QuickBooks Online: The Best All-In-One Tool For Small Business Owners to Manage Their Finances
By: Shay James
Entrepreneurs and small business owners are known for being innovative visionaries that are independent and driven. If you’re among this crowd, I’m guessing you can talk endlessly about the passion projects you bring to fruition and all the ways you bring value to your beloved audience or clientele.
What you likely aren’t as excited to chat about is the financial aspect of the business you’re so proud of, and I get it. For many creatives, managing the finances can be confusing and uninspiring, which is why this aspect of your business often ends up getting neglected.
But creating good financial habits in your business prevents stress, burnout, and bad consequences in the long run. At one time or another, most business owners have found themselves clambering to get all their receipts put together for the accountant in April. Or backtracking through a year's worth of bank statements to make sure that all expenses are accounted for.
Fortunately, these are things that can be easily navigated with the right financial management tool. (That’s right! You only need one tool!) QuickBooks Online is widely viewed as the best option available to business owners to take care of all their financial needs. Here’s why we recommend it so highly.
What is QuickBooks Online?
Offered by Intuit, QuickBooks Online is a robust suite of tools designed to help you manage all the financial aspects of your business in one place. Because of the flexibility of this cloud-based solution, QuickBooks Online is the most popular accounting software for small-to-medium-sized businesses and their financial or accounting professionals.
Quickbooks Online is an all-in-one accounting software that allows you to access your financial data from any device with an internet connection. All plans offer a suite of features that allow you to:
Enter and pay bills
Track expenses and income
Simplify taxes
Generate financial reports
Accept online payments
Manage 1099 contractors
Most small- to medium-sized businesses will need the above capabilities and possibly more. QuickBooks Online gives you the unique ability to manage all of your necessary financial tasks from one place. Add-ons and upgrades are available for more complex and growing businesses with more moving parts like inventory and payroll.
Getting Started With QuickBooks Online
The first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with the QuickBooks Online plans. The four plans available for small- to medium-sized businesses via Quickbooks Online are Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. Pricing ranges from $25-$180 per month with an additional 50% off if you sign up for a three-month (or longer) contract. All four plans come with the capabilities mentioned above, plus add-ons as you move up the ladder to higher-tier plans.
Multiple users, time tracking, inventory management, and analytics are a few examples of additional features offered with higher-tier plans. If you’re not sure which plan is best suited for your business, you can start with the base plan and upgrade at any time with no penalty. This is especially useful for business owners who plan to scale and grow.
How to Sign Up for Quickbooks Online
The process to sign up for QuickBooks Online is simple once you’ve picked your plan. Intuit will walk you through a signup process on their website where you choose your plan, sign up for any add-ons you would like to use, and enter all of your company and payment information.
If you’re not familiar with the QuickBooks software and have no experience with basic accounting principles, you might need some help getting started. While most users consider QuickBooks Online to be a very intuitive, easy-to-navigate program, there may be a learning curve for individuals just starting out.
If you have concerns about your ability to use QuickBooks Online, you have an option to sign up for a free consultation with a QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper. Once a bookkeeper has had the chance to assess your needs, you can sign up for help with initial setup or more comprehensive, ongoing services (for an additional fee).
From setting up your chart of accounts and learning the basics of QuickBooks Online, to ongoing monthly reconciliations and report generation, you don’t have to go it alone if bookkeeping is not your strong suit.
Additional Benefits of Using QuickBooks Online
Along with its comprehensive suite of tools, Quickbooks Online comes with several other benefits, including but not limited to:
App integration
Robust support
Accountant access
App Integration
QuickBooks Online integrates with over 650 business apps, some of which you may already be using. This saves you from having to move away from solutions you already enjoy by incorporating them into your QuickBooks Online workflow. Payment processors and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, for example, can work seamlessly with QuickBooks to manage the functions of your business while tracking important financial data.
Robust Support
For individuals who don’t want to hire a certified bookkeeper or accountant through QuickBooks Online, there are several other ways to get questions answered and troubleshoot problems. Support team members can be reached by phone during business hours to answer basic user questions.
Intuit also offers a one-hour webinar that covers the basics of QuickBooks Online to help new subscribers get started. An online community is available for users to ask questions of experts and other business owners who use Quickbooks.
Accountant Access
With QuickBooks Online, you can easily give your accountant direct access. Once you’ve sent an invitation to your accountant to connect your accounts, he or she can review your books, make corrections where necessary, and access reports needed for tax preparation. This feature allows you to easily collaborate with your financial professionals, saving time and eliminating opportunities for errors to go undetected.
Partner With Lamplight Advisors to Help You Error-Proof Your Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation
At Lamplight Advisors, we offer a full suite of financial services to help our clients maintain the financial health of their businesses. We recommend using Quickbooks Online to streamline your financial tasks for your small business. To see if we can help take the burden of accounting off your shoulders, make sure you’re ready for tax season, and keep your finances organized throughout the year, click here to schedule a conversation today.