ApprovalMax vs. QuickBooks Desktop Premier

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ApprovalMax
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
ApprovalMax provides approval workflow automation for cloud accounting platforms such as Xero and QuickBooks Online. It replaces paper- and email-based approval processes with multi-step and multi-role automated approval workflows that enable automated notifications to approvers, automated audit trails, and mobile approvals. Approval workflows include: Invoice approvals / bill review and bill approval Purchase order approval, including the functionality to create…
$44
per month
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Desktop Premier is an installed version of QuickBooks for general business, contractors, manufacturing and warehouse accounting, as well as nonprofits, professional services, and retail.N/A
Pricing
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Editions & Modules
ApprovalMax Standard
$44
per month
ApprovalMax Advanced
$69
per month
ApprovalMax Premium
$99
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Payment Management
Comparison of Payment Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
8.0
1 Ratings
29% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
-
Ratings
Customizable Approval Policies9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Financial Document Management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Payment Status Tracking9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Payment Audit Trail9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Bill Detection4.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Accounts Payable
Comparison of Accounts Payable features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
8.5
1 Ratings
43% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
-
Ratings
Automated Accounts Payable Processes9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Vendor Management8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.9
47 Ratings
21% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings7.046 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings10.020 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.036 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings9.927 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings9.529 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
1.3
20 Ratings
136% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings1.315 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings1.320 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.4
49 Ratings
6% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings4.943 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.040 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
6.9
57 Ratings
7% below category average
Dashboards00 Ratings4.948 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings7.956 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings7.854 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.1
60 Ratings
1% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings7.058 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings7.059 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings8.054 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.057 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings6.156 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings5.028 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings5.139 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings9.018 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings7.033 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings1.819 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings10.028 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings8.017 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings7.06 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings7.014 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.16 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings9.93 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings4.37 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
2.9
36 Ratings
79% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings1.735 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings1.015 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings8.019 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings1.017 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.0
38 Ratings
1% below category average
Pricing00 Ratings10.030 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings10.031 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings7.027 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings6.334 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
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ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
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User Ratings
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(1 ratings)
3.0
(63 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
1.3
(12 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(14 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(5 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
5.7
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
1.1
(12 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.2
(7 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
6.2
(4 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Likelihood to Recommend
ApprovalMax
As mentioned previously - able to send invoice based on amount , program code and division code ,supplier is very useful feature ; If an invoice does not fit into approval process than it is rejected and an email is received mentioning the reason
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Intuit
QuickBooks Premier is not well suited to manufacturing industries, as it cannot handle the complicated inventory requirements of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods. Retailers and Wholesalers can use QuickBooks Premier as long as they have an add-on inventory tracking program or Point of Sale system that integrates with QuickBooks. Likewise, restaurants would need specialized restaurant software that integrates with QuickBooks Premier. Non-profits can use QuickBooks Premier non-profit edition, but if they use fund accounting, it will require some complicated work-arounds. QuickBooks Premier is well-suited to most construction trades, personal and professional services providers, small retailers, and rental property owners.
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Pros
ApprovalMax
  • choice based on Program codes / division codes - we use Xero accounting system and we have 22 program codes and 11 divison codes ; once invoice is entered in Xero depending on relevant program code and divison code, Approval max automatically send invoice to relevant person depending on approval workflow process . One manager could be handling multiple divison and program codes; if our approval work flow process is properly designed - it is accurate in sending invoice to relevant manager.
  • invoice can also send to various managers based on General ledger codes ; this flexibility makes useful when manager is handling only certain nature of expenses regardless of program codes / divisionl.
  • Approval process can also be designed based on level of amount ; and level of amount is derived from our Delegation policy. it makes audit of application of delegation policy easy ; we give copy of delegation policy and print of approval work flow process to auditor.
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Intuit
  • The program is easy to learn and use. We can train our clients' personnel how to use the program with out difficulty.
  • It is easy for clients to generate bills and manage accounts receivable.
  • It is easy to manage accounts payable and allows clients to pay their bills electronically.
  • Transactions can be imported electronically for credit card and banking transactions.
  • It is easy to reconcile bank and credit card accounts.
  • We can import data generated by QuickBooks into our tax and accounting software.
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Cons
ApprovalMax
  • date and time of change in approval process ; for example if Mr. A was responsible for all expenses above $1000 in Oct 23 and from Nov 23 it is changed to $5000 . in Dec 23 if it is checked - it will show approval limit of $5000 ; but will not show from which date limit was changed. Auditor always asks this question when the limit was changed in approval max - we cannot prove it.
  • If there is audit trail of who made the changes , when and what changes were made ; will be good.
  • when we are in main page of seeing invoices awaiting approval - there are hundreds of invoices - searching for one invoice from particular supplier is very cumbersome job - we have to go by each and every invoice in order to find that invoice ; it will be good if we have search function on main page itself ; in current scenario we have to go to report section - input all filters and than search for that particular invoice.
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Intuit
  • I would like to be able to choose how i want to view accounts receivable aging. I would like some flexibility to sort and choose how to present the data.
  • For a seasoned accountant, I would like to see some of the restrictive controls that are in place for novices to be able to be relaxed so that I can easily make some entries and adjust some balances that ordinarily a regular user would not be able to do.
  • I would like to see an easy way to clear old outstanding checks that need to be reversed without affecting prior balances/history.
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Likelihood to Renew
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
Because we have been extremely happy with the product and our organization tends to be creatures of habit. We rarely leave a product that works this well for the latest and greatest. Typically we follow the "if it's not broken, don't fix it rule". While QB does make changes we typically just roll with it. If we do find something we don't like we work through it until we fully understand its functionality.
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Usability
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
QuickBooks is an amazing tool that provides all of the necessary features needed to run the finances of a company. I would like for QuickBooks to provide better resources for training. There are many features that go unused because of lack of knowledge. Procore offers chatting and calls on their platform and they make it easy and accessible to get answers and solutions.
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Reliability and Availability
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
This is very reliable software, the desktop version is fast. If there is a problem, it is most likely on your own hardware!
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Performance
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
It takes forever to load.
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Support Rating
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
This is an awesome product and the support team is very knowledgeable. The product is mature, so there are not a lot of bugs and the support team really solves problems quickly. Usually it is a user error issue, but the support desk helps me out. I love the fact that it is US based support.
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Implementation Rating
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
It is important to do your research. There are tutorial videos online that could help new user of this accounting system. These tutorials are straightforward and easily understandable.
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Alternatives Considered
ApprovalMax
Read full review
Intuit
QuickBooks Premier handles most of my business functions efficiently in one package. It is not my "everything." I use Replicon for time rather than QuickBooks. I don't want my WIP data interfering with my accounting. I use PaySimple for it's web interface and back office processing. I don't have security issues since I don't have any credit card data in my possession. With today's identity theft environment, I have to protect myself as much as I can. Not having credit card data in my accounting software lets me sleep much better at night. Quicken will do basic accounting but does not have all the double entry accounting systems contained in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online does much of the basic business functions but I don't like the pricing structure. As a professional accountant, that is very important to me. Bill.com provided a good service but the ability of QuickBooks to add bills and receipts to transactions makes it redundant.
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Scalability
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
They're getting better. Still room for improvement.
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Return on Investment
ApprovalMax
  • It has certainly made a positive impact ; it is definately worth its value ; when we are processing hundreds of invoices every fortnight ; getting approval of invoices in timely manner for all invoices is of paramount importance . as approval max has its own app - approval can be done on mobile phone also ; this is particularly helpful when staff is travelling .
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Intuit
  • Since our financials are kept very up to date, it helps us compare our financial results to prior years and it is used for our internal goal setting.
  • Due to the accountant copy function, we are able to provide better service since our clients are not waiting on us to fix historical data. They can continue their operations uninterrupted.
  • The import feature certainly speeds up the process of accounting for our payroll. As previously mentioned, it takes about a minute to do our entries for payroll and check them.
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ScreenShots

ApprovalMax Screenshots

Screenshot of Bill approval workflowScreenshot of Purchase order creation and approval workflowScreenshot of Approval rulesScreenshot of Built-in reportsScreenshot of Automated audit trail