Should I Use QuickBooks Online for My Startup?
Founders overthink this decision. QuickBooks Online works. So does Xero. Pick one and move on.
What actually matters is setting it up correctly and using it consistently. A properly configured QuickBooks file with monthly closes beats an expensive tool that nobody touches. A messy QuickBooks file with duplicate accounts and uncategorized transactions is useless regardless of what you paid for it.
QuickBooks Online has a few advantages. Your CPA almost certainly knows it. Investors have seen it before. It integrates with most banks, payment processors, and other tools startups use. There’s a reason it’s the default.
Where startups go wrong isn’t the software. It’s the setup. The generic chart of accounts QuickBooks suggests doesn’t match how your business actually works. Categories get created randomly. Bank feeds pull in transactions but nobody reviews them. Six months later the reports don’t mean anything.
If you’re already on QuickBooks and it feels broken, the fix is cleaning up the setup, not switching platforms.
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