At a Glance
Where Quicken excels is its ease of use. It’s easy to generate all kinds of reports about your business, from banking to spending to net worth. It also lets you split receipts across multiple spending categories—so if you did some personal and business shopping on the same trip, you can separate these expenses easily. These features can help keep your cash flow organized so you can see where your money is going.
While Quicken offers four different subscription packages for users, the Home & Business package is likely to be the one most relevant for entrepreneurs. Most of the others focus solely on personal finances.
Unlike some other accounting software, you pay for Quicken on an annual basis. Here’s how the fees for Quicken break down, including the 10% discount on some packages for the first year:
- Simplifi By Quicken: $35.88 for the first year, then $47.88 afterward
- Quicken Deluxe: $59.64 for the first year, then $71.88 afterward
- Quicken Premier: $71.88 for the first year, then $119.88 afterward
Featured Partners
1
Xero
Reg. Price: $15 per month; Special Offer: 75% off all plans for 3 months until February 13
Yes
30 days
2
Sage Intacct
Yes
Yes
Yes
3
Melio
Yes
Yes
Yes
4
QuickBooks
$15 per month (for the first 3-months, then $30 per month)
30 days
Expert help, Invoicing, maximize tax deductions, track mileage
Other Benefits
One other type of plan Quicken offers is a subscription to its personal finance app, Simplifi. This app started back in 2020 and is intended to provide users with insights into their financial habits. However, it’s not cheap. A yearly subscription is $47.88, although you do have the option to pay $2.99 per month instead for the first year. Overall, it’s not a very valuable asset for a business owner as it’s intended for individuals tracking their spending.
You can also add a backup disc to any package for $4.99. This is just a CD copy of the Quicken software, so it’s not at all necessary to buy since you can just download the program from the web.
Fine Print
One big issue is that the Home & Business package is only available for Windows. If you’re on a Mac, Chromebook or Linux system, you’re out of luck.
Additionally, the Deluxe, Premier and Home & Business packages all come with in-depth investing features. While this sounds nice, unless your business has its own 401(k), this will likely be unnecessary to play with.
Finally, because Quicken lacks any sort of customer portal, time tracking or payroll capabilities, it’s not the best choice for companies that have several employees or deal with a lot of customers.
How Quicken Stacks Up
| Quicken | NeatBooks | FreshBooks | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Starting Price
|
$35.88 per year
|
$200 per year
|
$19 per month ($9.50 per month for the first six months)
|
|
Free Trial
|
30 days
|
15 days
|
30 days
|
|
Accounting
|
✓
|
✓
|
✓
|
|
Expense Tracking
|
✓
|
x
|
✓
|
|
Time Tracking
|
x
|
x
|
✓
|
|
Financial Document Management
|
✓
|
✓ – Includes unlimited storage
|
x
|
|
Invoicing
|
✓
|
✓
|
✓
|
|
Automatic Payment Reminders
|
x
|
x
|
✓
|
|
Recurring Invoices
|
x
|
x
|
✓
|
|
Customer Portal
|
x
|
✓
|
✓
|
|
Customer Support
|
Live chat, phone and community forum
|
Live chat and support tickets
|
Live chat
|
|
Learn More
|
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Read Reviews
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Quicken falls in the middle when it comes to pricing compared to NeatBooks and FreshBooks, which charge $40 per month and $19 per month (after si months at $9.50), respectively. For what NeatBooks charges, it doesn’t offer many expanded features except unlimited cloud document storage, which could be a plus if you deal with many receipts.
What sets FreshBooks apart is its ability to track time, which is crucial if you’re a service-based business that charges by the hour. Along with NeatBooks, it also comes with a customer-facing portal that lends an air of credibility to your company—and makes it easier for customers to pay bills or place an order.
Learn more about how FreshBooks and NeatBooks stack up against Quicken in our reviews.
Featured Partners
1
Xero
Reg. Price: $15 per month; Special Offer: 75% off all plans for 3 months until February 13
Yes
30 days
2
Sage Intacct
Yes
Yes
Yes
3
Melio
Yes
Yes
Yes
4
QuickBooks
$15 per month (for the first 3-months, then $30 per month)
30 days
Expert help, Invoicing, maximize tax deductions, track mileage
Is Quicken Right for You or Your Business?
Quicken is the best choice for your business if you’re on the smaller side, don’t have additional employees and want robust expense tracking. If you have a larger team or work primarily on a non-Windows computer, check out our best accounting software picks to find an alternative service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need accounting software for my small business?
If you want to save time and money, then yes. Accounting software can automate many of the tedious tasks associated with bookkeeping, such as invoicing, tracking payments and preparing reports. This frees up your time so you can focus on running your business. Plus, software can help keep your books in compliance.
Is Quicken free?
Quicken doesn’t offer any free plans. Plans start at $2.99 a month, although most businesses will want to spend more for the Deluxe plan at $5.99 per month (discount available for the first year).
Does Quicken offer cloud storage?
By default, Quicken stores your files locally on your computer. However, if you opt into syncing through the Quicken Mobile app or Quicken on the Web, your data is added to the cloud.
How do you buy the Quicken software?
Quicken has changed its service to a subscription model, meaning that you can’t just buy the software anymore. Instead, you’ll pay an annual fee to keep accessing the program.
What features should I look for in accounting software?
The best accounting software programs all provide similar features, so when considering which one is best for your business, you need to consider which features are the most important to your situation. This will help you decide which accounting software meets your needs best. Certain software is best for actions like accounts payable (A/P) and banking and cash management while others are geared more for retail companies, offering cost tracking, inventory management and collecting and submitting sales tax. Other features you may want to consider include whether the software has a mobile app, how good its customer service is and how well it does with accounts receivable (A/R) and financial reporting.
