Accurate financial records are essential for managing cash flow, meeting tax obligations, and supporting strategic planning. A solid bookkeeping software provides the foundation for sound business decisions and long-term growth. There is a large number of bookkeeping software for businesses on the market today but QuickBooks® still remains the one most small and midsize businesses rely on, including accounting firms. QuickBooks provides a comprehensive suite of tools designed to simplify financial management and support business growth. Here are some common questions we receive about QuickBooks and why it’s still the preferred accounting software.
Q. Why is QuickBooks a good bookkeeping software for businesses?
QuickBooks offers several advantages over other accounting software solutions. It’s affordable and adaptable to the needs of businesses across various industries. It offers real-time information and tools for simple financial management such as tracking expenses to more complicated tasks like inventory tracking.
Q. What can QuickBooks do?
At it’s core, QB provides the back-office functions for your company, including:
- Accounting and Bookkeeping: tracking your income and expenses, recording bank and credit card transactions, bank reconciliations, manage your chart of accounts, and ability for general ledger and journal entries
- Invoicing and Accounts Receivable Management: create and send invoices (including recurring), payment reminders, acceptance of online payments via credit card and ACH), tracking customer balances and aging, and generating sales receipts and estimates
- Accounts Payable and Expense Management: track due dates and vendor balances, pay bills and schedule recurring, record and categorize expenses
- Reports and Financial Insights: run profit and loss (P&L), balance sheet and cash flow statements, create custom reports, budgeting and forecasting tools, tax summary and audit trail reports
- Payroll and HR: process your payroll for hourly, salary, and contractors, automate your payroll tax filings and payments, track employee hours and vacation or PTO/sick time, generate W-2s and 1099s
- Sales and Tax Compliance: calculate sales tax based on location, track sales tax liability, generate sales tax reports for filing
- Inventory and Product Management: track inventory quantities and costs, create purchase orders, set reorder points, FIFO inventory costing support
- Project and Job Costing: track project income, expenses, and profitability, assign time and costs to jobs or clients, monitor job or project labor and materials, send progress invoices for long-term projects
Q. Is QuickBooks expensive for small businesses?
It depends the complexity of your business. Most retail, construction, manufacturing, nonprofit, wholesaler and distributors will need a more robust system such as QB. These industries will use many of the QB software tools. While there are programs offering “free” options, as your business grows, you will likely need to switch to a paid plan and not all software are created equal, so you should ensure your choice provides all the tools you need in one platform suite.
Q. Does QuickBooks integrate with other platforms?
QB does work with other software platforms for e-commerce (e.g., Shopify, Amazon) and other third-party apps (e.g., Expensify, Bill.com, TSheets). It will also integrate with tax platforms such as Avalara and your bank accounts for reconciliations, other payment processors, and some CRMs.
Q. What are other benefits of using QuickBooks?
Although QB has been around for over 30 years, they have advanced their platform with automation and AI features to keep up with modern business needs. QB also provides training and certifications for various versions of its software. Partnering with an accounting firm who has professionals that are QB certified gives business owners and in-house accounting support a reliable source to help with software functionality and best practices. Finally, when your financial records are organized your tax accountant can review financial reports to identify potential discrepancies, errors and areas of improvement. This helps you to focus on day-to-day operations while your accounting team manages the complexities of reporting and compliance.
Need help?
DWC has certified QB ProAdvisors who can help you set up and optimize the software’s features to maximize its benefits. Or we can provide full bookkeeping support for you. Contact us for more information.
