QuickBooks Online

What is QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based accounting software developed and marketed by Intuit. Its core purpose is to help small and medium-sized businesses manage their finances, including bookkeeping, invoicing, expense tracking, payroll, and tax preparation. As a web-based application, it allows users to access their financial data from any device with an internet connection, offering flexibility for business owners on the go. Intuit, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, is a major player in the financial software industry, also known for products like TurboTax and Mailchimp. QuickBooks Online is designed to simplify complex accounting tasks and provide clear insights into a company's financial health.

QuickBooks Online Features

QuickBooks Online offers a wide range of features to cover various aspects of business finance.

• Automated Bookkeeping: Automatically syncs with your bank and credit card accounts to import and categorize transactions. This saves time and reduces manual data entry errors.
• Invoicing and Payments: Create and send professional, customized invoices. You can track invoice status, send payment reminders, and accept online payments directly through the platform.
• Expense Tracking: Capture and organize receipts by taking photos with the mobile app. This helps you track deductible expenses for tax purposes.
• Bill Management: Enter and pay bills from suppliers. You can set up recurring payments and manage your accounts payable to maintain good vendor relationships.
• Financial Reporting: Generate a variety of financial reports, such as Profit & Loss statements, Balance Sheets, and Cash Flow statements. These reports provide valuable insights into your business performance.
• Inventory Management: Track inventory levels, costs, and receive notifications when it's time to reorder. This feature is available in the Plus and Advanced plans.
• Project Profitability: Track income, expenses, and labor costs for individual projects to understand which ones are most profitable. This is useful for service-based businesses.
• Mileage Tracking: Use the mobile app's GPS to automatically track business miles, making it easy to claim deductions at tax time.
• Tax Preparation: Organizes your financial data to simplify tax filing. You can invite your accountant to access your books directly.
• Multi-Currency Support: Manage transactions in different currencies, which is essential for businesses that operate internationally.

QuickBooks Online Pricing Plans

QuickBooks Online offers several pricing tiers to suit businesses of different sizes and needs.

• Simple Start: This plan is designed for freelancers, solopreneurs, and new businesses. It covers the basics, including income and expense tracking, invoicing, receipt capture, and basic reports.
• Essentials: Aimed at growing businesses, this plan includes all Simple Start features plus bill management, time tracking, and support for up to three users.
• Plus: This is the most popular plan, suitable for businesses that manage inventory or projects. It includes all Essentials features, plus project profitability tracking, inventory management, and support for up to five users.
• Advanced: This top-tier plan is for larger, more complex businesses. It offers all Plus features along with advanced reporting, business analytics, batch invoicing, dedicated support, and access for up to 25 users.

QuickBooks Online Free Plan

QuickBooks Online does not offer a permanent free plan. However, it provides a 30-day free trial for all of its paid plans. During the trial period, you get full access to all the features of the selected plan, allowing you to test the software thoroughly before committing to a subscription. After the trial ends, you will need to subscribe to a paid plan to continue using the service.

How to use QuickBooks Online

Getting started with QuickBooks Online is a straightforward process.

1. Sign Up: Choose a plan that fits your business needs and sign up for a free trial or a paid subscription.
2. Company Setup: Enter your business information, such as company name, address, and industry. This helps QuickBooks tailor the experience for you.
3. Connect Bank Accounts: Securely connect your business bank and credit card accounts. QuickBooks will automatically import your recent transactions.
4. Review Transactions: Go to the 'Transactions' tab to review and categorize the imported transactions. QuickBooks learns from your choices to automate this process over time.
5. Create and Send Invoices: Navigate to the 'Sales' section to create your first invoice. You can customize the template with your logo and send it to your clients directly from the platform.
6. Track Expenses: Use the 'Expenses' tab to record bills and payments. You can also use the mobile app to snap photos of receipts on the go.
7. Run Reports: Explore the 'Reports' section to view your financial statements. Regularly checking your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet reports helps you monitor your business's health.

Pros and Cons of QuickBooks Online

Pros:

• Comprehensive Features: Offers a complete set of tools for managing all aspects of business accounting.
• Cloud-Based Access: Access your financial data anytime, anywhere, from any device.
• Scalability: Multiple plans allow the software to grow with your business.
• Strong Integration Ecosystem: Connects with hundreds of third-party business applications.
• User-Friendly Interface: Generally easy to navigate, especially for those with some accounting knowledge.

Cons:

• Cost: Subscription fees can be high, especially for the more advanced plans.
• Learning Curve: New users without an accounting background may find some features complex.
• Limited Users on Lower Plans: The number of users is restricted on the Simple Start and Essentials plans.
• Customer Support: While support is available, wait times can sometimes be long.

QuickBooks Online integrations

QuickBooks Online integrates with a vast ecosystem of third-party applications, allowing you to connect your accounting software with other tools you use to run your business. This helps automate workflows and keep your data synchronized across platforms.

• Payment Gateways: Integrates with services like PayPal, Stripe, and Square to streamline payment processing and reconciliation.
• E-commerce Platforms: Connects with Shopify, BigCommerce, and Amazon to automatically import sales data and simplify e-commerce accounting.
• CRM Software: Integrations with CRM tools like Salesforce help you manage customer relationships and sales pipelines in sync with your financial data.
• Payroll Services: Works seamlessly with services like Gusto and its own QuickBooks Payroll to manage employee payments and tax filings.
• Expense Management: Connects with apps like Expensify and Dext to automate receipt and expense reporting.

QuickBooks Online Alternatives

• Xero: A strong competitor with a similar feature set. Xero is often praised for its clean user interface and unlimited users on all plans. It is a great choice for small to medium-sized businesses.
• FreshBooks: Excellent for freelancers and service-based businesses. FreshBooks excels at invoicing, time tracking, and project management, with a very intuitive interface.
• Wave: A free accounting software alternative. Wave is ideal for solopreneurs and very small businesses with basic needs, offering free invoicing, accounting, and receipt scanning.
• Zoho Books: Part of the larger Zoho suite of business applications. It offers strong accounting features at a competitive price and integrates seamlessly with other Zoho products like Zoho CRM and Zoho Inventory.
• Sage Accounting: A well-established accounting software provider offering cloud-based solutions. Sage is a good option for businesses that need robust inventory and job costing features.

QuickBooks Online API

Yes, QuickBooks Online provides a comprehensive set of APIs for developers. The Intuit Developer Platform allows third-party developers to build applications that integrate with QuickBooks Online, enabling them to read, write, and update data within a user's QuickBooks company file.

You can get your API keys for free by creating an account on the Intuit Developer portal. You will be given development keys for testing in a sandbox environment and production keys once your app is ready to go live.

Here is a basic example of how you might connect to the API using Python with the python-quickbooks library:

from quickbooks.client import QuickBooks

client = QuickBooks(
    auth_client=auth_client, # Your authorization client instance
    refresh_token='your_refresh_token',
    company_id='your_company_id'
)

from quickbooks.objects.customer import Customer
customers = Customer.all(qb=client)

for customer in customers:
    print(customer.DisplayName)

For full documentation and guides, you should visit the official Intuit Developer website.

QuickBooks Online Affiliate program

Intuit offers an affiliate program for QuickBooks Online, allowing partners to earn commissions by referring new customers. The program is managed through the Commission Junction (CJ) affiliate network.

• Commission: Affiliates can earn a commission for each new customer who signs up for a paid QuickBooks Online subscription through their unique referral link. The commission is typically a percentage of the sale or a flat fee.
• How to Join: To join, you need to apply to the Intuit Affiliate Program through the CJ Affiliate network. You will need to have a website or online presence relevant to small businesses, finance, or accounting. Once your application is approved, you will get access to marketing materials, tracking links, and a dashboard to monitor your performance.
• Getting Paid: Commissions are paid out through the CJ network on a regular schedule, usually monthly, once you meet the minimum payment threshold. Payments can be made via direct deposit or check.