QuickBooks Live Reviews

Pros

Once everything is set up everything is automatic, especially that payroll portion. You don't have to back it up, it is automatically saved. You can access from anywhere.

Cons

You do get tossed around some with the customer service as everyone is trained in specific areas. It did take some learning to understand and setup everything properly.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop Pro

Reasons for Choosing QuickBooks Live

QB Desktop Pro is way to out dated nothing is automatic. You really have to know what you are doing with Pro.

Switched From

QuickBooks Desktop Pro

Reasons for Switching to QuickBooks Live

I like the automation and how you can access everything anywhere and anytime. You also don't have to back up your stuff all the time.

Pros

Cloud-based so able to access from numerous computers.

Cons

Inability to change all of the items / charts on the home page.

Pros

All elements of bookkeeping requirements in one place.

Cons

Developers keep changing the interface and templates with zero notice. They have overwritten my primary templates on several occasions, and there is no way to recover them. The "help" people are useless, insisting on recreating issues repeatedly, but being unable to correct issues, and zero follow-up.

Pros

Being web based, it is so much easier to stay updated on my business from anywhere. We were able to tie it in with our industry specific quoting and scheduling system which cut down on wasted time in the office.

Cons

It took a little longer to learn the software than I anticipated. I thought it would be easier since I had used the Desktop verson for years.

Pros

I had Quickbooks come in and clean my books over the course of several months. If I'm honest, they were a bit of a mess. I fell into my business, with an understanding of the back office business of business. I don't have an MBA or an accounting degree. My books were not in order, and I was embarrassed about it. However. Quick Books team came to the rescue. They captured all the data in a streamlined way. They asked clear questions. They clarified what was missing and helped me find what I needed. In a few weeks, by books were clean and ready to be managed for the long haul. I'm still learning the ins and outs, and their team has been great with giving tips and sharing how I can manage the day-to-day business. I now feel more confident that I'm moving in a direction that will help my business grow, and stay out of the way of the IRS! Thanks to the Quick Books team!

Cons

The software is great, intuitive, and useful. I do wish I'd gotten more information on the back end about how they use the chart of accounts, and what information is well. I had to ask for someone to teach me that when I didn't understand.

Pros

The Reporting suite, depth of data, and integration with banks,etc.

Cons

The messaging system is not a good user experience. Should have direct access to Support, not having to make appointments to get help, and search through a poorly designed messaging inbox.
The UX for running reports, chart of accounts, bookkeeping entry, etc. are all very fluid; however, in addition to the actual software, I subscribed to the QB Live Bookkeeping Service which started out great, but right now at the most important time (tax season) is a disaster. Found a significant error that the QB Live BK Team didn't catch for six months (double recorded Workers Comp expense for July-Dec 2021; I was the one that found it). Then, they can't get my 2021 books cleaned and closed once and for all, 2 months later. There is an unacceptable "Reconciliation Discrepancy" line on my P&L. Very slow to address problems, and putting my business in a difficult position at tax time and adding unnecessary stress. Should've have been escalated, fixed and some sort of reimbursement for these issues. None of the above has happened.

Pros

User friendly and the ease of talking to a real person.

Cons

You do have to know some accounting concepts which I do not.

Pros

Our sales and expenses are automatically uploaded to Quickbooks which saves me lots of time. I can review and accept these transactions all in QB.

Cons

It was hardest in the beginning while setting up our account with all the vendors and categories.

Pros

Quickbooks Live and Live Bookkeeping is, hands down, why I have been able to stop waking up in the middle of the night panicking about the financial end of my business. The bookkeepers are approachable, easy to work with, easy to access on a weekly or daily basis and the software allows for seamless uploading of any financial records they need to do their job. I have been able to use the extra time to update our agency's operations
and marketing and feel comfortable knowing that they are getting the detail work done for you. Also, they take the time to work with you and define the income and expenses of your business, so you have a clearer idea of your money flow. Recommend enthusiastically!

Cons

Before I used Live Bookkeeping, it was hard to know whether or not to use the different functions. I would recommend that you advertise within the software classes or Youtube videos for users to utilize. I had no idea we had access to training during the first 30 days so I would also highlight that option as well.

Pros

In all reality QB is the go-to solution for any accounting matter, it's hard to compete agains.

Cons

Not having a full-fledged CRM integration and the yearly subscription model for the online solution can become a burden, especially for small businesses.

Pros

The potential is great if they did what the sales guy said they would do.

Cons

The salesperson told me the live bookkeeper would work WITH me as I want to fully understand my books and I want to learn my bookkeeping front to back.

The reality was, I was completely shut out of the process, messages would not be responded to for days or not at all.

Making an appt to speak to someone would take a week or more. The first bookkeeper did nothing at all, the second one completed the cleanup but did not communicate with me during the process regarding my business, my processes or procedures, what they were doing or why.

My request is to do my own bookkeeping with their assistance guidance and oversight, they will not do this.

After the cleanup was complete, I found a massive error, I had attempted to communicate to them regarding my processes but apparently what I said was completely disregarded. It took my sister and I several hours to figure out what was wrong.

The problem was, I was taking owner distributions in cash without having logged the cash as having entered the company to start with. Yes, a stupid error on my part, this is why I wanted someone to communicate with and to assist me. How will I learn if I am shut out?

Obviously, the bookkeeper wasn't paying enough attention to catch the error, but had I been allowed to be part of the process, then together I am sure we would have found it.

So now my books have the "QuickBooks Livebooking Guarantee" for accuracy, which clearly means nothing now that I have found this massive error.

Pros

I did like that i got notifications- I LIKED THAT I COULD SEE ALL MY STUFF ON ONE PAGE. I LIKE HOW I COULD ADD MY ACCOUNTS TO VISIBLY SEE EVERYTHING COMING IN AND OUT OF MY BUSINESS..

Cons

not being able to call directly. i did not like that I had to speak to someone with broken english, I DIDNT LIKE THAT I WAS LEFT TALKING TO A PERSON WITH BROKEN ENGLISH AND I SAID HELLO HELLO HELLO MANY TIMES WHEN I THOUGHT THIS PERSON WAS INPUTINNG MY CONCERNS ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT NO ONE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH ME ANY LONGER YET I COULD HERE NOISE IN THE BACKGROUND AS IF I WAS MUTED.

Pros

I started using Quickbooks as a new small business owner. Starting a small business with no prior experience was daunting. Quickbooks itself was a great start, but adding the Live Bookkeeping was a game-changer. It took so much off of my plate as well as removed any worry that I would not be doing things correctly or accurately.

The bookkeeper I was assigned was knowledgeable and very helpful. He was also available when I needed him and was very easy to get in touch with and set up live meetings with.

Cons

Nothing that I can think of. Quickbooks delivered everything that they promised with the Live Bookkeeping service.

Pros

Well organized and easy to navigate with just a little usage.

Cons

I was told by my bookkeeper for over a year our company should not be paying the top tier price of $600 because our accounts receivable fit into the $400/month middle range, i.e. our average monthly expenses fell in the range that we should only have been charged $400/month. I just cancelled my account last month in hopes of getting someone's attention to this. Does anybody read these? Call me [SENSITIVE CONTENT]

Pros

My bookkeeper [SENSITIVE CONTENT]is amazing! He is very patient, and understanding, and ensures that I understand my reports and what they mean. We meet monthly to discuss my books as well as answer any questions he or I may have and they prepare and deliver my reports to me each and every month. I also love the fact that because they have become familiar with my month books, they send me a checklist each month on exactly what to provide so there isn't any guesswork on my end which makes the uploading process super simple.

Cons

I don't have any cons to be honest. Quickbooks makes it very easy and simple to use.

Pros

Being able to provide estimates for projects and invoice client against these estimates. This helps with project monitoring and cash flow. since using QuickBooks live, my books are up to date and my staff and I can focus more on being more productive.

Cons

Being able to link labor time with project estimates.

Pros

Monthly reconciliations are much easier now that we are working with QB Live.

Cons

I wish that QB Live did more. I would pay to get our books done correctly and to have more accurate information.

Pros

The software is great and my Live Bookkeeping Service is even more amazing.

Cons

Nothing big; except they wouldn't charge my credit card for a few weeks.

Alternatives Considered

RUN Powered by ADP

Reasons for Switching to QuickBooks Live

Live Bookkeeping Service

Pros

Great customer service and ability to learn!!

Cons

Set up needs to be a little more customized for special "Criterial" (Not doing invoices through QuickBooks Not needing Credit card machine transactions to go directly to QuickBooks - causing duplicated transactions) -- in special situations

Pros

Having the bookkeeping check my work is such a peace of mind. They are an invaluable tool for me as a business owner with so many hats on.

Cons

There has not been anything about this product that I do not like and appreciate.

Pros

Easy to learn and use. Complete enough that I rarely get questions from cpa or tax agencies

Cons

Nothing yet. I have incorporated my son into using

Pros

Ease of finding reports I need for all sorts of reporting. I can customize my report to fit my need. They are handy and efficient to use and easy to understand.

Cons

I find it difficult to categorize my expenses and thus making sub categories for different expenses.

Pros

Easy to track customers and helps alot with product & loss for our company

Cons

Sometimes the system will be slower then usally on some days which makes it harder to bill coustmers.

Pros

Ability to share information with accountant and the support from bookkeeping service are a big time saver.

Cons

Some bugs are present when receiving alerts but not that big a deal.

Alternatives Considered

Quicken

Pros

The software is intuitive and relatively simple. There is not much of a learning curve.

Cons

The email messages from live bookkeeper were sometimes too frequent and too hard to find.