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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)

    Score6 out of 10
    N/AEmburse Spend is a Spend Management platform for small and growing businesses that monitors and controls card purchases, employee reimbursements, receipts, approvals, and expense policies. It connects to supported existing corporate and business card programs, so finance teams can add spend controls without replacing their current cards. Emburse Spend replaces the former Emburse Abacus. Abacus was acquired by Emburse in 2020. That application's capabilities are now completely superseded by…

    $9

    per active user/per month

    QuickBooks Online

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AQuickBooks Online is a SaaS version of the QuickBooks product. It contains all of the features found in the local version. Higher-priced plans include greater automation, payment management, inventory and time tracking, and analytics features.

    $38

    per month

    Pricing
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)QuickBooks Online
    Editions & Modules
    Starter
    $9
    per active user/per month
    Professional
    Custom Pricing
    Enterprise
    Custom Pricing
    Simple Start
    $38
    per month
    Essentials
    $75
    per month
    Plus
    $115
    per month
    Advanced
    $275
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)QuickBooks Online
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)QuickBooks Online
    Considered Both Products
    Emburse
    No answer on this topic
    Intuit
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    85%
    Would buy again
    11 Answers
    83%
    Would buy again
    129 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    87%
    Delivers good value for the price
    124 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    12 Answers
    83%
    Happy with the feature set
    129 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    78%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    82%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    10 Answers
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    117 Answers
    Features
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)QuickBooks Online
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus) and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    7.7
    125 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings8.0114 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings6.962 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.1105 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings7.778 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.784 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus) and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    7.0
    116 Ratings
    8% below category average
    API for custom integration00 Ratings6.996 Ratings
    Plug-ins00 Ratings7.198 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus) and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    8.2
    191 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.3156 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.1181 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus) and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    8.0
    217 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings8.1204 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings8.3211 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings7.7195 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus) and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    7.8
    234 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Accounts payable00 Ratings8.6200 Ratings
    Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.6217 Ratings
    Cash management00 Ratings7.9198 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation00 Ratings9.0223 Ratings
    Expense management00 Ratings8.2206 Ratings
    Time tracking00 Ratings6.998 Ratings
    Fixed asset management00 Ratings7.798 Ratings
    Multi-currency support00 Ratings7.549 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings7.180 Ratings
    Regulations compliance00 Ratings7.979 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings8.0118 Ratings
    Self-service portal00 Ratings7.3126 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings6.541 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings7.972 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings7.672 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings7.855 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.5146 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings7.062 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.789 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings7.560 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.6108 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus) and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    6.8
    90 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings6.685 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings6.947 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings7.254 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings6.537 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus) and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    7.7
    144 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Pricing00 Ratings7.991 Ratings
    Order entry00 Ratings7.787 Ratings
    Credit card processing00 Ratings8.3111 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold00 Ratings8.0110 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings7.347 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings7.750 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings7.443 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)QuickBooks Online
    Small Businesses
    Brex
    Score9 out of 10
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Expensify
    Score9 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Emburse Expense Enterprise (formerly Chrome River)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)QuickBooks Online
    Likelihood to Recommend
    6.0
    (17 ratings)
    8.3
    (252 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.6
    (27 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (167 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (9 ratings)
    9.9
    (70 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (7 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.4
    (18 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.3
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    2.0
    (3 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus)QuickBooks Online
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Emburse
    Emburse Abacus is well suited for mid-market organizations that are open to - or embrace - the concept of real-time processing of expense transactions. Emburse Abacus takes a radically different approach from other platforms that rely on modeling paper-based monthly (or periodic) expense reports containing multiple expenses submitted simultaneously. Emburse Abacus allows each transaction to be very rapidly processed individually so that approving managers and accounting professionals are able to perform review tasks and identify potential problems throughout the entire month, relieving the massive monthly influx of large numbers of expense reports simultaneously.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    QBO is a great solution for small and midsize companies. If the goal is to record all transactions and pull reliable financial reports, QBO is a great option. QBO is also a great solution if most operations are run in a system like Ramp. It syncs well with systems like that and turns the data into something management can use to make decisions. QBO is great because so many people use it. It is easy to find training online, and many people have experience with it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Emburse
    • User-Friendly Interface: Reviews from our employees (ages ranging from 20s-70s) are all positive in regards to the ease of submitting an expense and getting reimbursement on Abacus
    • Timely Reimbursement: After final approval, money hits user accounts within 2 days
    • Approval routing: ability to set up multi-tier complex approval routes
    • Syncs with Sage Intacct: pushes entries on a day to day basis in to Intacct and it hits our GL accordingly
    • Abacus is competitively priced compared to the competition
    • Abacus utilizes "by expense" management. Getting rid of expense reports and batch reports (they do have an option where you can batch if need be)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • Workflows for accounts payable invoice review are terrific.
    • Bill payment allows you to pay vendors online via ACH or check without having to write a physical check, which reduces admin time.
    • The cloud based login lends well to a remote or hybrid work environment for staff.
    • QuickBooks Online allows you to pre-configure vendors' general ledger expense accounts. This helps with general ledger coding accuracy and consistency.
    • QuickBooks Online integrates with Rippling HRIS, Coast, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, etc., which lends well to an efficient month-end closing and reduced administrative time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Emburse
    • When you upload a receipt to abacus it would be great to port in the information from the receipt to the text fields.
    • It would be good to have a more automated way for Abacus to integrate in with other payroll systems.
    • It would be nice to have more levels of permissions, e.g. manager level, administer level and employee level.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • I dislike that the online bill pay option through QuickBooks is required for their invoicing.
    • The auto-fill portion of the customer setup, specifically the company name, is listed, but it also auto-fills in the name portion, which is inconvenient and time-consuming to remove.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Emburse
    No answers on this topic
    Intuit
    It like the product 'right out of the box' and I trust Intuit will continually improve it over the years based on my experience with their desktop products. The large providers of Apps makes customizing the entire package relatively easy and seamless for a wide variety of business types.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Emburse
    No answers on this topic
    Intuit
    Beyond being overkill for a small org's needs, QBO is constantly stealing screen real estate and attention by hammering users for account upgrades, connecting to one of their approved consultants or buying add-ons. The idea of using a simple configurable bookeeping and light accounting interface is completely missing. At the very least, we should be able to hide functions like inventory that we will never use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Emburse
    No answers on this topic
    Intuit
    We have rarely had outages in the last 10 years. I can only recall 2 times in the last 10 years where we were not able to access our client files.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Emburse
    No answers on this topic
    Intuit
    Everything process has its bugs lately with the new interface. Nothing has worked smoothly since this all began last month.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Emburse
    I have never had to contact Abacus support and have not heard stories from any of my colleagues having to do so either. Our accounting department stresses the ease of Abacus and has not voiced any concerns with the software or the product support team or the product support process.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    In my experience, most representatives keep me on the phone for hours, literally, for a single issue and then usually cannot resolve it satisfactorily. I have 10 open cases that need resolution and, in my experience, there has been NO follow-up communication on any of them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Emburse
    No answers on this topic
    Intuit
    The person in charge of QB needs to be very accurate with record keeping and is recommended to stay on top of tasks. The biggest issue we have is reconciliation, and those issues occur only when too much time has occurred between reconciliations
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Emburse
    I chose Abacus because of its ease of use and flexible billing. The billing is based on the number of submissions rather than users in the system. Because we reimburse committee members, we have a lot of users in the system, but the activity can vary widely from month to month.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    As a freelance bookkeeper, the Desktop version of QuickBooks Online doesn't allow for ease of access from any device. Having to be on a computer with the software downloaded creates additional work to gain access to all required filings etc. Also, I personally find the linking functionality on the Online version to be much more streamlined and user friendly.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Emburse
    No answers on this topic
    Intuit
    As we have grown along our professional path, we have also expanded our use of QB. The scalability is easy and features seem to be waiting for you until you need them. We have increased profits by over 10x from our first year in business to the current and have yet to find a reason to look elsewhere
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Emburse
    • It is giving reliable services.
    • I am happy with its user-friendly services. Since I have issued the virtual and physical cards, I am getting real-time, and end-to-end control over my employee expenses. They can now easily go to visits and this has built their trust too. Further through receipts and expense details, I can easily control the pre-set budgets and easily configure rules to control spending.
    • I will also like to praise their customer care team they are very helpful and always ready to assist.
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • QuickBooks has given us a useful portal by which to get an overview of our financials.
    • QuickBooks has given us a relatively easy way to send out invoices quickly and efficiently.
    • Due to the customization limitations on QuickBooks, we've had to get creative in third-party implementations to better represent our brand and to track financials.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Emburse Spend (formerly Abacus) Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot

    QuickBooks Online Screenshots

    Screenshot of the accounting and bank transactions interfaceScreenshot of an overview of the accounting inventoryScreenshot of book marksScreenshot of the business tax overviewScreenshot of the customer hubScreenshot of the dashboard