Every business needs a way to handle accounting, invoicing, and general management tasks. Unfortunately, the most popular software that handles these tasks can be expensive and time-consuming. Cloud platforms make things easier for you, your business, and your budget—and the top business management software vendors offer cloud versions with the same features as the full software, for less.
Intuit Online
Arguably the accounting software most often used by businesses, Intuit offers QuickBooks as a SaaS (software-as-a-service) program through Intuit Online. The online version is forms-driven with customizable menus, and data can be imported from desktop QuickBooks files, spreadsheets, or comma-delineated files.
While the interface is a bit different from the standard QuickBooks software, Intuit Online is user-friendly and intuitive, and contains most of the same features. The online version of QuickBooks comes with core accounting capabilities, as well as tools for invoices and shipping, online sales, point of sale, and customer relationship management (CRM). There are also management and analytics available.
QuickBooks Online can be used on the go. You can access your dashboard from any device with an Internet connection, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. There is an iOS app available for the program. An Android app hasn’t been released yet, but Android users can still access the program through a web browser on their phones.
Pricing for Intuit’s QuickBooks Online starts at $12.95 per month for one user.
FreshBooks
A platform that is rapidly approaching QuickBooks in terms of the number of users, FreshBooks was developed as a cloud platform from the start. At first, it was a simple tool for managing invoicing and collections—but FreshBooks has grown into a full-featured suite of cloud accounting software that rivals its closest competitor.
Easy to use, even for people with no financial background, FreshBooks offers core accounting capabilities, professional template-based invoice generation, online shopping tools, and integration with some of the most popular business applications, including MailChimp, Basecamp, ZenDesk, SalesForce CRM, and more.
The basic FreshBooks platform is free for 1 to 3 users, and starts at $19.95 per month for up to 25 users.
Need help establishing and integrating a cloud business management platform with your company’s infrastructure? Contact Informatix to learn more about our cloud support services.