QuickBooks Live Review

Monday, July 7th

2025 Bookkeeping Service Reviews

QuickBooks Live

• Four flexible plans ranging from $35 to $235/month, with a 50% discount for the first three months ($17.50 to $117.50)
• 30-day free trial
• Access to QuickBooks-certified bookkeepers for guidance and questions with all plans
• Full-service upgrade for dedicated bookkeeper support and complete bookkeeping management
• Seamless connection with QuickBooks Online for streamlined accounting
• Transaction categorization, account reconciliation, and task automation
• Access to key financial reports, including profit & loss statements and balance sheets
• Tax resource support and preparation assistance for tax season
• Support for multiple users depending on plan level (up to 25 users on Advanced plan)
• Higher tiers include inventory tracking, project profitability tools, and workflow automation
• Direct bank connections with 3.00% APY on banking services

Do you want someone to handle your business's books but aren't sure where to start? You might have heard of QuickBooks Live, a service designed to complement Intuit's popular accounting software. While QuickBooks Online gives you the tools to manage your own finances, QuickBooks Live adds professional bookkeeping support - but there's a key difference between their Expert Assisted and Full-Service options that you'll want to understand.

Four plans starting at $35/month

QuickBooks Live appears to have revamped their pricing structure. Their old model was expense-based: you'd pay $200 monthly for expenses under $10,000, $300 for $10,001 to $50,000, and $400 for expenses over $50,001. Each plan included a dedicated bookkeeper who'd handle cleanup, maintain your books, and provide tax-ready financials. Now, you'll find a more flexible, feature-based pricing system, and you can even try any plan free for 30 days to make sure it's the right fit. Here's what you'll pay (with a 50% discount for your first three months in parentheses):

• Simple Start $35/month ($17.50): Great if you just need the basics - tax help powered by TurboTax, banking with 3.00% APY, essential bookkeeping tools, and basic reporting.
• Essentials $65/month ($32.50): Steps it up with enhanced reports, multiple currencies, and support for up to 3 users.
• Plus $99/month ($49.50): The crowd favorite - adds inventory tracking, project profitability tools, and financial planning for up to 5 users.
• Advanced $235/month ($117.50): The whole package with all their bells and whistles - think 24/7 support, workflow automation, custom controls, and room for up to 25 users.

Get live support with Expert Assisted

All QuickBooks Live plans come with Expert Assisted service. You'll be managing your own books, but you'll have access to experienced bookkeepers who can guide you through the software. They'll help you automate your QuickBooks setup, ensure you're categorizing transactions correctly, walk you through important business reports, and keep you on track for tax season. Just keep in mind that this isn't the same as having someone do your books for you - you won't get services like book cleanup, dedicated bookkeeper support, or financial advisory services (with answers to questions like whether cash or accrual accounting is right for you). However, these services are available with QuickBooks' Full-Service Bookkeeping.

Cleanup could cost between $800 to $1500

Unfortunately, we had a really tough time getting pricing information about Full-Service Bookkeeping. We found a page on QuickBooks Live's website advertising Live Expert Cleanup separately starting at $800 a month, but we weren't sure if that price would still apply if we were already paying for a plan. When we reached out to an agent to clarify this point, the conversation went in circles for about 15 minutes before we were given any concrete information. Finally, we were told that if we purchased the "Plus” QuickBooks Live plan, Full Service bookkeeping would be an additional $1500 for a whole year. Combined with the cost of Plus, that breaks down to roughly $224/month - not terrible compared to rivals, but not as cheap as it seemed on the surface.

Customer service leaves much to be desired

If you're still considering QuickBooks Live for your bookkeeping needs, you'll want to be aware of some serious customer service concerns. Our own experience with their live chat aside, we found dozens of reports of frustrating experiences with their support system, including a 24-48 hour callback window and no email support options. Even more concerning, when customers request to speak with supervisors, they're often caught in an endless loop of promised callbacks that never materialize - one customer waited 10 days before giving up.

The bookkeeping quality might make your financial life harder, not easier

While QuickBooks Live promises to simplify your bookkeeping, many users report the opposite experience. One accountant noted that clients frequently come to them after unsatisfactory experiences with QuickBooks Live, citing issues with inconsistent categorization and questionable accounting practices. Another user reported that the service actually made their books worse, with errors like double-booked revenue and misclassified expenses - despite repeated attempts to correct these issues. One customer was even charged a $1,500 cleanup fee to fix mistakes that QuickBooks Live's own bookkeepers had made. (Perhaps not by accident, we can no longer find an official mention of their once-advertised "Accurate Books Guarantee”.)

The bottom line: consider alternatives for more reliable service

Looking at the evidence, QuickBooks Live appears to be a hit-or-miss service that reflects its budget-friendly pricing. While it might seem attractive as an affordable option - with current plans ranging from $35 to $235 monthly - you could end up paying more than the sticker price. (Maybe much more, depending on your luck.) As one customer put it bluntly after a particularly frustrating experience, "Do not do it - not worth it". While QuickBooks Live's pricing may seem attractive initially, the potential costs of fixing errors and dealing with support issues could make it a more expensive option in the long run. We suggest exploring a higher-rated bookkeeping service first - especially since QuickBooks itself integrates smoothly with almost every service reviewed here.