Saved 15 hours monthly on bookkeeping

As a solo consultant, I used spreadsheets for accounting for two years before switching to QuickBooks Online. The time savings alone justified the $25/month cost – I was spending 20 hours monthly on invoicing, expense tracking, and reconciliation; now it’s about 5 hours.

The automatic bank transaction import is magical. QuickBooks connects to my business checking and credit cards, importing transactions daily. The AI-powered categorization learns from my corrections and now correctly categorizes 90% of transactions automatically.

Invoicing has transformed my cash flow. Professional-looking invoices are sent in seconds, online payment options mean clients pay faster (average 4 days vs. 14 days previously), and automated payment reminders chase overdue accounts without me lifting a finger.

The mobile app handles receipt capture beautifully. I photograph receipts immediately after purchase, QuickBooks extracts the data via OCR, and matches it to the corresponding bank transaction. No more shoebox of receipts at tax time.