What accounting/invoice service is better for startups, e.g., Freshbooks, Quickbooks, Shoeboxed, Expensify?
David Barrett, Founder and CEO of Expensify ("expens...
15 votes by Tor Grønsund, Jacob Esparza, Pashmina Lalchandani, (more)
Hi all, sorry for the slow reply. I'm biased, being the founder of Expensify, but here's my take: these options aren't alternatives so much as complementary tools. Expensify integrates with Freshbooks and QuickBooks, for example. So it's not so much a question of which you use individually, but what subset you use as an integrated collection.
If you were going to pick only one, honestly, I'd pick QuickBooks (specifically, QuickBooks Online). That's what your accountant is going to eventually pick so you might as well just get started with it. It is a bit of a pain, especially if you're a non-accountant, but if what you want to do is "accounting" then that's the tool for the job.
On the other hand, you might not actually care about "accounting" in the classic sense -- and that's ok. Most small businesses are just struggling to get off the ground and dealing with the IRS is one of those "problems I'd love to have". So if you're in that boat, I'd ask: what do you *really* want to do (versus, what do you think you're supposed to do).
If what you really want to do is submit invoices to clients and accept payment, FreshBooks is probably your best choice. It's designed explicitly for this and does a great job. it's what all the other contractors use so it's the obvious choice.
As for Expensify, we're the right choice if you have a lot of expenses that you want to track, such as if you do a lot of travelling for work and need to get reimbursed (or reimburse employees). Basically, anything involving business expense tracking, credit card purchases, mobile receipt scanning, or expense reporting is our turf.
Next, there are flavors on the above answers. If you are a consultant and you "re-bill" a lot of expenses to clients, you might consider using Expensify to track those expenses, and then bill them to the client using Freshbooks. Or maybe even skip Freshbooks and just submit invoices to your clients directly through Expensify. (An advantage of this is your clients can pay you directly via Expensify using a credit card or direct deposit, without you needing to set up a merchant account.)
And of course you can always get started with one (eg, Expensify) and then later when your accountant wants you to use QuickBooks, it's a simple matter of exporting all your accumulated expenses to it.
The upshot is these aren't "either/or" options. So I'd suggest figuring out what your greatest pain point is, pick the tool that solves that in the fastest and easiest way, and then you can add the other tools as needed.
-david
Founder and CEO of Expensify
Follow us at http://twitter.com/expens
If you were going to pick only one, honestly, I'd pick QuickBooks (specifically, QuickBooks Online). That's what your accountant is going to eventually pick so you might as well just get started with it. It is a bit of a pain, especially if you're a non-accountant, but if what you want to do is "accounting" then that's the tool for the job.
On the other hand, you might not actually care about "accounting" in the classic sense -- and that's ok. Most small businesses are just struggling to get off the ground and dealing with the IRS is one of those "problems I'd love to have". So if you're in that boat, I'd ask: what do you *really* want to do (versus, what do you think you're supposed to do).
If what you really want to do is submit invoices to clients and accept payment, FreshBooks is probably your best choice. It's designed explicitly for this and does a great job. it's what all the other contractors use so it's the obvious choice.
As for Expensify, we're the right choice if you have a lot of expenses that you want to track, such as if you do a lot of travelling for work and need to get reimbursed (or reimburse employees). Basically, anything involving business expense tracking, credit card purchases, mobile receipt scanning, or expense reporting is our turf.
Next, there are flavors on the above answers. If you are a consultant and you "re-bill" a lot of expenses to clients, you might consider using Expensify to track those expenses, and then bill them to the client using Freshbooks. Or maybe even skip Freshbooks and just submit invoices to your clients directly through Expensify. (An advantage of this is your clients can pay you directly via Expensify using a credit card or direct deposit, without you needing to set up a merchant account.)
And of course you can always get started with one (eg, Expensify) and then later when your accountant wants you to use QuickBooks, it's a simple matter of exporting all your accumulated expenses to it.
The upshot is these aren't "either/or" options. So I'd suggest figuring out what your greatest pain point is, pick the tool that solves that in the fastest and easiest way, and then you can add the other tools as needed.
-david
Founder and CEO of Expensify
Follow us at http://twitter.com/expens
Nichelle Stephens, Have a degree in accounting. done boo...
3 votes by Mark Bakker, Jennifer Dunn Escalona, and Casey Allen
Not all the services do the same thing. Freshbooks and Quickbooks are bookkeeping/accounting applications. Shoeboxed and Expensify help you keep track of expenses, but don't do invoicing, accounts receivable and other bookkeeping functions. Outright.com is a good simple applications where you import banking transactions and income tax summary (Schedule C) is generated. Also there is Kashoo.com, and ZohoBooks. Zoho Books doesn’t have bank integration yet. Zoho Books costs $24/month which is way more than the $9.95 for Outright and Kashoo
Comment • Post • Thank • Jan 30, 2011
Sara Rosenfeld, Community Manager & Customer Advocate...
3 votes by Garrick Saito, Christophe Primault, and Stephen Valenta
Hi,
Great insights so far, I just thought I'd join in and add my two cents. As mentioned above, there really is no one accounting/invoicing software that is best across the board for all small businesses. It really depends on your accounting needs, level of skill with accounting, price point, and the amount of time you are able to devote to your accounting. The more complex your accounting needs, the more likely you are to need a more complex system.
First and foremost, you should determine whether you are looking for accounting, invoicing, or both. You should also try to identify whether you are looking for a financial tracking tool (such as Outright.com ) or if you are looking for real double-entry accounting (such as with http://kashoo.com or www.waveaccounting.com) Disclaimer: I work at Wave. If your accounting needs are complex and you will be allocating a lot of time and resources to your accounting, you may want to consider an option such as Quickbooks online.
As you mentioned invoicing, you might want to consider whether you want to run two separate applications, one for accounting and one for invoicing, or whether you want to find an application that has the functionality for both. www.waveaccounting.com http://kashoo.com and http://www.xero.com/ are all apps that do both, whereas Expensify and Invoicera.com are applications that specializes in invoicing (as mentioned above).
Lastly, I would consider price point. These applications range significantly in price, anywhere from free applications such as www.waveaccounting.com to pricier apps such as Quickbooks online.
As many of these apps offer a free trial period (or are entirely free), I would recommend that once you've narrowed down what your needs are, you try out 2-3 and see which works best for you.
Great insights so far, I just thought I'd join in and add my two cents. As mentioned above, there really is no one accounting/invoicing software that is best across the board for all small businesses. It really depends on your accounting needs, level of skill with accounting, price point, and the amount of time you are able to devote to your accounting. The more complex your accounting needs, the more likely you are to need a more complex system.
First and foremost, you should determine whether you are looking for accounting, invoicing, or both. You should also try to identify whether you are looking for a financial tracking tool (such as Outright.com ) or if you are looking for real double-entry accounting (such as with http://kashoo.com or www.waveaccounting.com) Disclaimer: I work at Wave. If your accounting needs are complex and you will be allocating a lot of time and resources to your accounting, you may want to consider an option such as Quickbooks online.
As you mentioned invoicing, you might want to consider whether you want to run two separate applications, one for accounting and one for invoicing, or whether you want to find an application that has the functionality for both. www.waveaccounting.com http://kashoo.com and http://www.xero.com/ are all apps that do both, whereas Expensify and Invoicera.com are applications that specializes in invoicing (as mentioned above).
Lastly, I would consider price point. These applications range significantly in price, anywhere from free applications such as www.waveaccounting.com to pricier apps such as Quickbooks online.
As many of these apps offer a free trial period (or are entirely free), I would recommend that once you've narrowed down what your needs are, you try out 2-3 and see which works best for you.
Comment • Post • Thank • Oct 12, 2011
Christophe Primault, At GetApp.com I help businesses disco...
2 votes by Chris Bliss and Stephen Valenta
It depends where your startup is based and which are the other applications you use. Freshbooks and Quickbooks Online are popular together with Xero. Zoho has just launched Zoho Books which is very interesting when combined with Zoho Invoice. If you are in the UK, you should also consider Kashflow and Arithmo. If you are interested in checking an organized list of Online Accounting Apps, some with user reviews, you can follow this link http://www.getapp.com/acc
Comment • Post • Thank • Jan 30, 2011
If you're an accountant or have an accounting department they would prefer that you use Quickbooks or similar cause ur not going to make number crunchers switch to anything else other than what's been entrenched. At http://magnumcreative.ca we favor freshbooks simply because it handles invoices and project time tracking in one service but it definitely isn't an accounting level app and all its data will get exported for the accountants from that. Also tried Blinksale and Harvest...would recommend Freshbooks over all but have been looking at http://kashoo.com as an alternative...down side to small startups is that the more features u adopt or buy into the more time u spend in the app...at some point it makes sense to just let an accountant who handles small business needs take care of the books for you
Comment • Post • Thank • Jan 31, 2011
I've been doing a bit of research on this topic as well. I was looking for a solution that would combine our accounting software with a project management tool. I decided on Workamajig. We are currently in implementation mode so I can't provide a real assessment as of yet, but would at least put it out there if others want to consider.
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
Comment • Post • Thank • Mar 2, 2011
I'd like to take the opportunity to introduce SimplyFi - http://www.geminiplatform
Comment • Post • Thank • Oct 12, 2011
Jonathan Schwartz, Agency Owner & Media Advisor
I've been using Freshbooks since we started Bullseye Strategy but there are certain deficiencies as our agency business has grown that I can no longer ignore. No check registry, subpar integration with financial institutions, and inability to email invoices via pdf are among the reasons we are switching. And, yes, our accountants like Quickbooks which will ultimately make our lives that much easier.
Comment • Post • Thank • May 24, 2012
Manish Chauhan, AM-eMarketing, Invoicera
I would like you to give Invoicera.com a try, its basic plan starts from $9.95 and you can send unlimited invoices to 25 clients. It supports 20 popular payment gateways so you have more options to get paid on time. It also supports multiple currency and languages so you do not need to worry while sending invoices to your global clients. the most appealing feature of Invoicera is its customize invoice template feature where you can customize the look and feel of your invoice template and design it in the sync with your business look. Some other features that might be helpful to you are invoice scheduling, late fee option, time tracking and expense management.Suggest Edits
Liza Welch, Technology Expert
You can try hosted QuickBooks accounting software. QuickBooks has been developed for satisfying the accounting needs of small and medium size businesses. QuickBooks software is very simple to use. QuickBooks application program has become the leading financial software in the accounting software market for small size businesses. QuickBooks comes in various versions; you can choose the version that suits you the most. My company is using hosted QuickBooks as it offers more advantages when compared to locally installed QuickBooks. We are currently taking services from an experienced cloud computing and application hosting company for getting QuickBooks hosted. We are satisfied with QuickBooks hosting service. With Quickbooks Hosting, you get fast and remote accessibility to QuickBooks via Internet. You and your authorized employees can have simultaneous access to the QuickBooks at anytime and from anywhere via Internet. You get live 24x7 technical support along with robust data backup and full security for your data. You get many other benefits.
For more information, visit this link - http://www.myrealdata.com
For more information, visit this link - http://www.myrealdata.com
Tags:
accounintg considerations
Our company (www.accountsiq.com) provides a really
feature-rich cloud accounting product that scales with clients as they grow.
It's great if you need extras like Sales & Purchase
Ordering Processing, Inventory Management, Budgeting, Cashflow Forecasting and
Group Data Consolidation. Because it's online it's a cinch integrating with
other products like Salesforce.
To give you an idea of where accountsIQ is
targeted, it would be more suited to the larger SME clients that need
functionality above other products like Xero and Freeagent.
I guess our real sweet spot is in multiple entity
businesses where multiple individual entities need access to a common platform
(like Accountants, Franchises and Groups) where they can share information
and see one version of the truth in terms of their accounting data.
You can sign up for a trial here http://www.accountsiq.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
feature-rich cloud accounting product that scales with clients as they grow.
It's great if you need extras like Sales & Purchase
Ordering Processing, Inventory Management, Budgeting, Cashflow Forecasting and
Group Data Consolidation. Because it's online it's a cinch integrating with
other products like Salesforce.
To give you an idea of where accountsIQ is
targeted, it would be more suited to the larger SME clients that need
functionality above other products like Xero and Freeagent.
I guess our real sweet spot is in multiple entity
businesses where multiple individual entities need access to a common platform
(like Accountants, Franchises and Groups) where they can share information
and see one version of the truth in terms of their accounting data.
You can sign up for a trial here http://www.accountsiq.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sabari Devadoss, Product Manager @ Intuit, Inc working...
1 vote by John Kinsella
It really depends on your business needs. Quickbooks Online has a comprehensive feature set to meet your business needs. It also has integration to Payroll, Merchant Accounts and GoPayment mobile payments solutions. We have a very diverse user base that traverses across sole proprietorships to fairly large businesses. You wouldn't need to worry about your accounting software scaling as your business grows. I am not sure if competitors to Quickbooks Online can say that.
My take is that there are plenty of free trials out there for most of these products. Give them all a whirl and see what is the most comfortable for you and your business. Forget the marketing fluff and do your due diligence.
My take is that there are plenty of free trials out there for most of these products. Give them all a whirl and see what is the most comfortable for you and your business. Forget the marketing fluff and do your due diligence.
---------------------------------
Tags:
More Alternatives to Quickbooks
www.indinero.com
www.waveaccounting.com
www.lessaccounting.com
www.xero.com
www.freeagent.com
www.clearbooks.co.uk
www.workingpoint.com
www.outright.com
www.freshbooks.com
www.kashoo.com
Diego Dacal, I work for GetApp.com and I can help ...
1 vote by Stephen Valenta
Definitely Xero (http://www.getapp.com/xe
You can find more alternatives at our listing for accounting applications (http://www.getapp.com/ac
- Zoho Books (http://www.getapp.com/zo
ho-books...)
- FinancialForce (http://www.getapp.com/fi
nancialf...)
You can find more alternatives at our listing for accounting applications (http://www.getapp.com/ac
Tags:
Accounting Choices
Stephen Valenta, 8tracks Reporting Manager
6 votes by Mark Burton, Catherine Walker, Jeremy Horneck, (more)
I've spent about 10 hours so far this week looking at around 20 different cloud accounting services. I've read most of the related Quora forums and some other online reviews. My tentative conclusion is that Xero.com will the best for our startup, which has about 10 employees.
[For the asker, it looks like Xero does not support Paychex right now, but it has more add-ons than its competitors.]
LessAccounting.com, WaveAccounting.com, and Kashoo.com are also cool-looking double-entry accounting sites. They seem just a step below Xero and QBO on sophistication, but simplicity can also be a pro. Those are the ones I'll be comparing Xero with.
Sites like InDinero.com and Outright.com, which function like Mint.com, might be cool for freelancers, but they don't have true double-entry accounting, so no-go for most startups.
Expensive ($400+/month) and complex services like IntAcct.com or FinancialForce.com probably aren't needed until you're a big (50+/100+ people?) company.
Other sites I looked at include:
- Bill.com
- MarketCircle.com
- Harvest (getharvest.com)
- Expensify.com
- Freshbooks.com
- Shoeboxed.com
- Invoicera.com
- FreeAgent.com
- WorkingPoint.com
- Zoho.com
- Saasu.com
- NetSuite.com
[For the asker, it looks like Xero does not support Paychex right now, but it has more add-ons than its competitors.]
LessAccounting.com, WaveAccounting.com, and Kashoo.com are also cool-looking double-entry accounting sites. They seem just a step below Xero and QBO on sophistication, but simplicity can also be a pro. Those are the ones I'll be comparing Xero with.
Sites like InDinero.com and Outright.com, which function like Mint.com, might be cool for freelancers, but they don't have true double-entry accounting, so no-go for most startups.
Expensive ($400+/month) and complex services like IntAcct.com or FinancialForce.com probably aren't needed until you're a big (50+/100+ people?) company.
Other sites I looked at include:
- Bill.com
- MarketCircle.com
- Harvest (getharvest.com)
- Expensify.com
- Freshbooks.com
- Shoeboxed.com
- Invoicera.com
- FreeAgent.com
- WorkingPoint.com
- Zoho.com
- Saasu.com
- NetSuite.com
Tags:
DIY Payroll
Business Owner QuickBooks Payroll Tools, Training, Service, and Support
If you choose to perform your payroll yourself with QuickBooks, we provide you the QuickBooks payroll tools, training, service, and support you need to perform your payroll accurately and productively.
Payroll Development Program
Our Payroll Development Program is for small business owners who want to learn how to accurately and productively perform payroll with QuickBooks payroll software.
Objective
S&Y's Payroll Development Program is for small business owners who want to learn how to accurately and productively perform payroll with QuickBooks.
How the Program Works
If you choose to perform your payroll yourself with QuickBooks, we provide you the QuickBooks payroll tools, training, service, and support you need to perform your payroll accurately and productively.
Payroll Development Program
Our Payroll Development Program is for small business owners who want to learn how to accurately and productively perform payroll with QuickBooks payroll software.
Objective
S&Y's Payroll Development Program is for small business owners who want to learn how to accurately and productively perform payroll with QuickBooks.
How the Program Works
- We provide, host, and setup your QuickBooks enhanced payroll software.
- We provide you payroll training.
- We review your QuickBooks payroll file each month and provide review points such as errors, omissions, and tips.
- You "clear" the review points.
- We make payroll adjustments.
- We prepare the payroll tax returns and reports.
Tags:
DIY Bookkeeping
Business Owner Bookkeeping and QuickBooks Tools, Training, Service, and Support
If you choose to perform your bookkeeping yourself with QuickBooks, we provide you the bookkeeping tools, training, service, and support you need to perform your bookkeeping accurately and productively.
Bookkeeper Development Program
Our Bookkeeper Development Program is for small business owners who want to learn how to accurately and productively perform bookkeeping with QuickBooks financial software.
Small businesses are more likely to succeed if they obtain timely, relevant, and reliable financial information. Timely, relevant, and reliable financial information helps owners make more informed decisions, increase their profit and cash flow, reduce income tax liabilities, and obtain financing.
Bookkeeping is vital to the success of producing timely, relevant, and reliable financial. However, many small business owners performing bookkeeping with QuickBooks have no or little bookkeeping and QuickBooks knowledge, skills, and experience.
Objective
S&Y's Bookkeeper Development Program is for small business owners who want to learn how to accurately and productively perform bookkeeping with QuickBooks.
How the Program Works
If you choose to perform your bookkeeping yourself with QuickBooks, we provide you the bookkeeping tools, training, service, and support you need to perform your bookkeeping accurately and productively.
Bookkeeper Development Program
Our Bookkeeper Development Program is for small business owners who want to learn how to accurately and productively perform bookkeeping with QuickBooks financial software.
Small businesses are more likely to succeed if they obtain timely, relevant, and reliable financial information. Timely, relevant, and reliable financial information helps owners make more informed decisions, increase their profit and cash flow, reduce income tax liabilities, and obtain financing.
Bookkeeping is vital to the success of producing timely, relevant, and reliable financial. However, many small business owners performing bookkeeping with QuickBooks have no or little bookkeeping and QuickBooks knowledge, skills, and experience.
Objective
S&Y's Bookkeeper Development Program is for small business owners who want to learn how to accurately and productively perform bookkeeping with QuickBooks.
How the Program Works
- We provide, host, and setup your QuickBooks Pro 2010 software and data file.
- We provide you bookkeeping training and certification (studies show that individuals with a basic bookkeeping and accounting knowledge use QuickBooks more accurately and productively).
- We provide you QuickBooks training and certification.
- We review your QuickBooks data file each month and provide review points such as errors, omissions, and tips.
- You "clear" the review points.
- We make account adjustments.
- We prepare the financial statements and reports.
Tags:
Non-Profit Organizations
We can help you setup and maintain your non-profit organization's tax-exempt status by handling all the IRS reporting for you.
Each year the IRS requires most tax-exempt organizations to submit the Form 990 and its relations, which includes the following items.
Here's what we do for you...
Here's what's needed...
Let us help you setup and/or maintain your non-profit tax-exempt status by requesting a Free Consultation below.
Each year the IRS requires most tax-exempt organizations to submit the Form 990 and its relations, which includes the following items.
- Income Statement with very specific revenue and expense categories like donations, salaries, postage, rent...
- Balance Sheet with specific categories like cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable...
- Functional Expense Statement with all the expenses allocated to either program services, fundraising, or operations.
- Individual Program Expense Statement that reports all of the expenses for each program or service like seminar programs or educational mailings.
- Revenue Support Schedules that detail the organization's sources of income in specific categories like charitable donations, membership fees, investment income.
Here's what we do for you...
- Review and compile your financial statements
- Design, install, and maintain your Accounting System
- Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly payroll preparation
- Payroll Tax Preparation and Deposits
- Provide training for your accounting personnel
- Complete and file your non-profit status application
- Provide training for your board on non-profit financial statement usage and effective budgeting practices
- Prepare and file the 990 and 990T tax forms
- Prepare your initial start-up documentation, including incorporation, federal employee identification number (FEIN), and payroll setup with federal and state agencies.
- Churches: We prepare the pastoral housing allowance and other required benefit documentation to meet the complex dual status of ministers.
Here's what's needed...
- Articles of Incorporation containing the Exempt Purpose Statement as described in IRS Code section 501(c)(3) and defined in Treasury Regulation 1.501(c)(3)-1 Paragraph d and the Dissolution Statement described in Treasury Regulation 1.501(c)(3)-1 Paragraph b subparagraph 4 ("Organizational Test").
- Employer Identification Number
- By-laws of the Organization
- Minutes of Board Meetings
- Names, Addresses, and Resumes of Board Members
- Names and addresses of all Active Members
- Inventory of Assets like cash, furniture, equipment, property, pledges...
- Inventory of Liabilities like mortgages, accounts payable, loans...
- Rent/Lease Agreements and Contracts
- Revenue and Expense Statements for the last four years or as far back as possible if your organization has been in existence for less than four years.
- Written Reason for Formation and History of the organization.
- Organization Mission Statement or Statement of Faith or Beliefs for Churches and other Religious Organizations.
- Organization Activities, Operations and Programs Documentation including your statement of purpose & operations, food programs, fundraisers, flyers/brochures/pamphlets...
- Financial Support Documentation including all sources of revenue like contributions, tithes, offerings, fundraisers...
- Fund Raising Program Descriptions
- IRS Processing/Filing Fee
Tags: