QuickBooks Business Checking Review

If your business already uses QuickBooks for accounting, the QuickBooks Business Checking (formerly QuickBooks Cash) account may be the best for your banking needs. Compared to other checking accounts, it earns interest at a competitive rate of 1.00%. Its lack of minimum balance requirements and monthly fees makes the account affordable to open and maintain.

Additionally, it syncs banking data with the accounting software to reduce friction in bookkeeping. It even has additional cash management tools, such as business savings envelopes and custom cash forecasting, which help business owners stay on top of their financial health.

QuickBooks

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 and lending products

Features

• Integration with QuickBooks products
• QuickBooks debit card
• 1.00% annual percentage yield (APY)
• Limited fee-free withdrawals at more than 19,000 Allpoint ATMs
• QuickBooks Envelopes for savings buckets
• Cashflow forecasting

Visit QuickBooks Checking

How QuickBooks Business Checking Stacks Up With Its Competitors

	APY	Monthly Fee	ATM Fee	Minimum Opening Deposit
	1.00%	$0	$3 after limit at Allpoint ATMs**	$0
	Visit QuickBooks Checking*
	None	$0	None, but third-party fees may apply	$0
	Visit Square Checking*
	None	$0	Refunds all ATM fees	$50
	Visit Novo*

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	APY	Monthly Fee	ATM Fee	Minimum Opening Deposit
	1.00%	$0	$3 after limit at Allpoint ATMs**	$0
	Visit QuickBooks Checking*
	None	$0	None, but third-party fees may apply	$0
	Visit Square Checking*
	None	$0	Refunds all ATM fees	$50
	Visit Novo*

*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, Sutton Bank for Square, 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 1.00%.
• 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 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 cashflow forecasting. QuickBooks Envelopes lets businesses divide their balances into different expense categories, giving them a clearer picture of where to direct their cash flow while the cashflow forecasting tool uses banking data to predict future balances, helping businesses plan expense and savings decisions ahead of time.

When QuickBooks Business Checking Is Not a Good Fit

• You rely on wire transfers: QuickBooks doesn’t support incoming or outgoing wire transfers. A good alternative would be Relay, which charges some of the lowest wire transfer fees on the market. Under its basic account, incoming wire transfers are free while outgoing wire transfers cost $5 for domestic and $10 for international. With a Relay Pro Account, all wire transfers are free.
• You make regular ATM withdrawals: QuickBooks charges $3 per item after the limit of four per statement cycle, and businesses can only withdraw up to $2,000 per day and $10,000 per month. Meanwhile, 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 doesn’t offer overdraft protection and declines transactions that exceed an account’s current balance. We recommend Capital One for free overdraft protection to accounts that are linked with other small business deposit accounts.
• You need access to full-service banking: Currently, QuickBooks doesn’t offer savings products or loans. Chase is the best choice for businesses needing a full range of business banking products. Aside from checking, it has business savings, certificates of deposit, credit cards, loans, payment services, and business services.

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, applicants must first create a QuickBooks Online account. Applicants are also required to open a QuickBooks Payments account alongside their QuickBooks Business Checking account. The process for opening an account is

• 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. The integration helps businesses save on time and effort of updating accounting data manually.

Instant Deposit

Businesses using QuickBooks Payments to process customer payments may qualify for the QuickBooks Instant Deposit feature. Through it, account holders can send money from their QuickBooks Payments revenue into their bank accounts 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, it gives businesses access to more than 19,000 Allpoint ATMs. However, QuickBooks only allows four fee-free ATM withdrawals per month. Once a business exceeds the withdrawal limit, it’ll have to pay a fee of $3 per ATM transaction.

QuickBooks Envelopes

Through QuickBooks Envelopes, users can divide their checking balances into virtual savings buckets. By separating funds into dedicated expense categories, businesses can track how much money they have for different business goals easily.

Users 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 Cashflow Forecasting

Businesses can view their current or future balance and gain a clearer picture of where their financial health stands. QuickBooks uses banking data to make business balance projections during the next 30 to 90 days.

Other QuickBooks Products

QuickBooks offers a suite of business software, including solutions for accounting, payments, and payroll.

QuickBooks Accounting

To help businesses stay on top of their finances, QuickBooks automates tasks like bookkeeping, invoicing, value-added tax (VAT) management, budgeting, bank reconciliation, and inventory management. It’s 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. It allows businesses to 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 Payroll

Users wanting to streamline payroll processing can consider QuickBooks Payroll. Through it, businesses can run unlimited payroll, manage tax payments, offer employee benefits, and more automatically.

QuickBooks Business Checking Pros & Cons

QuickBooks stands out in the business banking market by offering multiple useful cash management tools. The QuickBooks Business Checking account’s natural integration with QuickBooks software removes the headache of entering transaction data into accounting software manually. The Envelopes feature lets businesses separate funds into different expense categories, which makes it easier to track progress for different savings goals. Finally, QuickBooks’ ability to forecast cash flow gives businesses a better idea of how to plan and save for future expenses.

The company offers these benefits while earning interest at a competitive rate of 1.00%. Because it has no monthly fees and minimum balance requirements, maintaining a QuickBooks Business Checking account is affordable and accessible for businesses of any size.

However, QuickBooks lacks many basic banking features. Businesses needing additional business savings products, lending products, and support for wire transfers will need to look elsewhere. Additionally, it isn’t a good choice for businesses making frequent ATM withdrawals. Although it’s part of the Allpoint ATM network, it only offers four fee-free ATM withdrawals monthly before charging a fee of $3.

Alternatives To QuickBooks Business Checking

Although QuickBooks is a great choice for businesses requiring additional cash management and accounting tools, it lacks a few key banking features. Here are three options to consider:

1. Chase: Best checking account for businesses needing a full range of business banking services, including savings products, loans, credit cards, and business services. Currently, QuickBooks only offers business checking.
2. Capital One: Best for unlimited everyday transactions. QuickBooks limits businesses to four ATM withdrawals per month, with limits on withdrawals of $2,000 per day and deposits of $5,000 per day.
3. Relay: Best for creating multiple checking accounts and debit cards under one account. Currently, QuickBooks only lets businesses make one checking account per account number.

Bottom Line

QuickBooks Business 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 tools like savings and loans will have to look elsewhere.