Use QBSE’s Expense Finder feature to identify more potential deductions by securely connecting your bank accounts to pull in business expenses from the entire past year and sort them into Schedule C categories. When you sign in to QBSE for the first time from March 20 to April 15, select “No, I am still working on 2020 taxes” to access the Expense Finder feature. You can then connect to your bank accounts to securely import all 2020 expenses in just minutes. The Expense Finder feature automatically finds work expenses and organizes them by Schedule C category.
Calculate and pay estimated quarterly taxes.
Use QBSE Labs to test drive new features.
If you need more guidance or have loyalties to a tax preparer, you can invite your tax preparer to work with your QBSE data using QBOA.
Like the other versions of QBO, you can use a tablet, an Android or iOS smartphone, or desktop computer to access your data. In addition, QuickBooks Self-Employed uses the same security and encryption as banks, and your data is automatically backed-up online. As you might expect, this version has the fewest reports available, and only one person and an invited accountant can access QBSE. Use this address to purchase QuickBooks Self-Employed: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/self-employed.
If you opt to include TurboTax in your subscription, you also can pay your estimated quarterly taxes online and export Schedule C information from QBO to TurboTax so that you can prepare your tax return more easily. With TurboTax as part of your subscription, you receive one federal and one state electronic tax return filing at no extra cost.
USAGE LIMITS FOR QBO SIMPLE START, ESSENTIALS, AND PLUS
Because Intuit has introduced the new QBO Advanced subscription (that you can read about in the section “The Advanced version”), Intuit is applying updated usage limits to Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus subscriptions. Customers with these subscriptions who already exceed the usage limits can continue with their current subscription and their existing data, but (and this is an important “but”) these customers won’t be able to manually add to any element that currently exceeds the usage limit for the customer’s subscription. After the usage limits go into effect, a customer who wants to add to a QBO element and will exceed the usage limit must upgrade to a higher level subscription that supports their needs.
So, what are the limits? You’ll find the limits for all Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus subscriptions in the Usage Limits table.
Usage Limits for Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus Subscriptions
| QBO Element | Usage Limit |
|---|---|
| Chart of Accounts | 250 |
| Classes + Locations | 40 combined |
| Billed Users | 1 for Simple Start, 3 for Essentials, 5 for Plus |
| Unbilled Users | 2 Accountant users for all plans, for Plus, unlimited users who access for reports only, and, for Essentials and Plus, unlimited users who access for time tracking only. |
The Advanced subscription level has only two real limitations: Using it, you can have up to 25 billed users and 3 unbilled Accountant users.
So, suppose that your QBO company needs more than 250 accounts or more than a combination of 40 classes and locations. If your company already exceeds these limits, you’ll be able to continue in your current subscription, but you won’t be able to add accounts or any combination of classes and locations until you delete or deactivate these elements to bring down your total to the limits listed in the table. If you can’t reduce your accounts or combination of classes and locations, you’ll need to upgrade to an Advanced subscription.
The Simple Start version
The Simple Start version of QBO is great for a new business with basic bookkeeping needs. With Simple Start, you can
Track your income and expenses.
Download transactions from your bank and credit card accounts.
Create an unlimited number of customers.
Send unlimited estimates and invoices.
Print checks and record transactions to track expenses.
Track and pay sales taxes.
Track, create, and send 1099-Misc forms.
Import data from Microsoft Excel or QuickBooks Desktop.
Invite up to two accountants to access your data.
Integrate with available apps in QBO’s App Center.
Although the Simple Start version supports Accounts Receivable functions, you can’t set up invoices to bill customers on a recurring basis. You also can’t track bills due in the future in the Simple Start version because it doesn’t include any Accounts Payable functions. However, the Simple Start version does include a trial balance and a general ledger.
Although the Simple Start version allows two accountants to work in the client’s company, Simple Start is still designed for a single user. Therefore, the accountant cannot create the client’s company for the client. At the time the company is created in QBO, whoever creates the company becomes, in QBO parlance, the Master Administrator.
In addition to the single-user restriction, the Simple Start version offers more than 50 reports. And Simple Start users can memorize report settings and produce memorized reports. Use this address to purchase QuickBooks Simple Start: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/.
The Essentials version
The Essentials version of QBO includes all the features found in Simple Start. In addition, with the Essentials version, you can
Set up invoices to automatically bill on a recurring schedule.
Take advantage of Accounts Payable functions, including entering vendor bills and scheduling their payment for later.
Create and post recurring transactions.
Track time.
Control what your users can access.
The Essentials version permits three simultaneous users and two accountant users as well as an unlimited number of users who log in only to use time-tracking tools. In addition, the Essentials version contains the 57 reports found in Simple Start and 30 additional reports.
The Plus version
The Plus version of QBO is the most full-featured version