When it comes to accounting software, there are two main options to consider: QuickBooks Online and Xero. These platforms are powerful, comprehensive tools to help you manage your books. Both are cloud-based service providers, which makes it easy for you to work from multiple devices on a subscription plan.
QuickBooks is and has been the gold standard of accounting software for years. It has a solid reputation among its users and is very intuitive and easy to use. But Xero has been increasing in popularity lately and has gotten lots of positive reviews as well.
We did some research, and after comparing the two, we still believe that nothing beats QuickBooks. This post will lay out the details of both platforms and explain why QuickBooks is still the better option, especially if you need complex financial reporting and the ability to scale up as your business grows.
QuickBooks Overview
QuickBooks gives you the ability to tailor your financial reports with a variety of complex features depending on your needs. It offers advanced reporting capabilities that make it easy to create and display exactly the information you’re looking for. You can also customize your QuickBooks features for quick and convenient reports.
With a basic QuickBooks subscription, you’ll be able to track income and expenses, send invoices, and run basic financial reports. If you need to invest in an upgraded plan, you will gain more complex tax tracking and customer payment reporting–and the price point isn’t significantly higher. As you scale up your business, you’ll add increased user access and more integration capabilities to make accounting a breeze.
QuickBooks is such a familiar tool that it’s easy to find people who can help you set up the software and can walk you through any issues you have. It’s super easy to share with your bookkeeper or accountant, too!
One of the few downsides of QuickBooks is that some capabilities, like inventory management, only come with a larger subscription. For small businesses, this isn’t ideal. If retail is an important part of your business model, you should be aware of QuickBooks’ limitations with inventory management on its lower-priced plans.
Xero Overview
Like QuickBooks, Xero also offers basic reporting capabilities and income/expense tracking. It has a simple and easy-to-use interface, and its dashboard is very similar to QuickBooks, with both offering a financial overview of your business with specific insights into your accounts.
Something unique to Xero is that you can have unlimited users on your subscription. If you have multiple accounts or people that need access to financial data and tracking, Xero might be worth looking into. QuickBooks does limit the number of users depending on the plan you sign up for–but that might not matter to you if only one or two people will be using the software.
Another advantage of Xero is its strong inventory management for small businesses. As we mentioned earlier, QuickBooks requires at least a Plus plan before offering this capability. Depending on the business, this might be an important factor in choosing accounting software. Small businesses that need inventory management should consider Xero for their accounting needs.
Xero does offer the cheapest monthly subscription option, but it doesn’t provide the same capabilities that QuickBooks does. In fact, the basic Xero plan only accommodates up to 20 invoices a year. Unless you have a very low number of invoices per month, this Xero plan will limit your ability to track the data and information you need to run your business successfully.
Why QuickBooks Stands Out
After comparing the two, it’s clear to see that QuickBooks and Xero are both useful and effective accounting tools–but QuickBooks still has the edge in most scenarios.
At the end of the day, we fully understand that choosing an accounting plan depends on your unique needs. But like we said, we’re QuickBooks fans through and through! QuickBooks’ Simple Start or Essentials plan are affordable while offering robust reporting and financial analysis. Plus, you’ll be able to easily scale your business by upgrading your subscription any time you want.
Once you choose your accounting platform, you’ll need to do some thinking on which subscription to invest in. If you need help narrowing down which plan is ideal for your business, get in touch! I’d be happy to give you some support with your books.
