QuickBooks Business Checking Review 2023
Tricia has nearly two decades of experience in commercial and federal government lending. Her expertise is highlighted throughout small business loan content on Fit Small Business.
Ricci Recto has two years of writing experience creating digital marketing content for finance clients. She specializes in business banking.
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
If you’re a QuickBooks Online user wanting to keep your bookkeeping and banking activities in one place, opening a QuickBooks Checking account is worth considering. QuickBooks Checking (formerly known as QuickBooks Cash) integrates with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payments, which lets you import banking information automatically into your bookkeeping sheets.
The account charges no monthly fee and earns interest at a rate of 1.75%. Additional cash management tools, such as business savings envelopes and custom cash forecasting, can help you maintain your financial health.
What We Like
- Many cash management tools, including cash flow forecasting, savings envelopes, and QuickBooks integration
- No monthly fees and minimum balance requirements
- Earns competitive interest rates
What's Missing
- Only four fee-free ATM withdrawals per month
- No support for wire transfers
- No savings accounts
Features
- Integration with QuickBooks products
- QuickBooks debit card
- QuickBooks Envelopes for savings buckets
- 1.75% APY
- Limited fee-free withdrawals at over 19,000 Allpoint ATMs
- Cashflow forecasting
How QuickBooks Business Checking Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Annual Percentage Yield (APY) | Monthly Fee | ATM Fee | Minimum Opening Deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 QuickBooks Checking | 1.75% | $0 | $3 after limit at Allpoint ATMs† | $0 |
 Lili Account | None | $0 | None at MoneyPass locations; $2.50 for nonnetwork | $0 |
 Novo Business Checking | None | $0 | Refunds all ATM fees | $0 |
*Providers are financial technology (fintech) platforms backed by and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured through a supporting bank partnership (Green Dot Bank for QuickBooks, Choice Financial Group for Lili, and Middlesex Federal Savings for Novo).
†QuickBooks offers four fee-free ATM withdrawals per month; out-of-network ATM withdrawals cost $3.
When QuickBooks Business Checking Is a Good Fit
- You want to earn competitive interest on checking balances: QuickBooks Business Checking earns APY at a rate of 1.75%.
- Your business uses QuickBooks for accounting: QuickBooks updates accounting records with real-time data from QuickBooks Business Checking transactions, which removes friction from the bookkeeping process. You cannot open a QuickBooks Checking account without first having a QuickBooks Online account.
- You want to make smarter money management decisions: Aside from integration with the QuickBooks accounting software, QuickBooks Business Checking includes cash management tools QuickBooks Envelopes and cash flow forecasting. QuickBooks Envelopes lets businesses divide their balances into different expense categories while the cash flow forecasting tool uses banking data to predict future balances.
When QuickBooks Business Checking Is Not a Good Fit
- You rely on in-person branch banking: There are no physical QuickBooks Checking branches. A better alternative would be Chase, which has 4,700 locations across 48 states.
- You rely on wire transfers: QuickBooks does not support incoming or outgoing wire transfers. A good alternative would be Mercury, which charges no fees for sending or receiving wire transfers.
- You make ATM withdrawals regularly: QuickBooks Checking has an in-network ATM withdrawal limit of four per statement cycle and charges a $3.00 fee for every withdrawal after the limit. Meanwhile, the fintech solution Novo refunds all ATM fees. Although it has a daily withdrawal limit of $1,000, it has no monthly limits.
- You need overdraft protection: QuickBooks does not offer overdraft protection and declines transactions that exceed an account’s current balance. We recommend Capital One for free overdraft protection.
Check out our guide to the best small business checking accounts for additional recommendations.
QuickBooks Business Checking Overview
QuickBooks Business Checking Requirements
To open a business checking account with QuickBooks, you must first create a QuickBooks Online account. Additionally, you’ll be required to open a QuickBooks Payments account alongside a QuickBooks Business Checking account. Follow the instructions below to open your QuickBooks Checking account:
- Step 1: Open QuickBooks Online.
- Step 2: Go to the Banking or Cashflow menu.
- Step 3: Select QuickBooks Checking.
- Step 4: Hit Apply; this will lead you to an application form.
Our guide to opening a business bank account can help you identify the documents and information banks usually require during the account opening process.
QuickBooks Business Checking Features
QuickBooks Business Checking offers synced banking and accounting data, instant deposits for users of QuickBooks Payments, a free Visa debit card, savings envelopes, and custom cash forecasting.
QuickBooks Integration
QuickBooks syncs QuickBooks Business Checking debit card spending and banking transactions automatically with the QuickBooks accounting software to update bookkeeping data in real time. This integration helps save you the time and effort involved in updating accounting data manually.
Instant Deposit
If you use QuickBooks Payments to process customer payments, you can access the QuickBooks Instant Deposit feature. Through this feature, you can send money from your QuickBooks Payments revenue into your bank account within less than 30 minutes. Instant Deposit is fee-free.
QuickBooks Debit Card
QuickBooks Business Checking comes with a free Visa debit card called the QuickBooks Debit Card, which can be used for purchases at any establishment that accepts debit cards. Additionally, the card gives you access to over 19,000 Allpoint ATMs.
However, QuickBooks only allows four fee-free ATM withdrawals per statement cycle. Once you exceed the withdrawal limit, you’ll have to pay a fee of $3 per ATM transaction.
QuickBooks Envelopes
The QuickBooks Envelopes feature lets you divide your checking balances into virtual savings buckets. By separating funds into dedicated expense categories, you can track how much money you have for different business goals easily.
You can only create up to 10 Envelopes at a time. Funds inside Envelopes cannot be used until they’re moved back into the account’s main balance. Each Envelope earns interest, which is tracked separately from the main balance.
Custom Cash Flow Forecasting
QuickBooks Checking uses your banking data to make business balance projections over 30- to 90-day periods. You can view your current or future balance and gain a clearer picture of where your financial health stands.
Other QuickBooks Products
Intuit QuickBooks offers many business tools, including solutions for accounting, payments, and payroll.
QuickBooks Accounting
To help you stay on top of your finances, QuickBooks automates tasks like bookkeeping, invoicing, Value Added Tax (VAT) management, budgeting, bank reconciliation, and inventory management. This service is available as a cloud-based platform through QuickBooks Online and as a desktop application through QuickBooks Desktop.
QuickBooks Payments
QuickBooks Payments is a payment processing solution that lets you accept payments via credit card, debit card, invoice, ACH, e-check, and digital wallet payments. Like QuickBooks Business Checking, it syncs payment processing data automatically with the QuickBooks accounting software.
QuickBooks Capital
Through QuickBooks’ financing service QuickBooks Capital, you can access loan amounts from $1,500 to $150,000 with terms from six to 18 months. However, only businesses that have generated revenue of at least $50,000 within the past 12 months upon application qualify for QuickBooks Capital Loans.
QuickBooks Live
The QuickBooks Live bookkeeping service lets you receive live bookkeeping advice and assistance from certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors and certified public accountants (CPAs).
QuickBooks Payroll
The payroll processing software QuickBooks Payroll lets you run payroll, manage tax payments, offer employee benefits, and more.
QuickBooks Time
QuickBooks Time, formerly known as TSheets, is a time-tracking service that lets you track employee hours or billable hours for projects and clients.
QuickBooks Business Checking Pros & Cons
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Comes with bookkeeping and budgeting tools | Required to open a QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payments account |
| 1.75% APY | No support for wire transfers |
| No monthly fees and minimum balance requirements | Limited fee-free ATM transactions |
QuickBooks Checking is best for existing QuickBooks users. If you use other software for accounting, making the switch to QuickBooks just for its checking account may not be worth the investment. The account’s main strengths—such as QuickBooks integration, high APY, and the ability to create reserve accounts—are features that you can find easily for free with other digital-exclusive banking providers.
Additionally, QuickBooks Checking has many limits. The account does not support cash deposits or wire transfers and has very low limits for monthly ATM transactions. Although QuickBooks gives you access to business loans through QuickBooks Capital, it lacks dedicated savings products, such as savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs.
QuickBooks Business Checking User Reviews
No QuickBooks Checking reviews have been published on third-party review platforms. On Trustpilot, QuickBooks developer Intuit received a rating of 1.2 out of 5 stars based on about 305 reviews.
The majority of negative reviews note that Intuit’s customer service arm is unhelpful and slow to respond. According to reviewers, getting the opportunity to speak to live representatives takes too long, and representatives have a tendency of dropping communication even as issues remain unresolved.
Alternatives To QuickBooks Business Checking
QuickBooks Checking was designed to help existing QuickBooks Online users reduce friction in their bookkeeping and banking activities. However, if you do not have a QuickBooks Online subscription, it may not meet your business needs.
If you want a banking provider that offers fee-free access to bookkeeping tools, here are a few alternatives to consider:
- Found* is best for unlimited free custom invoices. The platform includes an invoicing tool that lets you create, customize, and send an unlimited number of professional invoices. It also provides built-in bookkeeping and tax tools.
- Lili* is best for digital tax preparation assistance. Its Tax Optimizer feature lets you save a percentage of your income for taxes automatically. Through the Tax Optimizer, you can also track tax write-offs, generate expense reports, and auto-fill your Schedule C form. The platform also offers expense categorization tools for easy bookkeeping.
- Grasshopper is best for free integrated payment software, up to 2.25% APY and 1.00% cash back. You can access these rates by meeting the Grasshopper’s $10,000 minimum balance requirement. The account offers free bookkeeping, invoicing, and payment acceptance tools through its integration with Autobooks.
 QuickBooks* |  Found* | Lili* |  Grasshopper | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Expense Categorization Tools | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Reporting Tools | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Receipt Capture | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
Tax Tools | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
Invoicing Tools | ✓ | ✓ | ✓† | ✓ |
Mobile Check Deposit Support | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
*Providers are financial technology (fintech) platforms backed by and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured through a supporting bank partnership (Green Dot Bank for QuickBooks, Piermont Bank for Found, and Choice Financial Group for Lili).
†Lili’s invoicing tools are exclusive to Lili Pro.
Bottom Line
QuickBooks Checking is a great banking solution for existing users of QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Payments, or other QuickBooks software. Its seamless integrations reduce the work involved in balancing bookkeeping with banking and payment processing. Useful tools, such as cash flow forecasting and savings envelopes, help businesses stay on top of cash management. However, businesses wanting support for wire transfers, flexible ATM withdrawal limits, and additional banking services will have to look elsewhere.
