K9 Bookkeeping is determined to make accounting and bookkeeping easy and accessible for business owners of every type.
This article is from our “Bookkeeping for Dummies” series, a part of that broader mission.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is highly regarded as the best accounting software for self-employed freelancers, contractors and creatives, particularly those who don’t have separate business and personal accounts. Part of the Quickbooks family and perfect for those just starting out in the entrepreneurial space, working to create their passion business or side hustle, QuickBooks Self-Employed is a great starting option, but it won’t fit into your business and switching services can be complex.
Related: What is QuickBooks and What Does It Do?
Let’s explore all the benefits and drawbacks of Quickbooks Self-Employed in this comprehensive review:
How does QuickBooks Self-Employed work?
Once you link your accounts (checking, credit cards, PayPal, etc.), you can easily see your income and expenses in one place. You’ll appreciate the intuitive tools the web and app-based service offers that will help you track, sort, and categorize transactions in all accounts that handle your combined business and pleasure-related activities.
You can also use QuickBooks Self-Employed to create, send, and track invoices through the program, although the service allows minimal customization and does not support estimates.
QuickBooks Self-Employed can also produce the following business reports:
- Mileage log
- Profit and loss
- Receipts
- Tax summary
- Tax details
How much does QuickBooks Self-Employed cost?
QuickBooks Self-Employed offers three subscription-based tiers at different prices:
- Self-Employed: $15 per month.
- Self-Employed Tax Bundle: $25 per month.
- Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle: $35 per month.
An important aspect to note for entrepreneurs not yet ready to take the plunge and sign up for a full package, QuickBooks Self-Employed is offering 50% off any subscription for the first three months.
What are the benefits of QuickBooks Self-Employed?
- Swipe left for business
QuickBooks Self-Employed enables you to identify income and expenses quickly. In addition, the possibility of dividing the transactions by percentage or dollar amount and assigning a part as personal versus work. It also allows you to set rules to assign and classify transactions automatically. Furthermore, you can also mark a specific bank account as “mostly business” to keep some legal business out of your books.
- Set it and forget it mileage deductions
QuickBooks Self-Employed submits the calculations for you using the current IRS mileage rate. In addition, QuickBooks maintains an ongoing record of business mileage and corresponding deduction. Moreover, you can also enter flights manually using the app or web service.
- Categorize expenses, simplify taxes
QuickBooks Self-Employed gives you a breakdown of income and expenses using categories that comply with IRS Schedule C (Form 1040). This feature can categorize expenses and make your tax filing process more manageable.
What are the drawbacks of QuickBooks Self-Employed?
- Doesn’t accommodate multiple businesses
With QuickBooks Online, entrepreneurs with more than one company can create a separate self-employed QuickBooks account. Because QuickBooks Self-Employed does not have this feature, you must maintain individual email messages and login information. To switch between your accounts, users must sign out of one account to access the next
- Difficult to scale
QuickBooks Self-Employed does not have multiple levels that you can scale on. Therefore, you may need to manually transfer your data by exporting and then importing the data into your new QuickBooks account. The process of adding data is not done automatically. Therefore, you will need to add all the data manually. You cannot return to QuickBooks Self-Employed if you switch to QuickBooks Online.
What are the alternatives QuickBooks Self-Employed?
- QuickBooks Online: Robust features, scalable plans
QuickBooks Online offers a more advanced, but more expensive, option for QuickBooks Self-Employed. Pricing plans start at $25 per month for the same features as the Freelance version.
QuickBooks Online allows you to seamlessly upgrade from the Simple Start to the Essentials plan at $50 per month as your business grows.
Related: QuickBooks for Small Businesses: Which Version Do You Need?
We’re happy you found this article informative! Go back to our blog page to find more tips, tricks and guidance on bookkeeping, to ensure your business is financially sound and ready to grow to the next level.
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