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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FreeAgent

    Score5.5 out of 10
    N/AFreeAgent is an cloud-based accounting system designed for small businesses and freelancers. FreeAgent supports many core accounting features and bank reconciliation, payroll, tax management, project level accounting, and multiple currency support. It is mobile-accessible, and integrates with many apps.

    $13.50

    per month

    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AQuickbooks 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
    FreeAgentQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Editions & Modules
    FreeAgent
    $13.50
    per month
    FreeAgent
    $135
    per year
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FreeAgentQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FreeAgentQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Considered Both Products
    FreeAgent
    No answer on this topic
    Intuit
    Chose QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    QuickBooks for Mac definitely outshines other competitors mainly due to its ability to sync seamlessly with all mac products, which other programs have continual problems with. Although the Mac version isn't quite as powerful as the Microsoft counterpart, it is still one of the …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    80%
    Would buy again
    4 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    80%
    Delivers good value for the price
    4 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    80%
    Happy with the feature set
    4 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    FreeAgentQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of FreeAgent and QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    8.6
    13 Ratings
    13% above category average
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    8.9
    13 Ratings
    16% above category average
    Pay calculation8.012 Ratings8.411 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.56 Ratings7.98 Ratings
    Direct deposit files8.92 Ratings10.010 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management8.86 Ratings8.47 Ratings
    Reimbursement management8.78 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of FreeAgent and QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    6.7
    13 Ratings
    12% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    7.5
    12 Ratings
    1% below category average
    API for custom integration4.59 Ratings7.08 Ratings
    Plug-ins8.912 Ratings8.011 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of FreeAgent and QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    8.5
    14 Ratings
    4% above category average
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    10.0
    22 Ratings
    20% above category average
    Single sign-on capability9.013 Ratings10.022 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions8.013 Ratings10.019 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of FreeAgent and QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    6.4
    23 Ratings
    20% below category average
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    6.7
    24 Ratings
    15% below category average
    Dashboards7.121 Ratings5.121 Ratings
    Standard reports7.621 Ratings7.924 Ratings
    Custom reports4.410 Ratings7.024 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of FreeAgent and QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    8.7
    25 Ratings
    13% above category average
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    7.6
    26 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Accounts payable8.020 Ratings8.126 Ratings
    Accounts receivable8.522 Ratings7.725 Ratings
    Cash management8.520 Ratings5.520 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation9.020 Ratings9.526 Ratings
    Expense management8.924 Ratings8.622 Ratings
    Time tracking9.018 Ratings7.514 Ratings
    Fixed asset management8.611 Ratings7.016 Ratings
    Multi-currency support8.110 Ratings5.011 Ratings
    Multi-division support9.05 Ratings6.012 Ratings
    Regulations compliance8.78 Ratings10.011 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing9.120 Ratings10.017 Ratings
    Self-service portal9.011 Ratings7.715 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations8.01 Ratings9.519 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings5.08 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings8.615 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.116 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings8.07 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings8.67 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings6.511 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.511 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings6.915 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of FreeAgent and QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    7.4
    4 Ratings
    2% above category average
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    7.4
    17 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Inventory tracking7.72 Ratings9.516 Ratings
    Automatic reordering8.21 Ratings6.512 Ratings
    Location management4.51 Ratings6.911 Ratings
    Manufacturing module9.11 Ratings6.510 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of FreeAgent and QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Feature
    FreeAgent
    8.1
    13 Ratings
    9% above category average
    QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    9.1
    20 Ratings
    21% above category average
    Pricing8.19 Ratings9.019 Ratings
    Order entry6.82 Ratings9.518 Ratings
    Credit card processing8.25 Ratings9.119 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold9.13 Ratings9.118 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings9.07 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings9.19 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings9.18 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    FreeAgentQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FreeAgentQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    8.1
    (34 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (9 ratings)
    Usability
    8.5
    (6 ratings)
    6.1
    (8 ratings)
    Availability
    8.9
    (5 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (4 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FreeAgentQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
    Likelihood to Recommend
    FreeAgent
    For micro and small business it is a great solution. The new requirements for MTD for landlords could also be met with this software. Groups and more complex businesses could not use the accounts and tax returns features, however they still could use it for bookkeeping and then export the data to other tax and accounts production software.
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    FreeAgent
    • Accounting! As you'd expect. Makes it much simpler andmore cost effective. In-coming and out-goings are recorded and assigned to projects and accounts. My accountant can access my books and reconcile so much more easily than trawling through spreadsheets.
    • Time billing - time spent on projects/client work is recorded and is ready to be invoiced as required. Saves so much time and prevents inaccuracies.
    • Invoicing - again, it should do this well and it does. Non payment reminders are automatic and clients have no excuses for not knowing the status of their account.
    • Account dashboard - gives me an instant overview of the health of the business (am I on track to meet my yearly targets) and my accounts.
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    FreeAgent
    • Reporting on financials, time tracking and project status is a little poor. It's adequate for what what we need, but would be great to see more advanced features.
    • API is quite closed so cannot integrate with our other project management tools.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    FreeAgent
    We have used Freeagent for many years now and it serves us well for our needs. To change it would mean a lot of work, and this would most likely only happen if the cost became prohibitive to us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    FreeAgent
    It is a great software that does everything we need for small business clients. It allows to keep the books in a cloud from bookkeeping to accounts production and tax returns, all in one software. There are no major drawbacks and I would highly recommend it for most of our clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    FreeAgent
    Based in a cloud and never had any issues with down time. I can access from any device
    Read full review
    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.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    FreeAgent
    I have never personally used support
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    FreeAgent
    Did not participate
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    FreeAgent
    I have used and tested out many other systems. I was looking at Xero for my accounting system but at the time I chose FreeAgent because of the way it handles the recording of dividends and the inbuilt time recording. The others I trialed were good and many of them cheaper. FreeAgent best suited my requirements at the time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    FreeAgent
    • Professional and uniform offering providing great confident customer service. My clients love it, whether they use it a little or a lot. It's a great piece of software - while sophisticated, it's straightforward to use.
    • Time saving and efficient use of my team's time. Being able to easily share and compare work / tasks.
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • It has allowed us to offer multiple bookkeeping softwares for clients that do not want to change from what they have been using.
    • Payroll filing has given us ease of mind because we can physically make the filings rather than waiting on payroll software to make them for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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