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Core ledger and bookkeeping

QuickBooks Online

Cloud bookkeeping and accounting for small and mid-sized firms and their clients.

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Last checked Read from QuickBooks Online's published pricingHow we check prices

Overview

With the largest market share of any small-business accounting platform in the US and over 750 connected apps, QuickBooks Online covers automated bank feeds, transaction categorization, invoicing, payroll add-ons, and financial statements for solo, small, and mid-sized accounting firms. Most US-based clients your firm onboards will arrive with at least some familiarity with it.

The platform suits solo bookkeepers, small firms, and mid-sized practices managing client books up to around 50 staff. The ProAdvisor program gives accountants a dedicated dashboard for managing multiple client files, wholesale pricing on client subscriptions, and priority support. Mobile apps for iOS and Android let both accountants and their clients capture receipts, approve invoices, and check balances on the go.

QuickBooks Online works with over 750 apps including Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zapier. Bank feeds pull transactions from most major US, UK, Australian, and Canadian banks automatically. Class and location tracking on the Plus plan supports firms with multi-entity or project-based clients. Excel and Google Drive integrations cover reporting exports and document storage.

QuickBooks Online pricing is per client entity, with US list prices from Intuit. The Free plan costs $0 a month and includes one user, no accountant access, two invoices a month, one bank connection, a profit and loss report, and chat support; it lacks a mobile app and third-party connections, so it won't work if a firm needs to manage the books. Paid plans start with Simple Start at $38 a month for one user plus access for two accountants and basic accounting and invoicing. Essentials is $85 for three users, bill payments, and multi-currency. Plus is $140 for five users, inventory, and project tracking. Advanced is $340 for up to 25 users, batch invoicing, workflow automations, and a dedicated account team. Intuit Enterprise Suite has custom pricing for mid-sized businesses needing advanced inventory and reporting. A 30-day free trial is available on paid plans.

Key facts

Starting price
Free
Pricing model
Per entity
Free trial
Yes
Free tier
Yes
Deployment
Cloud, Mobile
Geography
US, UK, AU, CA, Global
Founded
1983
Support
Phone, Chat, Email, Knowledge Base, Community Forum
Languages
English, Spanish, French
Works with
Excel, Google Drive, Stripe, Paypal, Shopify, Hubspot, Salesforce, Zapier, Slack
Last checked
2026-09-04

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • US-based firms whose clients are sole traders, small businesses, or up to about fifty staff.
  • Solo bookkeepers and small practices that want the largest small-business app ecosystem (over 750 integrations).
  • ProAdvisor-enrolled firms that want a wholesale-pricing dashboard for managing multiple client files.

Cons

  • Mid-market clients that have outgrown QBO's reporting depth. Sage Intacct or NetSuite suit them better.
  • UK firms that need MTD-leading workflow. Most UK practices default to Xero for that workflow.
  • Practices wedded to non-Intuit tax-prep ecosystems where QBO sync is not the primary value.

Pricing

TierPriceBillingFeatures
Free$0Per month, no credit card requiredOne user, no accountant access, up to two invoices a month, one bank connection, profit and loss report, and chat support. No mobile app or third-party app connections.
Simple Start$38Per monthOne user, income and expense tracking, invoicing, bank reconciliation, and basic reports.
Essentials$85Per monthThree users, bills and bill payments, time tracking, and multi-currency.
Plus$140Per monthFive users, project profitability, inventory tracking, and class or location tracking.
Advanced$340Per monthUp to 25 users, custom roles, batch invoicing, workflow automations, and dedicated account team.
Intuit Enterprise SuiteCustomCustomMid-sized business tier with advanced inventory, advanced reporting, and dedicated support. Custom pricing on inquiry.
Full QuickBooks Online pricing breakdown, with plan-by-plan sources

Compare QuickBooks Online head to head

Side by side on pricing, integrations and fit, from the same checked records as this page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between QuickBooks Online tiers?
QuickBooks Online US plans range from Free to Advanced. Free is $0 a month, one user, two invoices a month, and no accountant access. Simple Start is $38 for one user and basic accounting. Essentials is $85 for three users, bill management, and multi-currency. Plus is $140 for five users, inventory, project tracking, and 1099 contractor management, and it is where most accountant-managed clients sit. Advanced is $340 for up to 25 users, custom reporting, and dedicated support. Note that QuickBooks Solopreneur is a separate single-user product for gig workers, and pricing is lower in the UK, Australia, and Canada with slightly different tier names.
Is QuickBooks Online good for a UK firm?
Yes, with caveats. QBO handles MTD VAT submissions, UK-style invoices, and Corporation Tax, and has a UK accountant program with bulk client management. The UK app ecosystem is deep but Xero's is deeper for UK-specific tools (payroll providers, CIS contractor handling, MTD partner ecosystem). For UK firms with a mix of UK-only clients, Xero usually wins on app ecosystem. For UK firms with US-headquartered clients or US parent companies, QBO is the safer choice because of the cross-border app and reporting consistency.
What AI features does QuickBooks Online have today?
Automated bank-feed matching, transaction categorization that learns from past coding decisions, anomaly detection on suspicious entries, smart invoice scanning (Receipt Capture), AI-assisted natural-language reporting (Intuit Assist), and AI-flagged month-end review. The features are most useful at scale (100+ transactions per month per client) and add limited value on very small clients. None cost extra on top of the standard tier pricing in the US.
Can I manage a multi-entity firm on QuickBooks Online?
Sort of. QBO is designed around one entity per file, with QuickBooks Online Accountant (free for accountants) acting as the bulk-management layer over all your client files. For accounting firms, this works well: each client is a separate QBO file, and the accountant view lets you switch between them efficiently. For a single client business operating multiple entities (subsidiaries, divisions), QBO's multi-entity reporting is shallow. Sage Intacct, NetSuite, or Xero (with multi-entity addons) handle deep consolidation work better.
Should I move clients from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online?
Eventually, yes. Intuit has been steadily reducing investment in QuickBooks Desktop and routing all new feature development to QBO. The migration tooling is mature. Plan for some chart-of-accounts cleanup and a few weeks of parallel running. The real question is timing: clients on stable Desktop installations with no growth pressure can stay another year or two without trouble. Clients adding seats, adding integrations, or wanting AI features should move now.
What does the QuickBooks ProAdvisor program offer accountants?
The ProAdvisor program gives accountants a dedicated dashboard for managing multiple client files, wholesale pricing on client subscriptions, and priority support. It is built for firms managing several QuickBooks Online client files rather than a single company file.
How many apps connect to QuickBooks Online?
QuickBooks Online works with over 750 connected apps, including Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zapier, which is the largest third-party app ecosystem of any small-business accounting platform in the US.
Does QuickBooks Online have a free plan?
There is a Free plan with one user, no accountant access, up to two invoices a month, one bank connection, a profit and loss report, and chat support, but no mobile app or third-party app connections. Paid plans start at $38 a month for Simple Start, and a 30-day free trial is available on paid tiers.

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