ApprovalMax vs. QuickBooks Desktop Premier

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ApprovalMax
Score 8.2 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…
$54
per month
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Score 8.0 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
$54
per month per organization
ApprovalMax Advanced
$83
per month per organization
ApprovalMax Premium
$121
per month per organization
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 DetailsDiscount available for annual pricing and for management of multiple organizations.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Features
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Payment Management
Comparison of Payment Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
8.0
1 Ratings
7% 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
21% 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
8.5
54 Ratings
12% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings9.252 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.425 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.242 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings8.433 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings8.536 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.5
24 Ratings
1% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings8.017 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings7.024 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.4
58 Ratings
3% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.550 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.349 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.3
69 Ratings
6% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.858 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings8.468 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings7.766 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
7.8
72 Ratings
3% above category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings8.470 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.671 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings8.865 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.869 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings8.868 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings7.535 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings6.249 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings7.623 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings8.239 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings8.224 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings7.936 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings5.823 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings6.09 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings7.014 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.117 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings7.76 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.825 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings8.413 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings8.115 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings7.510 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.415 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.0
43 Ratings
9% above category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings8.342 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings7.321 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings8.825 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings7.722 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.2
47 Ratings
9% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings8.037 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings7.838 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings9.134 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings9.043 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings7.58 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings8.59 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings7.56 Ratings
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ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
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User Ratings
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.3
(75 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
7.5
(14 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(26 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
4.0
(13 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.2
(7 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(2 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
We really think that ANY typical business would be a reasonable fit for QuickBooks Desktop Premier. While not necessary, even a comparatively unexperienced accounting person could look at the "Home" screen and follow their nose thru typical daily accounting processes without much detailed knowledge. Reporting is simple, looking up customer info and prior transactions is simple, looking up vendors and prior payments is simple... all in all, quite straightforward. I really can't think of an instance where it would be 'less appropriate'.
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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
  • Employment - it makes creating paychecks a snap and tracks taxes.
  • Invoicing - they have a straightforward approach to creating invoices and you can even email them to your customers.
  • Customers - the program makes tracking customer information and balances easy.
Read full review
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
  • Support for older versions of QuickBooks ends after three years, then users must purchase the newest version at full price. Renewals should be deeply discounted for existing users.
  • I would like to see better in-product inventory tracking, so we can choose LIFO or FIFO rather than the ambiguous "average cost" method.
  • I would like to be able to assign payroll taxes to jobs for better job costing.
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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
We switched to a more "robust" software program with the hiring of a new CFO. The migration of historical data and ancillary information has been cumbersome and riddle with errors and issues. In hindsight much of what the new software program was touted to accomplish is not come to fruition. QB Desktop Premier was sufficient for the organization needs
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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 where QuickBooks falls short. Many times my staff has had questions that have not been able to get resolved easily with a chat or call. I personally have had more general questions that have not been answered easily as well. I think QuickBooks needs to provide the resources of having readily accessible help in order to make it simpler to get solutions.
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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
  • Most of our business clients use QuickBooks which makes it efficient for us to work on clients that use the program. We can import QuickBooks data into our software which adds efficiencies to our tax practice.
  • Having staff that are familiar with the software enables our firm to provide quality service to the clients that use QuickBooks.
  • We receive referrals from satisfied QuickBooks clients.
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ScreenShots

ApprovalMax Screenshots

Screenshot of where approval processes are set up  – no matter how simple or complex.Screenshot of the interface to build approval steps that follow any business rules – whether approvals happen one after another, all at once, or only in certain cases. The user can also control who approves based on things like amount, supplier, account code, or category.Screenshot of where to approve bills and purchase orders the way that works best.Screenshot of the interface that matches bills to approved purchase orders from the same supplier to keep coding accurate and control spending. Unmatched bills can also be stopped from being approved.Screenshot of where to mention others in comments to bring them in or get their input – even if they’re not part of the original approval. If they don’t have access, a prompt to add them as a Watcher is sent. Mentions work on web and mobile, sending notifications as soon as access is granted.Screenshot of where to raise purchase orders, approve requests, and extract key details from bills and purchase orders – all on the go with the ApprovalMax mobile app for iOS and Android.