Square VS QuickBooks

Square VS QuickBooks At A Glance

In this Square vs. QuickBooks comparison, you’ll find that each provides a full suite of business software and hardware tools for business owners of all sizes.

Square is best known as a payment processor offering simple, competitive rates for small businesses. Merchants signing up for Square today will discover a broad range of products and services that go way beyond just credit card processing. With just a free Square account, you’ll have access to Square Invoices, Square Inventory, Square Online Store, the Square App Marketplace, and other services, such as gift cards and loyalty.

Square’s full suite of small business services include:

• Square free POS
• Square POS for Retail
• Square POS for Restaurants
• Square POS Terminal
• Square POS Register
• Square Appointments
• Square Cash App
• Square Loans
• Square Invoices
• Square Appointments
• Square Inventory
• Square Banking
• Square Email Marketing

QuickBooks is best known as an industry-leading small business accounting software package, but its other compelling products include a full merchant account, business checking, payroll, and more. Over the years, Intuit has been growing its small business software offerings to provide an integrated one-stop-shop software experience for small to large businesses.

QuickBooks’ full suite of business services include:

• QuickBooks Online Accounting
• QuickBooks Solopreneur (Formerly QB Self-Employed)
• QuickBooks Desktop Accounting
• QuickBooks Payments
• QuickBooks GoPayment Mobile POS
• QuickBooks Online Payroll
• QuickBooks Checking
• QuickBooks Capital
• QuickBooks Money
• QuickBooks Checking
• QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks’ parent company Intuit also offers a few unique services, including Intuit MailChimp for email marketing and Turbo Tax for personal and business tax filing support.

Where Square Wins

Where Square Falls Short

Where QuickBooks Wins

Where QuickBooks Falls Short

What’s The Difference Between Square & QuickBooks?

The big difference between Square and QuickBooks is that Square was a payment processor first that expanded into a full software suite by building out its own Square ecosystem. QuickBooks was an accounting software first that expanded into a full software suite through some proprietary software buildout but mainly through acquisitions of other successful services.

This difference is important for two main reasons:

1. A Difference In Software Centralization: Square’s services generally become add-ons that can be accessed directly within the Square dashboard, whereas QuickBooks’s products predominantly have separate dashboards that integrate and talk with each other.
2. A Difference In Product Focus: Square’s software expansion began with enhancing its payment services which resulted in highly advanced POS and hardware offerings. QuickBooks’ software expansion began with its accounting software which has resulted in more advanced accounting, payroll, tax support, and time-tracking software.

Square VS QuickBooks Pricing Comparison

One of the bigger differences between Square vs. QuickBooks is the pricing structures. Square’s pricing offers free versions of its main software plans, Square POS, Square for Retail, Square for Restaurants, and Square Appointments. It also has paid monthly plans with additional features if your business needs advanced inventory or reporting, for example, and those run between $29 and $60/month.

QuickBooks, on the other hand, sells all of its products separately, though you may find occasional discounts with some services like accounting and payroll.

So, is Square or QuickBooks cheaper?

Square and QuickBooks both offer good value for what they provide. Square caters more to small and mid-sized businesses that may not have a lot of upfront capital by providing many features with its free plan. Square also allows individuals to choose the features they plan on using that are within their budget. Whereas, QuickBooks gives you more of what you need initially and comes with a deeper feature set overall while also allowing you to add additional services, such as payroll.

That being said, it can be a bit difficult to compare each Square and QuickBooks product in terms of pricing without diving into the nitty gritty of nearly two dozen small business products. Which company wins out with pricing is going to vary significantly depending on which services you’re looking at, but here are the most important highlights:

• QuickBooks payment processing is cheaper for high-volume merchants
• Square payment processing is cheaper for low-volume merchants
• Square’s basic free plan includes POS, e-commerce, invoicing, and scheduling
• Square Payroll is cheaper than QuickBooks but with fewer features
• Square Invoice is cheaper than QuickBooks Online if you only need invoicing services

Square VS QuickBooks Feature & Products Compared

Square and QuickBooks both offer generous feature sets with the option of adding additional services, making them highly scalable products. There is a lot of overlap between the two companies and their offerings, but there are some areas where one offers a service that others don’t.

For example, Square has e-commerce and website builders, whereas QuickBooks hasn’t dived into this realm of software. In the same way, Square offers basic invoicing but hasn’t touched the accounting landscape which QuickBooks dominates.

But how do the products Square and QuickBooks have in common compare? Let’s dive into the main differences.

Square Payments VS QuickBooks Payments

There’s certainly some overlap between Square vs. QuickBooks Payments. For instance, both offer a basic, low-cost solution to accept credit and debit cards and keep tabs on your business. However, one major difference between these two providers is that QuickBooks Payments offers a full-service merchant account rather than the aggregated accounts available with Square.

While merchant accounts require more time and paperwork to set up, they provide better account stability than aggregated accounts. That means you’re far less likely to have your account suddenly frozen or shut down than you are with a payment service provider such as Square.

Unless you sign up for one of Square’s paid add-on services, there is no monthly account fee. Square also doesn’t charge for PCI compliance and is just about the only provider we’re aware of that doesn’t impose a chargeback fee.

Like Square, QuickBooks Payments also relies on flat-rate pricing to keep things simple and predictable. However, it uses a more complicated rate schedule than Square, depending on which QuickBooks service you’re using and whether you’ve opted for a pay-as-you-go plan or a monthly subscription plan. The hefty $0.25 per transaction authorization fee will make QuickBooks Payments more expensive if you process a lot of small-ticket transactions.

Square POS VS QuickBooks GoPayment

Square POS is a feature-rich and cost-effective solution for small businesses and some larger niche businesses as well. Square has virtually every industry covered in some capacity and includes basic reporting and inventory management along with the option to add more advanced features, such as gift cards and loyalty. Square also has intuitive hardware and an enormous app marketplace for integrations.

QuickBooks GoPayment is still a work in progress, but it does cover some of the basics well. QuickBooks’ POS platform allows you to accept both card and cash payments. You won’t find QR payments or receipt printing though. The mobile app connects directly with QuickBooks’ card reader and syncs up with QuickBooks’ other software, making it an acceptable choice if your POS needs aren’t that elaborate.

Square Email Marketing VS Intuit Mailchimp

Square has built-in email marketing that allows you to easily enter and pull up customer email addresses and information. It also makes it easy to sort customers and target them in various ways to lure more business. Furthermore, it comes with easy-to-use templates and customization options depending on your client base. Square also allows for automated marketing campaigns and analytics to track their success.

Intuit’s purchase of Mailchimp bolstered its marketing ability. This integration with QuickBooks now gives it an impressive array of features to help you reach your customers, including professional templates to help you get started, content optimization, and the ability to send emails based on your customers’ internet behavior and interactions. It also comes with in-depth reporting and analytics to make sure you’re getting the most out of your marketing and tools to help find new customers.

The main differences are that Square email marketing is built into the Square ecosystem dashboard versus a separate integration and that MailChimp is significantly cheaper than Square Email Marketing.

Square Invoices VS QuickBooks Online

Square Invoices vs QuickBooks Online isn’t a completely fair comparison as one is an invoicing tool and the other is full-fledged accounting software, but you can send invoices, manage clients, and track projects with both services.

With decades of focus on small business accounting, QuickBooks’ invoicing feature is more polished and offers more robust customization and automation options. There’s even multi-lingual invoicing.

Square’s invoicing feature is rather basic and doesn’t have as many customization features or invoice automation, but if want a bare-bones way to send invoices to customers via email or SMS Square is definitely a solid solution. Square Invoices is also free with your Square account whereas, with QuickBooks, you’ll need a monthly QuickBooks Online subscription to access its invoicing feature, but you’ll get a full suite of accounting features (which you are still going to need to purchase if you go with Square).

Square Payroll VS QuickBooks Payroll

Both Square and QuickBooks offer payroll services as a paid add-on to your basic account.

Square’s payroll service vs. QuickBooks’ Core Payroll plan is significantly less expensive, but they generally include the same payroll features. However, QuickBooks is the only one that offers HR support.

QuickBooks will be the better choice if you have a larger company and can afford to pay extra for a more fully-featured payroll service, whereas Square is the better option for smaller businesses with small budgets and basic payroll needs.

Square Banking VS QuickBooks Cash

Both Square and QuickBooks have recently begun to offer banking accounts and other financial services that you’d typically find at a traditional bank.

With Square Banking, you can open an account with no initial deposit, and there’s no minimum balance requirement. Square doesn’t charge monthly fees to maintain your account, and there isn’t even an overdraft fee. Square Banking offers both checking and savings accounts, with the latter currently paying an APY of 1.00%. Best of all, these accounts integrate directly into your Square account, allowing you to monitor and access your funds right from your Square Dashboard.

QuickBooks Cash also offers a business checking account that’s free to open and doesn’t require a minimum balance, but there’s no savings account option. While the company advertises a claim of “no monthly fees or account minimums” on its webpage, a small-print footnote reveals that there are, in fact, other fees and limits that will apply and are listed in your Deposit Account Agreement. These are most likely incidental fees, such as for overdrafts or foreign transactions. QuickBooks Cash is currently paying a 1.25% APY, putting its earnings rate higher than Square’s. As you would expect, QuickBooks Cash transactions automatically sync with your QuickBooks Online account.

Square Capital VS QuickBooks Capital

Both Square and QuickBooks are now in the loan business as well.

Square Capital offers loans from $300 to $250,000 and uses a flat fee. The application process is simple, and the rates are easy to understand; plus, there’s no credit check required as the approval is based directly on your Square sales (you’ll need $10k/month and a mix of new and returning customers among other criteria).

QuickBooks offers loans from $5,000 to $200,000. The company looks at your credit, and you need to show proof of earning at least $50,000 in the past year, which is less than Square’s $10,000/month, though you may face a credit check.

Both offer short-term loan repayment terms. Square offers higher borrowing amounts and no credit checks, while QuickBooks has lower revenue requirements, so your specific business history will be the deciding factor on which loan option is better.

Square Card Reader VS QuickBooks Card Reader

Square’s credit card reader with magstripe and chip payments are used by thousands of small businesses. You can get a magstripe reader for free when you sign up for a Square account, and the reader for contactless and chip is $49. QuickBooks’ card reader is also $49, and you can purchase a power stand for the device for $39 or, if you purchase them together, you pay $79 through the Quickbooks website.

Both devices take EMV chip, debit, and credit payments along with Google Pay and Apple Pay. Both are durable and versatile and sync up with nearly all other forms of Square or Quickbooks software and hardware as well. Both can also connect wirelessly to either Apple or Android devices and can be easily set up for Bluetooth connections.

Square Shifts VS QuickBooks Time

Both Square and QuickBooks have strong employee management functionality. Square Shifts has a free plan for up to 10 members or an advanced management plan for $4/month per team member. Square Shifts allows businesses to prep for payroll, schedule shifts, and include labor cost reporting. It also has automatic timecards and commission reporting for tips.

QuickBooks Time (formerly Intuit TSheets) charges $20/month plus $8/month per user, but its features are more advanced and comprehensive. Employee shifts can be monitored and managed remotely. Shifts can be easily transferred, and employees can be automatically alerted to changes. It also easily syncs up with QuickBooks’ other software, making it a simple add-on feature.

Which Is Better For My Business: Square Or QuickBooks?

Square has been the provider of choice for many small businesses in recent years, and with its ever-expanding lineup of services, it’s very close to being a one-stop shop for all your business needs. Similarly, QuickBooks has been expanding its services for years and is also striving to be a one-stop shop software suite for small businesses, going so far as to acquire numerous popular software like TSheets for time tracking and Mailchimp for email marketing.

Whether Square or QuickBooks is right for your business is going to depend on two factors:

1. Which product services do you actually need? If you need eCommerce, for example, you’ll only find this with Square; whereas, if you need full-fledged accounting, you’ll only find this with QuickBooks.
2. What level of feature depth do you require? For example, if you have basic payroll needs, Square would be cheaper, but if you have complex payroll and HR needs, QuickBooks has more in-depth features. Similarly, Square has great payment processing for low-volume sales, whereas QuickBooks Payments is built for high-volume sales.

Here are some guidelines to consider in choosing between these two platforms:

Choose Square If…

• You want an affordable software suite that could include payment processing, payroll, and even checking
• You want free invoicing, e-commerce, and scheduling built-in for free
• You’re in retail or restaurant and need a POS with a strong inventory management system
• You’re in the restaurant business and need a great POS
• You need a full-fledged POS system with hardware options available
• You need to take payments online and in person
• You want the ability to collect payments through hardware, email, or SMS
• You need an e-commerce site that integrates directly with other Square products

Choose QuickBooks If…

• You want a full business software suite that could include accounting, payroll, payment processing, checking, and more
• You want capable, full-fledged accounting software that can integrate with other QuickBooks products plus 650+ integrations
• You want a stable, full-service merchant account
• You process over $7,500 per month and want to negotiate a custom processing rate plan
• You don’t need as many POS features and just want a basic mobile POS for occasional payments

Should You Use QuickBooks & Square Together Instead?

While Square and QuickBooks are both trying to be an all-in-one small business software suite, neither has hit that mark entirely yet, so there is another option: you can use both instead of choosing one or the other.

QuickBooks and Square each integrate with each other, so you can absolutely use them in conjunction with the other to get the best of both worlds. But when would using QuickBooks and Square together be a better choice than sticking with just one software suite?

Square’s accounting services are lacking, so if you need in-depth reporting and analytics, using the QuickBooks integration can be very valuable. Likewise, you may be happy with QuickBooks and may have been using it for years to do your books, but if you want to add payment processing (especially for low-volume processing), a point-of-sale system, or an e-commerce site to your small business, adding a Square integration could be the right choice.

Choose QuickBooks & Square If…

• You want simple processing to go along with robust accounting
• You use QuickBooks and want an affordable POS
• You want a free online Square store with the excellent bookkeeping of QuickBooks
• You have a food service establishment with in-depth accounting needs

QuickBooks VS Square FAQs