Now let’s discuss all the features QuickBooks Solopreneur includes and where we can expect future enhancements. According to Software Advice, Self-Employed is rated 3.9 out of 5 stars, while QuickBooks Online is rated 4.3 out of 5 stars. QuickBooks Online is a more comprehensive tool than Self-Employed. It comes with in-depth reports, including a company snapshot, sales reports and profit and loss reports. See articles customized for your product and join our large community of QuickBooks users. Always check the IRS website for the latest tax payment schedules.

Find a plan that fits you

QuickBooks Online also comes with e-commerce support and inventory tracking on higher plans, which works well if you sell physical items. Overall, we like QuickBooks Online for small businesses that are beginning to ramp up their sales and would like professional guidance along the way. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Self-Employed are monthly subscription packages from Intuit that let you track your expenses and send invoices to clients—but the similarities end there. Generally, QuickBooks Online is designed for small businesses with numerous employees, clients and vendors, while QuickBooks Self-Employed is tailored to freelancers and solopreneurs. The tax filing capabilities included in QuickBooks Solopreneur are designed for ‘Schedule C’ (form 1040) filers, most commonly applicable to sole proprietors or single-member LLCs.

  • You can view these estimated tax payments monthly, quarterly, and annually, helping you plan your cash flow and set aside money accordingly to avoid tax surprises.
  • Overall, we like QuickBooks Online for small businesses that are beginning to ramp up their sales and would like professional guidance along the way.
  • All you have to do is categorize them so they show up in the correct Schedule C category and on your financial reports.
  • The plan comes with a subscription to TurboTax so you can file one state tax return and a federal tax return directly from your account.
  • QuickBooks Self-Employed is good for freelancers who don’t have a lot of volume—perhaps if freelancing is just your side gig.

Can I use QuickBooks Online if I’m self-employed?

You’ll also be able to have your final tax return reviewed by a professional. This plan is best for business owners who want to be able to ask an accountant for support when questions come up. With QuickBooks Self Employed – you connect QBSE to your bank and credit card accounts and you categorize business income and expenses using “Schedule C” categories. That means that everything is categorized to make filing your taxes simpler. QBSE offers limited reporting capabilities – including a profit & loss report, and a Schedule C report.

  • To get paid faster, here are 20 tips designed to get clients to pay their bills by the due date or earlier.
  • With continued development, it has the potential to become an indispensable asset for solopreneurs everywhere.
  • The Self-Employed plan lets you keep your business and personal expenses separate.
  • Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website.
  • Read our handy blog article to find out more about how to calculate and do your income tax.

That means if you were thinking of joining QBSE, you’ll need to explore other options. However, you can’t add or invite new users to your company within the mobile app. View transactions, capture receipts, send estimates and invoices to your customers.

QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Self-Employed for personal bookkeeping (and other alternatives)

Digital tools like QuickBooks exist to help small business owners like you save time — so you can turn more of your minutes into dollars. The allowable expenses you can claim under Self Assessment must be for business use only and they vary depending on the business you’re in. You can read more about this in our blog, check out the list of allowable expenses on HMRC’s website or speak to an accountant. You can also purchase a 3rd party service to convert data from GoDaddy to QB Online if required.

QuickBooks Bridging Software supports Standard and Cash schemes. Businesses whose home currency is not GBP are currently not supported. Not with QuickBooks Sole Trader, but you can track your VAT and then prepare and submit your return to HMRC using other QuickBooks Online products. And you can always manually add transactions that don’t go through your bank. The best QuickBooks Online version depends on the size of your business and your particular needs.

The revenue from each store is separate so you know where you’re profitable and where you’re not. One of the selling points of QuickBooks Self-Employed is its ability to calculate your quarterly estimated taxes for you. Not only that, but it also reminds you when payments are due. However, if you want to pay these taxes directly through QuickBooks, you’ll need to upgrade to a special tax prep plan.

About QuickBooks Self-Employed

For more information about services provided by Live Bookkeeping, refer to the QuickBooks Terms of Service. With qbo self employed QuickBooks Online, you’ll get everything you need to manage your business’s books. Income and expense tracking, invoicing and payments and automated tax deductions are all included in the base plan. An expert can guide you through QBO setup and answer questions based on the information you provide; some bookkeeping services may not be included and determined by the expert.

All you have to do is categorize them so they show up in the correct Schedule C category and on your financial reports. CoCountant is a premium accounting and bookkeeping service tailored for startups and small businesses. Unlike software solutions, CoCountant offers full-spectrum financial management, providing you with a dedicated team of QuickBooks-certified ProAdvisors to handle your financial management.

At CoCountant, we provide personalized bookkeeping services designed for small business owners like you. With real-time cash accounting and detailed monthly reports, we help you stay on top of your financial health and make smarter business decisions. QuickBooks Online offers a more scalable, albeit more expensive, option to QuickBooks Solopreneur. Its least expensive option (the Simple Start plan) starts at $35 per month for essentially the same features as the self-employed version.

It provides a clear picture of your business’s financial health, helping you make informed decisions. There is no need to download QuickBooks Online because it is connected to the cloud, which means you can access online accounting from any device with an internet connection. You can download the QuickBooks Online mobile app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Other features I would like to see included are reports for personal transactions, receipt capture, and receipt attach.

Skip the self-employed version and go straight to QuickBooks Online if you think you’ll outgrow QuickBook Solopreneur’s basic reports and features. QuickBooks offers many different options for software, so it’s important to make sure you’re choosing the one most suitable for your business. QuickBooks Self-Employed does not offer double-entry accounting, which is more accurate and can help prevent accounting errors.

Intuit’s commitment to helping small businesses succeed is the driving force behind the change. QuickBooks Solopreneur was designed to deal with those growing needs. It was built on the same platform as other QuickBooks Online products so that upgrading can be done through a seamless conversion reducing the risk of data loss. When you track all of your expenses and income in QuickBooks, you can also use the quarterly estimated taxes feature so you know what you owe Uncle Sam four times a year. The Schedule C optimizer also helps you squeak out every possible business expense deduction. QuickBooks Self-Employed lets you import transactions from your credit card, bank, PayPal and more and automatically sort them into tax categories.

You can view these estimated tax payments monthly, quarterly, and annually, helping you plan your cash flow and set aside money accordingly to avoid tax surprises. No need to manually calculate mileage deductions for every work-related trip. QuickBooks Solopreneur will automatically do the math for you using the current IRS mileage rate. Just opt into mileage tracking via the app to automatically log all of your car travel. QuickBooks keeps a running tally of business miles and the corresponding deduction.

Since accountants and tax preparers charge an average fee of $192 to prepare a federal Schedule C tax return, these packages are in line with what you’d pay for outside support. QuickBooks Online surpasses QuickBooks Self-Employed in physical sales. It can help you track sales tax on every invoice, which is especially helpful if you sell in different locations. While you can only connect one online store in the base plan, the Plus plan lets you have unlimited storefronts.

QuickBooks Self-Employed is designed for freelancers, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors. With this, you can track your income, expenses, mileage, tax info, and prepare your Schedule C. In the event you purchased QuickBooks from a mobile app store, you’ll need to cancel your subscription there. You can cancel your existing QuickBooks Online (QBO) subscription and sign up for a new QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) account. This is because both platforms are different and designed for specific types of businesses. Accurate bookkeeping supports cash flow management, enabling your business to plan for growth and sustainability.

Users can create estimates and invoices, customize them to fit their brand, manage customer lists, and even track mileage automatically. Moreover, QuickBooks Solopreneur handles sales tax calculations, estimates tax payments, and provides insightful profit and sales reports. It also seamlessly integrates with QuickBooks Payments and QuickBooks Checking, offering added convenience. QuickBooks Self-Employed is cloud-based accounting software designed specifically for self-employed individuals such as freelancers, real estate agents, Uber drivers, and independent consultants. With its QuickBooks Self-Employed Tax Bundle, you can track income and expenses, track mileage to and from clients, and file your taxes. QuickBooks Solopreneur is designed for freelancers and contractors, specifically those who don’t have separate business and personal accounts.