QuickBooks Self-Employed VS Xero TaxTouch

Xero TaxTouch has been discontinued. While QuickBooks Self-Employed was still the superior product even when Xero TaxTouch was around, the winner is even more clear now. Read our full QuickBooks Self-Employed review to see what this software has to offer.

Accounting software has been around for ages, but tax software is new to the game. Intuit created a program specifically designed for freelancers called QuickBooks Self-Employed in 2015, and Xero quickly followed suit with their Xero TaxTouch app in 2016. Since this type of software is still so new, it can be hard to know which is best. That’s why we’re here.

QuickBooks Self-Employed has used its head start to offer ample features, a beautifully designed interface, and plenty of tax support for freelancers. Freelancers can track deductions, calculate estimated quarterly taxes, separate personal and business expenses, and file taxes online using a Turbo Tax integration. QuickBooks Self-Employed also has strong user apps for both iPhones and Androids.

While Xero TaxTouch only offers an iPhone, the software is easy to use and offers key features for freelancers like tracking deductions, calculating estimated quarterly taxes, and separating personal and business expenses.

Will QuickBooks Self-Employed’s head start be enough to beat out the competition? Is Xero TaxTouch the heroic underdog of this matchup? Well, that’s what we’re about to find out.

At Merchant Maverick, our goal is to help you to find the best software for your small business needs. So to make your decision easier, we’ve carefully researched and tested both products. We’ll put these two tax solutions head to head by comparing features, pricing, customer experience, reputation, and more, so you don’t have to.

Don’t have time to read the whole post? Or looking for a different accounting option? Check out our top-rated accounting solutions to see our favorite recommendations.

Accounting

Winner: Tie

QuickBooks Self-Employed and Xero TaxTouch are not accounting software, but both use cash-basis accounting to calculate taxes.

Features

Winner: QuickBooks Self-Employed

While both software options provide incredibly valuable features to freelancers, it ultimately comes down to which software offers more features. And in this case, that’s QuickBooks Self-Employed. While neither software is a complete freelance solution, QuickBooks Self-Employed gets close.

Pricing

Winner: Xero

Xero TaxTouch offers a single pricing plan of $5.99/mo. QuickBooks Self-Employed offers two pricing plans; the cheapest plan costs $10/mo and the most expensive plan costs $17/mo and includes Turbo Tax filing (which is usually a $115 value). Xero TaxTouch is far more economical and affordable, although QuickBooks Self-Employed is still relatively inexpensive, considering the number of features that price includes. While we pronounce Xero TaxTouch the winner for this section, we recommend you take a look at both company’s pricing plans and feature sets to ensure you get the most bang for your buck.

Hardware or Software Requirements

Winner: QuickBooks Self-Employed

As a cloud-based software, QuickBooks Self-Employed can be accessed from nearly any device, so long as you have an internet connection. There is also an iPhone app (iOS 9+) and an Android app (4.2+). Xero TaxTouch, on the other hand, is only available via iPhone (iOS 9+). QuickBooks Self-Employed wins this section because it offers more accessible options for the average user.

Users and Permissions

Winner: Tie

Both QuickBooks Self-Employed and Xero TaxTouch are designed for a single user.

Ease of Use

Winner: Xero

Both Xero TaxTouch and QuickBooks Self-Employed are incredibly easy to use; however, Xero TaxTouch takes the lead here. The mobile app has a convenient (and daresay I say fun?) swipe design that makes categorizing expenses feel like playing a game. Swipe left for business transactions and right for personal transactions, and in no time, your transactions are organized.

Mobile Apps

Winner: QuickBooks Self-Employed

QuickBooks Self-Employed offers full-featured iPhone and Android mobile apps that are well-loved by most users. The app receives 4.4/5 stars on iTunes (based on 46 reviews). Xero, on the other hand, has a wonderfully designed app, but it is ridden with glitches that many users complain about. Xero also doesn’t have an Android app, which is a big problem for a lot of potential users. The people have spoken in this case and declared QuickBooks Self-Employed the winner here.

Customer Service and Support

Winner: QuickBooks Self-Employed

Ordinarily, QuickBooks has very poor customer service, while Xero’s customer service always goes above the mark. However, the roles have reversed this time. QuickBooks Self-Employed offers a complete Self-Employment Center with incredibly helpful information for freelancers. They also respond quickly to support forms, whereas getting an answer from Xero TaxTouch’s team is incredibly difficult. Xero TaxTouch’s email response times are slow and their other support options are limited, which is why we gave the victory to QuickBooks Self-Employed in this category.

Negative Reviews and Complaints

Winner: Tie

As both QuickBooks Self Employed and Xero TaxTouch are relatively new, neither has received many reviews yet. QuickBooks Self-Employed has a few more reviews since it’s been around longer, but most of these reviews are positive. When it comes down to it. Both software companies have about the same (very minimal) amount of negative reviews.

Positive Reviews and Testimonials

Winner: QuickBooks Self-Employed

Since QuickBooks Self-Employed started up sooner, it’s had a head start on raking up the positive customer reviews. The software receives 4.3/5 stars for its Android app and 4.5/5 stars for its iTunes app. It’s worth noting, that Xero receives 4.5/5 stars on iTunes as well. While both programs receive high ratings, QuickBooks Self-Employed has the highest quantity of positive reviews, making it the winner.

Integrations

Winner: QuickBooks Self-Employed

Neither software offers much in the way of integrations. Xero only offers live bank feeds and no true integrations, while QuickBooks Self-Employed only offers live bank feeds and a single integration. However, this single integration is invaluable. QuickBooks Self-Employed integrates with Turbo Tax, so that come tax season, users can pay their taxes online with ease. This is one of the best offerings a freelance tax tool could dream up.

Security

Winner: Xero

While both companies offer good security, Xero has a reputation for offering some of the strongest security in the accounting software scene. Both QuickBooks Self-Employed and Xero use data encryption, redundancy, and physical security measures at their prospective data centers. However, Xero performs regular security audits and boasts an unheard-of record of 99.97% uptime.

To learn more about cloud security read our articles, Is My Accounting Safe in the Cloud? and What is SSL? A First Look at Online Security.

And the Overall Winner Is…

In the end, it ultimately came down to this question: which software is better suited for the everyday freelancer? And the answer is QuickBooks Self-Employed.

QuickBooks Self-Employed is available on both iPhone and Android. The software offers a large selection of features, a convenient Turbo Tax integration, and strong customer service.  The price, although not as cheap as Xero TaxTouch, is affordable and you definitely get your money’s worth in terms of features. In this instance, the head start really did pay off.

Xero TaxTouch, on the other hand, is lagging a bit behind in the tax software scene. The software is only available on iPhones, which is a deal-breaker for many users. The app itself is also very buggy at times. The software also doesn’t offer as many features or tax support options as QuickBooks Self-Employed either. The app is still incredibly well-designed and fun to use, and software could be a good, affordable option for some users. But for now, Xero TaxTouch has some catching up to do.

Read our full QuickBooks Self-Employed and Xero TaxTouch reviews for more information. Be sure to take each software for a test run, and feel free to reach out with any questions you might have.

Get Started With QuickBooks Self-Employed

Get Started With Xero TaxTouch