A Quickbooks Review

Choosing accounting software can feel a bit like buying a mattress—you know it’s important, you’ll be using it daily, but the options are endless. That’s where we come in. We work with small business owners every day, and QuickBooks Online is one of the most popular tools out there. Is it right for you? Let’s take a closer look.

What is QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small businesses. It’s used by millions worldwide and is tailored to help sole traders, freelancers, and limited companies stay on top of their finances without the need for an in-house finance team—or a full-blown panic attack at year-end.

It offers features that cover everything from sending invoices and tracking expenses to submitting VAT returns in line with Making Tax Digital (MTD) requirements.

We use QuickBooks Online regularly with our clients, and we’ve seen first hand how it can make day-to-day bookkeeping feel a lot less like, well… bookkeeping.

Features We Like

QuickBooks Online comes packed with features that actually do what they promise (and that’s not something you can say about every bit of software). Here are some standouts:

🏦 Bank Feeds

QuickBooks links with most major UK banks to pull your transactions in automatically. That means no more downloading CSV files and copying and pasting lines into spreadsheets. It keeps things tidy and saves hours.

📤 Invoicing

You can create and send professional-looking invoices, set up automatic reminders, and track payments in real time. QuickBooks will even nudge your customer for you if they’re a bit slow paying (which, let’s be honest, happens to the best of us).

📱 Mobile App

The app is easy to use and a bit of a game changer. You can snap a photo of a receipt or send an invoice straight from your phone—possibly while waiting for your flat white.

🧾 VAT Made Easy

If you’re VAT-registered, QuickBooks helps you stay compliant with MTD rules. It calculates your VAT and makes submissions straight to HMRC, no spreadsheets required.

📊 Reports & Dashboards

You can see how your business is doing with a glance. There are plenty of customisable reports for cash flow, profit & loss, and expenses.

Where It Could Be Better

While we’re fans of QuickBooks, no review would be complete without a reality check.

🏦 Bank Sync Wobbles

Sometimes the bank feed has a little wobble—especially when banks update their security. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s worth knowing that occasional manual refreshes might be needed.

🤯 Learning Curve

It’s user-friendly once you know where things live. For total beginners, the layout can be a bit overwhelming at first. That’s why having someone guide you through it (hi there!) can make a big difference.

💸 Pricing Tiers

There are several packages, and it’s not always obvious which one you need. It’s easy to overpay for features you won’t use, or underpay and miss something vital.

How It Plays with Bookkeepers

This is where QuickBooks shines. It’s designed with collaboration in mind, which makes our job—and your life—much easier. We can access your accounts in real time, fix things before they become problems, and help you understand what the numbers actually mean. That’s especially useful when it comes to:

• VAT returns

• Payroll and CIS submissions

• Year-end tidy ups

• Answering those "is this claimable?" questions you send at 10pm

  
  

  One of our favourite things is seeing a client go from “bookkeeping dread” to “I kind of like doing this now” just because they feel in control. QuickBooks helps with that.

  
  

Is It Right for You?

QuickBooks Online is a solid choice if you’re:

• A sole trader, freelancer, or small limited company

• Running a service-based business

• Looking for an MTD-compliant, HMRC-friendly tool

• Wanting to save time and keep better records without turning into a full-time bookkeeper

  
  

  We often say: if you want something cloud-based, reliable, and relatively straightforward, QuickBooks is a good bet.

  
  

Final Thoughts

QuickBooks Online isn’t magic—but it gets pretty close when it’s set up well and used properly. It can make bookkeeping faster, VAT less terrifying, and give you better insight into how your business is performing. And that’s really the point. Good bookkeeping software doesn’t just help you tick boxes for HMRC—it helps you run your business better.

As always, we’re here to help if you need support getting started, or if you just want someone to keep things ticking along in the background while you focus on running your business. We do more than just bookkeeping—we’re also a helpful sounding board for questions, ideas, or just a bit of reassurance.