QuickBooks Online vs Sage Intacct: What Are the Key Differences?

Both QuickBooks Online and Sage Intacct are cloud-based accounting software that are predominately used by many businesses in different industries. They both have robust feature sets with plenty of integrations to automate various workflows. However, each product has its own unique feature that appeals to different types of users.

Today, we’ll walk you through the key differences between QuickBooks Online and Sage Intacct so you can decide which is a better option for your business. 

When is QuickBooks Online Preferable? 

QuickBooks Online is a great option for business owners who are often out of the office. Thanks to its capable mobile app that allows you to perform many of the same functions of the desktop interface, such as sending invoices and tracking mileage for GPS. A unique feature of QuickBooks Online is that you can track activity by class and location, which is useful for businesses like property management firms. With this feature, property managers can easily see which among their properties are the most profitable and which ones need their serious attention.

You might also prefer QuickBooks Online if you’re collecting taxable payments from your products and services in different jurisdictions. QuickBooks Online has the ability to automatically calculate the correct sales tax based on your customer’s address, helping you easily track and pay sales taxes.

QuickBooks Online also includes other features not available in Sage Intacct, including the ability to: 

• Create and send estimates
• Track time worked and mileage
• Generate W-2 forms for employees
• Set up job costing
• Scan expense receipts from a mobile app

When Should You Consider Sage Intacct?

Sage Intacct can be a great choice for businesses with multiple entities. It has a customizable dashboard with lets you track important metrics across multiple companies, helping you easily determine which among your business branch or entity makes the most money. Another use case of Sage Intacct is midsized nonprofits working with an internal finance team. It has useful features for nonprofits such as fund accounting and activity-based budgeting and reporting.

Sage Intacct comes in a set of six modules, and you can pick which ones to include in your subscription. The modules include dashboards, core financials, billing, budgeting and planning, reporting, integrations, and advanced functionality. While it’s a full-featured accounting software, there are some limitations to using Sage Intacct. For instance, you can’t issue sales orders to vendors and estimates to customers, and there’s no way to track billable time and mileage. 

QuickBooks Online vs Sage Intacct: Pricing

QuickBooks Online is available in four subscription options with prices depending on the number of users you have and the features included. Meanwhile, Sage Intacct is quote-based, so you have to contact the provider directly to seek pricing information or request a customized quote. However, since Sage Intacct is more complicated than QuickBooks, the quote you’ll get might be more expensive than QuickBooks Online’s prices which range from $25 per month for one user to $180 per month for up to 25 users.

Learn which version of QuickBooks Online is best for you in our comparison of QuickBooks Online plans. You can go with QuickBooks Online Simple Start for simple income and expense tracking for a single user or get the highest tier, QuickBooks Online Advanced, which is preferred by businesses that need multiple users and enhanced automation workflows.

Wrap Up

Each program has its own strengths and weaknesses, so they are designed to address similar business needs. While Sage Intacct is great for businesses with multiple entities and those who need fund accounting, QuickBooks Online is more ideal for companies that need to track profit and loss by class and location, business owners who are always on the go, and eCommerce companies that sell and ship products to multiple states and jurisdictions.