QuickBooks Online Pricing & Costs Explained

QBO offers four subscription plans: Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. These plans range from $25/month to $180/month. Each tier gives you access to more features and users. Payments are made monthly, and no annual contracts are required.

Here’s a complete breakdown of what’s included with each QuickBooks Online pricing plan.

QuickBooks Online Simple Start

Simple Start is the smallest QuickBooks plan. The QuickBooks Online Simple plan costs $25/month and supports one user.

Here are the features that come with the QuickBooks Online Simple Start plan:

• Unlimited invoices and estimates
• Contact management
• Expense tracking
• Live bank feeds
• Reporting
• Mileage tracking
• 650 integrations

QuickBooks Online Essentials

The QuickBooks Online Essentials plan costs $50/month and is a step up from the Simple Start plan. QuickBooks Online Essentials comes with three users and more features.

Here are the features you get with the QuickBooks Online Essentials plan:

• Unlimited invoices and estimates
• Contact management
• Expense tracking
• Live bank feeds
• Reporting
• Mileage tracking
• 650 integrations
• Manage bills
• Time tracking

QuickBooks Online Plus

The QuickBooks Online Plus plan costs $80/month. QuickBooks Online Plus (not to be confused with QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus) includes five users and advanced features.

Here are the features that come with the QuickBooks Online Plus plan:

• Unlimited invoices and estimates
• Expense tracking
• Live bank feeds
• Reporting
• Mileage tracking
• 650 integrations
• Manage bills
• Time tracking
• Project management
• Job costing
• Inventory
• Class tracking
• Tax support

QuickBooks Online Advanced

The QuickBooks Online Advanced plan is designed for larger businesses. QuickBooks Online Advanced costs $180/month and supports up to 25 users.

This plan includes all of the features of QuickBooks Online Plus as well as:

• A dedicated account manager
• Priority care customer support
• Advanced reporting and analytics from Fathom
• Batch invoices and expenses
• Automated workflows
• Premium apps
• Custom user permissions
• Free online training classes

Which QuickBooks Online Plan Is Right For Me?

When deciding which version of QuickBooks Online is best for your small business, it should come down to your business’s needs and budget. Ask yourself:

• Which features do I need to run my business?
• How many users do I need?
• How much can I afford to spend each month?

The answers to these questions should help you start narrowing down which plan is best for your business.

QuickBooks Simple Start is best for businesses that are just starting out and need a basic way to manage their accounting but don’t need multiple users or features such as inventory and project management. QuickBooks Essentials is best for small businesses that are starting to grow and need up to three users and time tracking support. QuickBooks Plus is the most popular plan for businesses as it includes key features such as inventory, project management, and up to five users. QuickBooks Advanced is for larger businesses that require up to 25 users and need more advanced reporting and support.

The good news is that the QuickBooks Online plans are incredibly scalable, so you can start small and upgrade to a larger plan whenever you’re ready.

A quick note on users: All plans (minus QuickBooks Simple Start) come with an unlimited number of time-tracking only users. So if you have five employees who need to track time and only two that need access to other features in the software, you can still use the Essentials plan without having to upgrade to the Plus plan.

To make your decision on how to choose the right QuickBooks plan even easier, here’s a breakdown of how the QuickBooks Online plans compare.

QuickBooks Online Fees & Extra Costs

In addition to the monthly subscription price, there are a few other QuickBooks Online charges to be aware of. Intuit is not always the most forthcoming about these extra fees, which is why we want to highlight them now. You should know exactly how much QuickBooks Online is going to cost before you commit to a plan.

QuickBooks Online Payroll

QuickBooks Online offers three payroll plans: Payroll Core, Payroll Premium, and Payroll Elite. All three plans are full-service payroll options with automated tax support, but each payroll plan varies in terms of features and customer support.

QuickBooks Online payroll costs between $45-$125/month plus $4-$10/month per employee. If your small business needs a payroll solution, be sure to add this cost with the regular QuickBooks Online monthly fee to get a better idea of how much your accounting and payroll will cost you each month. Read our complete QuickBooks Online Payroll review for all of the details, and be sure to visit the QBO website to see if Intuit is running a QuickBooks payroll discount before buying.

QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping

QuickBooks has recently added a new service called QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping. When you purchase QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping, you get a dedicated bookkeeping expert who virtually assists you with your accounting. This service can include help with expenses, bank reconciliation, setup, running reports, and even tax support.

You can set up a free consultation with the Intuit QuickBooks team to get all of the pricing details. The first month which includes cleanup of your bookkeeping is $500. After the first month, pricing starts at $200/month. The ultimate cost of QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping depends on the number of monthly expenses your business has and the scope of work the QuickBooks certified bookkeeper would be performing.

QuickBooks Capital

QuickBooks Online users can get access to QuickBook’s lending service — QuickBooks Capital. QuickBooks Capital is a working capital loan to help small business owners run their operations, whether that’s covering new hires, ordering inventory, making payroll, etc.

This service uses your existing QuickBooks Online accounting information to determine if you’re eligible for a loan. If you choose to go with this funding option, there are no origination fees and no prepayment fees, but you will be expected to make weekly payments plus APR. Payments vary based on your loan amount, credit score, and term length.

Read our full QuickBooks Capital review for more information.

Tax Forms & Support

QuickBooks Online supports W-2s and 1099-MISCs. You can order tax forms directly from Intuit. The cost begins at $17.99 and varies depending on which form you need and how many. If you purchase QuickBooks Online payroll, these forms may be included, depending on the payroll plan you choose.

You can also choose online filing with QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online will use your QBO data to fill and file your 1099s automatically. The cost starts at $14.99.

QuickBooks Checks

You can purchase checks, voucher checks, business wallet checks, and more from QuickBooks. Standard checks begin at $56.99/per 50 checks; prices vary by check type and amount. Read more on How To Order QuickBooks Checks & Supplies.

QuickBooks Online Integrations

Integrations are third-party add-ons that give you additional features and capabilities. QuickBooks Online has over 650 integrations to choose from, including common software programs, such as Shopify, Gusto, TSheets, and Mailchimp.

Most integrations come with monthly subscription fees, so be sure to account for these extra costs when calculating how big of a dent QuickBooks Online is going to leave in your wallet.

QuickBooks Online Payment Gateways

Payment gateways allow you to accept payments from your customers. Common payment processing options include PayPal, Stripe, Square, and Authorize.Net. QuickBooks Online offers around 25 payment processors, or you can use QuickBooks Payments.

You can read our QuickBooks Payments review, also known as Intuit Merchant Services, for more information, but the basic charges are as follows:

Whether you use QuickBooks Payments or another payment gateway, be sure to take potential credit card fees into account when calculating how much you’ll be spending on software each month.

How To Save On QuickBooks Online

Between the QuickBooks Online monthly fee, monthly payroll cost, bookkeeping support, payment processing fees, and other integrations, the cost of QuickBooks Online can start to add up fast. Luckily, there are some ways that you can save. Here are our top tips for how to save money on QuickBooks Online.

Check For QuickBooks Online Sales & Discounts

QuickBooks Online is almost always offering a discount on its website, so be sure to check for any promotions before buying.

Note: Discounts are invalid if a customer uses the free 30-day trial before purchasing (there is a test drive of the software you can use instead of a free trial). Also, if you are switching over from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, you may be eligible for even better discounts. Contact the QuickBooks Online sales team for more details.

Make Sure You’re Using The Right QuickBooks Plan

Don’t pay for features you don’t need. Make sure you are on the right QuickBooks plan. For example, if you bought the QuickBooks Plus plan because you thought you’d be using the Project Management feature and it turns out you haven’t used the feature in over a year, maybe consider downgrading to the Essentials plan.

Ditch The Unused QuickBooks Integrations

We used to say there’s an app for that — nowadays, there’s business software for that. When it seems like there is a business software application for everything, it pays to be choosy. If your business was using a project management app (such as Basecamp) before purchasing QuickBooks Online, you might find that QBO’s project management features are enough for your business now so that you don’t have to pay double for something that’s already included with QuickBooks Online.

Check For A QuickBooks Online + Payroll Bundle Discount

Oftentimes, Intuit is running a deal where new users can get a discount on QuickBooks Payroll by bundling it with a QuickBooks Online subscription. Be sure to check for these deals before purchasing.

The Bottom Line On QuickBooks Online Costs & Pricing

At the end of the day, the cost of QuickBooks Online is going to depend on your business’s needs, but one thing’s for sure — the cost of QuickBooks doesn’t stop at just $25/month for most businesses.

When calculating the cost for QuickBooks Online, remember that the monthly plans can cost $25-$180/month, payroll can cost $45-$125/month plus $4-$10/per employee, Bookkeeping can cost $500+, checks cost $56.99+, and integrations and payment processing costs can add even more to your final bill.

Hopefully, knowing the exact costs of QuickBooks Online will ease your mind and help you create a more realistic business budget. If this has left you feeling overwhelmed, maybe your small business needs a cheaper alternative to QuickBooks Online. If these prices make you sweat, take a look at our top free accounting software recommendations for some more affordable solutions.

If you want to learn more about QuickBooks, read our complete QuickBooks Online review or get started with a free trial.

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