ApprovalMax vs. QuickBooks Desktop Pro

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 Pro
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop Pro is accounting software from Intuit, Inc. It includes core accounting features, plus analytics and exportable reports. It is offered in on-premise and SaaS forms.N/A
Pricing
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Pro
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 Pro
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 Pro
Features
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Pro
Payment Management
Comparison of Payment Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
8.0
1 Ratings
7% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
-
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 Pro
-
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 Pro
6.9
69 Ratings
9% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings6.664 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings6.638 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings6.956 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings6.652 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.554 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.0
43 Ratings
23% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings6.635 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings5.339 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.3
101 Ratings
1% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.282 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.495 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.5
117 Ratings
9% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.4100 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings8.9117 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings8.3114 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.6
124 Ratings
0% above category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings9.2119 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings9.2121 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings9.1107 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings9.6119 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings9.3108 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings7.551 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings6.069 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings7.331 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings8.858 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings8.042 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings8.355 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings6.341 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings4.517 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings6.740 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.343 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings4.519 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.776 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings7.038 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.647 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.327 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.455 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.1
59 Ratings
18% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings6.356 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings6.335 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings6.332 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings5.518 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
ApprovalMax
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.1
77 Ratings
5% below category average
Pricing00 Ratings7.755 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings8.655 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings7.651 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings8.363 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings5.520 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings6.423 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings5.518 Ratings
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User Ratings
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Pro
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.5
(135 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(19 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(42 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
1.2
(29 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
ApprovalMaxQuickBooks Desktop Pro
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
For a small business, QuickBooks Desktop Pro is great! For a larger, more complex business, another system may be more beneficial. We actually run multiple businesses on QuickBooks Desktop Pro, but all are very small. The help feature is sometimes so beneficial, and sometimes it seems like you just can't get the right answer and need to find a workaround - but this is usually for more complex issues.
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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
  • It is easy to manage and adjust inventory on hand.
  • It is easy to make reports and customize them to your needs.
  • We also use it to pay our employees directly.
  • It is easy to make year-to-year comparisons to see where we can make improvements and the current financial situation.
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
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro has been around for a few years and after an update[,] they force you to look at the changes/updates before you can use [them] after updating.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro does not have 2FA.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro should offer a way to store backups to a personal cloud without having to map a local network drive.
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Likelihood to Renew
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
I'd love to keep using it, and do intend to - though we've not been pleased with price increases over the past several years. In fact, we used to subscribe to the payroll service, but QuickBooks priced themselves out of reach for us, so we discontinued that. Currently, pricing would be the primary reason for NOT renewing, if we didn't.
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Usability
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
The set up was quite easy. I took some online training causes, and figured our the rest pretty quickly. The only issue I had during the implementation process was it was very hard to change some of the GL Account name to reflect the needs of a non-profit organization, such as Net Assets. At the end I had to scratch what I did, and used the existing formats that the third-party bookkeeping firm shared. Everything else is simple and easy to manage and implement.
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Reliability and Availability
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
I haven't experienced a time when QuickBooks Pro was unavailable when I needed it in the entire 20 years of using the software
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Support Rating
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
They are awful. Intuit doesn't spend real money on support. They appear to have typically said, first-level script readers who are sending messages to the senior people for anything even a little bit difficult. Many of them don't speak particularly good English. Considering that they recently doubled (or, if you are paying annually, tripled) their pricing, and touted as one of the benefits that it includes [..] support, it's a real ripoff. However, we have to use the product because it is ubiquitous. I look forward to the day a competitor comes up with something good enough, which has excellent support, that matches all the features QuickBooks Desktop Pro currently has [...] or at least gives us a way to have all the functionality we currently have without excessive sacrifice [...] so that we can switch. I was very satisfied with QuickBooks for many years. This latest [rise] in price, and their sheer gall at touting the benefit of the 100 to 200% increase as being [the] inclusion of support, is what turned me so far against them.
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In-Person Training
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
Best thing I ever did was to attend a two day training seminar on QuickBooks, I learned an immense amount in a short time with hands on training by experts. I strongly recommend such training for anyone using any part of the software. It will pay for itself in the first month.
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Implementation Rating
ApprovalMax
No answers on this topic
Intuit
We implemented the software ourselves. The training we received on the software was done by taking a community course teaching us how to use QuickBooks. It allowed me to get started with some basics of how to use the program and have not needed much assistance since completing the course work.
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Alternatives Considered
ApprovalMax
Read full review
Intuit
We tried switching from QuickBooks Desktop Pro to QuickBooks Online, but there were a lot of issues and bugs so we ultimately decided to stay with Desktop Pro. Unfortunately, we are losing a lot of Online Banking capabilities on 5/31 as we have an older version of QB, but we plan to stick with Desktop Pro. In terms of invoicing, SaaSOptics beats QuickBooks in almost all aspects as it's all automated and takes seconds to create and send invoices. However, SaaSOptics is not really a full ERP program so it wouldn't serve us as a main bookkeeping software like QB.
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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
  • Training time is low compared to other accounting packages
  • It was difficult to adapt to DCAA requirements, [which] required [the] hiring of [a] special consultant for that
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro is a standard for small companies and makes it easy to hire bookkeepers
Read full review
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.