10 Reasons To Use QuickBooks Online This Tax Season

Taxes are often hard to figure out, but your accounting software doesn’t have to be. Quickbooks Online (see our review) is an easy-to-use accounting solution with a beautiful user interface. And to top it all off, the software offers a few serious time savers come tax season. Here are the top ten reasons to use QuickBooks Online to help you with your taxes.

1. 1099’s

QuickBooks Online helps you prepare and distribute 1099’s. The company offers step-by-step guides to getting this

2. W-2’s

If you are a QuickBooks Online Payroll customer, you can view and print W-2 forms for your employees. The software will keep track of your payroll taxes throughout the year to make filling out tax forms simpler.

3. E-file

QuickBooks Online Payroll users have the options of e-filing their federal and state income taxes. You can also sign up for e-pay, which makes completing your taxes that much simpler. Learn more about this feature here.

4. Sales Tax

Unlike its competitor, Xero, QuickBooks Online doesn’t have Sales Tax Returns support. However, there is an available report called Sales Tax Liability. This report shows all collected sales tax throughout the year and calculates what you owe to tax agencies. You just have to take care of actually filing and paying your Sales Tax Return.

5. Reports

Whether you do your own taxes or hire an accountant, you are going to need certain accounting reports (for more details see our recent post, How to Get the Most Out of Your Accounting Software This Tax Season). QuickBooks Online offers key reports such as Profit and Loss and Balance Sheets. Reports can be emailed, printed, or downloaded as .xls files.

6. Inventory

When you file taxes as a small business owner who manufactures or resells products, you have to value your inventory at the beginning and end of each tax year. Not only does QuickBooks Online offer an inventory feature (for Plus plan users only), but the software also provides an Inventory Valuation Detail report. This report shows your company’s assets and helps calculate your COGs for the year, which you need to know for certain tax forms.

7. Bank Reconciliation

Before you can even file taxes, you have to make sure your books are up to date (all expenses are in, all income is recorded properly, and everything is categorized correctly). QuickBooks Online makes this process quick and easy with automatic transaction matching and duplicate transaction detection.

8. Audit Log

We hope you never have to deal with an audit, but if you do, QuickBooks Online provides an audit log. This log thoroughly recounts “everything that has happened in your company file,” so no one is left questioning the validity of your company’s records.

9. Accountant Access

One of the coolest parts about QuickBooks Online is that you can invite up to two accountants to view your data for free. In the reports feature, there is even an Accountant Reports section. Happy accountant, happy life. That’s the saying, right?

10. Resource Center

The final plug for QuickBooks Online is their Resource Center. This feature offers dozens of tax articles. Some of these articles include “Calculating Sales Tax for Online Businesses,” “An Illustrated Guide to Tax Deductions,” and more.

Is QuickBooks Online Right For Me?

While QuickBooks Online’s tax tools aren’t as extensive as QuickBooks Pro or Xero, the software still offers great time-saving tax solutions.

If you are a current QuickBooks Online user, we hope that these ten features serve as tips to help you make the most of your software. For non-QuickBooks Online users, maybe it’s time to give QuickBooks Online a go. If you’re not convinced, read our full QuickBooks Online Review for more information or check out our 10 Reason to Use Xero This Tax Season article for an alternative.

Whatever you decide, remember accounting software is supposed to make your life easier, not harder— especially where taxes are concerned.