Get started in QuickBooks Online: a quick tour & what to do next
Published by Intuit QuickBooksWatch on YouTube
QuickBooks Online
Smart accounting software for small business
- Intuit Inc. · United States
- Since 2001
- 3 languages
Key takeaways
from our research
Ubiquity is the real advantage — nearly every US accountant works in it daily
User-capped plans (1/3/5 users) rather than unlimited, which drives tier upgrades
Heavy introductory discounting — always compare renewal prices, not promo prices
Payroll is a separate subscription on top of the accounting plan
Our verdict
Updated Aug 12, 2026Fact-checked May 21, 2026
QuickBooks Online is the safe default for US small businesses, and "safe" here is a genuine feature rather than faint praise. When your accountant, your bookkeeper and every app you might integrate all speak QuickBooks fluently, month-end gets shorter and mistakes get cheaper.
The product earns the position on merit too. Bank feeds are reliable, the reconciliation flow is the most refined in the category, reporting covers everything a small business and its accountant need, and the ecosystem of connected apps is unmatched. Intuit’s payroll, payments and time-tracking products bolt on natively, which is convenient even when it is not the cheapest route.
The costs deserve scrutiny. Plans are user-capped — Simple Start allows one user, Essentials three, Plus five — and adding people means moving up a tier rather than paying a modest per-seat fee. That is the structural difference with Xero and it can reverse the price comparison entirely for a business with an owner, a bookkeeper and an office manager. Promotional discounts of 50% for the first months are standard and the renewal price is what you should compare. Payroll is a separate subscription. Reviewers also report support quality as the weakest part of the experience.
Our guidance: in the US, ask your accountant first, and if they say QuickBooks, buy QuickBooks — the workflow savings outweigh a feature-by-feature comparison. Outside the US, or with more than about three people needing access, Xero deserves the closer look.
Written by Maya Krishnan · Edited by Daniel Ross
Recognitions
Awards QuickBooks Online has earned
- Category Leader 2026Accounting Software
Ratings
Loved by 100% of reviewers
First-party reviews, individually moderated before publication.
Pros & cons
Where QuickBooks Online shines — and where it doesn't
What users love
- Almost universal accountant familiarity in the US market
- Most refined bank reconciliation workflow we tested
- Largest connected-app ecosystem in the category
- Comprehensive reporting including inventory and project profitability at Plus
Where it falls short
- User caps per tier make multi-person access expensive
- Support quality is the most-criticized aspect in our review data
- Real cost climbs quickly once payroll and payments are added
Compiled by our editorial team
Head to head
QuickBooks Online vs Xero at a glance
QuickBooks Online
Rating
4.1(4)
4.3(3)
Starting price
$38/mo
$20/mo
Free trial
Yes
Yes
Free plan
No
No
Alternatives
Top QuickBooks Online alternatives
The closest fits based on category, feature overlap, and reviewer demand.
Easiest to Use
FreshBooks
4.3(3)Best for freelancers and service businesses that bill for time
From $21/mo
Best Value
Zoho Books
4.0(3)Best for businesses already running the Zoho suite, and for value hunters
Free plan
Videos
Watch QuickBooks Online in action
Product walkthroughs published on QuickBooks Online's own YouTube channel — so you see the real interface, not a reenactment.
Capabilities
Key features
What QuickBooks Online does — and doesn't — cover, checked against the category feature vocabulary.
Reporting & Analytics
- Included:Sales tax & financial reportingSales-tax tracking plus P&L, balance sheet and cash-flow statements.
Platform
- Included:Integrated payrollRun payroll inside the ledger, or via a first-party add-on, with automatic journal entries.
Bookkeeping
- Included:Automatic bank feedsDirect bank and card connections that import transactions daily.
- Included:Bank reconciliationMatch imported transactions to invoices and bills with rule-based suggestions.
- Included:Double-entry accountingA true general ledger with chart of accounts and journal entries.
- Included:Inventory trackingTrack stock quantities and cost of goods sold against sales.
- Included:Multi-currencyInvoice, bill and report in multiple currencies with automatic FX rates.
Invoicing & Payments
- Included:Bills & accounts payableTrack supplier bills, due dates and batch payments.
- Included:Customizable invoicingBranded invoices with recurring schedules and automatic reminders.
- Included:Online payment collectionAccept card and bank payments directly from an invoice.
- Included:Receipt & expense capturePhotograph receipts and auto-extract vendor, date and amount.
- Included:Time tracking & project profitabilityLog billable hours against projects and compare to budget.
Pricing
QuickBooks Online pricing
QuickBooks Online's paid plans start at $38/month — above the $20 median of the 5 Accounting Software tools we track. You can test it on a 30-day free trial.
Value for money 3.8/5Simple Start
$38/mo
per month, 1 user
- Income and expense tracking
- Invoicing and payments
- Automatic bank feeds
- Receipt capture
- Basic financial reports
Most popularVisit website
Essentials
$75/mo
per month, 3 users
Everything in Simple Start, plus:
- Bill management
- Time tracking
- Multi-currency
- Enhanced reporting
Plus
$115/mo
per month, 5 users
Everything in Essentials, plus:
- Inventory tracking
- Project profitability
- Budgeting
- Class and location tracking
Advanced
$275/mo
per month, 25 users
Everything in Plus, plus:
- Workflow automation
- Custom user permissions
- Dedicated account team
- Revenue recognition
Pricing fact-checked August 12, 2026 · source: vendor pricing page · see the full breakdown
Ecosystem
Integrates with 6+ tools
- Shopify
- PayPal
- Square
- Gusto
- HubSpot
- Bill.com
Fit check
Will QuickBooks Online fit your team?
Support
- Email support
- Live chat
- Phone support
- Knowledge base
- Community forum
Training
- Live online
- Webinars
- Documentation
- Video tutorials
Deployment
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Typical users
- Small businesses
- Mid-size companies
Reviews
What real users say
First-party, moderated reviews — never scraped, never paid for.
Ben C.
Freelance Consultant · Consulting · Self-employed
4.5
June 16, 2026
“My accountant asked for it by name”
Used weekly for 2+ years
That decided it, and in hindsight it was the right call. Year-end took two conversations instead of the week of back-and-forth I had with my previous software. The workflow saving outweighs any feature comparison.
Isabella R.
Founder · E-commerce · Self-employed
4.5
May 10, 2026
“Every app we use already connects to it”
Used weekly for 2+ years
Shopify, Stripe, our payroll and our inventory tool all had a first-class QuickBooks integration with no middleware. That ecosystem breadth saved more time than any single feature, and it is the thing the cheaper alternatives could not match for us.
Hannah G.Validated Reviewer
Customer Success Lead · Financial services · 11–50 employees
3.5
April 5, 2026
“Solid software, frustrating support”
Used weekly for 2+ years
The product does its job well. Getting help when something goes wrong is the weak point — long waits and inconsistent answers across three separate issues this year.
Aisha M.Validated Reviewer
Business Analyst · Healthcare · 1,000+ employees
4.0
February 10, 2026
“Hit the user cap faster than expected”
Used weekly for 1–2 years
Essentials allows three users. Between me, the bookkeeper and our office manager we were there on day one, and adding a fourth meant jumping to Plus at $115. Worth checking that maths before committing.
Sources & methodology
Product information sourced from Intuit Inc.'s public content (United States); pricing verified August 12, 2026. Reviews are first-party and moderated. How we test and rate tools
- Founded 1983
- 3 languages supported
- intuit.com
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