Accounting & invoicing · Overview

QuickBooks: what businesses should know

QuickBooks is Intuit's accounting software and one of the most widely used by US small businesses, available online and as desktop software.

  • Full review in progress. This page is an overview to help you decide whether QuickBooks belongs on your shortlist. It has no rating yet. Our in-depth review, with setup, daily use, support and real costs, will replace it.

What QuickBooks is

QuickBooks is made by Intuit. It sits in our Accounting & invoicing category, alongside the other options listed at the end of this page.

Best suited to: US small businesses and their accountants; very widely supported by American CPAs and bookkeepers.

What it does

  • Invoicing, bills and expense tracking
  • Bank feeds and reconciliation
  • Financial reports and tax-time exports
  • Optional payroll, payments and time tracking

Which business sizes it fits

How QuickBooks lines up with the four business sizes we use across Wordle.

Solo

Good fit

Freelancers and one-person businesses

Main Street

Good fit

2–20 employees

Growth

Good fit

20–200 employees

Global

Less typical

Teams across borders

What to check before you buy

Questions to answer, ideally during a free trial or a demo, before you commit:

  • Which edition you need as your business grows.
  • Cost of add-ons such as payroll and payments.
  • Whether your accountant uses QuickBooks Online or Desktop.
  • How many users need access.
  • US tax and compliance. Software doesn't replace professional advice on payroll, sales tax or industry rules.
  • Getting your data out. Ask how you would export your data if you ever switch.

Pricing

QuickBooks pricing depends on the plan, number of users and add-ons, and vendors change it often. We don't list prices on overview pages; check the current plans on the official QuickBooks website. Our full review will break down the real cost.

Other options in Accounting & invoicing

Next step

Shortlist it, then test it on real work.

Read our five-step guide to choosing business software, then run QuickBooks through one real week of your work before you decide.