When should you choose QuickBooks Online over FreshBooks? Here are five scenarios when the accounting software giant can make the most sense for your business.
1. If your business sells products
QuickBooks is a stand-out accounting choice if you're selling products or retail goods, while FreshBooks is our top pick for managing clients and billing as a freelancer.
With QuickBooks, you can record your daily sales from every channel and sync sales systems like PayPal, Square and Shopify. QuickBooks also offersinventory managementto easily see what you have in stock and on order from your vendors.
If you have a brick-and-mortar shop, take a look atQuickBooks Point of Saleto simplify your in-person transactions. As you'd expect, it integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks Online, so you can see your POS purchases alongside all your other accounting data.
2. If you need a scalable accounting solution
QuickBooks offers fully-fledged accounting software that's built to scale. It's designed for a wider array of business types and sizes than FreshBooks – and has a very comprehensive set of features.One Capterra reviewfrom a long-term QuickBooks user says: "The proverbial 800-pound gorilla still works!"
3. If you want just one financial tool in your stack
QuickBooks is a great all-in-one solution for your accounting and invoicing needs. There are no major gaps – and if there are, other QuickBooks products like QuickBooks Point of Sale will fill many of these. This means you can get away with asmaller app stack.
On the other hand, FreshBooks is focused on a narrower audience: freelancers, small businesses, and solopreneurs looking for simple and hassle-free software. Since it avoids complexity, you're more likely to need tosync FreshBooks with other toolsto achieve some custom outcomes, but this is simple to do.
4. If your accountant prefers QuickBooks
While your accountant's preferences aren't the most important factor, being aligned on the tools you're using can make both your lives easier.
QuickBooks tends to be the top choice for accountants in the US, but it's also quickly grown in popularity worldwide in the last few years and now offers many country-specific bank feeds, integrations, and tax compliance features.
FreshBooks is still quite focused on North America, so if you're based outside of it your tax return might be faster with QuickBooks than FreshBooks.
5. If you have a mid-sized or fast-growing business
If your business is currently mid-sized or fast-growing, QuickBooks Online will likely be a better fit for you. FreshBooks has a fantastic feature set for small businesses, but when your business grows, you may need to switch tools.
If you try out QuickBooks and love it now, you'll likely still love it when your business doubles or triples in size.
