BILL vs. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

It depends, Bill.com certainly has a strong reputation and I agree it can be a great solution in the right scenario but I think the implementation and initial setup are critical and need to be well thought out based on the setup of the organization you are a part of.

Incentivized

It is extremely well suited for smaller companies who are trying to manage things on their own without outsourcing too much. The program is easy to learn and doesn't require too much training time before it can be implemented. The online/cloud feature makes it even more accessible to our employees, so it's great. It would be hard for a large company to use it since it is geared towards smaller companies and the interface may become overwhelming with too many inputs/bills to manage.

Incentivized

• The fact that bill.com automatically processes most information on the invoice is really helpful - leads to quicker processing
• The "to do list" feature ensures you see the tasks that need to be completed ASAP
• The reports section is very helpful in year end prepping for audits

Incentivized

• Reconciling my bank accounts is made easy by automated bank connections and rules for re-occurring transactions. I can also transfer between connected bank accounts making sure to not double up on transfers or payments.
• I love that I can access Quickbooks Desktop via a web browser, iOS, and the desktop app. I live in a mobile world so having the ability to crossover is vital.
• Payroll. One simple feature that allows me to track employee and employer taxes, make payments, and automate the entire process. All I have to do is hit approved and the rest is done for me. I love it!

Incentivized

• Voiding a bill in Bill.com is easy, but unfortunately, the void doesn't sync automatically to Quickbooks Online (unlike bill and bill payments, which do automatically sync). Bill.com is great in always telling you exactly what to do to correct it in your Quickbooks Online software, but it would nice if there weren't extra steps you had to take when this happens.
• Bill.com only sends the first page of a bill with a check. Typically this isn't a problem, but in some instances, it's necessary for more than 1 page to be sent. It would be nice if Bill.com had a checkbox selection option to print up to a set number of pages (maybe up to 5) for an additional fee. Having the option would be great so I don't have to jump through hoops with other methods to try to get a bill paid, all because I need more than 1 page to go with the check.

Incentivized

• QB for Mac is not nearly as feature rich as the Windows Version
• QB for Mac has recently FORCED users to password protect all databases. They SHOULD allow a preference to disable rather than imposing their workflow on the end user. The PW is in my environment [and this step is] unnecessary and a cumbersome waste of time.
• Mac version can occasionally be a bit buggy

Incentivized

While our firm does not use Bill.com internally, we know many customers that use Bill.com and are very happy with it. Based on the feedback from current users, I would say that the product should have a strong renewal forecast. Once customers move their AP to the cloud, they would be unlikely to move it back given a choice.

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

Incentivized

Bill.com continues to raise the bar with new features and improved interface. The Fast Pay option is another innovation that reduces administrative time when you have to get an overnight check out. The new Chat Support interface, powered by Zopim, which is world-class, adds to the responsiveness of Bill.com's support team and makes getting real-time answers that much easier.

Incentivized

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!

Incentivized

The only time Bill.com was ever "unavailable" was then the Sync to Quickbooks function failed. That happened a time or two but was usually quickly remedied. I'm not sure if that's an issue with newer online versions of Quickbooks Enterprise -- at the time we were using a remotely hosted Quickbooks instance accessed via terminal server (vs a cloud offering like Bill.com is)

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.

Load times can be slow after long use.

Incentivized

I could not explain to them how I was trying to remove an old email account from my company page while granting the new email account access to the bank account that the first email account had added. The "set a bank account as inactive" button is labeled delete, but they don't seem to recognize that. I requested my Bill.com account be deleted on Wednesday so I could start all over with a fresh account; this seemed to be completed Wednesday night, but when I tried to create a new Bill.com account from the same email, it took me to my old bill.com account.

Incentivized

Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.

Incentivized

The online training provided by Bill.com is concise and since the firm consistently improves the platform functionality, users are able to select the training for the modules they specifically need.

Incentivized

I heard from my leadership that it went very well.

Incentivized

Previously, we used Rydoo for submitting, approving, and receiving reimbursements. We switched to bill.com after changing our external tax consultants in the US. We still use Rydoo for the submitting and approving part and only use bill.com to receive payment. I admit I find Rydoo easier to use, with a cleaner interface and friendlier brand voice.

Incentivized

I tried switching to QBO (QuickBooks Online) a couple of times. And in both cases it was disastrous. The software is buggy and the workflow is not at all like what I was used to in Desktop and so I felt like there was a brand new learning curve. You would think that they would make their online option as close to their Desktop option so that migrating customers would have an easy time. The worst part is that if you have inventory that you need to track, when you migrate from Desktop for Mac, it does NOT bring in your inventory accurately in any way. This was a dealbreaker for me. Be very careful about migrating if you track inventory. So for all the shortcomings of Desktop, I still prefer it over QBO.

Incentivized

We have multiple locations, and everything works fine.

Incentivized

• After receiving an offer to 'finance' outstanding invoices, I was enticed by the promise of a 3% total cost for a 60-day period, with the possibility of extending the financing for an additional 10 months (for an additional fee). Eager to access funds, I decided to finance an invoice worth $17,160.00. Within 24 hours, BILL deposited $16,645.20 (97% of the invoice amount) into my account.
• However, when the customer paid their $17,160 invoice four days later, instead of the funds being deposited into my checking account as I expected, BILL chose to retire the loan and retain my $514.80 fee for the 4 day advance period. This unexpected turn of events resulted in an effective interest rate of a staggering 273.75%. It was clear that this arrangement was far from what I had initially understood, and the financial impact was outrageously high.
• Frustratingly, my attempts to resolve this issue through customer service were in vain, as I spoke with three agents who provided no satisfactory solutions. To anyone contemplating using BILL's services, I strongly urge you to carefully scrutinize the fine print and consider opting for a more reputable finance company."

• My private consulting practice slowed down when I chose to only support QuickBooks for Mac clients because there are far fewer QuickBooks for Mac clients than their are clients using other QuickBooks. I chose instead to focus on online accounting options, apps that integrate with online accounting options, and sustainability accounting as a tool for business success.

Incentivized