How to use Quickbooks for your business & what makes it unique

This article is a submission by Fusion Business Solution (P) Ltd.-FBSPL. Fusion Business Solution (P) Ltd. (FBSPL) is a Udaipur, India-based company providing Business Process Outsourcing, management, consulting, and IT services, with operations in New York, USA.

Starting a business from the ground up isn’t some motivational poster story. It’s messy, exhausting, sometimes humiliating. 

Numbers either add up or they don’t. Most new owners cling to spreadsheets or a notepad at first, because that’s what’s cheap and easy. Until it isn’t. 

When you have less clients, you can easily keep everything in Excel. It works. 

But when the number of clients increases, things go south. All because you don’t have proper accounting in place. 

That’s usually the breaking point. You either bring in an accountant (costly) or you look for software that saves you from drowning. That’s where QuickBooks enters the scene. Businesses trust it because it does the boring stuff right. 

In this blog, we will discuss how QuickBooks actually works for small businesses and why it’s not just another ‘tool’ in a crowded market. 

So, what’s QuickBooks anyway? 

Well, simply put, QuickBooks is one of the best accounting software conceptualized and designed for small and medium-scale businesses to help them manage their income and expenses while staying at the top of their financial game. 

Picture it as an extra pair of hands, not a flashy assistant, just one that quietly keeps your books in order without asking for coffee breaks. 

It was built with owners in mind who are wearing a hundred hats at once and don’t have an accounting department to fall back on. With it, you can send invoices, track expenses, pay bills, check taxes, and pull up reports, everything without hopping between five different tools. 

No, it’s not magic. But it’s pretty close to having someone who handles the boring money stuff, so you don’t have to. 

And unlike those apps that look sleek in ads but leave you scratching your head after five minutes, QuickBooks actually makes sense once you start using it. You log in, do what needs to be done, and get back to running your business. 

Another thing, it doesn’t choke when your business takes off. Sell more? Hire a few people? Add products? It rolls with it. You don’t have to dump it and start over just because you’ve outgrown the beginner stage. 

Challenges you might face with Quickbooks (and how to tackle them) 

Let’s be honest. QuickBooks is one of the best accounting tools out there, but it’s not a magic wand. You’ll hit snags, especially when you’re just getting started. I’ve seen people give up on it too early because they didn’t expect the bumps. 

Here’s the stuff that usually catches folks off guard and what you can do to dodge, or at least soften, the hit.

1. Getting used to it isn’t instant 

The first time you open the dashboard, it feels like someone dumped a whole toolbox on your desk. Too many buttons, too many menus. You click around, get lost, maybe even close it out in frustration.

How to handle it: 

Don’t try to master the whole thing in one night. Use it for the basics first, make an invoice, log an expense, see how that feels. Over time, the rest of the features start making sense. And if you’re stuck, there are videos everywhere that walk you through it without the boring jargon. 

2. The price tag can sting

A lot of small businesses run on thin budgets, so yeah, that monthly fee feels like one more thing draining cash.

How to handle it: 

Don’t overbuy. Stick to the lowest plan you can get away with. The fancier options can wait until you’re actually using the basics like a champ and need the extra features.

3. You can still mess up the numbers

Just because it’s software doesn’t mean it fixes every mistake. If you type something wrong, the reports will be off, no questions asked. Garbage in, garbage out.

How to handle it: 

Slow down when entering numbers. Review them. Better yet, connect your bank account and let QuickBooks pull transactions automatically, that’s one less thing to screw up.

4. Things don’t always sync right

If you’re linking it to other apps, sometimes data just doesn’t flow the way it should. You’ll see duplicates, missing entries, all kinds of weirdness.

How to handle it:

Keep everything updated. The second you notice a sync problem, fix it. Waiting only makes the cleanup worse. And yeah, call support if it’s above your head, they’re there for a reason. 

That’s pretty much it. These hiccups are real, but none of them are deal-breakers. Once you know they’re coming, you won’t panic when they show up. You’ll just fix them and keep moving. 

How to use Quickbooks for your small business 

QuickBooks isn’t a headache to set up. You add your details, connect your bank, and off it goes. It quietly organizes what used to eat up your evenings. 

Here’s how most owners use it (and where it saves them headaches): 

• Create, share, and track invoices: Forget chasing payments blindly. You make an invoice in minutes, email it, and QuickBooks shows who paid and who’s stalling. No manual tracking. 
• Track bills and expenses: Every expense, recorded. Link a bank account and it pulls transactions automatically. No digging through piles of receipts to see where the money went.  
• Pay bills online: Paying vendors becomes a few clicks, not a routine you dread. You can clear dues in batches or one at a time. Relationships stay smooth. 
• Generate financial statements: Need to see how you’re doing? Profit & loss, balance sheet, cash flow, it’s all there. Real-time, not months later. 
• Monitor employee time and expenses: Service businesses live and die on hours billed. QuickBooks tracks them accurately, so you stop underbilling (or overbilling) clients. 
• Measure project profitability: You might think a project is profitable, until the numbers say otherwise. QuickBooks tracks income and costs so you can tell if the work is actually worth it. 
• Automate payroll: Payroll errors ruin morale. QuickBooks handles salaries, deposits, and taxes without you sweating over spreadsheets. 
• Track and manage inventory: For product businesses, stock-outs or overstocking cost money. QuickBooks tracks inventory levels and nudges you when it’s time to reorder. 
• Receive online payments: Clients pay faster when it’s easy. QuickBooks lets them pay online straight from the invoice. Cash flow improves, plain and simple. 

These aren’t just fancy features, they’re lifelines when things get busy. 

7 benefits of Quickbooks over other accounting software 

You’ll find dozens of accounting tools out there. Some cheaper, some trendy, some overcomplicated. 

Here’s why QuickBooks keeps winning: 

1. Built with small businesses in mind: You don’t need an MBA to use it. It’s straightforward. The learning curve is short. 
2. Taxes become less painful: It keeps records clean all year, so tax season isn’t a panic-fueled nightmare. You’ll thank yourself later. 
3. It grows with you: No matter how fast you scale, it won’t hold you back. You upgrade features, not software. 
4. Reports you can actually use: Reports aren’t buried in jargon. You get numbers you understand and can act on. 
5. Affordable without cutting features: Others cut features to lower costs. QuickBooks stays full-featured and still makes sense price-wise. 
6. Help is easy to find: Whether you Google it or call support, solutions exist. You’re not stuck waiting days.
7. It keeps getting better: They update it. Regularly. You’re not stuck with outdated tech that feels like it’s from 2005. 

Leveraging Quickbooks for business growth 

Running a business is brutal. Between chasing customers, dealing with suppliers, and trying to grow, the last thing you need is financial chaos. QuickBooks takes that chaos and makes it manageable. 

It shows you where to cut, where to invest, when to slow down. Guessing doesn’t cut it anymore, especially when cash flow decides whether you make it to next month. 

We’ve seen this story play out hundreds of times. Business owners drown in paperwork, switch to QuickBooks, and finally breathe easy. Clean books don’t just save time, they save businesses. 

So, if you are still stuck with the traditional accounting methods, we can help you with our dependable and affordable bookkeeping and accounting services.