When you started your business, you probably heard “You need Quickbooks” to manage your finances. But is it true that every small business needs Quickbooks? 

Prior to signing up for a plan (Quickbooks isn’t cheap!), it makes sense to see if the industry-leading accounting app actually fits you. Here’s what you need to know before you migrate your business bookkeeping to Quickbooks.

How Does Quickbooks Handle Small Business Accounting?

What Quickbooks does for small businesses:

• Provides a big-picture overview of small business finances. Insight can show where money is going out and coming in — knowledge that can help businesses reduce unnecessary expenses and increase profitability. 
• Generates reports needed for growth. Expense-tracking, time-management and tracking, the ever-important P&L (profit-and-loss statement) and other reports are included.
• Simplifies taxes and every accounting/bookkeeping tasks. Organizing receipts and some built-in automation will simplify and speed up every accounting task.

What Quickbooks also does

• Costs money. Quickbooks costs more than a lot of other options. Smaller businesses may find other solutions fit their budget better.
• Adds complexity that may not be needed. Sole proprietors and businesses without a lot of expenses or inventory could find Quickbooks has too many bells and whistles

What Quickbooks can’t do

• Force you to learn it and use it. Even powerful tools that your accountant will love, that includes accessible customer support and answers all over the web have a learning curve. Subscribing isn’t enough: you have to commit to using it too.

Want more info? 

Entrepreneurs Forever members are encouraged to discuss small business accounting, Quickbooks, and other solutions with their peer group and facilitator.

Not a member? View this free Forever Forward video with Mary Jo Watson of Balancing Act Accounting. She goes into detail about which businesses really need Quickbooks, how it works, why it can make a difference, and which businesses should look for alternatives, too.

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