Let’s face it, managing finances is not everyone’s cup of tea. It comes as no surprise that many small businesses have been known to lack financial discipline and end up with financial ruin sooner than later. There are many reasons for this — be it small business owners being overly optimistic about the future, not having a good grasp on cash flow, or simply not being financially literate. Let’s admit it — not everyone is born with an accounting gene. Fortunately there are many tools out there that can assist you in managing your company’s finances efficiently to prevent the risk of financial ruin. In this blog post, we will discuss two such tools which we feel every small business owner should adopt — QuickBooks and Profit First method.
What is QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is a desktop accounting software that has been around for years — way before online accounting software was even thought of. QuickBooks was initially made for small businesses, especially those that specialize in services and products that require a lot of accounting and bookkeeping. QuickBooks can seem overwhelming and confusing for new users. However, once you get the hang of it, you will find that it is a great tool for accounting and even has some other useful features like creating budgets, tracking sales, and managing cash flow.
Why should you use QuickBooks?
There are many reasons why you should use QuickBooks. Whether you are just starting out or your company is already established, here are some good reasons why you should use QuickBooks: – It will help you keep track of your finances — QuickBooks is designed to help you keep track of your income and expenses. The software will automatically categorize your transactions, which will save you a lot of time. You can also set up reminders to get paid on time. – It will help you create budgets — If you are new to business, budgets may seem like a daunting task. But having a budget is really important if you want to stay profitable. QuickBooks makes it easy for you to create budgets for different areas of your business. – It will help you forecast future cash flows — One of the best features of QuickBooks is that it tracks your cash flow. This feature is really helpful if you are new to business. With the cash flow feature, you can forecast your future expenses and make sure that you have enough cash on hand to pay for them. – It is easy to use — QuickBooks is a very intuitive accounting software. If you are new to accounting or simply don’t like keeping track of numbers, this is probably not the right tool for you. If you are looking for something easy to use, QuickBooks is a good choice. – It is scalable — If your business grows and you need more features from QuickBooks, you can simply upgrade to a paid version. The paid versions of QuickBooks are more feature-rich and offer more flexibility for users. – It can be integrated with other tools — If you are using other tools to manage your business, you may want to integrate those tools with QuickBooks. You can do this with IFTTT, Zapier or any other integrations that QuickBooks supports.
Why people dislike QuickBooks?
If you read the advantages of QuickBooks, then you might be thinking, “Why would anyone dislike QuickBooks?” At the same time, it’s important to know what people dislike about QuickBooks as this will help you decide if you should use it in your business. Here are some of the reasons why people dislike QuickBooks: – It is complex — The complexity of QuickBooks can be a big turn-off for many people. Even the basic version of QuickBooks can be quite complex for the average person. If you have never used QuickBooks before, you will have to spend some time learning to navigate the software. – It is expensive — QuickBooks is not a cheap accounting software. The basic version is free, but you will have to pay per month for the service. If you use the paid version of QuickBooks, you will have to pay around $20-$40 per month depending on the features you use. – It is not suitable for all industries — QuickBooks is a suitable accounting software for businesses that are service-based or sell goods. If you are in the manufacturing sector, you will have to look for a different accounting software. – It is not easy to switch to another accounting software — Once you start using QuickBooks and set it up to meet your business requirements, it is not easy to switch to another accounting software. This is simply because there is no one-click export feature in QuickBooks. You will have to export all your data manually to use it with another accounting software.
Pros of QuickBooks
There are many advantages of using QuickBooks. Most of these advantages apply to both the online and desktop versions of QuickBooks. These are some of the reasons why you should use QuickBooks in your company: – It has a user-friendly interface — The user interface (UI) of QuickBooks is very user-friendly. If you have ever used any accounting software, you will have no trouble using QuickBooks. Even if you have no accounting experience at all, you will find the UI very intuitive. – It has a robust reporting feature — A robust reporting feature is one of the key benefits of QuickBooks. You can generate useful reports to analyze your business’s performance. – It has a lot of integrations — One of the reasons why QuickBooks is so popular is because it has integrations with other business tools. You can seamlessly integrate it with tools like Salesforce, Shopify, and many other tools. – It has advanced features if you upgrade — If you use the free version of QuickBooks, you will get only the basic features. If you want to get the advanced features, you will have to upgrade to the paid version.
Limitations of QB
Despite all the advantages of QuickBooks, it’s important to note that there are some limitations with this accounting software. Here are some limitations of QuickBooks: – It is not suitable for freelancers — The basic version of QuickBooks is suitable for small businesses that want to track their income and expenses. If you are a freelancer, you will have to pay $60 per month for the Plus version of QuickBooks. – It is not free — The free version of QuickBooks is useful if you are a micro-business. But if your business exceeds the micro-business level, you will have to pay for the Plus version of QuickBooks. – It can be complex for new users — The simplicity of the UI can be deceiving. If you are a new user, it can be very complex to use QuickBooks.
Summing up
This has been a long blog post on QuickBooks and the pros and cons of using this accounting software. We believe that QuickBooks is a great accounting software for small businesses. – It is popular among business owners. – It has robust features. – It has a user-friendly UI. – It has many integrations. – It has an easy migration path for existing users. – It is scalable. – It can be integrated with other tools. – It has limitations for new users. – It is not free. – It is expensive. If you are a small business owner, then you should use QuickBooks to manage your company’s finances.