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QuickBooks · Online Plans

QuickBooks Online Plans Explained — Which Is Right for You?

QuickBooks Online comes in four main tiers — Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced. The differences are about users and features, not just price. Here's what each one actually does and who it fits, so you choose the right plan the first time and don't overpay. For businesses across the United States and Canada.

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Quick answer

Simple Start fits solo and very small businesses; Essentials adds bill management and multiple users; Plus adds inventory, project profitability and class/location tracking; Advanced adds deeper reporting, more users and automation for larger teams. We match the plan to what you actually need — current pricing is confirmed at signup, and we make sure you're not paying for tiers you won't use.

The four plans

QuickBooks Online tiers at a glance

Each tier includes everything in the one below it, then adds more capability.

Simple Start

For solo owners and very small businesses: income & expenses, invoicing, sales tax, basic reports, and one main user. The essentials, done right.

Essentials

Adds bill management (accounts payable), time tracking, and multiple users — for small teams that pay bills and need a few people in the books.

Plus

Adds inventory tracking, project profitability, and class & location tracking — for growing businesses that hold stock or need job costing.

Advanced

Adds deeper custom reporting, more users, workflow automation, batch entry and enhanced roles — for larger or more complex teams.

How to choose

The features that decide your plan

How many users

Just you? Simple Start. A small team in the books? Essentials or Plus. A bigger team with roles? Advanced.

Paying bills (A/P)

If you need to enter and manage vendor bills, you need Essentials or higher — Simple Start doesn't include bill management.

Inventory

Tracking stock quantities and cost of goods requires Plus or higher.

Project profitability

If you run jobs or projects and want profit per job, you need Plus or higher.

Class & location

Reporting by department, location or revenue stream needs class & location tracking — Plus or higher.

Reporting depth

Standard reports cover most needs; custom report builders, deeper analytics and automation point you to Advanced.

How we help

Pick the right plan, set up once

We make sure you're on the tier that fits — not the one a sales page pushed — and we set it up properly.

Understand your business

We look at your users, whether you hold inventory, run projects, and the reports you need to run the business.

Recommend the right tier

We point you to the plan that covers what you need without paying for features you won't use — and flag when to start smaller and upgrade later.

Set up & migrate

We configure your chart of accounts and sales tax, connect your bank feeds, and migrate your history so you start clean.

Questions

QuickBooks Online plans — FAQs

Which QuickBooks Online plan do I need?

It depends on how many users you need and which features you use. Simple Start fits solo and very small businesses; Essentials adds bill management and multiple users; Plus adds inventory, project profitability and class/location tracking; Advanced adds deeper reporting, more users and automation for larger teams. We'll recommend the right one for your situation.

What's the difference between Essentials and Plus?

Plus adds inventory tracking, project profitability, and class and location tracking on top of the bill management and multi-user access you get in Essentials. If you hold inventory or need job costing, Plus (or higher) is usually required.

Can I change QuickBooks Online plans later?

Yes. QuickBooks Online lets you upgrade between tiers (and downgrade in many cases), so you can start on the plan you need now and move up as you grow. We help you switch cleanly without losing data.

How much does QuickBooks Online cost?

Intuit sets QuickBooks Online pricing per tier, it changes periodically, differs between the US and Canada, and is often discounted with promotions. Rather than quote a figure that goes stale, we confirm current pricing with you and make sure you're on the most cost-effective plan for what you actually need.

Can you set up QuickBooks Online and migrate my data?

Yes. We set up your QuickBooks Online company on the right plan, configure your chart of accounts and sales tax (GST/HST, PST, US state), and migrate your history from Desktop or another system with balances intact.

More QuickBooks help

Related QuickBooks guides

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Reviewed by the Northline team — QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisors & Sage Certified · Updated September 2026