By B2B Money Guides
Half off. Three months. That is the QuickBooks deal for new customers right now, and we think it is a good one.
Not ready to pay at all? Fine. Take the 30-day free trial instead. You just cannot have both, so pick one.
What do you get for it? Invoices, bills, your bank feed, payroll if you need it, all under one login. More than 10 million businesses around the world use QuickBooks. Plenty of them started with one person and a laptop.
QuickBooks Deals You Can Use Right Now
| Offer | What you get | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| 50% off for 3 months | Half off your monthly plan price | New QuickBooks Online customers, monthly plan, choose “Buy Now” |
| 30-day free trial | Full plan, phone support included | Pick this or the 50% off, not both |
| Free plan | $0 a month, no credit card | 1 user, 2 invoices a month |
| Pay yearly | 10% off the annual price | Shown on Solopreneur and Payroll pages |
| QuickBooks Time | 50% off for 3 months | Base price only |
| QuickBooks Payments | Up to 25% off transaction costs | If you process over $2,500 a month |
One small thing. The 50% deal does not stack with other QuickBooks offers. When the 3 months end, you move to the regular monthly price.
Best for: someone new to this. You want to try real tools first.
Tip: Already know your plan? Grab the 50%. Still guessing which one fits, the trial is the smarter start.
So, What Is QuickBooks Anyway?
Intuit makes it. Yes, the same people behind TurboTax.
You log in online, laptop or phone, and you connect your bank. QuickBooks pulls in your sales and your costs and sorts them for you. Less paper for you to deal with.
Your accountant can come in too. Every plan has seats for accountants and you pay nothing extra for them.
The mobile app comes with the paid plans and with Lite. More than 800 apps connect to QuickBooks. And on Capterra it sits at 4.3 out of 5 from over 8,400 reviews.
QuickBooks Plans and What Each One Costs
Simple Start is $38 a month. With the offer you pay $19. One user plus 2 accountants. You send invoices, track money in and money out, use the app. Good if it is only you.
Essentials. $85 a month, or $42.50 with the deal. Now you get 3 users, better reports, employee time on invoices and help with quarterly tax estimates.
Plus is the one customers pick most. It costs $140 a month, $70 for the first 3 months. Five users. Inventory. Budgets. Project profit. Bank matching gets more automatic too.
Then Advanced, at $340 a month (half off, that is $170). Up to 25 users and 3 accountants, custom roles, workflows, Excel sync, priority support. Free 1099 e-filing is in there.
Just starting? There is a Free plan at $0. Or Lite at $20 a month, which adds unlimited invoices, receipt and mileage tracking, and the app.
The Extras: Payroll, Payments and Time
QuickBooks Workforce (Payroll). A lot of owners we talk to run payroll in a separate app. You do not have to. Payroll with Simple Start starts at $88 a month plus $6.50 per employee. Move up a bundle and direct deposit goes same-day. They help 1.4 million businesses with payroll and taxes.
Got hit with a payroll tax penalty? QuickBooks says it will pay up to $25,000. Terms apply, of course.
Payments. Cards cost 2.99%. ACH bank payments, 1%. There is no setup fee and no monthly fee.
QuickBooks Time lets your team clock hours from their phones. Premium is $20 a month plus $10 per user, and it works with QuickBooks Online.
Best for: you have workers. Or contractors. Or clients who like paying by card.
QuickBooks vs Xero vs FreshBooks vs Zoho Books
It is not the lowest price on this list. We will say that plainly. What you get for the price is the point.
| Feature | QuickBooks | Xero | FreshBooks | Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, $0 | Not listed | No, 30-day trial | Yes, under $50K revenue |
| First paid plan | $38 a month | $27 a month | $23 a month | $20 a month |
| Built-in payroll | Yes, Workforce bundles | Through Gusto | Yes, add-on | No |
| Users on plans | 1 to 25, plus accountants | No per-user fees | $11 per extra user | 3 to 5 users |
| App connections | 800+ | Not compared | Not compared | Not compared |
| Free accountant access | Yes, every plan | Not compared | Not compared | Not compared |
Best for: a growing business. Accounting, payroll and payments from one company, one bill.
Tip: Planning to hire this year? Look at the payroll bundles before you need them. One bill is easier than three.
Who We Think Should Grab It
- Freelancers. Mostly invoices and mileage, mostly from a phone.
- A small shop with two or three people that wants real reports and some tax help.
- You sell products and you are tired of tracking stock in a spreadsheet.
- Teams up to 25 users, each with different access.
- Anyone who wants payroll and the books in the same login.
- Owners who already have an accountant (they can log right in, free).
Why Consider QuickBooks
Start free. Then Simple Start, then Plus, maybe Advanced one day. Same login the whole time, and your numbers come with you.
Accountants know it well. Intuit even runs a free ProAdvisor program for them, so finding help at tax time is easier.
Payroll, payments, time tracking. One company.
And right now the first 3 months cost half. Or the first 30 days cost nothing. Your call.
The Fine Print, Kept Short
- No annual contract. Cancel when you want. It ends at the close of your billing period.
- Monthly plans do not get pro-rated refunds.
- 60-day money back guarantee on annual QuickBooks Online plans and on QuickBooks Desktop. Not on monthly plans.
- Phone support comes with paid plans and the trial. Free plan users get chat.
- Offers change. Please check the live price before you buy.
FAQs
Is QuickBooks free?
There is a Free plan, yes. $0, one user, 2 invoices a month.
How do I get 50% off QuickBooks?
Choose a monthly QuickBooks Online plan and hit “Buy Now.” You pay half for 3 months.
Can I get the free trial and 50% off together?
Sorry, no. One or the other.
Is there a money back guarantee?
On annual QuickBooks Online plans, 60 days. Monthly plans are not covered.
Does QuickBooks do payroll?
It does, through QuickBooks Workforce. With Simple Start it starts at $88 a month plus $6.50 per employee.
Can my accountant use my QuickBooks?
Yes. And you pay nothing extra for that.
Final Verdict
For most small businesses in the US, we like QuickBooks.
The everyday stuff it does well. Invoices, bills, bank matching, reports. Then when you grow, payroll and payments are already right there.
Half off for 3 months makes starting cheap. Thirty free days lets you look around first.
So pick the plan that fits your team today. You can move up later and nothing gets lost.
