What Is Quickbooks Online? Examining Quickbooks Online Reviews
If you’re looking for QuickBooks Online reviews, you’ve come to the right place. Here at AdvisoryHQ, we’ve spent hours sifting through each QuickBooks Online review, saving you valuable time and effort.
There are countless software programs out there, and sometimes it can be confusing to figure out what’s available, what type of software you need, and specifically, which vendor is best for you.
When it comes to finding effective, reliable, and efficient accounting software, many consumers are turning to buy QuickBooks Online to take advantage of the unique QuickBooks Online features.
In this article, we will go over the following:
- What is QuickBooks, and what is it used for?
- QuickBooks Desktop vs. QuickBooks Online
- Professional QuickBooks reviews
- Consumer QuickBooks Online reviews
If you’re on the fence about investing in an accounting software, looking at QuickBooks Online reviews is a great place to start.
Our QuickBooks Online review will provide a thorough, comprehensive overview of QuickBooks Online features, giving consumers the guidance they need to choose the best accounting software.
What Is QuickBooks?
You may be asking yourself, “What is QuickBooks?” QuickBooks is a powerful set of software programs designed and supported by Intuit, a leading accounting and tax software company.
It is perhaps the ultimate small business software and has been a leader in the accounting software industry for decades.
After asking “What is QuickBooks?” you may find yourself asking, “What is QuickBooks used for?” Simply stated, it’s used for managing small businesses.
Our QuickBooks review has found that many business owners agree with the professionals: QuickBooks is one of the world’s premier small business software programs.
With QuickBooks Online features, you can gain access to powerful accounting software, inventory software, accounting and tax software, and various other powerful programs. Now, let’s dig into the details.
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QuickBooks Online Review
As we begin our in-depth QuickBooks Online review, there are a few key facts about QuickBooks online features that should be stated.
QuickBooks Online features include:
- Powerful software for managing taxes
- Helpful for managing invoices and bills
- Great salary management software
With these features in mind, the next portion of our QuickBooks Online review will cover how these QuickBooks Online features are commonly used.
What Is QuickBooks Online Used For?
Running a business can be extremely challenging, particularly when it comes to managing finances. This is where QuickBooks Online features come in handy.
The fact is, many small businesses can’t afford to hire accountants and inventory specialists and other staff members.
With the many QuickBooks Online features available, however, you may not even need to add extra staff. Instead, you can rely on software.
Software as a Service
In short, QuickBooks Online is a SaaS platform that provides businesses with access to a large number of important tools for managing small businesses and other organizations.
Software as a Service, or SaaS, means that you access the software through the web. This ensures that your service provider will provide the most secure and up-to-date version by running it on their servers.
Either way, whether you are looking to streamline accounting, better handle your inventory and supply or track invoices, QuickBooks Online features can help.
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QuickBooks Online Features vs. Desktop Features
QuickBooks Online is slightly different from the traditional desktop variant of QuickBooks. While this is a QuickBooks Online review, it is also very relevant to the desktop variant.
In general, our QuickBooks Online review has found that the online edition is actually more powerful but perhaps harder to use and more buggy than its desktop counterpart.
Simply put, there are many more exclusive QuickBooks Online features, but the software needs some continued development.
What Is QuickBooks Online?
So, what is QuickBooks Online, and how is it different from the desktop version? The most tangible differences come from the QuickBooks Online features.
QuickBooks Online Features
The online version allows you to use your smartphone to access the software and provides access to hundreds of apps that make it easier for you to manage your small business.
These QuickBooks Online features add a lot of value.
There are many other QuickBooks Online features that are not found with the desktop version. These include:
- Capture receipts on your phone
- Automatic transaction download & categorization
- Full mobile access
- Share books with your accountant
- Easily access software with PC & Mac
With the online features, you can also schedule and automatically send invoices, grant access to up to five users, and easily share data with outside parties.
QuickBooks Online Pricing
Our QuickBooks review did find that there were some disadvantages to the online version, however. The biggest disadvantage, according to many QuickBooks reviews, is the price point.
Not including special discounts, QuickBooks Online pricing ranges between $15 and $40 per month. As of this QuickBooks Online review, discounted prices range between $10 and $28 per month.
In contrast, the desktop version of QuickBooks Pro is available through a discounted one-time payment of $219.95, and can be used for years.
Simply put, QuickBooks Online pricing is probably going to cost you more money over the long run. For some, the available options to buy QuickBooks Online may not be cost-efficient.
While QuickBooks for desktop lacks many QuickBooks Online features, it is still a highly regarded and powerful software program.
QuickBooks Online Trial
Each version provides a 30-day QuickBooks Online trial free of charge, though it is important to note that this excludes the discounted price.
While the QuickBooks Online trial provides a risk-free way to try the software, converting to a paid version bars users from taking advantage of the discounted QuickBooks online pricing, decreasing its cost-effective value.
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Expert QuickBooks Online Reviews
First, we need to emphasize that our QuickBooks Online review covers QuickBooks Essentials, QuickBooks Plus, and the starter version of QuickBooks.
Generally, the higher the edition of QuickBooks Online that you order, the more positive the QuickBooks reviews are.
Expert QuickBooks Online Reviews Key Points
Before diving into QuickBooks Online reviews from financial software experts, our QuickBooks Online review would like to highlight a few common elements throughout these QuickBooks Online reviews:
- Powerful, easy-to-use software
- Intuitive interface
- Lots of features
- Expensive
PC Mag’s QuickBooks Online Review
QuickBooks Plus secured a very solid 4.5 stars (out of 5) from PC Mag.
PC Mag rarely hands out 4 star reviews, let alone 4.5 stars, so if they are giving Intuit such a high QuickBooks Online review, the software must be doing something right.
PC Mag called QuickBooks a powerful, easy-to-use, and attractive software program. Of special note were the QuickBooks Online features, including customizable templates and comprehensive payroll support.
In total, PC Mag deemed the software an “editor’s choice” in its QuickBooks Online review. The only complaints PC Mag made while reviewing QuickBooks was the lack of support for multiple currencies (surely a pain for international companies) and the high price tag.
In this case, however, you get what you pay for, and by paying more, you get access to tons of QuickBooks Online features.
Merchant Mavericks QuickBooks Online Review
Merchant Mavericks, a website set up specifically with small- and medium-sized businesses in mind, also had high praise in its QuickBooks Online review.
Among other things, it lauded the many powerful QuickBooks Online features, as well as the relatively easy-to-use interface.
Merchant Mavericks also noted that the software features powerful and accurate accounting software. This is an essential QuickBooks Online feature.
Let’s face it: most small businesses simply lack the funds needed to hire a full-time accountant. Accounting is one of the primary things QuickBooks is used for.
It should come as no surprise then that Merchant Mavericks also noted how much time the software saves.
For small companies strapped for cash and unable to hire extra help, the many powerful QuickBooks Online features you’ll be granted access to can be a real lifesaver.
Consumer QuickBooks Online Reviews
Before diving into QuickBooks Online reviews from users, our QuickBooks Online review would like to highlight a few common elements found throughout these QuickBooks Online reviews:
- Intuitive interface, but dig deeper and it gets complicated
- Expensive software; some question the value
- Many claim that QuickBooks Desktop is better
- Poor customer service and staff not knowledgeable
QuickBooks Online reviews from users were more negative on many websites than any pro reviews. While many consumers agreed with the professional QuickBooks Online reviews found above, they also made complaints not seen by the pros.
For example, many users lauded the interface, which is also well regarded by the pros. Yet, they complained that there were a lot of bugs found in Intuit’s software.
Another common complaint we found in QuickBooks Online reviews from users is that actually digging into data, as well as transactions, can be difficult.
Yes, the basic interface is easy to use, but if you try to delve deeper, things can get complicated real quick. Given that small business owners will often have to comb through the details, this is concerning.
Perhaps the biggest concern we found was the claim that the software does not accurately compute some data, such as taxes to be paid.
One user claimed that QuickBooks Online did not accurately account for taxable benefits, and was reporting wrong numbers. It’s entirely possible that this was a user error, but it is something that people should be aware of.
Other reviewers claimed in their QuickBooks Online reviews that the software had crashed at random points and failed to work.
Downtime is obviously a concern, though as SaaS software, Intuit will continue to update and improve the software.
Customers have complained, however, that Intuit’s customer service is subpar, making it difficult to troubleshoot issues. For expensive software, bad customer service is unacceptable.
Many of the negative QuickBooks Online reviews we found claims that the QuickBooks Desktop program is better.
While there are many QuickBooks Online features not found in the desktop variant, it appears that the desktop version may be more reliable and more likely to deliver where it counts, at least for some users.
This could also be because the users themselves were more familiar with QuickBooks Desktop, and hence were better able to utilize it.
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Conclusion: QuickBooks Online Review
In the end, our QuickBooks Online review has found that the software is powerful and feature-rich.
However, as the software is newer than the desktop version, there may be some bugs, and some features may need consistent updating.
Still, many professionals have lauded the software, suggesting that if users know how to tap into the full power of QuickBooks Online features, it can be an effective software program.
Regardless, before signing up for a lengthy subscription, you may be better off trying it for a month. This way, you can form your own QuickBooks Online review.
If you already have QuickBooks Desktop, this is especially important. You may find that the desktop version of QuickBooks better suits your needs, especially when you consider the much lower lifetime price tag.
At the very least, before signing up, you should read through some consumer QuickBooks Online reviews to see if any of the complaints will apply to you.
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