QuickBooks advertises $30/month. Counting its 4 documented recurring fees, an illustrative monthly estimate is $311/month. This data has not yet been compared with the vendor's pricing page, so confirm current prices before buying. Vendor site (quickbooks.intuit.com) — check its pricing page.
Small business accounting software by Intuit. Plans from $30-$200/mo but payroll add-on ($45+/mo), per-employee fees, and time tracking add-ons create significant hidden costs.
Advertised Price
$30
/month
Estimated Monthly Cost
$311
/month (illustrative scenario)
Vs. Advertised
10.4×
of the advertised price
Pricing Data
Pricing check date not recorded
Prices change often — confirm on the vendor's site before buying.
What the pricing page doesn't tell you
QuickBooks Payroll is NOT included: Core $45/mo + $6/employee, Premium $80/mo + $8/employee, Elite $125/mo + $11/employee. A 10-person company adds $105-235/mo for payroll alone.
Trigger: payroll > 0
+$105/mo
QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) costs $20/mo base + $8/user/mo (Premium) or $40/mo + $10/user/mo (Elite). 10 users on Premium = $100/mo extra.
Trigger: timeTracking > 0
+$60/mo
Every payroll plan charges per-employee per-month on top of base price. Adding employees directly increases your bill — $6-11/employee/mo depending on tier.
Trigger: employees > 0
+$6/mo
Simple Start allows only 1 user (+2 accountants). Essentials allows 3 users. Plus allows 5 users. Need 6 users? Advanced at $200/mo — a 122% price jump from Plus.
Trigger: users > 5
+$110/mo
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per mo) | Key Limits | Overage Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Simple StartPOPULAR | $30 | $30 |
| No overages |
Essentials | $60 | $60 |
| No overages |
Plus | $90 | $90 |
| No overages |
QuickBooks Simple Start at $30/mo covers basic invoicing and expense tracking. Essentials at $60/mo adds bill management and 3 users. Plus at $90/mo adds inventory and project profitability. Advanced at $200/mo adds custom roles, batch invoicing, and dedicated support. But QuickBooks Payroll ($45-$125/mo + $6/employee), Time Tracking ($20-$40/mo + $8/user), and Live Bookkeeping ($250-$500/mo) are all separate.
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