BambooHR vs. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BambooHR
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
BambooHR is an on-line human resources solution that provides onboarding, payroll, and benefits management. It also offers automated time-off management and employee self-service.
$250
per month
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop for Mac is an accounting software designed for Mac users. It is designed to integrate with Apple iCloud. It provides core accounting features in line with the rest of the Quickbooks Desktop product line.N/A
Pricing
BambooHRQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Editions & Modules
Core
$250
per month
Pro
$250
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BambooHRQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNo matter what HR looks like at your company, we have the perfect plan for you!
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BambooHRQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Considered Both Products
BambooHR
Chose BambooHR
BambooHR pricing leaves it a bit harder of a sell than some of the competitors we have used in the past. If it was fully featured rich with an overflow of integrations that might be different, but as it stands, without a pricing change, I think that bridge is a harder sell for …
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BambooHRQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
122 Ratings
3% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data7.7104 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.7111 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.4108 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.8.295 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting7.1107 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.098 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.658 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
78 Ratings
1% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
11 Ratings
29% above category average
Pay calculation8.252 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.245 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.030 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.860 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.459 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.062 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.731 Ratings10.07 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.8
106 Ratings
9% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Approval workflow9.1104 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details8.997 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.487 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.7
117 Ratings
7% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information7.971 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information9.2116 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.996 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition8.678 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history9.0109 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.8
48 Ratings
1% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets7.848 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.7
93 Ratings
1% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Report builder8.189 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.787 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data7.463 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.6
96 Ratings
7% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.792 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools8.683 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.2
60 Ratings
1% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting8.246 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting8.258 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility8.245 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking8.154 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.9
66 Ratings
0% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Performance plans7.659 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans8.053 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking7.960 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders8.261 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.857 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.1
45 Ratings
10% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools5.831 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking7.737 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search7.139 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development8.035 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
79 Ratings
4% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management8.055 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting8.362 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media8.256 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.259 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.453 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.269 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.672 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
6.0
11 Ratings
16% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings6.07 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings6.010 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
20 Ratings
22% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.020 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.017 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
22 Ratings
27% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings10.019 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings10.022 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings10.022 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
5.8
24 Ratings
24% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings8.124 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.123 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings6.218 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.824 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings6.220 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings6.212 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings6.214 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings6.211 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings6.210 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings8.115 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings6.213 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings6.213 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings6.214 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings1.06 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings6.217 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings6.25 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings6.29 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.29 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings6.213 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.7
15 Ratings
9% above category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings6.214 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings7.810 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings7.09 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
8.3
18 Ratings
12% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings10.017 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings10.016 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings10.017 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings10.016 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings5.76 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings6.77 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings5.66 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BambooHRQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
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QuickBooks Self-Employed
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
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Infor Human Resources
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Score 7.3 out of 10
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Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
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User Ratings
BambooHRQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(126 ratings)
8.8
(32 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(10 ratings)
8.0
(9 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(53 ratings)
5.4
(6 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(5 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
8.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(50 ratings)
6.9
(4 ratings)
Online Training
9.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.6
(3 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
8.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.3
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BambooHRQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Likelihood to Recommend
BambooHR
I think BambooHR is meant for companies that have more than 200 employees, because it is not cheap, but for what they are offering, it is a nice software with some easy UI to understand for everyone at a company. I think for a small company, it is way too big of a software and it is not that worth the price.
Read full review
Intuit
If you're a freelancer or running a very small business where you do your own bookkeeping I think this is a great option, especially if you're familiar with accounting and bookkeeping in general. If you're not so familiar with bookkeeping, I would say that the learning curve is too steep and you might want to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution
Read full review
Pros
BambooHR
  • Customer Service - The customer service is consistent and the team is always eager to help. They are polite, patient, and there are never terrible interactions.
  • Communication - BambooHR communication channels are simple. There are many different ways to communicate with the team. I prefer e-mail because it helps me keep track of the conversations and they respond within the appropriate time. Also, the e-mail reminders or notifications help tremendously and it's not overbearing.
  • User Interface - It's simple and easy to use!
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Intuit
  • The program is very easy to learn, the interface is incredibly user-friendly and there are tons of free resources and tutorials available
  • It makes managing payroll really easy for the employee and accountant on staff. No more lost time sheets or late paychecks!
  • Managing bills and paying them has become streamlined and it's great having everything in one place so we don't lose track of things.
Read full review
Cons
BambooHR
  • Reporting - I wish that you could choose a timeframe for all reports. There are times when I need to run a report for information at a point in time, but there is no functionality to complete this (maybe this is an add-on, but seems like it should be a basic function.)
  • ATS - Customizable notifications and making it easier to figure out how to change notification/email settings. I figured it out, but it was difficult to find. I wish you could choose to notify managers of candidates 1/week instead of every time someone applies.
  • Custom Holidays - being able to set up 2 different Holiday policies for different working groups. Some of our team gets a floating holiday, but we can't set that up without doing it for the entire company.
  • Being able to intercept a form that was signed by an employee but not the 2nd signer. We can't access onboarding forms that new hires signed after the 2nd signer left the company. Now we have to have our team resign all their onboarding forms because we cannot access the one with their signature.
  • Delegation for approvals - being able to delegate this when someone is on leave or time away so that Admins don't have to manage.
  • Org chart - being able to customize this feature
  • More broad or customizable EEO categories
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Intuit
  • The #1 complaint is that setting it up right is a challenge. People waste time trying to figure it out only to realize that they don't know accounting so of course they don't know how an accounting program should be set up. Like any time you are in over your head, reach out to your network and find someone who can log onto your computer and walk you through it.
  • If you need to track the cost of wages to jobs you can't do it with the online payroll, but check for yourself because it's a function that landscaping companies and construction businesses usually need, so maybe they have added it by now. That would really help!
  • It's premise-based software and that means you take on the role of hardware admin, and it's a lot of work for what is increasingly becoming a smaller gap in the functionality between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online.
  • QuickBooks for Mac 2015 has been updated consistently over the last 3 years and continues to provide for the bookkeeping needs of small companies using Macs in their offices. However, it has limited job costing functionality. It is similar in functionality to the 2010 version of QuickBooksPro which runs on Windows.
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Likelihood to Renew
BambooHR
Overall we have not had any reason to discontinue our use of BambooHR. We have not found a better solution, and there is no pressing reason that we would want to move away from the product. If they should fail to continue to improve their features over time, I could see this changing down the road, but for now I would say we are very satisfied with them. We would definitely like to see continued growth of their product however.
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Intuit
I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac
Read full review
Usability
BambooHR
Is very easy to navigate. All processes once explained, you can actually create an implement process associated to your HR goals. It is like a digital file of your employees, with functionalities that let you be on track on onboarding, performance, information, among others process. Time off approvals are easy to navigate.
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Intuit
The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!
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Reliability and Availability
BambooHR
Yes, there is a huge team in the back of the online platform or it looks like it because I have never been left without an answer when I have a question or waiting from a response on my chat .... There must be a huge team, this is so great and I always seem to have someone that is very knowledgeable too. So many times in the past I had to leave with customer service that would connect you with someone else because of the expertise, here everyone seems to be some kind of an expert in the HR function.
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Intuit
I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.
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Performance
BambooHR
I love BambooHR. Reports are easy to run and download and it usually covers any types of requests I get from the management team. You get excel or .csv downloads/reports and it is fast and simple, not too crowded so it is easy to read through. We don't integrate the tool yet but again, soon we will. we just did not had the time to utilize it yet but that's the plan.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
BambooHR
I have used the help chat function several times and that is easy and great to use. There are also many articles, FAQs sections and an entire learning platform to learn on your own. I believe that is great. I also have used ChatGPT to ask how to do certain functions as well, which were accurately reported.
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Intuit
Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.
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In-Person Training
BambooHR
I didn't have in-person training besides teaching my managers how to use the program. However, I couldn't omit this question (maybe a system glitch).
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Online Training
BambooHR
As far as I can recall, everything went well with doing it online and got questions answered. Was thankful to work with a dummy file to get used to some practices prior to getting our own domain within bamboo to then place our personnel information in the system, this helped a lot!
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
BambooHR
It was some work involved in moving all of our documents from a drive over to the correct folders and creating the system of what folders were needed and what got placed where
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
BambooHR
Although there are many products in the marketplace, there is no perfect system. BambooHR is the most economical HRIS for a small business, start-up, or business that has never had HR software. BambooHR was selected for its affordable functionality. However, if they continue to ingore the lack of functionality the pretty package will no longer have any value.
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Intuit
I love using Quickbooks compared to other software we've tried. QuickBooks Online and TSheets interface. Customer service and problem resolution are generally excellent, with well-trained and proficient agents taking calls or on chat. Ease of use and accessibility via the mobile app. Great courses were available to help with learning the basics and some advanced accounting background. I love learning! Online accessibility - it can work anywhere with an internet connection. Linking to bank and credit card accounts is handy.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
BambooHR
Since my organization has dropped with employees, I always find ways to reduce costs. I thought there would be a cheaper option, but I was glad that my package included a lot for the price, and downgrading would cost more. The rep could have let me downgraded and taken me to a higher package. I am thankful that didn't happen.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Scalability
BambooHR
There is so much you can do with this platform, it is incredible and so welcoming. We don't utilize it 100% yet just because we are growing and the HR team has not been able to concentrate on other areas offered to us but but we will soon. Which is also why we got the product, specifically because what BambooHR can do to help us meet our growing business needs.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
BambooHR
VERY professional!
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BambooHR
  • It's been a great force multiplier for our HR staff, supplementing their skills to allow them to focus on more complex tasks.
  • Employees enjoy using it and have to talk to HR staff less with the self-service options.
  • You may find as your organization grows that you outgrow a module or BambooHR and will replace with a dedicated solution.
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Intuit
  • The ROI was good for when we were a smaller company because it is a lot cheaper than other more sophisticated programs.
  • The negative impact is that it caused a lot of extra manual entering and data entry that too often resulted in mistakes.
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ScreenShots

BambooHR Screenshots

Screenshot of BambooHR's Reporting