Move over Quickbooks, there’s a new kid on the block!
No, you do not need to do double-entry accounting, stress out over materiality, or any of that other accounting-speak when you are just starting out.
If you need a magnifying glass for your business finances, then you need a simpler solution! (photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich)
What is the number one complaint I hear when I ask small business owners how they manage their books? It’s the complexity of Quickbooks. This is because they’ve seen commercials and were convinced that Quicken is the holy grail of getting their finances in order. The problem is that it requires hours of learning, boring video tutorials, and digging through Reddit posts just to get started. All along, they dread making a costly mistake.
That is no way to run a startup.
There is a better way, and it’s built on a new product whose roots lie in making things simple for personal finances. Now personal finances are not business finances, so it’s important to keep them separate. However, it would be really nice if business finances could be simpler, especially for the busy schedules of one-person operations. What is needed is a way to simplifi things.
Yes, that was an intentional typo, because this new product is built on Simplifi, the hugely successful personal money management tool. Simplifi is no slouch when it comes to money management, btw. It is owned by the same people who own Quicken, another hugely popular software application that has over 30 years of history managing personal finances for people.
Before this becomes another anti-Quickbooks post, it should be mentioned that Quicken and Quickbooks were under the same umbrella. However, Quicken was sold off so that the company could focus more on mid-level business finances and tax accounting. Meanwhile, the Quicken folks regrouped, acquired a little-known but popular tool called Simpli.fi, removed the period in the name, and then retooled it under their own umbrella. It’s a long story, but the bottom line is that they all share a solid history of managing people’s money.
The Simplifi, product though, stood out from all the rest. It looked and worked differently. It was slicker, faster, and beautiful. It just didn’t look like accounting software. Its interface looks as good on a phone as on a desktop, and that is the key to its success – it’s like running a simple app, but it runs on any device. The only thing was that it was strictly as a personal money management tool, not as a business tool… until now.
Introducing Quickbooks Business & Personal
Yeah, I agree they should have called it Simplifi Business & Personal. It’s a bit confusing, but I think the parent company wants people to know that Quicken is in its DNA so that business users see it as a reliable tool for running their business finances... and it is. It’s basically 80% of what Quicken Classic can do, but with a cool look that is easy to understand and learn, especially for people who use their phones regularly.
This leads me to a prediction: I believe that Quicken Business & Personal will eventually overtake Quicken Classic. Why do I say this? Because people use their phones more and their computers less. The fact is that you can’t effectively work with spreadsheets and ledgers on a small phone screen. For a whole new generation of small business owners, this is the product to start their business with.
If you are a solopreneur small business owner who dreads managing your finances because it’s just too hard, then this is the app for you.
What About Double-Entry Accounting?
Here’s the reality. Too many small business owners just don’t manage their finances well because the software sucks. That means they are putting their businesses at risk and missing out on important growth opportunities. This is why Quickbooks, even the most basic entry-level version may not be best fit for most startups.
There is a place for Quickbooks, but that’s on your bookkeeper’s computer. If your business is at a point where double-entry accounting is necessary, then you should be hiring a bookkeeper. Until then, it is better to manage your finances with an app you can understand like Quicken Business & Personal. This is a lot better than risking not managing your finances at all because the software gives you hives.
As a matter of fact, I would argue that you should consider hiring a bookkeeper before buying into the ever-increasing cost of managing your finances with Quickbooks. I say this because the cost of entry for the most basic version, Quicken Self-Employed, is $20 a month. It’s not a great product, by the way, because it lacks a quick and easy upgrade path to the next version up. That version is Simple Start, which is a whopping $35 a month, and it only goes up from there.
Now I know that at first glance, a part-time bookkeeper will cost more – typically about $300 a month. However, having a bookkeeper also means you don’t have to do the accounting yourself. If you add up how many hours you might spend on that, the math starts to become clearer. So, if you spend 10-20 hours a month on it, you wouldn’t be helping your business by doing it alone. Here’s another kicker: most bookkeepers will still require that you use software like Quickbooks to make it easier for them.
This makes it incredibly difficult and expensive for solopreneurs and mom & pops to even get their businesses off the ground. When money is most tight at the start, they only have the option of doing the accounting themselves, and Quickbooks is not always the right fit. Unless you already know how to use accounting software, there are better options to get you started.
There is a special price on Quicken Business & Personal right now: 50% off for the first year! For comparison, Quickbooks is only offering half off for three months. Just sayin’.
Why Quicken Business & Personal May Be Better for You
I could go into some detail about all the benefits, but I’ll just list the highlights that I know matter to small business owners:
As already mentioned, it is simple and doesn’t use complex accounting principles. It has a great interface and if you’ve ever used other money apps or your bank’s own portal, then Quicken Business & Personal will be easy to learn.
It costs a bit less. It’s just $8 per month. Compare that to Quickbooks at $20. While there are also other competitors like Freshbooks, Xero, and others, their comparably-priced entry-level plans are hobbled by missing features and limitations.
It manages your personal and business expenses and keeps them organized. This is because, for startups, there simply isn’t a practical way to have separate accounts, credit cards, expenses, etc. The ability to manage them both in a single app that keeps it all straight is much more convenient. This is a more realistic scenario for new businesses.
It automatically generates schedule-Cs for tracking business expenses for tax season. When first starting out, this is probably the single most important feature. It also generates many other business-specific reports, as well, btw.
It allows for a second login for your bookkeeper/accountant. Once you are ready to hire professionals, Quicken Business & Personal will still be able to grow with your business.
There is an upgrade path to Quickbooks – you can migrate your data in the future. The developers realized right away that eventually small businesses might outgrow the app, so they drew on their software heritage and retained that link with Quickbooks.
Unlike any competing entry-level product, it has no limits on the number of clients, projects, and income streams. That’s right, it allows you to have multiple businesses in the same app, which is a common need for solopreneurs. You can even have rental income, and it will generate Schedule-Es for your taxes.
It allows you to create and send invoices as well as receive payments. That is not available in other entry level products and will typically require the purchase of an add-on package. Quicken Business & Personal has no limits on the number of invoices, either.
Drawing on its Simplifi sibling, Quicken Business & Personal includes useful budgeting and savings tools. These allow you to see at a glance how your business is growing and any trouble spots you should be aware of.
It’s completely cloud-based, but it is also secure. This means you can access it anywhere, even in your pop-up booth at the fair. This is great for seeing how your sales that day are impacting your business and allowing you to make adjustments in real-time – like maybe moving the booth to a different location.
Conclusion
The benefits aren’t immediately obvious because the interface is deceptively simple, but they are there. I keep finding new and useful features as I dig deeper into the software. For example, there are a ton of useful business reports I can print or send to people who work with me. I’m also really impressed with the charts on how business is performing. Of course, for taxes, Quicken Business & Personal is super convenient too.
Look, I’ll be the first to admit that there is a comfort level in seeing your business in spreadsheets on a large screen. I’m a numbers person and I love the nitty gritty of accounting, but that’s me. I know that for many business owners, especially those just starting out, there needs to be something simpler, less costly, and that provides a path forward. For them, Quicken Business & Personal is a great fit.
Check it out if you’re one of the thousands of business owners who just hate the financial side of running a business but still need to get it done. Quicken Business & Personal is a brand-new product, so there isn’t much out there as far as reading reviews or learning about it, but there is a ton of info on its little brother Simplifi. The two are incredibly similar, so that’s a great place to start. Quicken Business & Personal is the next step for those who also run a business.
