ZipBooks Versus QuickBooks for Mac: Who is winning the Game?

Both of these accounting software programs are popular but they each have several differences. The differences range in price, features and even level of customer support. But which is the best for your bookkeeping needs? Well, in a nutshell:

ZipBooks

Designed to be the perfect fit for small entrepreneurs. In other words, startups and micro-businesses that have minimal transactions to record on a monthly basis can benefit greatly from ZipBooks. It is a really good ‘starter’ accounting program for entrepreneurs or freelancers and clearly better than using computer spreadsheets or handwritten ledgers.

Dashboard

The ZipBooks Dashboard includes Quick Stats, Accounts Receivable, Key to Bar Graph and your Business Health Score. Quick Stats is a section that offers an instant snapshot of revenues collected over the past year as well as the previous month’s net income.

A current to date accounts receivable balance is displayed and there is the option to click for more details under the categories of View Report where you can dig deeper into the Aging A/R stats. There is a bar graph that appears and the key is explained here. Blue shows revenue, gold is expenses, green indicates profit.

When expenses are greater than revenue, the green bar shows in red. Business Health Score will show a figure out of 100. If the number is low, you can click on it and the ZipBooks program will provide suggestions on how to improve your bookkeeping set up.

Customer Service

While both ZipBooks and QuickBooks provides customer service, when compared head-to-head, QuickBooks offers a lot more than ZipBooks. Here is a look at what each provides:

Zipbooks provides multiple options for customer services including chat, and helpdesk.

All you have to do to reach a ZipBooks support agent is to log into your account and click the button marked “Start A Conversation” (lower right corner of the screen). You can search for assistance just by typing a keyword or two into the search window. In the Accounting Basics section, there are a number of FAQs and step-by-step instructions on how to start using this program.

Pricing

There are a total of four different pricing plans. They range from $0 to $125 per month. Here is a look at each:

ZipBooks Starter is free and provides access for one user. It does allow you to produce an unlimited number of invoices as well as unlimited customer/vendor contact tracking. It connects to a single bank/credit card account.

Another ZipBooks Smarter starts with $15 per month but it gives you the ability to have an unlimited number of users. You can automatically send unlimited recurring invoices as well as track hours worked by contractors/employees. This program will easily transfer those hours to customer invoices.

ZipBooks Sophisticated starts with $35 per month and includes everything in the ZipBooks Smarter program with some extras. They include tracking of income/expenses by location/project, you will also be able to create bank reconciliations and there are advanced reporting features.

The last, ZipBooks Services is the top level which will cost $125 per month. It provides you with a dedicated bookkeeper who will categorize all transactions, reconcile and bank and credit card accounts plus one more feature. You will have someone who will prepare monthly financial statements for you.

QuickBooks for Mac

Another side, QuickBooks is designed to fit well with any size business, and is the best-known of the pair. It has many more features and has a huge network of advisors.

Plus, QuickBooks is used by more businesses than any other software program. It has three different business tiers designed to fit various sized businesses. While it is a good fit from entrepreneurs, medium-sized businesses and huge corporations, this is a more expensive program to use. However, it has several more features than ZipBooks.

Dashboard

The QuickBooks Dashboard contains a Left Menu Bar, Sales, Profit and Loss, Expenses and Invoice tabs. The left menu is a multi-functional menu bar as it gives you access to most features of the program in much the same way as keyboard shortcuts would. Sales section gives you a visual on sales figures with an ongoing updated current figure for reference. Then you can monitor the profit and loss situation of your business without having to run a report for the same data.

Next, you can take a peek into the ongoing current expense reports here broken down into three top categories of your choosing. With a click, you can see your accounts receivable and the amount of payment collected.

QuickBooks offer omnichannel customer supports including chat, phone, email, knowledgebase, guideline and various tutorials. You can reach a QuickBooks support agent by logging into your account and clicking on the ‘Help’ option. You can phone to speak to a support agent six days a week (6 AM – 6 PM PST on weekdays, 6 AM – 3 PM PST on Saturdays).

A free course with video tutorials and written instructions to aid you in setting up your bookkeeping program.

There are a total of three different pricing plans. Here is a look at each of them:

Pricing

Simple Start $15 per month and allows access for just one user. It will create invoices and track accounts receivable.

The second plan is Essentials which cost $35 per month and it includes all of the features found in Simple Smart plus some extras. They include unpaid bill tracking, check printing and access for up to three users and two accountants. And the third plan starts with $50 per month and comes with all the Essentials features.

Added to this is access for up to five users and two accountants. Additional extras are tracking reports for 1099 contractors, budgeting/forecasting tools and project tracking.

Ease of Use

Both ZipBooks and QuickBooks for Mac are designed to be user-friendly. Plus, you do not require a background in bookkeeping in order to use or understand the way these programs work. Both utilize simple language rather than industry terminology which aids in the user experience. The main difference at start-up is the appearance of the dashboard on each program. Here is a look at each of them:

In Conclusion

The decision on which of the accounting software programs ZipBooks or QuickBooks is best for your business depends on the size of your business. Both can accommodate any size company although ZipBooks is probably best suited for smaller entrepreneurs. If you demand more features, then QuickBooks would be your obvious choice.