So, freelancer, you’ve made the leap. You downloaded QuickBooks. Great. What now? Does QuickBooks work for freelancers?
QuickBooks Self Employed for Freelancers
Just like all small business owners, freelancers need to …
- Track income & expenses
- Capture & organize receipts
- Estimate quarterly taxes
- Invoice & accept payments
- Track mileage
Briefly mentioned in a previous article, Intuit designed QB Self Employed especially for these tasks. Its developers understand small businesses and adapted their software to freelance workflow.
So, they automated income and expense tracking that ties to your business accounts. It’s so smooth and flawless that you’ll not even notice it’s happening most days.
It helps capture data on photos of receipts and appends them to corresponding bank transactions. So you won’t have to deal with old, faded receipts with smudged numbers.
Also, it estimates your quarterly taxes with minimal transaction review on your part. In fact, any day of the year, you can get up-to-date income and expense or profit and loss statements.
Additionally, it makes invoicing and accepting payments quick and efficient. It even allows you to send reminder invoices with just a few clicks.
Finally, it uses your cell phone’s GPS receiver to track mileage. You can set up rules and practically eliminate having to review regular trips.
At a low starting cost of $15, with a monthly cost of $7, it pays for itself quickly.
Freelancers Won’t Grow Out of QuickBooks
You may wonder, “Does QuickBooks work for freelancers growing beyond one-person shows?” Because, you don’t want restrictions of bookkeeping software designed only for tiny start-ups.
That’s not a problem because Intel has products for small businesses of all sizes. So, its low-cost Self Employed plan does take care of Schedule C forms and 1099 income. But it has fully compatible solutions that go beyond one-person business bookkeeping.
For example, its QuickBooks Pro 2020 software license carries out so many more functions. Like QB Self Employed, it tracks income and expenses and allows invoicing. However, it does much more.
It runs more than 100 reports. In addition, it allows you to send estimates to clients, beyond the simple invoice. It also tracks sales tax, manages bills and accounts payable, tracks time, tracks inventory, lists limits, and pays 1099 contractors. It allows up to three users.
Of course, with so many features, its price, compared to that of the low QB Self-Employed price, ranges in the hundreds of dollars per month. And you’ll see that it pays for itself as your business bookkeeping activities become more complex.
Plans for Freelancers Who Plan on Growing their Business
Other QB plans have prices in-between. Each is designed for businesses that have grown beyond one- or two-person enterprises. And, each works perfectly well with the QB Self Employed data that you have already set up. That makes transitions easy.
Here’s a rundown of other QuickBooks plans:
Simple Start: $25 / Month or $12 / Month
- Track income & expenses
- Capture & organize receipts
- Maximize tax deductions
- Invoice & accept payments
- Track miles
- Run general reports
- Send estimates
- Track sales & sales tax
- Manage 1099 contractors
Essentials: $40 / Month or $20 / Month
- Track income & expenses
- Capture & organize receipts
- Maximize tax deductions
- Invoice & accept payments
- Track milesNEW
- Run enhanced reports
- Send estimates
- Track sales & sales tax
- Manage 1099 contractors
- Manage bills
- Track time
- Includes 3 users
Plus: $70 / Month or $35 / Month
- Track income & expenses
- Capture & organize receipts
- Maximize tax deductions
- Invoice & accept payments
- Track miles
- Run comprehensive reports
- Send estimates
- Track sales & sales tax
- Manage 1099 contractors
- Manage bills
- Track time
- Includes 5 users
- Track project profitability
- Track inventory
Advanced: $150 / Month or $75 / Month
- Track income & expenses
- Capture & organize receipts
- Maximize tax deductions
- Invoice & accept payments
- Track miles
- Run most powerful reports
- Send estimates
- Track sales & sales tax
- Manage 1099 contractors
- Manage & pay bills
- Track time
- Includes 25 users
- Track project profitability
- Track inventory
- Business analytics & insights
- Batch invoices & expenses
- Customize access by role
- Dedicated account manager
- On-demand online training
- Online back-up and restore
- Automate workflows
QuickBooks for Freelance Businesses of Any Size
Does QuickBooks work for freelancers with businesses of any size? It does! So, if you’re starting off small, but looking to grow your business, rest assured. QB can keep up with your business as it grows.
For more information about types of affordable plans and which best fits your freelance business, check with an On Track Bookkeeping expert.
