QuickBooks Live is often the first online bookkeeping service business owners look to when they don’t have the time or resources to hire someone in-house to manage their books.
Despite its popularity among small business start ups, QuickBooks Live isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
In this article, we’ll explore what businesses should know before choosing QuickBooks Live for bookkeeping and any additional accounting support.
What's A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC (ABBL)?
Accounting & Advisory Services for Small Businesses.
We help small business owners to know the value of their company, clarify their records, improve their cash flow, and keep profits first! We do the online bookkeeping, accounting, and payroll for them. We can handle accrual basis and other advanced accounting situations. We work with the business owners CPA or tax preparer to provide tailored advisory services - all powered by real humans. Have a business coach or marketing guide that wants you to professionaze your accounting? That's us! We can work with your team to craft financials and reporting to get the insights you seek. We do way more than just bookkeeping, we help you run your business and scale up for growth!
What is QuickBooks Live?
QuickBooks Live is a subscription-based service that offers real-time support from certified bookkeepers to help businesses manage their books and provide personalized bookkeeping services. It’s offered explicitly to business owners using QuickBooks Online. All bookkeepers are vetted and certified in QuickBooks accounting software to ensure they have the experience to manage the accounts based on the QuickBooks Online Platform. They do bookkeeping on a cash basis (not accrual).
ABBL vs. QuickBooks Live
ABBL differs from QuickBooks Live in several key ways:
Comprehensive services: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC offers both bookkeeping and accounting services, providing a more complete financial management solution. We also offer payroll and advisory services too.
Dedicated team: Instead of a single bookkeeper, A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC provides a team of professionals to handle your finances.
Customize software: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC uses its own user-friendly platform that does not require additional subscription services.
Pricing structure: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC often offers more straightforward, predictable pricing without additional software subscription costs.
Tax season support: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC offers collaboration services with your tax advisor and financial preparation services, which QuickBooks Live does not offer.
Catch-up bookkeeping: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC specializes in bringing outdated books up to date, offering this as a distinct service. Catch-up experts get you caught up, ready to file back taxes, and in the clear with the IRS.
Industry specialization: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC has experience with various industries and tailors its approach accordingly, while QuickBooks Live is more generalized and dedicated to keeping your books organized.
Financial reporting: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC offers easy-to-understand, visual reports tailored to small business needs. Need Accrual basis accounting, Accounts receivable, Accounts Payable, Inventory Tracking, Job Costing, Profitablity reporting by Customer Job, Product Profitablity reporting, Payroll Labor costs Mapping and specialized reporting, depreciation, amortization, loan tracking, fixed assets tracking, advanced revenue recognition reporting, sales tax reporting, complex equity breakdowns, and more? We can handle that.
Integrations with banks and your favorite tools like Amazon, Shopify, Stripe, Gusto, ADP, and more: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC help you connect QuickBooks Online directly to your bank accounts and favorite tools, eliminating the need for manual data entry or imports. We can break down your transactions to the smallest detail and give you the exact reporting you need. We can handle big data. Get ready for financial insights!
Access to financial data anytime: A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC will never delete your data. You can download everything you need for reference or ask us for login access so you can access your tax and bookkeeping reports whenever you need them. With QuickBooks Live, access to your financial information is limited to one year after canceling your service.
How does QuickBooks Live work?
Once you sign up with QuickBooks Live, you’re automatically connected with a live bookkeeper, also referred to as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. They’ll conduct a one-time session to set up your books, and they’ll review your existing bookkeeping and update it. As they update your books, they’ll reconcile your bank and credit card accounts and any other balance sheet accounts from your last tax return or business incorporation date.
From there, your bookkeeper will provide the following ongoing services:
Close out your books monthly
Provide monthly finance reports, which include profit and loss statements and balance sheets
Prepare your books for tax season at the end of the year
In addition to these services, you can schedule one-way video or phone calls, chat online with your bookkeeper, and get 24/7 customer support for any other questions you may have about using the platform.
QuickBooks Live allows you to interact with your bookkeepers via live video chat.
What QuickBooks Live can’t do
While QuickBooks Live provides valuable bookkeeping support in real-time, it's not a full-service accounting solution. QuickBooks Live bookkeepers can't make business decisions on behalf of clients, create budgets, or provide financial planning advice.
Your QuickBooks Live bookkeeper also won’t be able to help you with the following:
Physical tasks like filing receipts, sending invoices, or making bank deposits
Tax preparation, filing, or auditing
Tax advice or interpreting complex financial data to provide strategic business insights
Representing clients before the IRS
Payroll services, such as processing employee paychecks or managing benefits
They can’t do accrual basis accounting for the most part
They can’t manage accounts receivable and accounts payable
Can’t do Customer Statement sending or chase up customers for payments
Can’t set up Bill pay approvals or connect with your vendors
They can’t provide Advanced accounting services such as Unearned revenue recording, Fixed Assets tracking, Cashflow Forecasting, Business Valuation, and more.
For these types of services, businesses may need to seek assistance from other professionals or handle them internally.
QuickBooks Live bookkeeping costs
QuickBooks Live bookkeeping costs range from $200 to $600 per month, plus a one-time setup fee of $50 for new businesses and $500 for established businesses who require a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to reconcile their books. Since QuickBooks Live is a subscription service, how much you’ll pay is based on your business’s complexity and average monthly expenses.
Remember the pricing plans for QuickBooks Live services are separate from the QuickBooks Online subscription, which ranges from $25 to $180 per month, depending on your subscription plan. Since you cannot get a QuickBooks Live subscription without first having a QuickBooks Online subscription, you’ll effectively be paying for two subscriptions for the real-time bookkeeping services.
The pros and cons of QuickBooks Live
QuickBooks Live has certain pros and cons. Depending on your business and bookkeeping needs, it’s a good idea to understand those pros and cons before signing up for the service.
The pros
Access to certified human bookkeepers familiar with QuickBooks Online and various accounting practices.
Accurate books guarantee, which guarantees that any errors will be corrected at no additional charge.
Outsourced bookkeeping which frees up time so you can focus on other important business tasks.
Reliable financial reports delivered monthly to provide up-to-date information about your business's financial health.
Seamless integration with QuickBooks Online keeps all financial data in one place.
Scalable pricing model, which allows you to adapt to your bookkeeping needs to your business's growth.
The cons
Service does not include invoicing your customers or vendors or paying bills for you (no Accrual accounting).
Less hands-on control, which some business owners might find uncomfortable.
Customer support varies in quality, and customers are often left to rely on the community self-help forum.
Potential for bookkeeper turnover, requiring you to build new relationships.
It is not suitable for industries that have more complex accounting needs (inventory, contracting, etc.).
Limited tax support, focusing primarily on bookkeeping.
Can be expensive, especially for small businesses or startups with tight budgets and are not getting all features that a regular bookkeeper could offer.
It requires the use of QuickBooks Online, which all businesses may not prefer, and comes at an additional cost.
Are you currently doing your own books for your business?
Introducing A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC: The better alternative to QuickBooks Live
A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC is an online bookkeeping service that utilizes QuickBooks Online Software, but also offers a comprehensive financial management solution for small businesses and freelancers. Founded in 2018, A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC has quickly grown into one of the best bookkeeping services for small businesses in the states. Unlike traditional bookkeeping services or software-only solutions, A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC combines easy-to-use software with a dedicated team to provide a more holistic approach to financial management.
Who should choose A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC?
Companies that need accural basis accounting to track AP (Vendor bills with terms) and AR (Customer invoices with terms), amortizing costs over time, advanced revenue recongition, sales tax tracking and reporting, contracting from proposal to fixed fee billing, inventory tracking, ecommerce detailed integrations, business value building, SOP assitance, and a team of back office proffesionals to help manage the business.
Growing small businesses looking for an all-in-one financial solution
Entrepreneurs and freelancers who want their bookkeeping support to be collaborative with their current CPA or tax preparer.
Businesses that prefer a team-based approach rather than relying on the risk of a single bookkeeper.
Those seeking a more comprehensive knowledge about other technology integrations with their other systems for streamlined efficiency
A desire to have a more secure solution to keep everything in one place in the cloud
Companies with historical bookkeeping issues that need help catching up on their bookkeeping or transitioning from another service
Business owners in locations that require state tax filing on a monthly or quarterly basis
Entities that need to track unearned income or expenses
Multi-Company Entities that need to track multiple company financials on one report.
Inventory companies or Ecommerce Companies with inventory tracking needs and connections to multiple online ecommerce sites
Companies using project management tools and online database systems like Airtable, ClickUp, Asana, or Monday, and want to work with a team that will help them pull everything together.
Professional Service firms that need help with Estimating, Progress Invoicing, Budget Tracking, Job Costing for Labor and Expenses, Payroll Labor as COGS and Billable to Customers, Retainer Tracking, Statement reporting to follow up on open invoices, vendor Bill pay approvals, and more.
Business owners who want to build the ultimate DREAM TEAM in financial service professionals - all of whom are united with the same vision in order to achieve their company goals.
Who should choose QuickBooks Live?
Companies needing minor bookkeeping support Businesses that only need to look backwards historically not forward into the future.
Single businesses with Cash Basis only bookkeeping and reporting needs that don’t require advanced accounting services on an Accrual Basis (no AR, no AP, no complex payroll, no Sales Tax, no Mulit-Entities, no Advanced Revenue recognition, no Advanced Reporting).
Companies that just need the bank feed transactions posted and reconciled on their behalf - for the most part - so the books are getting done from a basic compliance stand point.
Are you ready to work with A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC?
While QuickBooks Live offers valuable bookkeeping support, it may not be the right fit for your business needs. A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC can provide your small business with a more holistic approach to financial management, combining comprehensive bookkeeping and tax collaboration services tailored to your unique business needs.
Book a free consultation today and see for yourself!
Let us take bookkeeping off your hands. Forever.
Trusted by hundreds of small business owners, see how A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC can help your business finances with a personalized consultation. Get up to 90% off your start up fees when you sign up for ongoing daily real-time services.
This post is to be used for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, business, or tax advice. Each person should consult his or her own attorney, business advisor, or tax advisor with respect to matters referenced in this post. A Bigger Bottom Line, LLC assumes no liability for actions taken in reliance upon the information contained herein.
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