Introduction
Historically, accounting has been considered as a dull and unexciting aspect of business. Nonetheless, as a business evolves, the accounting department will become arguably one of the most important components for its success. This is why providing the accounting team with the tools they need in order to monitor these factors effectively is critical for the financial health of the organization.
Many accounting software options are available on the market, offering numerous features and reporting functions that accountants require, but how does one decide which is best? The ideal solution is accounting software that can be integrated with other commercial solutions. This will result in significant time and resource savings for the organization.
In this page, we have chosen to compare the biggest players on the market, namely Odoo, to Quickbooks. For a balanced comparison of the most widely used accounting solutions, we have compiled a table outlining the essential features an accounting software should encompass. The categories are as follows: General Accounting, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Bank and Cash, Extras, and Reporting. These categories encompass almost everything a company needs to manage its finances. We have also included a comprehensive list of the pricing conditions and usability analysis for each solution.
To offer a comprehensive comparison of several accounting solutions, we’ve done the exercise for some of the most renowned ones: Odoo, Sage, Quickbooks, Xero, Zoho Books, TallyPrime. Happy reading!
Odoo
Created to disrupt the enterprise landscape and finally provide a simple solution for complex needs, Odoo has become one of the most popular business solutions. With more than 82 business apps fully integrated, and thousands of community modules, the open-source software caters to every sector and company size, becoming a major player on the market.
Odoo is available in three editions: Community, Enterprise, and Online.
"Amazing employees deserve amazing software."
12 million +
users
44,000 +
apps
5,000 +
partners
3,600 +
employees
Quickbooks
Quickbooks, developed by the financial software company Intuit in 1994, is an accounting software solution for small and medium businesses. In 2014, the software was divided and industry-specific were incorporated into separate options to enhance its appeal. Quickbooks is now seen as one of the most widely used accounting software in the US.
Quickbooks is available in two versions: Enterprise and Online. The Enterprise version is available online via additional hosting or locally. In this comparison, we will showcase Quickbooks using Online Essentials.
"Smarter business tools for the world’s hardest workers"
4,5 million +
users
300 +
apps
5,000 +
partners
18,000 +
employees
Features Comparison
General Accounting
Odoo
Quickbooks Online
General Scope
Multi-currency
Consolidation
Multi-User
Multiple Journals
Number of Languages
85
5
Supported Countries
80+
1
Access Rights
Access Rights per Screen
Access Rights per Field
Customizable Validation Steps
Third-Party Integration
Availability of an API
Spreadsheet Integration
Import: Excel or CSV
Export: Excel or CSV
Customer Portal
Accounts Receivable
Odoo
Quickbooks Online
Customer Invoice
Proforma Invoices
Multiple Taxes per Line
Advanced Taxes (fixed, tax of taxes, etc.)
Discounts
Pricelists
Multi-Step Payments Terms
Cash Discounts
Outstanding Payments Reconciliation
Emails Discussion as Attachment
Configurable Email Templates
Send Invoices
Generate a PDF Invoice
Batch Send Invoices by Email
Post Invoices by Standard Mail
Online Payments
Credit Cards
PayPal
SEPA Direct Debit
Customer Statements
Aged Receivable Balance
Customer Statements
Automated Follow-up Letters
Automated Follow-up Actions
Unpaid Fees and Penalties
Third-Party Debits Recovery
Recurring Revenues
Automated Recurring Invoices
Subscription Upsell / Renewal
KPIs: Churn, MRR, Upsells, etc
Alerts for Contract Renewal
Miscellaneous
Automated COGS Entries
Automated Deferred Revenue
Accounts Payable
Odoo
Quickbooks Online
Vendor Bills
Billing Control (Purchase Orders / Receptions)
Multiple Taxes per Line
Purchase Agreements
Multi-Step Payment Terms
Fleet Bills & Disallow Expenses
Peppol / UBL Support
Artificial Intelligence
Bills OCR Recognition
Learning Intelligence
Payment Data from OCR
Realtime OCR (<10 minutes)
Vendor Payments
Aged Payable Report
Print Checks
Automate Wire Transfer (SEPA)
ACH Transfers
Expenses
Employee Expenses Report
Expenses Validation Flow
Mobile App for Expenses
Miscellaneous
Assets Management
Bank & Cash
Bank Interfaces
Import Statements: QIF
Import Statements: OFX
Import Statements: CSV
Import Statements: Coda
Import Statements: Camt.053
Deposit Tickets
Efficiency
Reconcile while Matching
Misc. Operations while Matching
Automated Rules
Bank Reconciliation Reports
Automated Currencies Rate Update
Extras
Odoo
Quickbooks Online
Analytic Accounting / Grouping
Analytic / Cost Accounting
Multi-Level Analytic Accounting
Multiple Plans
Budgets
General Budgets
Analytic Budgets
Payroll
Payroll
Valuation
Standard Price
Average Price
FIFO
Perpetual Inventory Valuation
Reporting
Odoo
Quickbooks Online
Legal Statements
Profit & Loss
Balance Sheet
Cashflow Statement
General Ledger
Tax Reports
Tax Audit Report
Reports
Pivot Table on Multiple Dimensions
Customizable Reports
Customizable Dashboards
Annotate Reports
Customizable KPI’s
Predefined Executive Summary
Perpetual Fiscal Year Closing
Usability, Pricing & Conditions
Odoo
Quickbooks Online
UI
Full Web Interface
Mobile App
Android App
iPhone App
Market Place
App Store / Add-ons
Other (integrated) solutions
eCommerce
Expenses
Inventory
Manufacturing
Operations (project, timesheet, etc.)
Human Resources
Document Management
Subscriptions
Point of Sale
Purchase
Sales
Subjective Ratings
Navigation and Search
5/5
4/5
Data Entry
5/5
4/5
Reconciliation Tool
5/5
3/5
Mobile App
4/5
4/5
Reports Flexibility
4/5
4/5
Pricing and Conditions
Monthly Pricing
Free
27$
Number of Users
Unlimited
3
Contract Duration
Monthly & Yearly
Yearly
Free Trial
User Satisfaction
Rating on g2Crowd
4.3/5
4/5
Rating on GetApp
4.2/5
4.3/5
Rating on Capterra
4.1/5
4.3/5
Brand Exposure
3/5
5/5
Different solutions, Different needs
When choosing the right software for your business, it is important to assess several criteria based on your specific needs.
Business Scope measures a software’s capacity to meet your business needs comprehensively through its features and its flexibility in customizability and integration with other tools.
User-Friendliness measures how straightforward and user-friendly a software solution is for your team to navigate, requiring minimal training or complex procedures. Additionally, it evaluates how hassle-free the software is to set up, considering factors like time, effort, and resource requirements for initial configuration within your organization.
Odoo is a robust solution addressing a wide range of business needs, extending beyond accounting functions. The platform is designed to streamline operations and replace the need for disjointed, non-integrated software applications. Odoo shines as a highly customizable, all-in-one solution with a multitude of applications. Its open-source nature empowers a thriving community, resulting in a vast repository of community-contributed applications. Compared to its competitors, which lack certain crucial features, Odoo provides a high-quality bill management solution.
Quickbooks is considered to be an out-of-the-box solution. It offers specialized accounting software but lacks more advanced features. This software doesn't provide an all-in-one solution for businesses aiming to extend beyond accounting.
In terms of user-friendliness, Odoo provides intuitive interfaces, making the solution suitable for users with diverse technical backgrounds. The straightforward setup ensures a hassle-free experience for every business.
Quickbooks, on the other hand, is considered less user- friendly and can be challenging to set up. Its interface might require more time and effort for users to become familiar with. Additionally, Quickbooks suffers from a lack of direct professional support and system crashes, making the product hard to use for daily operations.
This is why it’s important to consider the specific needs and scale of your business when assessing which solution is the best fit, as the ease of use and setup can vary significantly among these options.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the choice depends on your organization’s unique needs, scale, and the balance needed between customization, ease of use, and setup.
If you are in search of a specialized accounting solution, then Odoo and Quickbooks could be a good fit. With their advanced accounting features, these systems are particularly well-suited for complex accounting environments and provide efficient solutions for every accounting needs.
If you have more extensive requirements, you may find Odoo as the most appealing solution. Its advanced features can accommodate any process. The possibilities in terms of customization and the extensive suite of integrated business applications make it the best solution for businesses with requirements beyond accounting. Furthermore, Odoo excels in user-friendliness and ease of setup, making it a suitable choice for small and medium-sized businesses.
