Exploring QBO editions

QBO comes in four editions:

• Simple Start
• Essentials
• Plus
• Advanced

Each edition varies in terms of the price, the number of users to which you can give access, and the features included.

The following figure gives a summary of QBO pricing and features for each edition of QBO at the time of writing:

Table 1.1: QBO edition comparison

As you can see from the preceding table, all four editions of QBO include the following features:

• Maximum number of users: Each plan includes a set number of users; Simple Start includes one user, Essentials includes three users, Plus comes with five users, and Advanced includes up to twenty-five users. In addition, each plan includes one or more accountant users. For example, you can give a bookkeeper or your certified public accountant access to your books.
• Track income and expenses: Keep track of all sales to customers and expenses paid to vendors.
• Invoice and payments: Invoice customers, enter payments, and stay on top of unpaid invoices.
• Tax deductions: Keeping track of all expenses will ensure you don’t miss out on any tax deductions you may qualify for.
• Reports: QuickBooks includes pre-set reports so you don’t have to create them from scratch. The number of reports available is based on your subscription plan. Simple Start includes the minimum number of reports, and Advanced includes the most reports.
• Receipt capture: Use your phone or mobile device to snap a photo of a receipt and upload it to QuickBooks. You can also link expense receipts to transactions.
• Mileage tracking: Automatically track miles with your phone’s GPS and categorize them as business or personal trips.
• Cash flow: Stay on top of your cash flow by using the cash flow tools available in all QBO plans.
• Track sales and sales tax: Keep track of sales tax collected from customers, submit electronic payments to state and local authorities, and complete required sales tax forms and filings.
• Time tracking: Employees and contractors can enter time and apply it to a specific customer or project.
• Estimates: Create a quote or proposal and email it to prospective clients for approval.
• Pay 1099 contractors: You can keep track of payments made to independent contractors and generate 1099 forms at the end of the year.

The Simple Start plan is the most economical, at $30 per month, on sale currently with the first three months 50% off, costing $15 per month. It includes one user and two accountant users.

The Essentials plan is the next tier and starts at $55 per month, on sale currently with the first three months 50% off, costing $27.50 per month. It includes three users and two accountant users.

Unlike Simple Start, you can manage bills (also known as accounts payable, A/P) with the Essentials plan. The Plus plan is $85 per month, on sale currently with the first three months 50% off, costing $42.50 per month. It includes five users and two accountant users. Unlike the Simple Start and Essentials plans, you can track your inventory and project profitability with the Plus plan. The Advanced plan is the top-tier QBO plan. It starts at $200 per month (on sale currently with 50% off for the first three months, costing $100 per month) and includes up to 25 users and 3 accountant users.

We will discuss the features of each plan in more detail, and how to choose the right QBO version for you, in the next section.