QuickBooks for non-accountant business owners
Updated July 22, 2021

QuickBooks for non-accountant business owners

Adrienne Gould-Choquette, P.E. | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with QuickBooks Online

We use QuickBooks Online for our accounting needs including tracking estimates, invoicing, banking, receiving payments, bill payment, and tracking expenses. We are also able to create financial reports to help us predict volume of work trends and let us know how we are performing. Additionally, our accountant has access to QuickBooks Online so that they can retrieve the information and reports they need to prepare our taxes.
  • Receive payments
  • Invoicing
  • Tracking expenses
  • Reporting
  • They will no longer support their desktop app, which they pushed us to use
  • They drastically increased their ACH fees (with the benefit of quicker deposits--but this is not a justifiable benefit for our business model)
  • Some features are limited
  • Saves time and money by making sure my books are in order
  • Automatically downloads banking information to ensure all income and expenses are accurate
  • Provides my customers a quick, easy, and secure way to pay their bills
I used Intuit products for my personal finances for so long, I did not look for any other solutions. When I started using QuickBooks Online for my S-Corp, it was plug-and-play. I was up and running immediately with no learning curve. And QuickBooks Online continues to remain relevant and intuitive, so I have not had reason to explore other options.

Do you think QuickBooks Online delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with QuickBooks Online's feature set?

Yes

Did QuickBooks Online live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of QuickBooks Online go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy QuickBooks Online again?

Yes

I have no accounting experience and I find the software to be very intuitive and user friendly. I am able to do as much customizing as I wish and feel, for my purposes, I have not reached the limits of the software. I like that at a click of a button, I am able to retrieve a real-time, up-to-the-minute financial picture of my company.
I think, with very large companies, it can be difficult to get a direct answer to your software question. Oftentimes, solutions have to be researched by reading through forums. But, that being said, the times I have reached out directly for assistance, I was able to eventually get an answer to my question.
If you are a small business owner who does most or all of your accounting, I recommend QuickBooks Online. It is very user friendly, intuitive to navigate, and easy to link up with your accountant. I am an engineer by profession, with no accounting background. This saves time and gives me peace of mind that my books are accurate and up to date. Much of what is done in QuickBooks Online is automated, so it also saves me time.

QuickBooks Online Feature Ratings

Accounts payable
10
Accounts receivable
10
Cash management
10
Bank reconciliation
10
Expense management
10
Time tracking
Not Rated
Fixed asset management
Not Rated
Multi-currency support
Not Rated
Multi-division support
Not Rated
Regulations compliance
Not Rated
Electronic tax filing
Not Rated
Self-service portal
Not Rated
Global Financial Support
Not Rated
Primary and Secondary Ledgers
Not Rated
Intercompany Accounting
Not Rated
Localizations
Not Rated
Journals and Reconciliations
10
Enterprise Accounting
Not Rated
Configurable Accounting
Not Rated
Centralized Rules Framework
Not Rated
Standardized Processes
Not Rated
Inventory tracking
Not Rated
Automatic reordering
Not Rated
Location management
Not Rated
Manufacturing module
Not Rated
Pricing
10
Order entry
10
Credit card processing
10
Cost of goods sold
10
Order Orchestration
Not Rated
End-to-end order visibility
Not Rated
Order exception Resolution
Not Rated
Pay calculation
10
Benefit plan administration
Not Rated
Direct deposit files
10
Salary revision and increment management
Not Rated
Reimbursement management
Not Rated
Dashboards
10
Standard reports
10
Custom reports
10
API for custom integration
10
Plug-ins
Not Rated
Role-based user permissions
10
Single sign-on capability
Not Rated

Using QuickBooks Online

1 - As my company's owner and operator, I am the QB Online user. I use QuickBooks for all account tasks including invoicing, writing checks, disbursements, tax preparation, and track banking transactions. I also use it to track business income progress and projections, evaluate how the company is performing, analyze and anticipate business cycles, and any other task that has to do with finances.
1 - Our QB Online user is the company's owner and operator. My work experience and educational background are entirely unrelated to finance or accounting, and yet, I am completely proficient in QB. Since QB Online does so much of the work for you and is very intuitive, the main skills needed are general computer skills and strong attention to detail.
  • Invoicing: tracking, receiving payments
  • Spending: tracking expenses
  • Tax Preparation: quick and easy tax reporting tools
  • Track projects in queue
  • Deduce seasonal trends in workflow
  • Make cash flow projections
  • We currently pay our accountant to manage our payroll; however, we may explore QB Online for this service
  • We are beginning to move toward a cost plus quoting style. We may explore using QB online to keep track of hours worked.
QB is actually one of my favorite parts of the job. I get to see graphically how we are performing. Track the money coming in and going out. Quickly see how we are performing based on historical data. I can also monitor when my clients review their invoices. I can allow them to pay online with debit or credit. It's the "fun" part of my day.

Evaluating QuickBooks Online and Competitors

  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Prior Experience with the Product
I used QB for my personal finances for several years. Since QB had an affordable, easy to use, business version of the software I was already familiar with, it started off with a huge advantage. Other small business accounting software packages were a combination of too expensive and too cumbersome for my needs.
I have been using QB for over 7 years now. It is the first software I purchased when I started my company. Over the last 7 years, I have had very few bumps in the road with QB. These few instances were never enough for me to even contemplate looking for another solution. It just does what I need, the price is right, and it seems to be made specifically for the non-accountant small business owner.

QuickBooks Online Implementation

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.
Change management was minimal
  • No significant issues during implementation. We started with QB when we started our company, so we learned its functionality as we grew and needed more features.

QuickBooks Online Training

I found QB Online incredibly intuitive. No training was needed.

Configuring QuickBooks Online

I wish invoicing could be a little more configurable; however, overall, it is just right. More configurability would probably come with more complexity and more cost. So, for my purposes, it's pretty close to perfect.
Best practices:
  • Easy for clients
  • ATTENTION TO DETAIL
  • Sometimes less is more
No - there is no facility to customize the interface
No - we have not done any custom code
If you are just starting out start small and learn as you go. There is an infinite amount of help online to help you grow when you are ready.

QuickBooks Online Support

ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
Problems left unsolved
Difficult to get immediate help
No, I did not purchase Premium Suppport. I have not felt the need for it and, quite honestly, I did not know this was a feature. If; however, Premium Support is an option, I still don't think it is something that would be of value to me as a non-accountant business owner.
Any time I reach out to QB I get exceptional support. The times where I am a bit disappointed is when there seems to be a feature lacking in the software, and I see that many other people have requested this enhancement, and the enhancement is still not implemented. This is few and far between for sure. But in general, their support is always excellent and efficient.

Using QuickBooks Online

ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Writing Checks
  • Invoicing
  • Banking Reconciliation
  • Tracking income and expenses
  • Sometimes reconciliation can be thrown off by online deposits.
Yes - It is not a easy to use as the desktop version; however, it is definitely good to have access on the go. If a client need an invoice resent, or has a question regarding invoicing - it's great to be able to answer them right away without having to wait to return my desk to give them a response.

QuickBooks Online Reliability

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.
Always up and running. I can't really recall an availability issue over the last 7 years.
This is just a non-issue. QB Online is always up and always work as expected.

Integrating QuickBooks Online

QB is the only software in my integration scheme that is ever the least bit finicky.
  • Zapier
  • Jotform
  • Gmail
I use Zapier to automate my work flow. Zapier can be a little cumbersome to set up, but once it is, it is like having an assistant working for you. And my invoices are consistent with gmail labels, gmail tasks, and jotform proposals. Less entering means less room for error.
  • AutoCAD
  • Right-Suite Universal
  • EnergyGauge Summit & USA
It would be great to include my industry-specific software with my integrations. I added these software packages for the completeness of the survey, but I don't think it is probable or practical that these integrations would be available any time soon.
  • File import/export
It's a huge timesaver and worth the setup time and effort.

Relationship with Intuit

I initially purchased QB for Self Employeed when I should have purchased QB for small business. They were very helpful and very quickly got me the right software and my mistake did not cost me. I will always be thankful for their help and guideance.
There is a plethora of online help, and their technical support is very responsive. No complaints at all.
I did not even contemplate negotiating. The software had a price and I paid it. I am currently on an annual subscription.
Regarding purchasing software, if you are a larger company, maybe you have room to negotiate or come to an alternate agreement to what is listed on their website, but for me circumstance, I just correspond through their website.

Upgrading QuickBooks Online

Yes - Really just a reboot - no downtime, no glitches, no unexpected impacts because of the new release.