Accounting Alternatives to QuickBooks Online

Member since 2026 · 88 posts · 53 votes

I have always used QuickBooks but their monthly fees are getting out of control. I do like being able to track income & expenses by Class on QBO, but $140/month is too high IMO.

What are some other alternatives you are using?

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William WhitleyBusiness Member

Accountant · TN · Member since 2025 · 146 posts · 92 votes

Good afternoon, Tim,

I completely understand your apprehension to continuing to pay $140 per month for QBO Plus, and QBO Advanced is even more. I have real estate investor clients who use QBO Plus and Advanced, and I provide accountant paid which gives them a 30% discount in perpetuity. They simply reimburse me at cost. Of course, they are also paying me for monthly bookkeeping services.

There are other platforms out there, though I’m not familiar with the service fees. Xero comes to mind as an alternative. One thing I would say, though I don’t know if it makes it more palatable, but since you are able to write off that subscription, you are saving a little in taxes due to that expense, so your effective price per month is less.

I hope you are able to find a good cost alternative to QBO Plus.

All the best!

Bill Whitley

Accountable Balance Bookkeeping, LLC

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William WhitleyBusiness Member
Accountant · TN · Member since 2025 · 146 posts · 92 votes
1w
Good afternoon, Tim,
I completely understand your apprehension to continuing to pay $140 per month for QBO Plus, and QBO Advanced is even more. I have real estate investor clients who use QBO Plus and Advanced, and I provide accountant paid which gives them a 30% discount in perpetuity. They simply reimburse me at cost. Of course, they are also paying me for monthly bookkeeping services.
There are other platforms out there, though I’m not familiar with the service fees. Xero comes to mind as an alternative. One thing I would say, though I don’t know if it makes it more palatable, but since you are able to write off that subscription, you are saving a little in taxes due to that expense, so your effective price per month is less.
I hope you are able to find a good cost alternative to QBO Plus.
All the best!
Bill Whitley
Accountable Balance Bookkeeping, LLC
Website View Page
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Addy Chupa
Developer · Member since 2024 · 34 posts · 10 votes
1w
Tim — $140/month is a lot if you mainly need income and expenses by property (or by “class”).
A lot of people in that spot don’t need full QuickBooks. They need rent and expenses tagged by property, clean categories for tax time, and something they can keep without a big monthly bill. A simple spreadsheet setup can cover that for a small self-managed portfolio.
It won’t replace QBO if you need bank sync, receipt capture, or full double-entry accounting — those are real gaps versus QuickBooks. If your main pain is property-level tracking and cost, a lighter I&E workbook approach is often enough.
Curious what matters most for you right now — classes/properties, tax categories, or something else?
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Simon W.Business Member
Real Estate Consultant · Lehigh Valley PA & New York City · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 675 votes
1w
Before switching I'd look at what you're actually paying for. Class tracking is the main reason people end up on Plus, and if that's the part you like, a lot of the cheaper options either don't have it or handle it differently.
Moving books is also more work than it sounds. You lose the bank rules you've built up and your reconciliation history, and attachments usually don't come over cleanly. If you do move, I'd do it at year end so you aren't splitting one tax year across two systems.
If cost is the main issue, it's worth asking whoever does your books or taxes whether they can put you on their accountant discount, like someone mentioned above. Sometimes that's enough to make staying put the easy choice.
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Christine Kankowski
Real Estate Broker · Temecula, CA · Member since 2014 · 994 posts · 783 votes
1w
I got a black friday deal on Quicken (including tabs for properties) for a flat fee. Works well for me.
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Bill B.
Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
1w
If you have less than 20 properties quicken is overkill at less than 1/10th the price. If you have 20-40 it’s probably ok, beyond that you want something like Quickbooks or a bookkeeper.
Quicken has no problem auto downloading transactions from banks and credit cards. It can tell you income/expenses by category, property, time period, etc etc. It can compare any time period to any other time period and print or export reports of that data for you or your cpa.
With a dozen properties I spend 30-60 minutes a month depending on repairs/fees/late payments etc. And maybe 2 hours at year end checking each properties income/expenses against last year’s actual and this year’s receipts looking for input errors. Then I print out a one page report for each property for the CPA, job done.
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Tim Fitchet
Las Cruces, NM · Member since 2026 · 4 posts · 5 votes
1w
Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences here. I agree with the point several members raised that it is worth auditing exactly which features you are actually using before switching — migration costs and lost bank rules can quietly erase the savings. One general thought worth adding: for anyone comparing options, it may help to list the two or three tasks you perform most often each month (for example, tagging expenses by property, generating a simple P&L, or preparing for taxes) and evaluate each alternative against just those tasks. That tends to clarify the decision faster than comparing full feature lists.
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Andrew KimBusiness Member
Rental Property Investor · Across the US · Member since 2026 · 9 posts · 3 votes
1w
what does your RE portfolio consist of? SFR/small MFR & LTR or STR? if so, there are some newer, RE specific, incumbents that are SIGNIFICANTLY better and less expensive. you can get the full accounting suite at the free tiers. dont want to be a promo post, but we're definitely one. happy to chat.
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Talha Rashid
Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 1 vote
1w
The easiest software is often the most expensive in the long run.
When you're first setting things up, it makes sense to choose the cheapest, simplest, and most recognizable option on the market. The problem is that many of these platforms become far more expensive once your business grows and you're completely dependent on them.
That's when the pricing starts to hurt.
And the worst part? Your data often isn't truly centralized or under your control either, which gives the platform even more leverage over your business.
In reality, many of these tools provide surprisingly little value compared to what they eventually charge. A capable developer could build and deploy an almost identical internal system on your company's own servers for as little as $8/month in infrastructure costs, while keeping your data centralized, accessible, and fully under your control.
Obviously, custom software isn't the right choice for every company. But once a business reaches a certain size, continuing to rent basic functionality forever can become far more expensive than simply owning the system yourself.
I'm genuinely surprised more established businesses haven't moved in that direction yet.
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Rachel Mazzanti
Virtual Assistant · Remote · Member since 2020 · 108 posts · 49 votes
1w
Before you switch, check whether you're actually using what you're paying for. Most investors on QBO Plus never touch Classes, and that's the feature that gives you per-property P&L. It's the whole reason to pay $140 a month. Without it, you're paying for a Ferrari to drive to the mailbox.
Stessa and REI Hub are fine for simple rental tracking, but they're not double-entry accounting. That matters the day you need a real balance sheet for a lender, a partner buyout, or an IRS question. Cheap now, expensive later.
And whatever you decide, don't migrate mid-year. Finish the year in QBO and start clean January 1. Mid-year migrations are where books go to die. Our team has untangled enough of them to know.
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Clever Mukori
Member since 2026 · 12 posts · 4 votes
2d
Before switching, export your chart of accounts, class list, and a trial balance as of your cutover date. Starting the new system from opening balances (rather than importing years of history) makes migration much less painful. Whatever you pick, test that it can produce a P&L by property and reconcile bank feeds. Those are the two features most people actually use from QBO Plus.
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