QuickBooks Live vs Merritt Bookkeeping 2023 Comparison

QuickBooks Live also provides a more personalized approach to bookkeeping services, whereas Merritt Bookkeeping is less expensive and offers 1099 tax filing in addition to its basic bookkeeping support. While both use QuickBooks Online for your bookkeeping, a major difference is that with QuickBooks Live, you can still access your QuickBooks file if you need to invoice or pay bills. With Merritt Bookkeeping, you can’t access your QuickBooks file.

QuickBooks Live vs Merritt Bookkeeping at a Glance

Who It’s Best For	Those wanting to use their QuickBooks account to issue invoices and track bills	Freelancers, 1099 employees, and independent contractors wanting to only track income and expenses
Monthly Pricing Plans	Starts at $200 per month plus a minimum of $30 per month for QuickBooks Online subscription	Flat rate of $190 per month
Our Overall Rubric Score	3.43 out of 5 points	2.65 out of 5 points
Accounts Receivable (A/R) & Accounts Payable (A/P) Tracking	N/A	N/A
Invoice Customers	N/A	N/A
Pay Bills	N/A	N/A
Account Reconciliation	✓	✓
Account Cleanup	✓	N/A
Account Catch-up	✓	✓
	Visit QuickBooks Live	Visit Merritt Bookkeeping

Who Should Use Each

Do you want to learn more about the leading accounting platforms for your operation? Check out our roundup of the best small business accounting software.

Who Should Use an Alternative

• Xero users: Since both QuickBooks Live and Merritt Bookkeeping strictly work with QuickBooks Online users, Xero users can opt for Bookkeeper360. It provides services to both Xero and QuickBooks users and offers bookkeeping, accounting, and advisory services.
• FreshBooks users: Bench has partnered with FreshBooks to provide basic bookkeeping services. Users can opt for additional services, such as tax advisory and filing and catch-up bookkeeping.
• Businesses wanting basic tax services with their bookkeeping: Xendoo not only offers basic bookkeeping services, but it also allows you to add tax preparation to any bookkeeping plan.

See our guide to the best online bookkeeping services for more about the types of assisted bookkeeping available for small businesses.

QuickBooks Live vs Merritt Bookkeeping: Pricing

There’s a distinct difference in the pricing between QuickBooks Live and Merritt Bookkeeping. While QuickBooks Live’s pricing is determined by a company’s monthly expenses, Merritt charges a flat monthly rate—which is the cheapest we have encountered for online bookkeeping services. Also, Merritt guarantees the quality of its services with its 90-day money-back guarantee. QuickBooks Live doesn’t offer the same, but it does have a 100% Accurate Books Guarantee, which allows you to request a free audit of your books at any time.

There are three subscription plans available for QuickBooks Live, and the prices for each are determined by your monthly expenses. There’s an initial cost of $500 for onboarding, and then the appropriate fee applies. QuickBooks Live also requires that you have a subscription to any version of QuickBooks Online, which starts at $30 per month for QuickBooks Simple Start.

Merritt charges a flat rate of $190 per month for bookkeeping services—and the price is the same regardless of business size, monthly expenses, accounts, transactions, or number of employees. It also provides catch-up bookkeeping services at a rate of $140 monthly for each month it works on. Months that require fewer than 10 transactions to be entered will be discounted to $70 monthly. Although a free trial is unavailable, its 90-day money-back guarantee allows you to test drive the software for three months with no additional risk.

QuickBooks Live vs Merritt Bookkeeping: Features

Both QuickBooks Live and Merritt Bookkeeping offer “lightweight” bookkeeping services that focus on tasks like categorizing transactions, reconciling your accounts, and sending you monthly financial reports. While QuickBooks Live matches you with a dedicated bookkeeper who you can meet with regularly, Merritt doesn’t provide a comparable option, instead leaving it up to you to reach out via phone with any questions.

QuickBooks Online is the software of choice for both QuickBooks Live and Merritt, but they approach the bookkeeping differently. QuickBooks Live provides assistance to QuickBooks users while Merritt does all the bookkeeping and doesn’t allow the business owner direct access to the QuickBooks Online account. Merritt’s approach is simple, but it’s problematic if you want to use QuickBooks for paying your bills or sending customer invoices.

QuickBooks Live vs Merritt Bookkeeping: Ease of Use

Your QuickBooks Live bookkeeper will connect with you via one-way video chat, and they’ll assist you with connecting your bank and credit card accounts. You’ll then receive access to the QuickBooks Live Hub, your own secure space on the site.

You’ll receive monthly financial statements that you can review with your bookkeeper, and you can monitor your bookkeeper’s progress with a task list that is updated in real-time as items are completed. You can also view related documents and access your bookkeeper’s schedule so that you can make an appointment for a video chat.

QuickBooks Live Hub
(Source: QuickBooks)

Upon enrollment with Merritt Bookkeeping, your finances will be managed with QuickBooks Online, but you won’t have personal access to your QuickBooks files. After set-up, contact will be limited. You’ll receive a link to your Dashboard each month, where you can access financial reports and transaction details. If you spot any inaccuracies, you must indicate that on the review checklist, a sample of which is shown below.

Example of Merritt’s review checklist
(Source: Merritt Bookkeeping)

QuickBooks Live vs Merritt Bookkeeping: Integrations

QuickBooks Live offers three built-in integrations and more than 450 third-party integrations, while Merritt Bookkeeping doesn’t offer any integrations.

• QuickBooks Live integrations: QuickBooks Payroll, Bill Pay for QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Time, QuickBooks Payments, Shopify, Fathom, Method:CRM, Insightly, Hubdoc, AutoEntry, TradeGecko, and more

QuickBooks Live vs Merritt Bookkeeping: Mobile App

Neither QuickBooks Live nor Merritt Bookkeeping provide a mobile app to communicate with your bookkeeper and upload information. However, with QuickBooks Live, you’ll have access to the QuickBooks Online app to view and manage your books.

QuickBooks Live vs Merritt Bookkeeping: Customer Support

You can set up video meetings with your QuickBooks Live bookkeeper on an as-needed basis—as long as they’re scheduled one at a time. During these meetings, you can screen-share documents, allowing you to clarify information more easily. You can also reach out to product support via live chat to answer any software-related questions. QuickBooks Live offers email and phone support, online help resources, community support, and a searchable knowledge base.

Meanwhile, Merritt Bookkeeping has a different approach to its online bookkeeping services—although it’s run by a small team in San Diego, it outsources the actual bookkeeping to several overseas contractors. The San Diego team serves as the point of contact, available to answer questions and provide quality control. If you have any questions, you can contact Merritt by email or phone during regular business hours. Unlike QuickBooks Live, Merritt doesn’t offer video meetings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What does a QuickBooks Live bookkeeper do?

Your QuickBooks Live bookkeeper will help you connect your bank and credit card accounts and set up your chart of accounts if needed. They’ll also categorize your transactions, reconcile your accounts, and send financial statements on a monthly basis. You can meet with your dedicated bookkeeper via one-way video chat to review reports and ask questions.

How much does Merritt Bookkeeping cost?

Merritt Bookkeeping charges a flat rate of $190 per month for basic bookkeeping services.

Can you file 1099s with Merritt Bookkeeping?

Yes, Merritt Bookkeeping allows you to file 1099s.

Do QuickBooks Live bookkeepers provide Tax services?

No, QuickBooks Live bookkeepers don’t provide tax services.

Bottom Line

If you’re on a budget and looking for basic bookkeeping services at a flat monthly rate, then Merritt Bookkeeping could be a good option for you. However, if you prefer an online bookkeeping service that will work one-on-one with you to learn the needs of your business and ensure that you understand your financial data, then QuickBooks Live is the best choice. Your bookkeeping needs, such as whether you want to be able to invoice your customers or pay bills within QuickBooks Online, are also important factors to determine when evaluating your options.