QuickBooks Online vs. Square Payroll

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Online
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks 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
Square Payroll
Score 6.1 out of 10
N/A
Square Payroll is a payroll solution for hourly employees, from Square headquartered in San Francisco, California.
$29
per month
Pricing
QuickBooks OnlineSquare Payroll
Editions & Modules
Simple Start
$38
per month
Essentials
$75
per month
Plus
$115
per month
Advanced
$275
per month
Free
$0
per month
Plus
$29
per month
Premium
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks OnlineSquare Payroll
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks OnlineSquare Payroll
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Online

No answer on this topic

Square Payroll
Chose Square Payroll
We have tested the QuickBooks Online platform. Before using Square, we tried QuickBooks, but the experience we had was not to our liking. QuickBooks Online is a much more complicated platform to use, the interface is much larger and has complexity in the configuration of the …
Chose Square Payroll
Cheaper and easier to implement Square payroll versus the competition. Accessible to the small business. Doesn't have a learning curve. Quick deployment to usage/adoption. The other options don't compare when looked at feature for feature vs. price.
Features
QuickBooks OnlineSquare Payroll
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online
8.1
121 Ratings
7% above category average
Square Payroll
7.8
6 Ratings
6% below category average
Pay calculation8.4110 Ratings8.96 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.260 Ratings9.15 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.5101 Ratings7.06 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.374 Ratings8.94 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.981 Ratings7.85 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings8.65 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings4.44 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online
7.1
112 Ratings
6% below category average
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
API for custom integration7.193 Ratings00 Ratings
Plug-ins7.094 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online
8.4
185 Ratings
2% above category average
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
Single sign-on capability8.5150 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.3175 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online
8.2
211 Ratings
5% above category average
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
Dashboards8.3198 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports8.5205 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports8.0189 Ratings00 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online
8.0
228 Ratings
5% above category average
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
Accounts payable8.8194 Ratings00 Ratings
Accounts receivable8.8211 Ratings00 Ratings
Cash management8.1194 Ratings00 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.0217 Ratings00 Ratings
Expense management8.4201 Ratings00 Ratings
Time tracking6.994 Ratings00 Ratings
Fixed asset management8.094 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.548 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-division support7.379 Ratings00 Ratings
Regulations compliance7.977 Ratings00 Ratings
Electronic tax filing8.1112 Ratings00 Ratings
Self-service portal7.5124 Ratings00 Ratings
Global Financial Support6.840 Ratings00 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.169 Ratings00 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting8.070 Ratings00 Ratings
Localizations7.954 Ratings00 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations8.5140 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting7.159 Ratings00 Ratings
Configurable Accounting7.986 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework7.757 Ratings00 Ratings
Standardized Processes8.8104 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online
6.9
88 Ratings
6% below category average
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
Inventory tracking6.783 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic reordering7.146 Ratings00 Ratings
Location management7.353 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing module6.636 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Online
7.9
140 Ratings
5% above category average
Square Payroll
-
Ratings
Pricing8.090 Ratings00 Ratings
Order entry7.886 Ratings00 Ratings
Credit card processing8.4108 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost of goods sold8.4106 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Orchestration7.446 Ratings00 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility7.949 Ratings00 Ratings
Order exception Resolution7.542 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks OnlineSquare Payroll
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 6.1 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
SAP Cloud ERP
SAP Cloud ERP
Score 8.6 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks OnlineSquare Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(230 ratings)
4.7
(8 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.4
(27 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(146 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
1.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.8
(70 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.9
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
1.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
1.3
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
2.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks OnlineSquare Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
Square is an amazing platform to have total control over the payroll of all the employees of a company or a specific sector. This platform has a very good functionality to collect exact information on how long each employee works, that is one of its most outstanding characteristics, because it monitors work schedules and overtime and generates detailed reports on the work time of each employee. Square does not allow to schedule payments, that is one of the main problems, however, I consider that it is a very good option for small and medium-sized companies that are looking for a way to have more exact administrative control over the working hours of all their employees. It is a software that works in the cloud, so all the work information that is collected will remain safe without any risk of loss.
Read full review
Pros
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
  • 1099 contractor payments are easy, and they provide you with the IRS filing as part of the service.
  • Direct deposit/debit from your already connected account to the employee.
  • Reporting and management features are simple yet inclusive.
  • Low cost compared to alternative solutions.
Read full review
Cons
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
  • It's a bit pricey for larger companies at $5 per person paid per month.
  • Has a bit of a learning curve that seems steeper than necessary
  • reports can be confusing at first
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
It could use a mobile-friendly interface. Other than that it's a simple layout and non-cluttered which allows you to get done what you need to get done. No unnecessary dodads or distractions.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
Performance
Intuit
Everything process has its bugs lately with the new interface. Nothing has worked smoothly since this all began last month.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
I think they have quick and helpful customer service reps, however, I give them a 9 because I have had to wait on hold for long periods of time before.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
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
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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
Block, Inc (Square)
I liked patriot, but I found it to be more confusing than Square and took me too much time to setup. I setup Square Payroll in about an hour. I would also say the Square interface made more sense to me. I also like how Square offers more things like benefits, etc. that can be added on.
Read full review
Scalability
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
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
  • Square Payroll has dramatically reduced the time it takes to process payroll.
  • We could have a faster payroll with the Square POS integration for commission, but that is not something we've implemented yet.
Read full review
ScreenShots

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