April 19, 2022
As a busy business owner, using a good-quality accounting system for your business is a must. QuickBooks Online is an accounting software developed by Intuit that is used by the majority of small businesses in the United States. Not only for its user-friendly platform, but also for its numerous practical features that will help you run your business as efficiently as possible.
You will find that QuickBooks Online has five subscription plans that are tailored to meet the needs of specific businesses. Here’s a quick look at those different plans.
Different QuickBooks Online Versions
- Self-Employed
- Simple Start
- Essentials
- Plus
- Advanced
While QuickBooks Online Plus works well for large businesses that need to track inventory and billable hours, the Simple Start plan may be a better fit if you are a solo business owner who is just starting out and is cautious about budget, doesn’t need more than a single user and just wants the basic bookkeeping needs.
Need help deciding which QuickBooks online plan is best for your bookkeeping and accounting needs? Let’s take a deeper look.
Self-Employed
The Self-Employed plan is the most basic and would be used by solo entrepreneurs or freelancers who are just starting out. It includes features for tracking income and expenses, organizing receipts, and estimating quarterly taxes.
You can also run basic reports. However, the Self-Employed plan lacks many of the features found in the other plans and might not be the best fit if you need your books managed by a bookkeeper or accountant.
Simple Start
Simple Start is an affordable plan intended for a single user. It is a great way for small business owners to simplify their accounting and bookkeeping tasks.
Along with the features included in the Self-Employed plan, you can track sales and sales tax, create invoices, and accept payments. You can also manage 1099 contractors and send estimates to clients.
Choosing the Simple Start plan, or a higher tier plan, also gives you cash flow management features.
The “Cash Flow Center” section allows you to estimate finances and see your business balances from a single dashboard. You can also forecast your cash flow up to 90 days ahead.
Essentials
Upgrading to the Essentials plan allows you to add access to two more users and two accountants. It includes everything included in the early plans, along with the option to track billable hours and manage vendors’ bills payments, which may be useful for businesses that offer hourly services.
You can also schedule and make bill payments directly from your QuickBooks account. Scheduled payments are free when using bank transfers or debit cards. A 2.9% fee is charged when paying via credit card.
Plus
QuickBooks Online Plus is the most popular option and gives you the most for your money. It costs just a little more than the Essentials plan, however, you gain more features than other less expensive plans, such as the ability to track inventory and project profitability, and add a total of five users.
Inventory tracking features allow you to track products and receive notifications when inventory is low. You can also track the cost of goods to better analyze profitability.
Project profitability tracking makes it easier to look at labor costs and expenses to evaluate whether a project is generating a profit.
Advanced
Large businesses with thousands of customers or multiple locations may benefit from the Advanced plan. The Advanced plan allows you to generate batch invoices to help save time.
Choosing the Advanced plan also allows you to create more than five users. Creating more users allows you to set up accounts for department managers and other decision-makers.
The Advanced plan includes several features that can help you make better business decisions, including:
- Business analytics and insights
- Inventory tracking
- Project profitability tracking
- App integrations
- Access to a dedicated account team
The Advanced Plan also includes features for managing employee expenses. Employees can submit expenses directly to the software and you can review and track all expenses from one place.
Conclusion
QuickBooks Online offers five different plans to better serve businesses of all sizes. Starting with the “Simple Start” plan is a good choice to start with if you are not sure which option is right for you.
Familiarize yourself with the dashboard, reports, and features. After you try the software, you can see if one of the more expensive plans has extra features that could make your bookkeeping easier.
If you are looking to purchase one of the QuickBooks Online Plans, consult with us before you do. You can save up to 50% on a wholesale billing account by purchasing a subscription through us.
Just note that the promo discount offered by the QuickBooks website lasts only 3 months, after which the cost goes back to full price. However, with our wholesale billing discount, your subscription cost is on-going and won’t change to full price as long as you are with us.
If you need help with your bookkeeping and accounting, don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation with us!
Even though we are based in Albany, NY, we offer our expertise in business accounting, bookkeeping, and tax preparation all across the United States.
