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
Zoho Inventory
Score 9.8 out of 10
N/A
Zoho Inventory is a cloud-based inventory management solution designed for small to midsize businesses. It features inventory management modules including reporting and analysis, and lot traceability. It features mobile compatible apps for Android and iOS devices. Zoho Inventory offers additional capabilities such as built-in shipment estimating, and tracking and delivery confirmation features that allow users to invoice, ship and track products. The solution allows users to create…
$39
per organization / month billed annually ($49.00 billed monthly)
Pricing
QuickBooks Online
Zoho Inventory
Editions & Modules
Simple Start
$38
per month
Essentials
$75
per month
Plus
$115
per month
Advanced
$275
per month
BASIC
$39.00
per organization / month billed annually ($49.00 billed monthly)
STANDARD
$79.00
per organization / month billed annually ($99.00 billed monthly)
STANDARD
$199.00
per organization / month billed annually ($249.00 billed monthly)
I appreciate the ability to auto-generate invoices for recurring transactions, which saves time, as well as the option to set up auto-generated transactions. The report option is super helpful when reviewing information, as you can click to view the details in the report without having to go back and forth.
It's a basic system which does some things well but the things it does well are the basic things you would expect! Many other features that are a little beyond basic are just not available or you can get 90% of the way there but get stuck on the final 10% so you need to hire a developer who can try to get you through the last bit. An inventory management system with no bin locations pretty much sums it up. The reporting system is terrible. To get any real use you need to integrate it with Zoho Analytics but the problem there is it only syncs every 3 hours. The integrated shipping process is extremely cumbersome
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.
The upsells have gotten worse over time and are on every screen in the most awkward positions. I don't need a constant reminder to upgrade, especially on a very old account that's paid thousands over the years.
The interface has never been especially intuitive, but I was an old Quicken user and it was somewhat familiar. Over time, it's gotten worse, and in the last 2 years, the program seems to move things more often than I would expect.
The software constantly adds features that I don't want and want to turn off, but the interface is so difficult to use that I find myself skipping it. Imagine seeing a message that the system recognized invoices that hadn't been paid so it prepared reminder notices for you that can be sent at the click of a button. Who thinks using canned reminders that you've never seen is a good thing?
A lot of functionality seems to derive from connecting your bank accounts to QBO. I don't want Intuit to have an always-on connection to any bank accounts, even checking.
Templates within Zoho Inventory are very weak. You can't customize many including package slips, shipment docs, etc...
When an order has multiple packages, it's next to impossible to find the item you are looking for. Scenario, a large order has many packages and a customer has cancelled one of the items. You must click through every package to find the item, edit the package and remove it before you can cancel the item.
The reports within Inventory are extremely basic and many of them are useless
The packing slip module is useless as it does not print out bin locations
It's an inventory management system but it does not have bin locations
The backorder system is useless. If you "backorder" something then the whole order is locked until the backorder arrives in. Scenario.... a client orders 20 items, 1 is on backorder. You "backorder" that one item but want to ship the other 19... not possible. The order gets completely locked.
You can't print out RMA requests. There is just no option to do it, you have to do a screen shot
Integration with Amazon or other 3rd party e-commerce providers is troublesome.
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.
It is relatively easy to customise but the problem is sometimes it is not easy to see where this customisation is available. Also the integrations with external systems can prove problematic both during installation and ongoing development and maintenance. It's great for small companies with a simple inventory or even larger organisations with smaller product lines. And it is reasonably priced if you ar eprepared to put the time in.
I had very little trouble setting up the program and migrating from our old accounting system. The daily usage is also very intuitive and easy. Anytime we run into minor trouble with the program, there are always tons of help available on YouTube, so we don't even look up the online manual anymore.
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.
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
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.
The inventory management is better than QuickBooks however you give up an awful lot to get that benefit. The reporting in QuickBooks is far superior. The reporting in Inventory is terrible with every few options to customize the reports. For example, pulling in a salesperson report that factors in returns is not possible. You can't pull a report to see what items need to be picked for all open orders.
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
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.
