Gusto Vs QuickBooks (Overview, Features & Pricing)

The market for payroll software is huge. When you research top payroll accounting software, you’ll read about Gusto and QuickBooks a lot. Both are payroll accounting software that offers advanced features to their users. You’ve looked around and properly researched, in the end, your choices will be narrowed down to two software, Gusto, and QuickBooks. But how can you make a decision between these two? A situation like this demands a comparison of Gusto vs QuickBooks.

In this article, we’ll learn about both apps separately and what they offer. If your choices are stuck in Gusto vs QuickBooks payroll, this article will help you make a final decision. We’ll put in front of you all the advantages, and disadvantages of both QuickBooks payroll vs gusto, but the final decision is yours.

Introduction To Gusto

Gusto is a payroll software specifically designed to tackle payroll accounting and HR tasks. It takes away the toughest payroll work from your hands. It is an all-in-one human resource application that not only manages payroll accounting but also takes a little extra work off your shoulders. Key features of Gusto include:

Integration

Gusto offers to link with any third-party application like QuickBooks Tsheets or QuickBooks so that you can utilize both software at their level best. It also enables you to create the best outcome.

Automated Payroll 

Gusto calculates employees’ salaries automatically. You just need to add their details and it will calculate payroll and also track their working hours.

Time Tracker

Calculating employees’ payroll based on the time they spent working is important, especially in businesses that pay you hourly. Gusto allows employees to clock in and out while they are working. Moreover, finalized payroll based on timesheets.

Tax Calculation

The most confusing part of payroll accounting is calculating taxes. But with Gusto, you can not only calculate accurate tax amounts but it also helps you to file your state, local or federal taxes.

Reporting

Another great feature that helps you review and judge your final books and even payroll accounting is the payroll reports that gusto creates.

Introduction To QuickBooks

QuickBooks is among the top accounting software and it offers a variety of features like payroll accounting and reporting. It supports different business sizes but has separate versions for each size. Not only this, with regular.ar updates, QuickBooks brings out a better interface and better features.

Invoicing

You can create an invoice in QuickBooks based on the templates or you can simply start fresh. The templates can be edited and customized as you want them. Moreover, you can save repeatedly occurring invoices so that you don’t need to create one every time the veal takes place. QuickBooks offers you to send these invoices directly from the application and keep a record of each one of them.

Track Your Expenses

QuickBooks connects to your credit cards and bank account and thereby records all expenses automatically. Not only this, these expenses are even categorized based on their type. You can add or remove any expense manually.

Online Payment

You can integrate your bank account and pay your bills and other expenses within a few clicks. You can either pay via bank transfer or direct deposit. Several payments can be made together within seconds.

Reporting

QuickBooks allows you to review and judge your performance and expense and income via financial reports like QuickBooks balance sheet and profit and loss statements.

Gusto Vs QuickBooks: Based On Features

On QuickBooks vs Gusto comparison, we first look for features. Here we’ll discuss what features both Gusto payroll vs QuickBooks payroll provides and what they do not.

Tax Filing

Filing tax is an important element of payroll accounting. You need to calculate the total payroll based on that. On one hand, gusto offers federal, state, and local tax filing in all three versions of its software. QuickBooks, on the other hand, offers federal and state tax filing for all versions but local filing in premium and elite plans. It also offers multiple state filing is offered only in the elite version.

Employee Benefit Management

Employees can access paychecks and W-2s in Gusto application and alter their working time and set their own savings goals accordingly. QuickBooks offers employees a workforce portal where they can access their paychecks, PTO, balances, and W-2s.

Client Support

Customer support is a very important factor that affects the decision-making between Gusto vs QuickBooks. Clients expect immediate chats with advisors so that their doubts or issues are cleared as soon as possible. Keeping this in mind they offers 24*7 QuickBooks support. However, call consultation timing is Monday to Friday from 6 AM to 6 PM. On Saturdays, timings differ from 6 AM to 3 PM.

Interface

It is very important for applications to have easy access and are simple to use. When you compare Gusto vs QuickBooks payroll, gusto has a user-friendly interface. It offers a stepwise instructional manual and many automatic features that make using Gusto easier. Inbuilt checklists add up to the easily accessible interface. QuickBooks has a user-friendly interface that requires no training to operate. With a stepwise manual guide, inbuilt checklists, and automated features, the QuickBooks interface is simple and easy to use which makes accounting enjoyable.

Integration

Gusto allows integration with third-party applications so that you can use features of both software together. You can integrate gusto with time tracking software, accounting software like QuickBooks, or any other application. QuickBooks on the other hand allows access to only intuit tools. 

Human Resource Management

Gusto is not only payroll software, it offers other services that help in hiring and shorting or other HR-related tasks. Whereas, QuickBooks is solely an accounting software and does not offer any HR management tasks.

Suitability

Gusto is more suitable for small businesses with an employee capacity of around 50 people. You can use it for more people but the features and the optimum results will be degraded. QuickBooks, however, has a capacity of around 200 employees and is better suited to small to midsize businesses.

Cloud-Based Software 

Both QuickBooks and Gusto are cloud-based software. Therefore, you can access them from anywhere and at all times. However, on analyzing both QuickBooks payroll vs Gusto, you’ll know that Gusto does not have a desktop version whereas QuickBooks can be operated via desktop as well as online too.

International Transactions

As your business grows you’re gonna need to expand it more and more. Gradually you’ll make international deals and make overseas deals further. QuickBooks tackles these overseas as well as international transactions just like any other. However, in comparing Gusto vs QuickBooks, Gusto allows international transactions only after you’ve already added a local contractor and via its contractor-only plan.

Gusto Vs QuickBooks: Pricing

Deciding and committing to payroll accounting software can be crucial as you cannot just go around changing them every while. The commitment is long. Therefore, you must need to know all its features and what you’re getting into. This includes the pricing of your narrowed choices. Budget can be the deciding factor for some users. Therefore, let’s have a look at the budget of QuickBooks vs Gusto.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks offers you five plans and you can choose any one based on your preferences and budget.

1. Self-employed: Offers client support, income, and expenditure tracking, tracks mileage and accounts, connects bank accounts, and allows invoicing with tax estimation. Suitable for QuickBooks self-employed owners and generating basic reports. The cost of this plan starts from $15 per month.
2. Simple start: Offers everything included in the self-employed version and tracks assets and liabilities, client payments, and unlimited invoices, creates checks and 1099 forms, and prepares a budget and cash flow estimates along with tax and sales tax tracking. Best suited for small businesses with pricing of $30 per month and provides access to 20+ reports.
3. Essentials: Suitable for a growing business, this plan includes all features of a simple start plan and additionally tracking due bills and management of invoices, direct bill payment, and time tracking. It also includes tax estimation and tracking of sales tax. Starting from $55 per month this plan provides access to 40+ reports.
4. Plus: Includes all features in the essentials plan plus job costing, project and inventory management, and creating purchase orders and budgets. It provides sales tax and tax estimation with tax support services in the price range of $85/month. Suitable for businesses that require inventory tracking and gives access to unlimited reports.
5. Advanced: Free online training and everything in the plus version of QuickBooks. Further, it provides, batch invoicing, tax estimation, sales tax tracking, and tax support. starting at$200 per month, this plan is suitable for bigger businesses and offers advanced reporting.

Gusto

Gusto offers three plans, these are:

1. Simple: Starting at $40 per month. This plan offers full payroll service with W2s and 1099s, an employee portal, health and financial benefits, time tracking and linking for accounting, and a full-fledged support service. The per-person cost is $6 per month.
2. Plus: At the price of $80 per month and per person price of $12/monthly, you get all the simple version’s features. Additionally, you get direct deposit features, PTO management, hiring tools, and project tracking along with managing your team and reviewing performance.
3. Premium: You get all the features of the Plus package along with an HR service center, regular alerting, certified HR pros, and well-trained team support. You get a customized price as per your feature selection.

Gusto Vs QuickBooks: Drawbacks

When you start comparing Gusto payroll vs QuickBooks payroll, you’ll want to know every aspect of the software you finally decide to commit with. Until now, you know the features, advantages, and comparison of Gusto vs QuickBooks payroll, now it’s time to learn about their disadvantages.

Gusto

• Gusto offers a direct deposit feature but it is slow and not immediate. You’ll have to wait till the next day or if you are operating laid in the plan, you’ll have to wait for two days.
• Deductions and tax management for employees can be considered a little difficult.
• Although gusto is a cloud-based software which means it can be operated from anywhere and anytime. But only if you have access to your computer or laptop as there is no mobile app.
• The price per person is a little higher.
• Gusto supports self-employed or small businesses. But if your business is growing or is larger in size, the features gusto offers will not be suitable enough for you.
• Only administrators have access to leave management.
• Most suitable for contractors, solopreneurs, or self-employed. Others may not find its functions satisfactory.

QuickBooks

Contractors or solopreneurs may not find QuickBooks suitable for them as the features are not designed keeping them in mind. Moreover, they will find it a little expensive.

• QuickBooks integration options are restricted to a few. Not all software can be linked with it.
• Reports apart from accounting are lacking.
• If you don’t upgrade it regularly, you’ll face different errors.
• A number of users is limited as per the plan. Even one extra is not supported.
• Lots of recurring errors.
• QuickBooks may always create data backup if the auto backup is turned on.
• Suitable mostly for small to midsize businesses.
• Less automated and more manual work.
• Transactions are also limited.

Final Words

Decision factors for choosing payroll software are its features, advantages and disadvantages, and its price. Moreover, user reviews can also affect your choice sometimes. Therefore, with Gusto vs QuickBooks payroll, you know that we’ve presented you with all the factual data you need to know. Hopefully, you’ll be able to make your decision based on this article. Both QuickBooks and Gusto are loved by their users and both have their own drawbacks as well. But choosing which one is suitable for your business is and should always be your decision.

We have done our part of provisioning you details for Gusto vs QuickBooks. Now it’s up to you which one you select.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q.1 : Is Gusto and QuickBooks the same?

A: Gusto and QuickBooks both have a similar set of features related to payroll. However Gusto is more focused towards payroll and HR-related tasks whereas QuickBooks is titled towards accounting, auditing and payroll related tasks. Moreover, QuickBooks is owned by Intuit and Gusto belongs to Y Combinator’s Winter 2012 batch. 

Q.2 : What is Gusto Good For?

A: Gusto provides payroll related benefits and human resource tasks services. It provides employees with financial and health benefits. With great customer service, gusto is easy to use and has a friendly UI. You get alerted and sending payments is also super easy.

Q.3 : Does Gusto export to QuickBooks?

A: Yes gusto can be exported to QuickBooks and every transaction, wages, payroll, and taxes will be synced.

Q.4 : Can I use QuickBooks for payroll only?

A: Payroll accounting is one among several other features QuickBooks offers. You can use it only for payroll but you’ll have to activate it and set it up first before you operate.