. TURBOTAX ONLINE/MOBILE.
QuickBooks Self-Employed users find an average of $4,628 in potential tax savings per year. Start 30-day free trial. No credit card required. Organization made easy.
Try for Free/Pay When You File:TurboTax online and mobile pricing is based on your tax situation and varies by product. $0 federal (for simple tax returns) + $0 state + $0 to file offer only available with TurboTax Free Edition; offer may change or end at any time without notice. Actual prices are determined at the time of print or e-file and are subject to change without notice. Savings and price comparisons based on anticipated price increase. Special discount offers may not be valid for mobile in-app purchases. QuickBooks Self-Employed Offer with TurboTax Self-Employed and TurboTax Live Self-Employed: To receive your complimentary subscription to QuickBooks Self-Employed through 4/30/20, you must pay for your 2018 TurboTax Self-Employed or TurboTax Live Self-Employed return by 4/15/19 and sign-in and access your QuickBooks Self-Employed account via mobile app or at at least twice by 7/15/19.
You will have the option of renewing your QuickBooks Self-Employed subscription by 4/30/20 for another year at the then-current subscription rate. You may cancel your subscription at any time from within the QuickBooks Self-Employed billing section. See for price comparison.
Offer not valid for existing QuickBooks Self-Employed subscribers already on a payment plan. Pays for itself (TurboTax Self-Employed): Estimates based on deductible business expenses calculated at the self-employment tax income rate (15.3%) for tax year 2018. Actual results will vary based on your tax situation. Anytime, anywhere: Internet access required; standard data rates apply to download and use mobile app. Fastest refund possible: Fastest tax refund with e-file and direct deposit; tax refund time frames will vary.
The IRS issues more than 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. Pay for TurboTax out of your federal refund: A $X.XX Refund Processing Service fee applies to this payment method. Prices are subject to change without notice. TurboTax Help and Support: Access to a TurboTax specialist is included with TurboTax Deluxe, Premier, Self-Employed and TurboTax Live; not included with Free Edition (but is available as an upgrade). TurboTax specialists are available to provide general customer help and support using the TurboTax product. SmartLook on-screen help is available on a PC, laptop or the TurboTax mobile app. Service, area of expertise, experience levels, wait times, hours of operation and availability vary, and are subject to restriction and change without notice.
Tax Advice, Expert Review and TurboTax Live: Access to tax advice and Expert Review (the ability to have a Tax Expert review and/or sign your tax return) is included with TurboTax Live or as an upgrade from another version, and available through December 31, 2019. These services are provided only by credentialed CPAs, EAs or tax attorneys. Some tax topics or situations may not be included as part of this service, which shall be determined in the tax expert’s sole discretion. In the event your return is reviewed by a tax expert and requires a significant level of tax advice or actual preparation, the tax expert may be required to sign your return as the preparer at which point they will assume primary responsibility for the preparation of your return (payment by the federal refund not available when tax expert signs your return). On-screen help is available on a desktop, laptop or the TurboTax mobile app.
Unlimited access to TurboTax Live CPAs and EAs refers to an unlimited quantity of contacts available to each customer, but does not refer to hours of operation or service coverage. Service, area of expertise, experience levels, wait times, hours of operation and availability vary, and are subject to restriction and change without notice.
Tax Return Access, Smart Insights and My Docs features: Included with TurboTax Deluxe, Premier, Self-Employed, TurboTax Live or with PLUS benefits. Access to the prior seven years of tax-related documents we have on file for you is available through. Terms and conditions may vary and are subject to change without notice. Easy Online Amend: Included with TurboTax Deluxe, Premier, Self-Employed, TurboTax Live or with PLUS benefits.
Make changes to your 2018 tax return online for up to 3 years after it has been filed and accepted by the IRS through. Terms and conditions may vary and are subject to change without notice. #1 best-selling tax software: Based on aggregated sales data for all tax year 2017 TurboTax products. Most Popular: TurboTax Deluxe is our most popular product among TurboTax Online users with more complex tax situations.
CompleteCheck: Covered under the TurboTax accurate calculations and maximum refund. #1 rated online tax prep provider: Based on independent comparison of the by January 29, 2018. Get tips from Turbo based on your tax and credit data to help get you to where you want to be: Tax and credit data accessed upon your consent. TURBOTAX GUARANTEES.
100% Accurate Calculations Guarantee: If you pay an IRS or state penalty or interest because of a TurboTax calculation error, we’ll pay you the penalty and interest. Maximum Refund Guarantee - or Your Money Back: If you get a larger refund or smaller tax due from another tax preparation method, we'll refund the applicable TurboTax federal and/or state purchase price paid. TurboTax Online Free Edition customers are entitled to payment of $14.99 and a refund of your state purchase price paid.
100% Accurate Expert Approved Guarantee: If you pay an IRS or state penalty (or interest) because of an error that a TurboTax CPA, EA, or Tax Attorney made while providing topic-specific tax advice, a section review, or acting as a signed preparer for your return, we'll pay you the penalty and interest. Audit Support Guarantee: If you received an audit letter based on your 2018 TurboTax return and are not satisfied with how we responded to your inquiry, we’ll refund the applicable TurboTax federal 1040 and/or state purchase price you paid. TurboTax Free Edition customers are entitled to payment of $14.99 and a refund of your state purchase price paid. We will not represent you or provide legal advice. Excludes TurboTax Business. TurboTax Free Guarantee: $0 Federal + $0 State + $0 To File offer is available for simple tax returns with TurboTax Free Edition. A simple tax return is Form 1040 only, with no attached schedules.
Satisfaction Guaranteed:. If you use TurboTax Online or Mobile: Satisfaction Guaranteed — or you don't pay. You may use TurboTax Online without charge up to the point you decide to print or electronically file your tax return.
Printing or electronically filing your return reflects your satisfaction with TurboTax Online, at which time you will be required to pay or register for the product. If you bought or downloaded TurboTax from a retailer: Try TurboTax software. If you're not satisfied, return it to Intuit within 60 days of purchase with your dated receipt for a full refund. If you bought or downloaded TurboTax directly from us: Try TurboTax software. If you're not satisfied, return it within 60 days of shipment with your dated receipt for a full refund (excluding shipping & handling). TURBOTAX CD/DOWNLOAD. TurboTax CD/Download products: Price includes tax preparation and printing of federal tax returns and free federal e-file of up to 5 federal tax returns.
Additional fees apply for e-filing state returns. E-file fees do not apply to New York state returns. Savings and price comparison based on anticipated price increase. Prices subject to change without notice. Fastest refund possible: Fastest tax refund with e-file and direct deposit; tax refund time frames will vary.
The IRS issues more than 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. Pay for additional TurboTax services out of your federal refund: A $X.XX Refund Processing Service fee applies to this payment method. Prices are subject to change without notice.
This benefit is available with TurboTax Federal products except TurboTax Business. About our TurboTax Product Experts: Customer service and product support vary by time of year. #1 best-selling tax software: Based on aggregated sales data for all tax year 2017 TurboTax products. Data Import: Imports financial data from participating companies; may require a free Intuit online account. Quicken and QuickBooks import not available with TurboTax installed on a Mac. Imports from Quicken (2016 and higher) and QuickBooks Desktop (2014 and higher); both Windows only.
Quicken import not available for TurboTax Business. Quicken products provided by Quicken Inc., Quicken import subject to change.
Almost half of small business owners. It's time-consuming, doesn't bring in money, and requires headache-inducing calculations. But it's necessary. Online accounting software helps—but choosing the right software can be difficult. How do you know which features and benefits you need? Which price structure best fits your business?, and are three of the biggest names in the online accounting business.
They each offer unique benefits, so to help you choose, we'll take a look at the features of each and how they stack up against one another. What We Looked For FreshBooks, QuickBooks, and Xero all have the basic features you'd expect from business accounting software, but they still have very different takes on the process.
For this comparison, we looked at five factors—plus a number of bonus features—that are relevant for small business owners. Click on any feature below to jump to the section that's most important for your business.
Or you can jump to our to see all the features at a glance. Pricing FreshBooks: Three tiers, based on client numbers FreshBooks has three pricing tiers, each with an increasing number of billable clients. The Plus and Premium plans have similar sets of features, but if you bill over 50 clients each month, you'll need to step up to the Premium plan. Plan Price Clients Features Lite $15/month 5 Unlimited invoices and estimates, time tracking, online payments, expense importing Plus $25/month 50 Same as Lite features, plus payment reminders, late fees, recurring invoices, and proposals Premium $50/month 500 Same as Plus features You can save 10 percent on any plan by paying annually instead of monthly, and team members can be added for $10—they'll be able to track time, add expenses, and collaborate on projects. If you have more 500 clients or bill for more than $150,000 per year, you might save money with.
See for more details on features and plans. QuickBooks: Lots of options, based on user numbers.
Plan Price Users Features Self-employed $10/month 1 Track income and expenses, estimate quarterly taxes, invoice and accept payments, track miles Simple Start $20/month 1 Track income and expenses, maximize tax deductions, invoice and accept payments, send estimates, track sales tax Essentials $35/month 3 Same as Simple Start features, plus bill pay and time tracking Plus $60/month 5 Same as Essentials features, plus project tracking, inventory tracking, and 1099 management You can add payroll for $39/month (+$2/employee/month) and full-service payroll for $99/month (+$2/employee/month). All subscriptions and payroll plans come with a 50 percent discount for the first three months. Note: Be sure to compare the price of a year's worth of QuickBooks Online to their. You'll lose some integrations options, but you may find that you can save money when buying the downloadable software. See for more details on features and plans.
Xero: Easily scalable, based on number of people on payroll. Plan Price Payroll Features Starter $9/month None 5 invoices and quotes, 5 bills, 20 bank transactions Standard $30/month 5 people Unlimited invoices, quotes, bills, and bank transactions Premium 10 $70/month 10 people Same as Standard features, plus multi-currency support Premium 20 $90/month 20 people Same as Premium 10 features Premium 100 $180/month 100 people Same as Premium 10 features The Starter plan, while very affordable, is only meant for very basic needs or a long-term trial. Once you step up from there, you get access to every feature (except support for multiple currencies, for which you'll need the Premium 10 plan or higher). See for more details on features and plans. Ease of Setup As we walk through the various features of these apps, you'll start to see a trend: FreshBooks is a relatively straightforward solution, while QuickBooks and Xero offer more nuanced functionality.
And, as you might imagine, the learning curve is proportionate. FreshBooks: Clear, friendly walkthroughs Getting everything set up in FreshBooks is easy, thanks to the straightforward walkthroughs. They tell you what you need to get started, ask you for the relevant information, and offer tips throughout the process. You can be ready to start using FreshBooks in just a few minutes after making some easy choices.
When it comes to importing existing data, you can import clients, expenses, items, services, and taxes into FreshBooks via spreadsheet templates. If you're already using another accounting service, you'll need to export this data first and make sure that the necessary columns are in place. QuickBooks: Middle ground between simplicity and complexity While the setup wizard in QuickBooks isn't quite as friendly as FreshBooks, it does provide the necessary help for getting your business information into the right places. When you're done answering questions and adding your information, the software will be customized to suit your business.
QuickBooks offers a few options for importing Excel sheets, but if you want to import a large amount of information (like previous invoices), you'll want to with Zapier. Xero: Seamlessly import your data Because the software as a whole is more complicated than the other two options, there's more to set up in Xero. The is a big help, though, and makes the process much easier. With its Excel templates, you can import just about anything into Xero, from customers to invoices. Download the templates, get your data from your previous client or spreadsheet into the right format, and reupload it. It doesn't get much easier. Because Xero and QuickBooks are two of the biggest names in online accounting, Xero is doing what it can to convert QuickBooks Online customers into Xero customers: It provides.
It involves some account maintenance, exporting, and importing, but the process is relatively simple—and it brings over all of your information. Invoicing and Payments Online accounting software should make it easy to create and send invoices, while also providing features that scale to the needs of different businesses. And although you can accept payments with other solutions, being able to accept credit cards or take other online payments directly from your invoices is a nice service to offer to your customers—and it's convenient for you too.
FreshBooks: Ultimate simplicity FreshBooks provides a streamlined invoicing system. There aren't as many options as QuicksBooks or Xero, but that makes it easier to get up and running quickly. The invoices screen provides you with a concise overview of the status of your invoices. And customizing your invoices is just as simple: You'll find two templates, two fonts, and a choice of color. It's enough to let you inject a bit of your brand without overwhelming you with complexity. FreshBooks will send reminder emails on a schedule of your choosing, and you can customize the text of those emails too.
For payments, FreshBooks supports Visa, Discover, Mastercard, and American Express. American Express transactions have a fee of 3.5 percent + $0.30. All other cards are 2.9 percent + $0.30. Clients can also pay with Apple Pay directly from their phones, with the standard fees (free for debit cards, 3 percent for credit cards). QuickBooks: Accept credit card payments in person If you sell products at a brick-and-mortar location, QuickBooks' will save you the headache of working with a separate payment service.
When you sign up for QuickBooks' GoPayment service, you get a card reader that accepts chip and stripe payments for free. If you want to take Apple, Android, and Samsung Pay, the all-in-one reader will cost you $49. Both readers charge a transaction fee of 2.4 percent + $0.25 for cards that are swiped, inserted, or tapped. If you manually key in a card, you'll pay 3.4 percent + $0.25. QuickBooks' invoicing provides the functionality you'd expect from online accounting fost.
You get more customizability than with FreshBooks' invoices, as well as integrations with QuickBooks' inventory options and a basic dashboard that shows you where your money is. And customers can pay directly from your invoices by credit card (2.9 percent + $0.05), Apple Pay, or free ACH. On QuickBooks, you'll need to manually send reminders on overdue invoices. You can create a standard reminder, but you can't set a schedule for it to be sent automatically. Xero: Extreme customizability Xero provides the ultimate level of customizability for your invoices. You can use the web-based interface to design invoices, or you can download a.docx template for full customization and save up to 15 different templates in your account.
You also get more options when creating an invoice: In addition to integration with Xero's extensive inventory management system, you can choose different departments for each item to more accurately track cash flow through your company. Another one of Xero's standout features is its approval workflow. If you want, each invoice can require approval before it's sent.
This is useful for companies that have multiple employees generating invoices that need to go through a billing department or an executive. (If you don't need an approval workflow, don't worry—you can just click Approve from the invoice screen instead of Save.) For payments, clients can pay with a credit card or via PayPal from the invoice itself. Credit cards are run through Stripe at 2.9 percent + $0.30. Stripe also provides ACH for a 0.8 percent fee, up to $5. Additional payment methods are available through Xero's extensive integration marketplace. Expenses and Bills Unfortunately, running a business isn't all about income: You need to keep track of your expenses too.
If you opt for a full-featured app, you may even be able to pay those expenses directly from within the software, simplifying your financial workflow. FreshBooks: Quick and easy expense tracking Like invoicing, expense tracking in FreshBooks is simple and easy. Click New Expense, type in the vendor, the expenses, and the cost, and you're done. Once you've detailed your expense, mark it as billable or cost of goods sold and save it. You can also assign a category to keep track of where your money's going.
No approval, no associating with accounts, nothing. Just type it in, and it's logged. QuickBooks: Standard features, expensive bill pay Adding an expense in QuickBooks is much like adding an invoice: Choose a payee, add the expenses, and save it. Expenses, however, also require that you choose a bank account from which you'll pay (though 'Undeposited Funds' can serve as a catch-all). There are also many company accounts that you can use to categorize your expenses. You can pay your bills directly from QuickBooks by printing a check (at a cost of $1.99 each) or using a bank transfer ($0.99). A $9.99 monthly subscription brings the costs down to $1.49 and $0.49, respectively.
Xero: Free batch payments from your bank accounts Like QuickBooks, Xero can print checks and process bank transfers for your expenses. But Xero allows you to upload a batch payment file to your bank for free (if your bank supports this functionality, of course). There's also a built-in integration with Bill.com to process bill payments, along with many other bill pay integrations. Just like with invoices, there's the option for an approval workflow for expenses, allowing supervisors or managers to keep an eye on how employees are spending money. And the files inbox lets you email bills and invoices directly to Xero to keep them all in one place (both FreshBooks and QuickBooks require a more traditional upload). Reporting and Dashboards With effective reporting and informative dashboards, your accounting software can give you a solid overview of the financial health of your company. The larger your company, the more likely you are to need complex reports, which are especially useful for accountants, stakeholders, and funders.
FreshBooks: Accessible but basic reporting Like the rest of is features, the FreshBooks dashboard is simple. It has five graphs: outstanding revenue, total profit, revenue streams, spending, and unbilled time. While this doesn't tell you everything you need to know about your business, it provides you with the basics in an easy-to-scan view.
The inspirational quotes are a nice touch. You can run seven downloadable reports from your dashboard (the Premium and Plus plans offer an additional two): profit/loss, tax summary, accounting aging, invoice details, expense report, time entry details, and payments collected.
It's not nearly as much as the competitors offer, but it will be more than enough for freelancers and very small businesses. QuickBooks: Standard reporting features QuickBooks' dashboard contains information on invoices, expenses, bank accounts, profit/loss, and sales—but it isn't customizable. Aside from changing the timescale on some of the categories, you're stuck with the current charts and layout. As for reports, you'll find just about anything you could want for a small business. There are dozens of different reports in the categories of Sales, Customers, Accounts Due, Payroll, Expenses, and a variety of others. Reports are instantly created in-window, and you can email, print, and share them with just a couple clicks. Each report can be customized after you run it, and you can save those customizations as the default.
You can also create custom reports, save your most-often-run reports in a favorites section, and access high-level management reports. Xero: Standard reporting with in-depth dashboards The standard Xero dashboard is similar to QuickBooks'. It includes account balances, invoices owed, bills to pay, cashflow, and expense claims: enough to give you an idea of your business performance without including too many details. Unlike in QuickBooks, Xero allows you to reorder the items and hide or show any you'd like.
What sets Xero apart is the: an especially useful report that highlights debt ratio, gross profit percentage, current liabilities to net worth ratio, and more—all graphed for easy reading. Bonus Features Project management While project management isn't a core part of accounting, it's a big help when you're charging by the hour, keeping track of time spent, or calculating your capacity. And even if you don't need project management capabilities in your accounting software, there's a good chance you could be using other project management software. If the two can integrate, that's one less step you'll need to take. When it comes down to it, Xero is the clear choice for integrating project management with your accounting software. In FreshBooks, you can add projects, set your hourly rate for that project, track your time, and communicate with your team if they're also using FreshBooks. And if you're subscribed to QuickBooks Online at the Essentials or Plus levels, you can use the.
But Xero actually has two different sets of project management tools built in to the platform:. Xero Projects is the smaller-scale option. It's currently free, though Xero has implied that it will likely cost about $25 per month.
It on every job: You can assign invoices, costs, fees, and other relevant items to each project. WorkflowMax, Xero's fully featured project management system, is built for larger businesses.
In fact, you can subscribe to WorkflowMax without using Xero at all (though the integration between the two is one of the things that makes it so useful). WorkflowMax can keep track of clients, leads, purchase orders, documents, capacity, and a wide range of other business factors. Customizable fields, project statuses, reports, and purchase orders place a strong focus on profitability. Monthly pricing for WorkflowMax is based on the number of users, starting from $15 for 1 user to $250 for up to 50 users. If you need more than 50 licenses, you can get volume pricing directly from WorkflowMax.
Inventory tracking Not every small business has inventory—but if you do, having a solid tracking system integrated into your accounting software is a big help. And if you're willing to shell out a bit of extra cash, you can get respectably advanced inventory tracking capabilities. Once again, Xero takes the cake here. There's no inventory management built into FreshBooks, though will help with that. With a QuickBooks Online Plus subscription, you can create custom categories and subcategories, track quantities on hand, import inventory information from an existing spreadsheet, create purchase orders, and generate inventory reports. But Xero's built-in inventory management is robust enough to cover all the bases. Tracked inventory items make it easy to populate your invoices with all the right information and keep track of how much stock you have on hand.
Untracked inventory is great for services or products that you always have on hand and don't need to worry about reordering. You can specify tax rates and accounts for each item, and mark items inactive when you're not selling them. You can also get detailed analysis on profitability, stock levels, and reordering. The best part: All of your inventory information is available when you're creating an invoice. Just select the right item and prices are populated. If you're already using another inventory management app, there's a good chance you can, and you can upload a spreadsheet with your current inventory to make the transition easier. Filing Taxes Business taxes can be a beast—you'll want any help you can get from your accounting software.
FreshBooks allows you to give access to your accountant, which is helpful, but choosing software that integrates directly with an online filing service is the most streamlined choice. As you might expect, QuickBooks integrates directly with TurboTax, another Intuit product. There's an easy walkthrough to set up your sales tax, and once you've done that, QuickBooks will automatically calculate your sales tax rates and the taxes you need to pay on various timescales.
There are plenty of tax reports, including tax liability and taxable customer reports, and you can print a check to pay your sales tax directly from QuickBooks. Xero integrates with Avalara for updated tax rates and automatic filing, and all of your taxes are sorted into jurisdictions and synced with your invoices. You can also use custom tax rates with multiple components.
And, of course, you can get a sales tax summary and audit report with just a few clicks. Payroll Do you have employees to pay? If you do, you'll need to keep track of your payroll expenses, taxes, and administrative things like leave requests. You could pay for a standalone payroll solution, but choosing online accounting software that takes care of payroll for you is a huge convenience. Of course, you'll have to pay for it. FreshBooks has no built-in capabilities for payroll (though it integrates with Gusto), but QuickBooks and Xero both give you options.
With QuickBooks, you need to pay extra:. Enhanced Payroll ($39/month + $2/employee/month) lets you pay employees and contractors via direct deposit or paper checks, and you can print paystubs or checks directly from the app. QuickBooks will help you file your federal and state payroll taxes and manage your W2s at the end of the year. Full-Service Payroll ($99/month + $2/employee/month) has all of the same features, but includes support for setting up, filing, and paying your payroll taxes. You can get expert help on new employee forms, pay types and deductions, and other tricky issues. It also includes same-day direct deposit and a no-penalty guarantee. Unlike with QuickBooks, payroll is included in different Xero (up to a certain number of employees).
While payroll isn't available in every state with Xero (and electronic payroll is available in even fewer), it does provide many options if you live in certain places. Xero makes it easy to manage employee leave, multiple pay calendars, multiple pay rates, and automatic tax calculations. Xero also has an app for employees called Xero Me. It lets them view their paystubs, submit and approve timesheets, request and approve leave, and more. Should I Use FreshBooks, QuickBooks, or Xero? FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, and Xero meet different needs—it's all about who you are and what you're looking for. FreshBooks is great for very small businesses and freelancers.
It's easy to use and feature-light, so you won't be paying for features you don't need. QuickBooks will appeal to businesses with brick-and mortar locations. Two types of card readers and an Intuit payment service make it easy to take payments on the go. (And direct integration with TurboTax is a plus.). Xero is the ultimate all-in-one accounting software for growing businesses.
It has everything: project management, payroll, inventory, and an approval workflow. A simple pricing model means it grows with your company—and without hassle. Finally, here's an at-a-glance feature comparison. Scroll to the right to see the whole table.