QuickBooks Online has three levels of online accounting solutions packages: Free, Basic, and Plus. After making your decision to use QuickBooks Online, the next step is to decide between QuickBooks Online Basic and QuickBooks Online Plus. This article will address the differences between the two alternatives. Any accounting solution should be tailored to the kind of business you operate. There is also a free version of QuickBooks, however because of its limited functionality it was not considered for this analysis. For purposes of clarity I will abbreviate QuickBooks Online Basic as “BASIC” and QuickBooks Online Plus as “PLUS”. Each significant difference between the two alternatives is discussed below:

The following capabilities work only with Plus:

Importing – With Plus you can import your QuickBooks Online basic, Simple Start Edition, QuickBooks Pro or Premier Edition file(s). The import does not work with a Mac.

Estimates – Estimates can be created and then seamlessly used for billing only in PLUS.

Online Banking – With online banking, payments and receipts do not have to be entered into your QB register. Instead of entering your transactions, you only have to review them as they appear after the download in the QuickBooks check register. When you download QuickBooks compares it then compares the bank’s transactions to the transactions in QuickBooks and identifies discrepancies. It assists you in managing your cash flow, because you always know which checks have cleared the bank, which means you know how much money you have in real time. This feature is only available in PLUS.

Exporting – You can export transactions and balances to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet only in PLUS. This is a very important feature, since it adds greater reporting capabilities. It gives you flexibility is obtaining and analyzing different types of financial data .

Class tracking – This is very similar to business tracking which is discussed below. This feature is only available in PLUS. Classes allow you to categorize transactions by using classes. With classes you are able to categorize each detail line on a transaction. By way of example, you can write one check to the office supply supplier for items bought for two different business units while being able to track each business unit for those purchases. For example, if you have a consulting firm and an affiliate marketing business. Class tracking is ideal for you, since it common to have purchases and sales that include both types of work. By specifying the appropriate class on each detail line, you can produce a Profit & Loss by Class report that will inform you if your consulting business is more or less profitable than the affiliate marketing business.

Business tracking – This feature is only in PLUS. You can use businesses to categorize data from different locations, offices, regions, or outlets of the same company. By assigning a business to each transaction as you enter it, you can later see businesses on reports. Assigning businesses also lets you efficiently manage groups of transactions.

Time tracking – This feature allows you to enter your time into a timesheet when you charge by the hour i.e. Website developers,consultants, SEO’s, freelancers, sole proprietors, etc.

Invoicing – With Plus also you can customize the invoice.This is another reason to try both to see what works for you.

Reporting and Financial Statements – With BASIC you get 40 standard reports whereas PLUS you get over 65 standard reports. In addition, you also get customization and formatting options. If you want to see a very detailed analysis in a chart format of the reporting differences can be found at Intuits knowledge base for comparison of the QuickBooks Online Products.

Budgeting – You can use the budget feature to estimate income and expenses for future years. PLUS budgets’ use a format very similar to a spreadsheet, with a horizontal row for each of your income and expense accounts, and vertical columns for each month or quarter.This is a very rudimentary but provides a bench mark that every company should use.

1099 Reporting – The IRS requires you to issue a 1099-MISC form to workers for nonemployee compensation if the payer is a trade or business and the payments are to a noncorporate entity were $600 or more for services rendered.This feature is only in PLUS

Number of Users – BASIC provides access for you and your accountant (2 users). Whereas PLUS provides access for 3 users PLUS your accountant(4 users). Plus can be expanded to 25 users for an additional cost.

QuickBooks Support – BASIC includes email support which is provided by Intuit whereas PLUS includes callback and chat support as well as email support also provided by Intuit. Obviously, PLUS support is better, but with BASIC you can resolve your questions by email.

Cost – BASIC costs $9.99 a month whereas PLUS according to the Intuit website is $34.95 per month. However, if you purchase PLUS by utilizing a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor you can buy the product for $21, which is net of a discount 40% discount, which is currently in effect at this time. Discounts and prices may change in the future.

Summary – Generally speaking, BASIC is for smaller companies, whereas PLUS is for small to midsized companies. Before you make your decision, you can test these small business accounting solutions for 30 days for both BASIC and PLUS and decide which is best suited for your company. They are other inherent limitations when comparing BASIC and PLUS to Desktop QuickBooks i.e. Pro, Premier, etc.. By far the most significant limitation is that the Online versions do not provide inventory capabilities, unless you purchase an inventory add on. Finally, its very important to ask you CPA or accountant for help in making this important decision.

Related Content

Subscribe to the post comments feeds or Leave a trackback