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QuickBooks Online vs Xero Software?
June 25, 2014

QuickBooks Online vs Xero Software?

Cindy Hovig | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Reseller

Overall Satisfaction with QuickBooks Online

I have been using QuickBooks Online for my husband's business for two years. I really like the ability to include the Account Summary on invoices. We use QuickBooks Online for invoicing, paying bills, reports, keeping our cash balance and have QuickBooks Online synced with Intuit Online Payroll. I really like the integration of QuickBooks Online and Intuit Online Payroll.

We also support clients that use QuickBooks Online in my accounting practice. I am able to review my client's work and make corrections easily. The reports are limited but do provide the basics for our clients needs.
  • You can include an Account Summary on invoices. This allows customers to see if they have any past due amounts without your need of generating a statement. I think this is the best feature of QuickBooks Online.
  • You can connect Intuit Online Payroll with QuickBooks Online. The integration is seamless.
  • You can have multiple users in various locations using the program.
  • The reports could be improved.
  • I do not like how the new look of QuickBooks Online was introduced. For accounting professionals like me, it is difficult to have myself and clients on different "versions" of an online software. I was one of the last to be updated to the new look.
  • You cannot do job costing well in QuickBooks Online.
  • We work virtually with all of our clients. So an online accounting solution is the way to go.
  • We have been able to connect with clients immediately and provide support right away.
We use Xero. I prefer working with clients using Xero over QuickBooks Online. Xero is simpler to use. The clients we have using Xero love it.

We also have many clients using QuickBooks Desktop on a hosted environment. However, hosted QuickBooks is much more expensive than QuickBooks Online.

I personally like working in Xero more than QuickBooks Online. When given a choice, I would almost always choose Xero over QuickBooks Online.. You can get the job done with QuickBooks Online, but I prefer Xero because it provides me with an emotional connection that I do not get with QuickBooks Online.

However, the feature of being able to include the Account Summary on an invoice is very powerful and I might recommend QuickBooks Online if this feature is needed.
I try to find out what is working currently for them and what is not working currently. I might ask: What accounting solution are you using now? Are you happy with your current solution? What pain points are you trying to solve?

I also try to find out what features they need. I might ask: Do you have inventory? Do you need job costing? If they answer yes to either of these two questions, then QuickBooks Online may not be right for them. I may also ask what payment solution they are using and how they pay their bills. These two areas may cause potential issues as well.

I want to be sure an online solution will work for them, so I may ask: How many users do you need? Do you have a good internet connection?