero and QuickBooks Online across 11 categories to see which industry-leading accounting software stands out. The detailed results of our case study are presented in our Xero review and QuickBooks Online review, whereas the chart below sums it up. Xero vs QuickBooks FSB Case Study Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Pricing Xero is more affordable and scalable than QuickBooks since all subscriptions come with unlimited users. If you have a very small business and only need to manage and track a few bills and invoices, then you might do well with Xero’s Early plan. However, if you work with multiple vendors and customers and need more enhanced features, you should consider QuickBooks Online Plus. Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Features We evaluated Xero and QuickBooks across several accounting categories, and we found significant differences in terms of bank reconciliation and fixed-asset accounting. Below, we include a detailed assessment of the two programs across our preset metrics. Banking & Cash Management While both programs include bank reconciliation features, QuickBooks is much more flexible as it allows you to reconcile a bank account by entering the ending bank balance and manually marking transactions that have cleared your bank. Another notable difference is that QuickBooks Online lets you upload your file of transactions, so you aren’t required to connect your bank account. With Xero, you have to hook up your account to reconcile your transactions. Invoicing QuickBooks Online is more versatile than Xero in terms of invoicing. There are plenty of customization options, which can be a great deal for those wanting to present and maintain a professional brand image. Another reason QuickBooks Online stands out is its ability to calculate sales tax rates automatically based on the customer address, which is something Xero can’t do. Hence, it’s no surprise that QuickBooks Online is our overall best invoicing accounting software. Accounts Payable Both have great accounts payable (A/P) features, but QuickBooks Online is slightly better due to its ability to generate recurring payments. Xero lets you create a recurring bill but not the payment, which means it doesn’t charge your checking account automatically. Fixed Assets Management Xero is far ahead of QuickBooks Online in terms of fixed asset accounting. You can record a fixed asset purchase in QuickBooks Online, but you can’t track your fixed assets and calculate depreciation. On the other hand, Xero’s fixed asset manager is impressive. It allows you to record a fixed asset purchase and then calculate depreciation. You can also create asset types and assign an account ID for each asset. When you sell an asset, the program will calculate a gain or loss. If fixed assets are an important part of your business, you should choose Xero. Inventory Management Both Xero and QuickBooks Online do a great job of accounting for inventory and calculating the cost of your inventory sold automatically. However, inventory accounting is included in all Xero plans, while it’s only in the Plus and Advanced versions of QuickBooks Online. So, if you want a low-cost inventory management solution, go with Xero. Project Accounting You can rely both on Xero and QuickBooks Online for project accounting, but if you want a more detailed option of tracking your profitability, then Xero may be better. Unlike QuickBooks Online, it allows you to compare estimated and actual project costs, which is crucial in budgeting. Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Ease of Use Xero is more straightforward than QuickBooks Online in terms of company setup as you need the patience to set up a company in QuickBooks Online. You can enter your company details, but the process is a bit more labor-intensive. Both have shortcut links and buttons on their dashboards, but QuickBooks Online is a tad more complex, especially when performing complicated tasks like printing checks. With practice, both programs should be easy to learn and use. However, for users with no accounting experience, we recommend Xero. Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Integrations Xero boasts around 800 integrations, connecting to plenty of major business software applications, such as: HubSpot Mailchimp Microsoft Outlook Google Contacts WorkflowMax Hubdoc Fathom Pipedrive Constant Contact Agile CRM Spotlight PayPal Zapier QuickBooks Online also has more than 750 integrations, including QuickBooks Payroll QuickBooks Commerce QuickBooks Payments QuickBooks Time Insightly CRM Gusto ADP BILL ClockShark eBillity Zapier Just because one accounting program has more software integrations than another doesn’t mean it’s more functional. Xero and QuickBooks both have a large collection of integrated apps, so the best fit for your business depends on the specific business workflows you want to automate. Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Mobile App Functionality The ability to accept payments on your smartphone through the QuickBooks Online mobile app is a very convenient feature for many on-the-go business owners. You can even track the spending habits of your company by simply viewing the reports on your phone. Meanwhile, Xero’s mobile app might be preferable if you often need to record bills and bill payments on the go. Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Assisted Bookkeeping If you have no accounting experience to execute crucial bookkeeping tasks like reconciling bank accounts, then assisted bookkeeping is useful. If you have complex bookkeeping needs and require a QuickBooks-specific virtual bookkeeping service, then choose QuickBooks Live. However, if you want a more scalable solution with the option to hire additional services like payroll and tax filing, then Xero is the more suitable choice. Xero partners with to provide assisted bookkeeping services, and this lets you have on-demand access to a team of accounting and tax professionals who can help you manage your bookkeeping duties. Bookkeeper360 offers three virtual bookkeeping packages, depending on how often you need assistance, such as pay-as-you-go, monthly, or weekly basis. However, you and your bookkeeper can also work together to create a custom service plan, depending on your needs. Meanwhile, you can get bookkeeping, an add-on that can be activated from the left menu bar of your QuickBooks dashboard, if you need a QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper to help you complete your bookkeeping tasks. They’ll help you reconcile your bank and credit card statements and prepare your monthly reports. After the initial cleanup, you’ll receive assistance with importing historical data, customized setup of your chart of accounts, live one-on-one video chat support with your bookkeeper, customized reports, and a free audit request of your books at any time. QuickBooks Live doesn’t offer tax filing or payroll services, unlike Bookkeeper360. Prices for QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping scale with the monthly expenses of your business, which means higher costs for businesses with higher expenses. Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Customer Support QuickBooks Online’s customer support is better than Xero’s since you can interact with an agent through a phone call. You can’t initiate a call, but you can submit a ticket and then wait for an agent to call you. You can also talk to a real person through live chat. Xero vs QuickBooks Online: User Reviews Users appreciate that Xero is easy to set up and use, with a simple and clean user interface along with intuitive features. Reviewers also praised the fixed assets manager and the project accounting capabilities. The software’s biggest drawback is its inability to reconcile transactions without bank feeds and its lack of live phone and chat support. It earned the following average scores on popular review sites: G2: 4.3 out of 5 based on about 520 reviews GetApp: 4.4 out of 5 based on around 2,400 reviews TrustRadius: 8.7 out of 10 based on about 570 reviews Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online users like that the tool has advanced invoicing tools, the ability to integrate with multiple software, and a wide variety of reports, including the ability to customize as needed. Its biggest drawback is the inability to contact customer support directly by phone, and other users experienced issues with using the QuickBooks Payroll integration. The platform has the following average scores on popular review sites: G2: 4 out of 5 based on about 3,000 reviews Software Advice: 4.32 out of 5 based on around 6,000 reviews TrustRadius: 7.9 out of 10 based on about 1,500 reviews Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Can you use Xero to track inventory? Yes, you can use Xero to track inventory, and the feature is available in all plans. How much does QuickBooks Online cost? Depending on the plan you select, QuickBooks Online ranges in price from $30 per month for the Simple Start plan to $200 per month for the Advanced plan. Can you use Xero to track fixed assets? Yes, Xero has a fixed assets manager that allows you to track fixed assets and calculate depreciation. How We Evaluated Xero vs QuickBooks Online We evaluated Xero and QuickBooks Online based on ease of use, pricing, and how well they performed against the ideal features we’re seeking—including project accounting, inventory management, and mobile accounting. Our evaluation was based on a rubric scoring methodology in six categories, each with a designated appropriate percentage. Bottom Line Xero and QuickBooks Online are powerful accounting software programs and, in our case study, both prove why they’re the leading tools in the industry. They may have almost the same features, but each has its own strengths and drawbacks. If your business needs many users to access your accounting data and requires low-cost inventory and fixed-asset accounting, is the better choice. If you need comprehensive bank reconciliation, class and location tracking, good customer support, and easy access to local bookkeepers, then wins.

Xero and Wave are both popular accounting software that share similar features, but Xero is more sophisticated bookkeeping software. Unlike Wave, it includes the tracking of inventory costs and the ability to print checks to pay your bills and process payroll. For small service-based businesses, Wave is a good free option to consider. Xero vs Wave at a Glance When To Use Fit Small Business Case Study In our comparative analysis of Wave and Xero, we see that Xero outranks Wave in all of the 11 key areas in our case study. However, we don’t discredit Wave’s features—even though it doesn’t perform as well as Xero. Considering that Wave is free, we’re still amazed by some of its features that aren’t present in most free and basic plans of many accounting software programs today. You can review the detailed results of the case study in our Xero review and Wave review. The graph below presents a summary of how each software performed. Case study results for Xero vs Wave Wave’s best features lie in tax, reporting, and accounts receivable (A/R). Meanwhile, Xero gets a perfect score for project accounting and high scores for general features and reporting. In the succeeding sections, we’ll discuss the similarities and differences between Wave and Xero in selected key areas in our case study. Xero vs Wave: Pricing Xero Pricing Xero offers three different subscription plans. Each supports unlimited users, but the higher packages include advanced features, such as multicurrency support, expense claim management, and project tracking. Xero also offers payroll through Gusto at $40 per month, plus $6 per month, per employee. You can use Xero for free for 30 days before signing up for a paid subscription. For processing online payments, Xero integrates with Stripe, PayPal, and GoCardless. Here are the processing fees applicable: PayPal: Invoicing: 3.49% plus fixed fee; depends on currency received; if you’re receiving United States dollars, the fixed fee is 49 cents Quick response (QR) code transactions $10.01 and above: 1.90% plus fixed fee QR code transactions $10.00 and below: 2.40% plus fixed fee Send & receive money for goods and services: 2.99% plus fixed fee Standard credit and debit payments: 3.49% plus fixed fee Stripe: Cards and wallets: 2.9% plus 30 cents per successful card charge; additional 1% for international cards and another 1% if currency conversion is required Automated clearing house (ACH) debits and credits: 0.8% capped at $5 GoCardless: Within the United States: 1% plus 25 cents capped at $2.50; a fee of 0.3% applies if the transaction amount is above $1,000. International: 2% plus 25 cents, including currency conversion rates provided by Wise. Take note that these charges aren’t from Xero but payment channels. Integrating these channels is free on Xero. Wave Pricing All of Wave’s core functions of accounting, invoicing, and receipt tracking are free. You’ll only pay for processing credit card and bank payments and payroll transactions. Accounting, invoicing, and receipt tracking: Free Credit card processing: 2.9% plus 60 cents per transaction (for most cards), 3.4% plus 60 cents (for American Express) per transaction, and 1% bank payments fee (ACH) per transaction Bank payments (ACH): 1% per transaction, minimum of $1 Payroll: Tax service states: $40 per month plus $6 per employee or independent contractor for users living in tax-service states Self-service states: $20 per month plus $6 per employee or independent contractor for users living in the remaining 36 states Xero vs Wave: Features Banking & Cash Management Xero scores high in banking and cash management because of its easy-to-use cash management and bank reconciliation features. The best feature we like is its bank reconciliation module—except for the fact that users can’t enter ending balances of checking accounts to start reconciling. Instead, they must import the ending balance from their bank. However, Xero provides a side-by-side presentation in reconciling bank and book items for you. Once you upload your bank statement, Xero will extract line items automatically from it and look for possible matches. If there are no matches, the platform will let you create a transaction. In Wave, bank reconciliation is manual. First, you have to input the statement balance and set the dates covered for reconciliation. Then, you have to manually reconcile transactions by corroborating information from the bank statements and Wave and clicking the check icon to indicate that the transaction has been matched. Xero and Wave may seem to have similar banking and cash management features at first glance. However, Wave lacks the functionality that we’re looking for in bank reconciliation. Although Wave may not have comprehensive reconciliation features, its simplicity matches the needs of small businesses with few banking transactions. But if you process a lot of bank transactions daily, Xero is a better option since it’s easier to reconcile. Invoicing (A/R) Xero performed well in our evaluation for A/R management. You can set sales prices, create customers, email invoices, accept short payments, and manage customer accounts in Xero. Functionality-wise, Xero’s invoicing is great except that it doesn’t enable users to customize the aesthetics, such as colors, of the invoice However, Wave isn’t too far behind because it has similar features to Xero, such as emailing invoices, creating recurring invoices, managing customer accounts, and accepting short payments. The fine line between the two is that Wave cannot issue credit memos and sales receipts for sales paid immediately. Accounts Payable (A/P) Xero’s A/P management system gets 21 out of the 22 features we’re looking for in an A/P system. The only feature that Xero fell short of is with recurring payments. It can record recurring bills, but users have to record the payment of the bill manually. Typically, other accounting software programs record recurring expenses directly to the enrolled bank or credit card. Meanwhile, Wave’s A/P system isn’t as comprehensive as Xero’s. It’s basic because it contains the foundations of an A/P management system like creating vendors, recording expenses, billings for inventory purchases, and viewing unpaid bills. Wave can’t issue credit memos, add unbilled labor and expenses, and view unbilled but incurred expenses. Project Accounting We give Xero a perfect 10 for project accounting because it contains all the features we’re looking for, especially project estimations, project cost assignment, and cost variance analysis. While Wave can be used to create estimates for a project, it cannot track costs by project. Xero vs Wave: Ease of Use Amid Xero’s comprehensive and advanced features, we’re giving it an average difficulty for ease of use. Given that there are many features to check out and study, it’ll take a little bit of time for users to get acquainted with the interconnectedness of the features. However, setting up Xero for your business is easy because it follows a step-by-step process before landing on the dashboard. Its user experience (UX) is clean and not intimidating. There’s enough white space on the web page in case you’re multitasking on one computer screen. For subsequent use, it’s easy to use the solution, and we think it’ll take less than a week for new users to understand the basics of the software. Wave is also easy to use. For free software, it delivers a clean and user-friendly interface. Since it possesses only basic accounting features unlike Xero, it’s not difficult to use. Most of its features are simple accounting and invoicing functions, so it would be easy for users to study how Wave works. Its UX is slightly more modern than Xero’s and deviates from using tabular presentations in some modules. Xero vs Wave: Integrations In terms of third-party app integrations, Xero wins. It features the Xero App Store, wherein you can get third-party apps that can integrate with Xero. You can use popular apps—like Stripe, PayPal, Gusto, DEAR Inventory, HubSpot CRM, Mailchimp, Hubdoc—and other industry-specific apps. Xero also integrates with apps that we’ve reviewed. You can read our Dext Prepare, Hurdlr, and Expensify reviews for additional insights. Meanwhile, to integrate Wave with third-party apps, you must first subscribe to Zapier and create Zaps for every app you want to integrate. Xero vs Wave: Mobile App Functionality You can download Xero and Wave mobile apps from Google Play and App Store. Both apps have very basic features, and we find the apps lacking in important features. At the very least, Wave’s mobile app is already a bonus given that it’s a free service, so we wouldn’t put too much emphasis on the missing features of Wave’s mobile app. However, Xero’s mobile app isn’t as comprehensive compared to the high-quality app available with . Overall, Xero and Wave’s mobile apps can do better, especially for Xero since it’s a paid service. Xero vs Wave: Assisted Bookkeeping Both Xero and Wave have assisted bookkeeping services in the form of Bookkeeper360 and Wave Advisors. With the advisor programs of Wave, you can get one-on-one bookkeeping and advisory services. You’ll also receive the following additional services at the following price points: Bookkeeping and payroll support: $149 and up per month; best for entrepreneurs who want to outsource bookkeeping Accounting and payroll coaching: $379 one-time fee for a one-hour coaching session and 30 days of email support from your coach; best for Wave users who want to do their own bookkeeping Unlike Wave, Xero has partnered with Bookkeeper360 to provide assisted bookkeeping services. We selected Bookkeeper360 as the best online bookkeeping service for Xero users because of its scalability and seamless integration with Xero accounts. Bookkeeper360 offers accounting, bookkeeping, and business advisory services: Pay-as-You-Go: $125 per hour of bookkeeping support Monthly: Starting at $399 per month for cash-based businesses and $549 per month for accrual-based businesses, including support Weekly: Starting at $549 per month for cash-based businesses and $749 per month for accrual-based businesses, including support Xero vs Wave: Customer Support Xero and Wave’s customer support is poor. With Xero, you can only access support by chatbot and email or through self-help information. Meanwhile, Wave offers support only by chatbot, and its self-help information isn’t detailed. Neither provider gives a phone number where customers can reach them. We recommend for excellent customer support. Xero vs Wave: User Reviews Users who left Xero reviews said that the tool is easy to set up and use, adding that it has a simple and clean user interface along with intuitive features. Some also praised its fixed assets manager and project accounting capabilities. However, its inability to reconcile transactions without bank feeds and its lack of live phone and chat support are its biggest drawbacks. It earned the following average scores on popular review sites: G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on about 510 reviews GetApp: 4.4 out of 5 based on around 2,390 reviews TrustRadius: 8.7 out of 10 based on about 570 reviews Meanwhile, Wave users like that the free solution is very easy to use and that it gives small business owners the tools they need to get the business up and running. Those who left feedback on the mobile app said that they appreciate that it allows them to invoice customers while working remotely. The solution’s biggest drawback is its lack of live phone support. Wave earned the following average scores on popular review sites: G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on about 270 reviews Software Advice: 4.5 out of 5 based on around 1,340 reviews TrustRadius: 7.1 out of 10 based on about 160 reviews Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Does Wave charge for payroll? Yes, the price of your monthly payroll subscription depends on whether you’re doing business in a state in which Wave offers automated tax payments and filings. The monthly price of a new payroll subscription in states where tax payments and filings are available is a $40 base rate plus $6 per active employee or contractor paid. In all other states, the monthly price of a new payroll subscription is $20 base and $6 per active employee or contractor paid. Does Xero have project accounting features? Yes, Xero has robust project accounting tools that include project estimations, project cost assignment, and cost variance analysis. How much does Wave charge to receive electronic payments? Wave charges the following fees, based on the type of transaction: for credit card processing, 2.9% + 60 cents per transaction (for most cards), 3.4% + 60 cents (for American Express) per transaction, and 1% bank payments fee (ACH) per transaction. Bank payments (ACH) charge a fee of 1% per transaction with a minimum of $1. How We Evaluated Accounting Software We evaluated the small business accounting software based on ease of use, pricing, and how well it performed against the ideal features we’re seeking, including project accounting, inventory management, and mobile accounting. Our evaluation was based on a rubric scoring methodology in six categories, each with a designated appropriate percentage. Our criteria for choosing the best small business accounting software are as follows: Bottom Line In our in-depth evaluation of Wave and Xero, we explained the ins and outs of each software. However, we don’t discourage you from choosing one over the other. We recommend for small businesses that don’t need complex accounting features. Although it’s limited in many aspects, it’s still flexible enough for basic accounting functions. Meanwhile, offers a complete bookkeeping solution. We recommend it for product-based retailers and manufacturers needing to keep track of inventories.

BILL, formerly Bill.com, is an accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R) software that focuses on processing vendor billings and sending customer invoices. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online is a complete accounting software that can also process bills and vendor payments. While BILL covers two essential accounting functions, it isn’t a substitute for accounting software like QuickBooks Online. has excellent A/P automation suitable for small businesses when it’s added as an integration to . In this article, we’ll discuss the difference between BILL and QuickBooks Online. We awarded QuickBooks Online our overall best small business accounting software, in part because of its great bill management and invoicing features. However, you should consider integrating BILL and QuickBooks Online to aid your A/P processing if you process many bills per day. BILL vs QuickBooks Online at a Glance Use Cases BILL vs QuickBooks Online: Pricing Unlike QuickBooks Online, which allows a certain number of users per subscription level, BILL’s monthly charges are per user. Both solutions come with free trials. BILL vs QuickBooks Online: Features With the integrated solution of Bill Pay, QuickBooks can be used to pay bills online for very little additional cost. However, if you want a more robust bill payment solution with approvals and a streamlined workflow, then integrating BILL with QuickBooks Online might be worth the additional cost. BILL vs QuickBooks Online: Accounts Payable The major advantage you can get with BILL is its automatic invoice capture. Moreover, it has a dedicated email address where vendors can send their invoices, and its Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) will automatically place it in BILL and start the bill for you. In QuickBooks Online, you must manually upload vendor invoices or scan it first using the QuickBooks receipt scanner. On the contrary, QuickBooks Online comes at an advantage if you and your accounting team can handle billings without the need for automation. Although QuickBooks Online still needs some data entry and manual uploading of receipts, the OCR function of QuickBooks Online can reduce the data entry burden so that you can focus on specific fields like inputting the credit term or applying vendor credits. However, BILL’s OCR features are still superior to QuickBooks Online because it can read handwritten receipts. BILL, overall, offers a convenient solution for businesses processing many billing transactions. Its automation features release staff from hours of data entry and ensures that all bills are accurate and legitimate through a series of approvals. It also has an IVA that automatically captures invoice data and supplies them into necessary fields. You can also pay within BILL via international wire transfer, credit card, debit card, check, or ACH payments. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online’s A/P features focus more on general accounts payable functions like recording vendor information, entering bills, managing unpaid bills, and paying bills. When creating bills, you can select an account category, credit term, and due date, and assign it to a customer, project, or class. You can also print checks in QuickBooks Online if you prefer sending checks to vendors as payment. BILL vs QuickBooks Online: Accounts Receivable In QuickBooks Online, you can modify invoice design and add your company logo. There are also templates you can choose from. The most useful features of QuickBooks Online’s A/R management are its ability to view sales tax liability in detail, track sales tax collected, and pay sales taxes. Meanwhile, BILL offers invoicing capabilities with automation features if you get the invoicing plan. However, its A/R functions aren’t as striking and impressive as other invoicing software. In terms of invoice processing, we like that invoice tracking is possible through invoice statuses. However, that would only work if the customer is also using BILL. Another limitation is its invoice design—there’s no way to incorporate company branding like logo and colors. Lastly, adding sales taxes in BILL depends on what accounting software or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system you use. Otherwise, you’ll have to create sales taxes manually. BILL vs QuickBooks Online: Ease of Use Both BILL and QuickBooks have intuitive user interfaces (UIs), but the latter is more complex with its features. If you’re considering one of the lower-priced levels of BILL, we recommend using it for A/P, especially if you have a large number of bills to pay and want to automate the process. This is also ideal for businesses with multiple decision-makers when it comes to approving payments. For any other accounting needs, QuickBooks is your best option. BILL vs QuickBooks Online: Integrations Because of its limited integrations, BILL is better served as an integration itself as it can be connected to several accounting software packages. QuickBooks integrates with more than 750 apps and has three built-in integrations to streamline your payments, payroll, and time tracking. BILL vs QuickBooks Online: Mobile App BILL and QuickBooks have robust mobile apps that assist with payables and receivables. Neither allows you to track time, but you can monitor expenses using location and class fields and reconcile bank transactions from connected bank accounts. Both have the same basic features, such as the ability to create invoices and receive payments, but BILL has the added benefit of workflow functionality with A/P, like the ability to view an audit trail of bill approval and review notes from vendors and customers. You can also scan documents with your phone’s camera and process them into bills or send them to your inbox. QuickBooks has a greater depth of features when it comes to A/R, such as the ability to not only send invoices but also estimates and sales receipts. It also provides GPS mileage tracking and access to reporting tools, two features that BILL lacks. BILL vs QuickBooks Online: Customer Support Although QuickBooks encourages you to try other support avenues before requesting phone support, BILL doesn’t offer phone support at all and instead requires that you submit a support inquiry, which will be answered via email. However, both have other resources, such as a help center and knowledge base, which can be consulted for less urgent needs. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Does BILL offer a free trial? Yes, BILL offers a 30-day risk-free trial. Does QuickBooks Online offer a mobile app? Yes, QuickBooks Online offers a free mobile app with each subscription, which gives you access to paying bills, uploading receipts, and GPS mileage tracking. Does BILL allow you to automate approval workflows? Yes, BILL lets you capture your invoices all in one digital platform and automate your approval workflows and requests, and it’ll sync automatically with your accounting software. Bottom Line BILL’s invoicing features don’t exceed those of , so it doesn’t make sense to subscribe to both if you’re looking for invoicing features. You should do well with QuickBooks Online alone for invoicing. However, A/P features far outshine the Bill Pay feature that comes standard with QuickBooks Online. If your company has expenses that require approval before payment or a high volume of expenses that justify having an automated import system, BILL is a great addition to QuickBooks Online.

While both FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online offer rich accounting features, they have significant differences and are built for unique business purposes. FreshBooks is best for small service-based businesses and freelancers needing strong project accounting features. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online is a great fit for businesses heavily engaged in inventory management. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks At a Glance When To Use Fit Small Business Case Study Our case study compares FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online across 11 categories. The results show QuickBooks Online’s excellence in terms of general features, banking and cash management, inventory accounting, and reporting. Conversely, FreshBooks’ mobile app and project accounting features are slightly better than QuickBooks, not to mention that it has outstanding customer service. You can check out the detailed results of our case study in our FreshBooks review and QuickBooks Online review. See the graph below for the summary. The biggest difference between FreshBooks and QuickBooks is inventory accounting where QuickBooks is very strong but FreshBooks has virtually no functionality. Also, QuickBooks is much better with banking features, such as reconciliation and printing checks. FreshBooks is well-liked for its customer service while QuickBooks doesn’t even allow users to call customer service directly. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online: Pricing If you’re a very small business and work with fewer than five customers, then FreshBooks’s entry-level plan, Lite, might be enough. However, as your business and customer base grow, you might prefer to sign up for QuickBooks Online to save some money on additional users. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online: Features Invoicing QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks both have excellent invoicing features, but QuickBooks Online stands out with its ability to calculate sales tax rates automatically and apply them to invoices based on the customer’s address. With FreshBooks, you have to set up the sales tax for each jurisdiction manually. If you collect taxable payments from different jurisdictions, you’ll prefer QuickBooks Online. Banking & Cash Management If you’re comfortable connecting your bank account to your accounting software, then you might consider FreshBooks. However, if you want the option not to connect your account―probably due to security reasons―then you should consider QuickBooks. You’ll also likely prefer QuickBooks if your business relies heavily on paying vendors and employees by check as it can record and print checks. Accounts Payable Both offer an easy way to record bills and track outstanding bills, but QuickBooks Online lets you create POs and convert them into bills, enter a vendor credit and apply it when you pay the bill, and pay an independent contractor using the service item you created. If you want a more solid solution to manage your unpaid bills, then choose QuickBooks Online. Inventory Management Inventory accounting is QuickBooks Online’s biggest trump card against FreshBooks. FreshBooks lets you add inventory items to bills—but there’s no way to know how much inventory you have available or the cost of your inventory sold. QuickBooks Online’s inventory management system lets you track available inventory, calculate quantities, costs, and prices automatically, and track which of your items are most profitable. If your business is focused on selling products, you should choose QuickBooks Online to support your inventory accounting needs. Project Accounting Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online offer useful project accounting features, but FreshBooks takes it one step further by allowing you to compare estimated to actual project costs. This helps you make better decisions in terms of budgeting and financial management. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online: Ease of Use FreshBooks and QuickBooks are easy to use, especially if you have accounting experience. Both also include shortcut buttons to help you navigate the programs easily. However, it’s faster to get started with FreshBooks as it only requires minimal information to set up your company—you have to go through a series of steps to set up a company in QuickBooks Online. The good news is that both, depending on your subscription, include unlimited customer support to help you learn everything there is to know about the software. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online: Integrations The library of integrated apps of both programs should be enough to cover other business processes, like payment processing and payroll. If integration is important to you, both are great choices. FreshBooks integrates with hundreds of third-party programs. A few include Gusto for payroll, Stripe and PayPal for credit card processing, Bench and Mazuma for bookkeeping, and Shopify and Square for ecommerce. Meanwhile, in addition to QuickBooks Online’s integration with native products, such as QuickBooks Payments, QuickBooks Payroll, and QuickBooks Time, the platform connects with more than 750 third-party applications, including Gusto, Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, and Square. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online: Mobile App Functionality FreshBooks’ mobile app is a little more functional than the one from QuickBooks, but it all comes down to your needs. If you’re doing business with many suppliers and managing project contractors, you’d appreciate the option to record a new bill and enter time worked using FreshBooks. Meanwhile, if you need to process and track incoming transactions from a bank feed, QuickBooks Online’s app comes in handy. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online: Assisted Bookkeeping QuickBooks Online wins for assisted bookkeeping. It’s used by the vast majority of small business owners in the US, which means that you can find a competent local bookkeeper easily and quickly. Users needing a professional bookkeeping service can add QuickBooks Live to their subscription by turning the feature on in their left menu bar. Through it, you’ll be paired with a dedicated bookkeeper to help you accomplish tedious bookkeeping tasks, like bank account reconciliations and reporting. In addition to QuickBooks Live, users can work with independent QuickBooks ProAdvisors. QuickBooks Online is a very popular accounting tool that many local bookkeepers will be very familiar with. You’ll be almost certain to find a local QuickBooks ProAdvisor near you. On the other hand, FreshBooks partners with a third-party online bookkeeping service, , to provide assisted bookkeeping services to users. Depending on your Bench Accounting subscription, you’ll get access to a dedicated bookkeeping team, year-end reports, unlimited tax advisory, and one-on-one tax strategy planning. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks: Customer Support While both offer several support channels that you can access easily, FreshBooks comes out ahead, primarily because of its live phone support. The ability to make a phone call when encountering serious issues is a huge factor that sets FreshBooks’ customer support apart from QuickBooks. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks: User Reviews Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online scored high with users. FreshBooks users appreciate that it’s one-stop accounting software that’s easy to set up and use. Reviewers also praised its project tracking features and how easy it’s to invoice clients if you use the project feature. The software’s biggest drawback is its inability to manage inventory, and users wished that FreshBooks had a live chat feature. FreshBooks earned the following average scores on popular review sites: G2: 4.5 out of 5 based on about 660 reviews GetApp: 4.5 out of 5 based on around 3,990 reviews TrustRadius: 8.2 out of 10 based on about 190 reviews Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online users appreciate that the platform makes invoice management seamless with an easy-to-navigate user interface (UI) and analytics dashboard. Reviewers also praised the ability to customize reports and integrate with multiple software. The solution’s biggest drawback is the inability to contact customer support directly by phone, and some users experienced issues with integrating payments from Square. QuickBooks Online has the following average scores on popular review sites: G2: 4 out of 5 based on about 2,970 reviews Software Advice: 4.32 out of 5 based on around 5,820 reviews TrustRadius: 7.9 out of 10 based on about 1,465 reviews Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) How much does FreshBooks cost? FreshBooks ranges in price from $15 to $55 per month. The Lite plan is $15 per month and includes up to five billable clients, Plus is $30 per month and includes up to 50 billable clients, and Premium is $55 per month and includes unlimited billable clients. Businesses with more complex needs can opt for customized pricing with the Select plan, which includes unlimited billable clients and specialized features. Does QuickBooks Online offer a mobile app? Yes, QuickBooks Online offers a mobile app for both iOS and Android users. Can you use FreshBooks to track inventory? No, you can’t create inventory items and track total units and costs with FreshBooks, though it allows you to add inventory to an invoice. How We Evaluated Accounting Software We evaluated the small business accounting software based on ease of use, pricing, and how well it performed against the ideal features we’re seeking, including project accounting, inventory management, and mobile accounting. Our evaluation was based on a rubric scoring methodology in six categories, each with a designated appropriate percentage. Bottom Line If you’re a small business or a solopreneur whose primary focus is to track project profitability and you’re comfortable connecting your bank account, then is for you. However, if you’re looking for more than project management, is the best choice. It beats FreshBooks in many aspects of accounting, including inventory tracking, banking and cash management, bill management, invoicing, and income and expense tracking by class.

The core feature you should consider for the best multi-company accounting software for your business depends on whether you need to keep separate books for multiple organizations or consolidate those organizations into a single set of financial statements. When keeping the books for multiple organizations, it’s nice to have the ability to add multiple companies to your software without paying for each one. Meanwhile, consolidated financial statements generally require more sophisticated and expensive software. Thus, you need to find the solution that best fits your multi-company accounting needs at the best possible price point. Here are our five picks for best accounting software for multiple companies: : Best overall multi-company accounting software : Best for independent full-service bookkeepers : Best accounting software for consolidated entities : Best free online accounting software for multiple companies : Best for consolidating entities with cryptocurrency transactions Comparison of Best Multi-company Accounting Software QuickBooks Desktop: Best Overall Multi-company Accounting Software One license can be used for the bookkeeping of an unlimited number of companies. It’s powerful accounting software for small businesses and made our list of the best small business accounting software. It has outstanding general features that can be customized for any business. However, it won’t help you consolidate the financial statements of multiple entities. Instead, consider Sage 50cloud or SoftLedger for consolidation. Both of these products can consolidate separate financial statements of subsidiaries easily in a few clicks, including the complex accounting procedure of eliminating intercompany transactions and accounts. QuickBooks Accountant Desktop: Best for Independent Full-service Bookkeepers , a special version of QuickBooks Desktop, has powerful tools for providing full-service bookkeeping to an unlimited number of clients ($499 per year). With QuickBooks Accountant Desktop, you can provide after-the-fact payroll for up to 50 clients for only $350 per year. QuickBooks Accountant Desktop requires an active QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor membership, but the cost of the ProAdvisor program is included with the purchase of Accountant Desktop. Sage 50cloud Accounting: Best Accounting for Consolidated Entities Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) require consolidated financial statements when one company owns more than 50% of the stock of another company. allows accounting for multiple entities and for the entities to be consolidated into a single set of financial statements. While Sage 50cloud is a desktop program, employees and accountants can access the company file through Sage Drive. Sage 50cloud is more expensive than QuickBooks Desktop, but it’s very affordable for software that can perform consolidations. Wave: Best Free Online Accounting Software for Multiple Companies Whether you’re an entrepreneur with multiple businesses or an accountant handling books of several freelancers, is a great software option if you’re looking for free accounting software that can be used for multiple companies. It has impressive reporting capabilities, given that it’s a free service, and it lets you add an unlimited number of businesses into just one account. However, we don’t recommend it for large businesses, especially product-based companies needing inventory management features. SoftLedger: Best for Consolidating Entities With Cryptocurrency Transactions is suitable for companies needing consolidated financial statements and the ability to deal with multiple currencies, including cryptocurrencies. The tax treatment of cryptocurrency is very tedious because a gain or loss must be recognized on every cryptocurrency transaction. This is very burdensome to track in a spreadsheet and makes SoftLedger well worth the money if you also need to consolidate entities. While it’s a sophisticated, scalable general ledger system, it lacks many convenient features of small accounting business software. You can instead go with QuickBooks Desktop for cryptocurrency management. QuickBooks doesn’t have an exclusive feature for crypto, but it can integrate with third-party apps like Gilded and Sync. How To Choose Your Multi-company Accounting Software Most businesses needing multi-company accounting fall into one of three categories: Independent bookkeepers and accountants offering full-service bookkeeping who don’t want to pay a separate license fee for each client. Businesses consisting of multiple companies or entities that each need a separate set of financial statements. Businesses consisting of parent-subsidiary companies that require separate bookkeeping yet consolidated financial statements. Beyond making sure your multi-company accounting software matches your needs, see to it that the platform has good basic accounting functions. We considered these accounting functions in determining which multi-company accounting software is best for a variety of companies: Bank transactions: Bank transactions should be imported into the software automatically. The software should provide an easy way to reconcile the account balance to the bank statement. Invoices: Invoices should be generated directly from the software and tracked until payment is received. Unpaid bills: Bills should be able to be entered into the software when received and tracked until paid. Payroll: If you have employees, payroll should be integrated into the accounting software. Classes: You may want software that’ll track income and expenses by different classes, such as product lines or locations. Jobs: You might want to be able to track profit and loss (P&L) by job. This is especially important for construction companies. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What is multi-company accounting? Multi-company accounting is software that manages the accounting functions of multiple operations, locations, and companies in a single program. How many companies can you run on QuickBooks Desktop? One QuickBooks Desktop License can be used to keep the books for an unlimited number of companies. How much does Sage 50cloud Accounting cost? Sage 50cloud Accounting charges $578 per year for Pro Accounting with a maximum of one user and one company. Premium Accounting subscribers will pay anywhere from $924 per year for one user to $2,116 per year for five users and unlimited companies. Quantum Accounting subscriptions run from $1,533 per year for one user and $3,912 per year for 10 users, with custom pricing for up to 40 users and unlimited companies. Bottom Line Multi-company accounting software can serve a variety of functions. If your business is run through two or more companies or entities, then QuickBooks Desktop will allow you to keep separate books for each company. However, if you need to consolidate those companies into one set of financial statements, you’ll need Sage 50cloud. Finally, if you’re an independent accountant or bookkeeper looking to provide full-service accounting to unlimited companies, QuickBooks Accountant Desktop will serve you well.

The best QuickBooks training courses should offer flexible training sessions for students (the option of live or self-paced), be expert-led, and come with supplemental resources, such as reference manuals, study guides, and instructional videos. You’ll find some free courses, but you usually have to pay a fee to access premium lessons and maximize your learning experience. There are plenty of QuickBooks training courses, but we narrowed it down to our top six: : Best overall training for QuickBooks Online and Desktop programs Fit Small Business QuickBooks Tutorials: Best for free online QuickBooks training : Best for learning very specific QuickBooks tasks : Best for live webinars : Best for on-site group training : Best instructor-led college classes Comparison of the Best QuickBooks Online Training Courses QuickBooks Training: Best Overall QuickBooks Training Courses QuickBooks Training offers online and self-paced courses for both the Online and Desktop versions. With on-demand training, users can start and stop the course as their schedule allows. You can watch the video tutorials as often as you like and live classes are also available. Because of the wide range of courses offered and the option of live or self-paced, we selected QuickBooks Training as the best overall training for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop programs. If you haven’t already purchased your QuickBooks program, you should study the differences between QuickBooks Online vs Desktop before deciding. Fit Small Business: Best Free Online QuickBooks Training Courses Fit Small Business offers lessons for beginners and supplemental training for those wanting to boost their existing knowledge of QuickBooks. It has 46 tutorials, which run anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes. By breaking down longer lessons into bite-sized tutorials, students can digest them better. Each one contains a step-by-step guide and a video demonstration of the concepts, helping them understand the lessons better. Fit Small Business offers several courses on both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop. See Fit Small Business Tutorials QuickBooks Support: Best for Learning Specific Tasks If you have a specific question on how to perform a QuickBooks task, QuickBooks Support is a free, comprehensive option. It offers help articles, community discussions with other QuickBooks users, video tutorials, and more, and free Live QuickBooks webinars are offered regularly. However, there’s no actual live support available, which can make it challenging to find an answer to a specific question. Advanced Webinars by Hector Garcia, CPA: Best for Live Webinars Hector Garcia, a CPA and Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, has created a series of webinars that aim to introduce the software and encourage users to feel comfortable with using it. He has produced hundreds of videos on topics related to both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, and his YouTube videos will help you troubleshoot common QuickBooks issues. Currently, he has a paid course available through Advanced Webinars, which is intended for contractors and project-based businesses. He also recorded a course for manufacturers and wholesalers and accountants supporting multiple industries. Certstaffix Training: Best for On-site Group Training Certstaffix offers training for several versions of QuickBooks, and all classes are delivered by one of its expert trainers. It also provides QuickBooks Certified User Desktop training classes. From hands-on, instructor-led live online QuickBooks training for individual employees to private online or on-site group training, you’ll find a flexible training option that suits your learning needs. College of Southern Idaho: Best Instructor-led Courses for College Classes At the College of Southern Idaho, students can participate in instructor-led or self-paced courses on a variety of QuickBooks topics. As part of the CSI Workforce Development and Training Program, CSI provides training and apprenticeship opportunities for individuals to master new expertise and opportunities for companies to utilize local training for their employees. How We Evaluated QuickBooks Training Courses We evaluated these training courses based on many factors, including cost, accessibility, course curriculum, and access to instructors. Price: While some courses are available at no cost, others run upward of $600. Available training methods: Many of these training courses are offered as self-paced training or live, instructor-led courses. We also evaluated the programs that offer in-person training. Types of courses offered: Whether it’s a topic-specific video tutorial or a course dedicated to a specific version of QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online, these programs offer a variety of courses for novices to accountants and advanced users. Course instructors: Whether the courses are taught by certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors or CPAs, it’s important to know the level of expertise that’s provided. Additional support available: Examples include reference manuals, study guides, course videos, and access to the instructor for questions. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) How much does Intuit QuickBooks training cost? Intuit QuickBooks Training offers both live classes and self-paced training sessions (VIP Membership). Live Classes are $679.95 for the first attendee with $250 off on each additional attendee. Self-paced classes are $679.95 (one-time fee), plus an optional fee of $29.95 per month to maintain live services. How can I learn to use QuickBooks Online? There are several options for learning QuickBooks Online, which include live classes, self-paced training, and free online tutorials. Are there free tutorials for QuickBooks Online? Yes, companies such as Fit Small Business offer QuickBooks Online tutorials at no charge. Bottom Line QuickBooks training courses come in various forms, including on-demand videos, online instructor-led or self-paced lessons, live virtual and in-person classrooms, and video tutorials. Most classes cover QuickBooks basics and are generally taught by certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors and/or CPAs who provide bookkeeping services to small business clients. QuickBooks classes are ideal for small business owners, bookkeepers, and anyone who is seeking to become a Certified QuickBooks User. Classes may also include structured lessons, access to an instructor, practice exercises or exams, a quiz or final exam, and a certificate of completion.

JOBPOWER is an accounting software that can be deployed as either a desktop or cloud-based software and is designed especially for general contractors, subcontractors, and homebuilders. It helps you manage and track job costs, payables, receivables, union reports, budgets, subcontracts, change orders, and more. Prices aren’t published on the website—contact sales for more information. JOBPOWER Deciding Factors JOBPOWER Alternatives If you're looking for project accounting, but don't need other extensive construction-specific features, you can save considerable money by selecting from the best small business accounting software. JOBPOWER vs Competitors JOBPOWER is construction accounting and management software that positions itself as an all-in-one software solution for construction companies. However, JOBPOWER lags behind its competitors in construction accounting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) features. It’s clear that the leading software in this comparison is integrated with QuickBooks Online Plus. Since Buildertrend offers excellent construction management features, integrating it with QuickBooks Online Plus creates a seamless ERP environment for construction companies. However, the two integrated is expensive, with a monthly cost starting at $484 per month. Upfront pricing for JOBPOWER and Sage 100 Contractor isn’t readily available, so we can’t compare them with Buildertrend. However, if you think Buildertrend with QuickBooks Online Plus is beyond your budget, you can reach out to the JOBPOWER or Sage sales to learn more about their pricing. Alternatively, you can check out our list of the best construction accounting software for additional choices. There’s no upfront pricing for JOBPOWER for either the desktop or cloud version. When you choose the desktop version, you get unlimited and toll-free telephone support for one year. After the free support period, you may buy a support plan. According to JOBPOWER, the price of the cloud version includes support, unlimited updates, and cloud hosting fees. JOBPOWER offers a wide array of features specific to contractors, such as certified payroll, AIA billing, and budget vs actual reporting. It works for industrial, commercial, residential, and specialty contractors, and it can help in providing accurate cost estimates for clients. JOBPOWER offers construction management features that can help you keep track of construction costs and activities. The dashboard (see image below) shows useful charts and metrics to give you a bird’s-eye view of your financials. You can see estimated and actual costs presented in pie charts. Below the charts is a list of open jobs that shows the contract price, budgeted costs, billings to date, costs to date, and percentage of completion: New users will be happy to know that JOBPOWER offers one year of free telephone support. Its support team is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time. JOBPOWER’s interface is easy to read and understand. The reports could use a visual upgrade since it’s plain black and white. For better reports, we recommend for reports with company branding or for industry-specific and vast general accounting reports. JOBPOWER User Reviews There are limited JOBPOWER reviews, but its users appreciate that the software is user-friendly and easy to learn with an intuitive user interface. Reviewers also praised the construction-specific features, such as the PO system for material purchases and the subcontract module. Its biggest drawbacks are its lack of transparency with pricing and the fact that it lacks a mobile app. Others said that they felt that even though it allows for multiple users, they can’t be doing the same thing at the same time. JOBPOWER earned the following average scores on popular review sites: Software Advice: 4.38 out of 5 based on about 50 reviews Software Connect: 5 out of 5 based on around 5 reviews Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Who uses JOBPOWER? JOBPOWER was designed for general contractors and subcontractors doing residential, commercial, and industrial jobs of all types. How much does JOBPOWER cost? JOBPOWER doesn’t provide upfront pricing for either the desktop or cloud version—you must contact its sales department for a demo and quote. Can you process payroll with JOBPOWER? Yes, JOBPOWER’s payroll module allows you to generate payroll checks and direct deposit vouchers and file W-2s and 1095 forms electronically. Bottom Line offers its accounting and construction management features as an “all-in-one” solution. It has general accounting features like ledgers, POs, bills, and payroll. However, It’s lacking in construction accounting and ERP features, especially when compared to Buildertrend with QuickBooks Online Plus. Moreover, the software isn’t ideal for do-it-yourself (DIY) accounting, and it requires a CPA with construction accounting experience to utilize the software features fully, especially for tax reporting.