If you’ve talked to a bookkeeper lately, you’ve probably been asked what software your books are in. With me, the answer is QuickBooks Online. If you’re on something else, or still on a spreadsheet, it’s fair to wonder why that matters and whether a move is worth the hassle.
Here’s why it matters. The software is where your books live. It decides who owns them, who can see them, and how much of the work lands on you. These are my reasons for QuickBooks, and what each one means on your side.
The file stays in your name.
Your QuickBooks subscription is yours, paid to Intuit, and I’m added to it as your accountant. You can take that access away yourself at any time, from Manage users in your settings. If we ever stop working together, nothing has to be handed back, because your books stayed in your account the whole time. (Here’s how a handoff between bookkeepers works.)
Your tax preparer can work from the same numbers.
QuickBooks lets you invite an accounting firm into your file, and Intuit says that invite doesn’t count against your plan’s user limit. So when tax season comes, your preparer can be invited in to see the same books I keep. No spreadsheets going back and forth by email.
One system I know inside and out.
My certifications are in QuickBooks, and it’s where I do my work every day. Working in one platform means I know where each report gets its numbers, the spots where bank feeds tend to cause trouble, and how to fix them without guessing.
Less on your plate each month.
After your bank account and credit cards get linked, new transactions show up in QuickBooks without anyone typing them in. Receipts go in through the QuickBooks phone app. Take a picture, and it’s attached to your books. (Here’s what’s left on your side each month.)
What it costs you.
QuickBooks has a monthly cost of its own, separate from mine and paid straight to Intuit, and you’ll need it to work with me.
What about other software?
Xero and other platforms are solid tools. I chose to go deep on one, and right now that’s QuickBooks Online. If your books are somewhere else today, moving them over is part of getting started, and I’ll give you a price for it before any work begins.
If you’re weighing a switch and want to know what moving to QuickBooks would take for your business, that’s a good thing to bring to a free consult.
Book a free consultKeep reading: What Working With a Remote Bookkeeper Looks Like, Week to Week