QuickBooks Online Plans Explained: Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced

What QuickBooks Online is

QuickBooks Online is cloud bookkeeping software from a company called Intuit. Cloud means the file lives on a server you reach through a web browser, not on one computer in your office. You record what you earn and spend, send invoices to customers, match your books to your bank, and make reports.

Your bookkeeper and your CPA can both log in from their own offices at the same time. A CPA is a certified public accountant, the person who usually files your tax return. That shared access is the main reason most small businesses pick it over software that lives on one machine.

A profit and loss report shows what you earned and spent over a period, like a month. A balance sheet shows what you own and what you owe on a given date. All four plans make these reports. The plans differ in how many people can log in and how much you can track inside the file.

How the four plans line up

The four plans are named Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. Each step up adds more users and more tools. The number of paid users grows by plan, roughly 1, 3, 5, and 25.

Simple Start is the first step. Essentials adds bill management and time tracking. Plus adds inventory, purchase orders, and tracking by class and location. Advanced adds more users, custom roles, and analytics. Plan names, limits, and prices change often, so check Intuit's pricing page before you pick.

What Simple Start does

Simple Start is the first plan. It covers the basics of bookkeeping. You record income and expenses, send invoices to customers, and match your books to your bank. Match means each transaction in your books lines up with the same one on your bank statement.

It has roughly one paid user. If you are the only person who needs to log in and you only need simple bookkeeping, this plan may be enough. You can still send invoices and see a profit and loss report and a balance sheet. What you do not get is bill management, time tracking, inventory, or tracking by class or location.

What Essentials adds

Essentials adds two things that Simple Start does not have: bill management and time tracking. Bill management means you can record bills from vendors and see what you owe. A bill is a statement from a vendor that says you owe them money. Time tracking means you can track hours worked and put those hours on an invoice.

It has roughly three paid users. If you have vendors you owe, or you bill your time to clients, this plan makes sense. A service business that bills by the hour often lands here. You still do not get inventory or tracking by class or location on this plan.

What Plus adds

Plus adds the tools that product businesses and businesses with more than one location need. It adds inventory, purchase orders, class and location tracking, and project profit.

Inventory means you can track stock you buy and sell. When you buy a product, it goes into inventory. When you sell it, it comes out. Purchase orders are orders you send to vendors before you pay. Class and location tracking means you can tag a sale by department or by store, then see profit for each one. Project profit means you can see income and cost for one job.

It has roughly five paid users. If you sell products, run more than one location, or want to see profit by job, Plus is the plan that does that.

What Advanced adds

Advanced adds more users, custom roles, and analytics. Custom roles mean you can set what each person can see and do inside the file. Analytics means deeper reports and dashboards than the lower plans. It has roughly 25 paid users.

If your team is large or you need fine control over who sees what, Advanced is the top plan. Most small businesses do not need it. The lower plans cover the basics for a business with a handful of users.

How to pick your plan

Start with how many people need to log in. If it is just you, Simple Start may do. If a second or third person needs access, look at Essentials. If you track stock or want profit by location or job, Plus is the one. If your team is large and you need custom roles, Advanced.

Next, look at what you sell. If you sell products and carry stock, you need inventory, and Plus does that. If you sell a service and bill your time, Essentials may be enough. If you sell a service and do not bill your time, Simple Start may do.

Last, ask your CPA which plan they use. A match makes the handoff at year end easier. Your CPA logs in, sees clean books, and does not have to clean them up first.

A situation we clean up

The plan that costs too much

A business signs up for a higher plan than it needs. Months go by and the owner pays for inventory tracking and extra users that nobody uses. The books still get reconciled each month, but the software bill is too high for what the business actually does.

Here is how we handle it. We list what the business actually uses. We check how many people log in. We look at whether inventory or job tracking is turned on. We compare that to the lower plan. We tell the owner what each plan includes so they can pick the right one. We never state prices. Check Intuit's pricing page for the current cost.

How we do it

We are QuickBooks Online Accountants, so we work in the accountant side of QuickBooks Online every day, and we work in Xero too. We work inside your QuickBooks Online or Xero file. You do not have to switch to work with us.

If you have no software yet, we set one up for you. We start with clean and reconciled books. Reconciled means your books match your bank statement for the month. Then we close each month by the 10th and send your reports.

We use read only access, and we never ask for your bank password. Each client gets one dedicated bookkeeper who learns your business. We serve small businesses in Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Fontana, San Bernardino, and across the Inland Empire and the country. We do monthly bookkeeping and payroll.

If you are on the wrong plan, we help you see what you use and what you do not. We never state prices. We tell you what each plan includes and point you to Intuit's pricing page.

Mistakes we fix

• A business on a plan too small to track what it needs
• A business on a plan too big, paying for tools it never uses
• Inventory tracked in a spreadsheet instead of in the books
• Class and location tracking never turned on when the owner needs it
• A file set up with no job tracking when profit by job matters

What we do

We do two things: monthly bookkeeping and payroll. For bookkeeping, we categorize and reconcile in the first week, send one list of questions on day 8, and close the books by day 10. You get a profit and loss report, a balance sheet, and a cash summary. We start with a free 20 minute call and reply with a fixed quote in one business day.

Common questions

Which plan should I start with? The one that fits how many people log in and what you track. If you are alone and need the basics, Simple Start. If you bill your time or owe vendors, Essentials. If you sell products or want profit by location, Plus.

Can I change plans later? Yes. You can move up or down as your business changes. Check Intuit's pricing page for what each switch involves.

Do I need Plus for inventory? Yes. Inventory tracking starts at Plus. If you sell products and carry stock, Plus is the plan.

Will a bigger plan fix my messy books? No. A bigger plan adds tools, not clean books. We clean the books first, then the tools help.

Do you work in QuickBooks Desktop? No. We work in QuickBooks Online and Xero. If you are on Desktop, we can help you move to Online.