QuickBooks Online: Learn the Features, Benefits, Pricing Plans, Alternatives, Comparison, and More 2026

QuickBooks Online has become one of the most preferred accounting software options, surpassing QuickBooks Pro, which Intuit has now discontinued. If you are a QuickBooks Pro or Premier user, you will need to use the QuickBooks Online version, a cloud-based accounting software tool by Intuit. As a small business owner or financial expert, you are often in the market for accounting solutions to help with your business. You need accounting software designed for firms like yours that lets you monitor your income and expenses and track your business's financial health.

Did you know? You can also get QuickBooks hosting, which offers remote access anywhere, anytime. In this detailed guide post, we look at one of the market's favorites, QuickBooks Online, its features, benefits, and a lot more. Let's begin right away!

What is QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software that can help you monitor your income and expenses and even track your company's financial health. You can use this software to create invoices, generate reports, pay bills, and even prepare your taxes. Developed by Intuit, QuickBooks Online offers many web-based features, including remote payroll assistance, online banking, electronic payment options, and enhanced mail functionality.

QuickBooks Online boasts of an easy-to-understand operating system fit for everyone, from freelancers to business owners. So, even if you are a business owner without an accounting or financial background, you will find it easy to use this accounting solution. QuickBooks Online offers flexible access to your financial data with ready-to-use templates and a user-friendly interface.

Note: Intuit has discontinued issuing QuickBooks Pro & Premier licenses, and new users will need to use QuickBooks Online for seamless, anywhere, anytime access. However, old QuickBooks Pro user can still renew their existing QB Pro & Premier license. However, if you need QuickBooks Pro hosting and QuickBooks Premier Hosting in the cloud, you can get help from hosting providers like Sagenext.

How Does QuickBooks Online Work?

QuickBooks Online runs on either a monthly or annual plan, and upon signing up, you gain access to the features that are suitable for the kind of business you run. QuickBooks Online is ideal for freelancers or small and medium-sized business owners. It integrates with other software apps and packages from its parent company, Intuit, as well as from different providers. These software applications include TurboTax for preparing personal income tax returns and ProConnect, which is tax software for accounting experts. Other apps handle inventory and document management, scheduling, payment processing, and charitable donations.

With these integrated tools, you can manage and automate several business processes. QuickBooks Online offers a 30-day free trial that lets you assess the software and decide whether it's right for your business before paying. The selling point of this accounting software is that it automates various aspects of your business, including calculating sales tax, tracking your products, and updating transactions in their respective registers.

QuickBooks Online Pricing Plan with Versions

QuickBooks Online has five versions: Simple Start, Self-Employed, Plus, Essential, and Advanced.

Which QuickBooks Online is Right for You?

Choosing an ideal plan depends on the kind of features your business requires and the number of users you want to add. Before choosing which plan to go for, analyze your business budget and needs, answering the following questions:

• Which features are necessary to run your business?
• How many users do you need to add?
• How much can you afford to spend every month?

Below is a breakdown to point you in the right direction:

Simple Start Plan

This plan is ideal for small-scale businesses and individuals with basic accounting needs. For example, a contractor or consultant who needs to track expenses as they occur, track mileage, create invoices, run simple reports, and receive payments. The Simple Start plan tracks all the information you need to prepare your income tax returns or file sales tax. It also runs reports to show your business performance throughout the year.

As a plan targeted at people with small accounting needs, it grants access to only one user. If you want to track basic income, assets, and liabilities, this plan is a good fit.

Essentials Plan

The Essentials plan QuickBooks Online offers provides advanced invoicing options. If your business assigns billable hours to clients, tracks your due bills, buys goods on credit, and records the expense for payment on a later date, you will like this plan. The plan grants allow you to track income and expenses, manage accounts receivable, and stay on top of your payables, such as money you owe suppliers. You can create recurring payments, record payments, and even pay different vendors at the same time.

It is perfect for staying on top of your tax situation because it sorts your business expenses into the right categories, making it easy. This plan grants access to three users, so you can connect your accountant and staff if you want.

Plus Plan

Do you run a business that requires you to track inventory? Are you a wholesaler, retailer, or contractor? Then, the QuickBooks Online Plus plan is the right fit for you. With the Plus plan, you can sort transactions and categorize your income and expenditure for easy organization. It also allows you to plan by creating budgets and generating reports, helping you make informed business decisions. The QuickBooks Online Plus plan is ideal for businesses that offer both products and services. It combines everything in the Simple Start and Essentials plan and more.

You get the functionality of basic reports and the ability to track inventory, run specific budgeting, and categorize reports. It enables you to view and manage all aspects of your business from one place and supports up to 5 users.

Advanced Plan

The QuickBooks Online Advanced Plan is an ideal plan for a growing business with a complex workflow. So, if your business involves repetitive tasks, you can automate these processes with the Advanced Plan, delegate tasks to more users, and create custom user roles. This way, the added users only know what they need to and what you want them to see.

The Advanced Plan protects all your data and runs automatic backups that restore previous versions whenever you need them. It also provides additional security measures, such as multi-factor authentication, to protect your account. The plan integrates with the best apps to get all the solutions you need on one platform. Some of these premium apps that can help you track data in QuickBooks Online include DocuSign, HubSpot, and Salesforce.

Another unique characteristic of the Advanced Plan is that it helps you work smarter. It has a faster invoicing system that allows you to import or send batch invoices, expenses, checks, and more. You can monitor all your revenue streams from a single dashboard, keeping a pulse on your top money makers. You can also determine what drives cash flow to your business by monitoring and comparing cash flow trends in QuickBooks Online Advanced. It reduces the risk of error through its automated, custom workflows.

What are the Benefits of QuickBooks Online?

Accounting is full of challenges, whether you run a startup or an established business. From invoicing to filing taxes and processing payroll, figuring everything out without accounting software is difficult. Well, this is where QuickBooks Online comes in.

1. Affordable Prices

Many businesses are on a tight budget, especially in the first few months or years of running operations. So, these business owners need to choose an accounting system with affordable monthly and annual fees.

Among the available options in the market, QuickBooks Online pricing is among the least expensive. The good thing is that you can start small with the Simple Start Plan. As your business grows and you need to add more users, you can upgrade to a higher plan while keeping all your data intact. Unlike some other accounting software, QuickBooks does not put you in a chokehold with an airtight contract or commitment. You don't need to make a lump-sum upfront payment, as you can cancel or switch your subscription at any time.

2. A Wide Range of Features

Apart from offering affordable subscription plans, QuickBooks also gives startups good value for their money. Its bookkeeping features include the basics most small businesses need, including monthly financial statements such as balance sheets, cash flow statements, and profit-and-loss statements. Other features include essential reporting and income and expense tracking.

If your business has advanced financial needs, you may add features such as inventory tracking, invoicing, bill pay, and sales reporting. But to get these extra features, you must upgrade from a basic plan to a professional plan.

3. Integration with Other Finance Tools

As a small business owner, you may use different financial tools to manage various parts of your accounting processes. These often include payroll software, invoice and bill pay tools, credit card and bank accounts, etc. This is where QuickBooks Online comes in to save your business. QuickBooks Online integrates with over 650 finance tools, including PayPal, Gusto, Justworks, Expensify, and Bill.com. It also automatically synchronizes your data, making everything easier.

4. Easy-to-use Operating System

What draws many users to QuickBooks Online is its excellent user experience, while the quality service keeps them locked in. This accounting software is one of the easiest platforms to use and has better functionality than regular spreadsheets. Other accounting systems may need several months to set up before you can use them. It may also cost tens of thousands of dollars for an expert to migrate your data. But with QuickBooks Online, you can start using the software on day 1, and the whole data migration process takes a few days, depending on how old the business is.

The user interface on QuickBooks Online is friendly. Even if you have limited financial experience, you can find the information you need to carry out your basic bookkeeping needs. There are various sample account charts and templates to get you started. On the platform, you also get access to video tutorials, online lessons, and a virtual orientation that teaches you how to use the platform. For any other questions or technical support, feel free to contact QuickBooks Online Customer Service or the QuickBooks Online support team.

5. QuickBooks Online is the Popular Choice

Another benefit of working with QuickBooks Online is that experts swear by it. Accountants, bookkeepers, and even top finance firms swear by this accounting solution. Before choosing a bookkeeper or financial expert to join your team, confirm they know how to use your preferred accounting software. Or if they have any experience at all.

Suppose your chosen accounting software is new to the market or uncommon. In that case, you may find it challenging to hire a professional with the right expertise to manage your accounting software and still provide the guidance and expert advice your business needs. This brings us back to the benefit of QuickBooks Online as a popular accounting solution. QuickBooks is well-established and popular among accounting experts and professionals. Many even have QuickBooks certification, which shows how serious it is.

6. QuickBooks Online Stores Data on the Cloud

Let's say you have your accounting software installed on a specific computer. Suppose there is a fire, or the computer gets stolen, or goes missing. What happens to your business information? You face significant risks with your data in a single place, and you may never get it back. This can throw a well-set-up business into chaos and may even force it to close down. QuickBooks Online understands the risk of storing vital business information on a local computer.

It also came up with a solution: providing online access to business records so you can access your data from any location in the world with a single click. This is perfect for businesses with remote teams and staff working abroad, or for companies that require travel. Thanks to this feature, your accountants don't need to be in the same city or location as you. You need to give them login details and a password to access company files.

Since this is possible, you have the privilege to choose any accounting firm you want, wherever they are, instead of limiting yourself to the firms around you. These days, cloud storage is the most secure way to store your accounting records. Even if your computer malfunctions or is damaged, your important data is stored in a remote location and is not affected by physical damage.

You may not understand the benefit of this feature right now, but come tax season, it will make sense. Your CPA gets free access to your invoices, books, receipts, and other important documents, regardless of their location. Talk about seamless accounting. QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software, and its parent company updates it centrally. So, unlike with other accounting systems that may require you to update or reinstall the program, you don't need to worry about whether you have the updated version or not. QuickBooks Online takes the burden off your shoulders.

With regular software upgrades, you have to stop everything to back up a program and its data. This does not guarantee anything, since you still have to hope the upgrade installs correctly. Otherwise, you will have to start all over or spend hours calling the help center trying to resolve the issue. But with QuickBooks Online, you don't have to lift a finger because the program handles all updates in-house.

7. Data Sharing

If you share your business accounting tasks with other users, you will appreciate QuickBooks Online. Since it is a cloud-based program, you only need a username and a password. So, your accountant or any member of your company can log in to QuickBooks Online and use the accounting software; they don't need to be on your computer. QuickBooks Online also offers upgraded packages that let you add additional users.

So, you can have different people using the platform at once. If you worry about someone getting your password and ruining your data, subscribe to an upgraded package so you can customize what each user sees. This way, your information is safe, and no one can use your login information to cause any harm. Even though you have different users on your plan, these users can run reports from anywhere.

Interconnectivity makes the accounting process simpler. If you request a report and your accountant or staff is in the middle of something, they can pull it up on a laptop or phone and send it to you.

8. Automated Processes

Does your business regularly send invoices and statements? Are you a busy business owner with many responsibilities on your hands? This is where QuickBooks Online comes in to help you send out your invoices. You no longer have to do things the old-fashioned way, printing invoices, attaching other documents, and then mailing them.

All that you need is the email address of the company or person you want to send invoices or financial statements to. QuickBooks Online will take it up from there. If you need to send supporting documentation, just scan it and let the software handle it. Still, QuickBooks allows certain transactions to be loaded automatically. Transactions, such as payments and purchases, that go into or out of your bank account are automatically recorded in the system. You only have to provide the details and specific codes.

This is only a little more stressful than uploading each transaction separately and coding them correctly. QuickBooks Online saves you time and money. It makes it easier to receive electronic payments, such as bank transfers and debit or credit card payments. You don't need to go to the bank, process checks, and enter the transactions into QuickBooks by hand. When clients receive an invoice, they can pay by clicking a link. Upon payment, the software notes the transaction, saving you from the stress.

9. Compatible with Mobile Devices

Suppose you are on a trip to a different part of the world from where your business is, and you need to update some financial records. In that case, you can use the QuickBooks apps on your iPhone or iPad with your online user license; the apps link to the cloud service provided by the software. So, any changes you make on your phone or iPad will be reflected everywhere. This makes the program flexible and very versatile. It may be a bad idea to work while on vacation, but it is comforting to know that the option is available and that your business cannot get stranded even when you are away.

10. QuickBooks Online Help

An underrated benefit of QuickBooks Online is its fast online support. If you encounter a problem and need help, contact the QuickBooks Online help desk, provided you have a paid user license. QuickBooks has professionals on the ground to answer questions you may have about setup, adding another user, resolving a fix, upgrading your program, or general issues. This service incurs no extra charges, and it is reassuring to know that you have somewhere to go if you run into problems with the program.

Differences between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Online

Intuit made this for small businesses that require online access. This web-based application is easy to use and accessible from any device or location. Its features vary from plan to plan, so you need to investigate each plan to ensure that it has the features you need. Some of its basic features include automatic bank reconciliation, which allows you to reconcile your bank balance with your general ledger. It also has a budget feature that lets you create budgets for monthly, quarterly, or annual periods.

The QuickBooks Online version includes a sales feature that lets you track your customers, create invoices, and make payments. With this software, you can send reminders to customers about overdue payments and attach a payment link to the invoice, making it easy for them to pay online. You can also monitor all your business expenses on one screen and choose whether to pay them electronically. It also sorts your bill status to show which bills need paying, by due date or vendor.

QuickBooks Desktop

The desktop version of QuickBooks accounting software is suitable for small- to medium-sized businesses that need a reliable desktop solution. It is also ideal for niche businesses such as nonprofits, general contractors, and retailers seeking an industry-specific solution. While its features are not web-based, you can host them online for convenient access. Like the online version, this version is plan-driven, and you get the best features from the more expensive plans. It has a vendor center that lets you manage vendor activity, from entering vendor details to adding information for each vendor you work with. QuickBooks hosting providers ensure your sensitive data is securely hosted on the cloud.

With the bill tracker feature, you can view all current bills and their due dates, recent payments, and payment options like check, transfer, or credit card. From the customer center, you can manage all your customers, create invoices, record payments, and process customer statements, sales orders, and receipts. The inventory module provides you with inventory management.

Table of Comparison Between QB Online and QB Desktop

What's New in QuickBooks Online 2024/2025?

PandaDoc

The PandaDoc integration is one of the latest additions to the premium apps available on QuickBooks Online. This makes it easier to customize forms and saves you time through its automated document creation, e-signature, and tracking. PandaDoc also offers you a library of customizable, pre-canned templates that you can drag and drop to create forms.

It also offers enhanced document management capabilities, enabling you to track document status and collect e-signatures, making your workflow more efficient. Other features of the PandaDoc connector are:

• It helps you to manage your business documents in one place.
• Customize your templates or create and save new ones.
• Check document status on the PandaDoc platform or in QuickBooks Online.

However, this feature is only available for QuickBooks Online Advanced users.

Dataswitcher

QuickBooks announced a new migration partner. This addition facilitates data migration, allowing the secure transfer of your financial data from Sage 50 using Dataswitcher. Migration with this tool is free for you, but it is only available for a limited time. Some of the files you can migrate include the Chart of Accounts, opening balances, transaction histories, and journal entries up to 2 years old.

Moving data with Dataswitcher is easy. All you have to do is upload a copy of your Sage 50 file and allow Dataswitcher to migrate your data file into the QuickBooks Online system. Easy!

Speed: Most migrations take around 72 hours or less to complete. So, you can migrate your accounting software to QuickBooks without interruptions to your accounting workflow.

Price: You don't have to worry about money here, because migrating data into QuickBooks Online with Dataswitcher is free.

Audit Log Improvements

The latest improvement with QuickBooks Online is that the audit log data retention period has increased to seven (7) years. The reason for this is to improve the audit log's performance and align it with modern data-retention audit standards. This will not affect the overall time data stays in the product; that remains unchanged.

QuickBooks Online Technical Customer Support Guide

To reach out to the QuickBooks Online Customer Service team, sign in to your account from a web browser and follow the following steps:

Step 1: Press the 'Help' Icon on the Top Right of your screen

Step 2: Navigate to 'Search' and click 'Contact Us.'

Step 3: Input Your Request and tap the 'Continue' Button

Step 4: Choose whether you want to chat or request a callback

If you have problems with the QuickBooks Online platform, you can get personalized answers from either the 'Assistant' or 'Search' tab. You have to type in a topic or question you need help with. Or search the QuickBooks Online knowledge base. If you don't see what you are looking for, you may click the 'Contact Us' button.

What Are The QuickBooks Online Alternatives?

QuickBooks Online may be one of the most popular accounting products among experts. Many factors work in its favor, such as industry dominance, scalability, and ease of use, making it a strong choice for many small business owners. Still, consider alternatives, depending on your budget and the specific features you need. Here are some of the best options in the market:

Xero Software

If you want easy-to-understand accounting software without accounting jargon, you'll like Xero. Its selling point lies in its simple accounting language, which helps you determine what to do with your transactions. This product shares some similarities with QuickBooks Online, including core accounting features such as bank reconciliation, bank feeds, inventory tracking, and reporting. With Xero, you can choose from three pricing ranges.

The Early Plan starts at $12 a month and is perfect for tiny businesses. If you choose this plan, keep in mind that you can enter only 20 invoices and five bills. But as your business grows and you outgrow this package, you can upgrade to the $34/month Growing plan. Businesses that handle multiple currencies, track projects, and claim expenses may use the Established Plan for $65 per month. Whichever plan you choose, Xero lets you add an unlimited number of users, unlike QuickBooks Online, which does not offer this level of support.

Sage Software

Sage is an accounting package that offers cloud and desktop products. The cloud-based version, Sage Accounting, offers two plans: a $10 monthly plan for self-employed people and micro-business owners. There is another plan for small businesses that costs $25 a month. Unlike the basic plan, this one offers unlimited collaborations, cash flow forecasts, and purchase invoice management, among other features.

With Sage, you still get extra services like POS integration, HR tools, sales and marketing, and other eCommerce features. Like QuickBooks, there are available options to help you scale your business, like a series of learning conferences where you can collaborate, learn, and grow.

FreshBooks Software

FreshBooks software started as invoicing software but has evolved into an accounting powerhouse for self-employed people. It lets you send invoices and receive payments from your clients, monitor your expenses, track sales tasks, and run reports.

There is a suite of external applications that allows you to customize solutions for your business. FreshBooks starts at $15 a month, but most companies work better with the $25 monthly plan. You can go for the $50 monthly package if you want a premium package. You don't have to worry whenever you get stuck in a rut, and there's no help coming from anywhere. FreshBooks has customer service associates who respond to user complaints within 90 minutes.

Wave Accounting

Wave is free accounting software that lets you connect your business bank account to automatically sync your bookkeeping information. Some of the app's built-in tools include expense tracking, unlimited collaborators, invoicing, and accounting reports. However, additional features, such as running payroll, receiving, and sending invoices, incur additional costs. Wave isn't advisable for large teams, but it's suitable for simple accounting needs.

Zoho Books

Zoho Books is part of the Zoho One Suite, which includes more than 40 business apps and HR tools, customer relationship management, and more. There is a free plan and a Standard plan that costs $20 per month. The Professional plan costs $50 a month, while the Premium plan costs $70. Regardless of the plan you subscribe to, you can integrate your bank accounts, enjoy invoicing and reporting tools, use other Zoho software, and integrate third-party apps like Stripe and Zapier.

Bonsai

This is an all-in-one product suite with built-in accounting features suitable for freelancers. With this service, you can track billable expenses when you create an expense, assign it to a project, and attach the costs to an invoice. You can import your expenses when you connect your bank account. Bonsai even generates analytics and expense reports so that you can monitor and understand your business expenditure over time. With Bonsai, you can set up recurring payments and choose a payment method, including Bitcoin, credit card, ACH transfer, or PayPal.

Other add-on tools you get with Bonsai are time tracking, a tax calculator, custom client contracts, proposals, and reporting functions. The Workflow plan costs $19 a month, and it offers project management, unlimited clients and projects, invoicing, time tracking, payments, proposals, and contracts. The more expensive plan is Workflow Plus, which costs $29 per month and includes workflow automation, client questionnaires, a client portal, priority support, and subcontracting. If you want to add extra users to collaborate on a project, it will cost you $9 per user per month.

FreeAgent

FreeAgent's target audience is small business owners, and it offers only one price point: $24 a month. It has everything you need for your accounting, including invoicing, sales tax calculation, expense tracking, and a real-time cash flow dashboard. Other perks of this service include unlimited users, automated bank feeds, and a mobile app for on-the-go use.

QuickBooks Online Limitations

While customers are impressed by QuickBooks Online's advantages, such as automated payroll, remote access, expense tracking, and third-party app integration, the service also has limitations. Some of these limitations are:

Add-on Features are Expensive to Maintain

There are many features available in the QuickBooks service, but maintaining them is expensive. One limitation for users enjoying the software is its pricing. For example, to add about 25 users, you need the most expensive plan, which costs 6 times as much as the standard plan. Without breaking the bank, there is no way to maintain your books to your satisfaction. Regarding the platform's add-ons, each comes at a price, which increases the service's overall cost.

The only way around this is to get the most expensive subscription plan, which allows you to customize features, add multiple users, customize reports, automate approvals, etc.

Users cannot Go Back to Previous Versions.

Another area where QuickBooks Online limits its users is in restoring a previous version of their records. You cannot access the last transaction data unless you have the highest plan. This is because the cloud storage saves and updates data without creating restoration points.

So, you cannot go back to modified or deleted transactions. To recreate any data, you must enter the information manually or pay for the Advanced subscription, which creates consistent backups. This can frustrate small business owners who may not have much capital to invest in accounting solutions. It also raises the question of limited features, creating problems for bookkeepers who want a backup plan without paying for an upgrade. The lack of a backup or restore function puts your data at risk of being hacked.

You don't have protection against mistakes, whether small ones like deleting a transaction or placing data in the wrong account, or big ones like importing various transactions into the wrong account or deleting an entire account.

QuickBooks Online does not support the CSV File Format.

The built-in import feature on QuickBooks Online supports CSV, but it recognizes only three fields. These are the Description, Date, and Amount. Suppose you want to import transactions with Categories, check numbers, memos, etc., the program will ignore the information. The only way to add this information is to then edit each transaction, one after the other, after importing the CSV files. What happens when you have years of accounting data and bookkeeping to import? It becomes almost impossible to complete.

Absence of Industry-Specific Features

Businesses across industries have different inventory management needs. Industry-specific features help business owners carry out tasks unique to their industry. The QuickBooks Online version does not have the range. Instead, the QuickBooks Desktop version offers more robust features, supporting industries such as Manufacturing, Wholesale, and Professional Services.

Concluding Lines

QuickBooks Online is one of the most popular accounting solutions from Intuit. While many startups and accounting experts know it by name, not all can realize its full potential. In this guide, we looked at the good, the bad, and the ugly. Consider it a cheat code to understand QuickBooks Online, and the good news is that you get to keep it! In this blog, we have shared detailed information on the features, updated pricing plans, alternatives to QuickBooks Online, limitations, and more. To explore more similar topics, check out Sagenext's blog page for more.

FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is the QuickBooks Online Price?

QuickBooks Online price ranges from $38 to $275 per month, depending on the plan and version.

Can I use QuickBooks Online for free?

No, you cannot use QuickBooks Online for free. However, Intuit offers a 30-day free trial before you start a monthly subscription plan.

What's the difference between QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks (Desktop): It is installed on your computer. You can access it from the system unless you use cloud hosting.
QuickBooks Online: It is fully cloud-based. You can access it anytime, anywhere through a web browser.

What are people replacing QuickBooks with?

People are replacing QuickBooks with Zero Accounting, FreshBooks, Wave Accounting, and Zoho Books. However, there are other companies as well.