QuickBooks Online for small businesses

From April 2022, all VAT-registered businesses in the UK will need to use Making Tax Digital software to keep digital records and submit their VAT returns to HMRC. Eventually, Making Tax Digital rules will roll out across all types of taxes. If you're a sole trader or self-employed, now’s the time to get ahead with QuickBooks. Our HMRC-recognised accounting software can help keep your accounts accurate and organised, saving you around 8 hours a month managing your accounts. It can also help you get cash flow insights so you know where your business stands.

You can migrate your Excel data easily into QuickBooks. Our experts are here to help with the switch - every step of the way. Find out how to switch from Excel.

With QuickBooks Online, all data that’s transferred online is protected with 256-bit SSL encryption. On top of that, your data is automatically backed up at all times.

Cloud-based accounting allows you to take care of business easily, anywhere and anytime. With QuickBooks Online, your data is always safe, accessible and synced across all your devices in real time. Regular updates happen in real time for a seamless experience - check out the latest and upcoming innovations here.

You can migrate your data easily from your current accounting software into QuickBooks. Our experts are here to help with the switch - every step of the way. Find out how to switch from Sage or switch from Xero.

Yes, you can invite your accountant or bookkeeper to collaborate on your accounts. This means they will have instant access to your data. Say goodbye to sending spreadsheets and emails - you can schedule your reports to be sent to your accountant by email automatically each month.

We may be biased, but you can save around 8 hours a month on managing your accounts when you use QuickBooks Online. Whether you’re a small business or a bigger business, our powerful all-in-one accounting software can help you manage your finances on the go.

Yes, any professional software that you need to run your business, like online accounting software, is tax deductible.

Accounting software is a type of application software that helps businesses manage, record and report on their finances, often with the help of an accountant.

Accounting software is important because it helps accountants and businesses to keep track of their financial performance. Eventually, all UK businesses will need to use HMRC-recognised accounting software to stay compliant with government regulations. This is part of HMRC’s mission to make tax administration digital. The government’s first step is Making Tax Digital for VAT. From April 2022, all VAT-registered businesses in the UK will need to use Making Tax Digital software to keep digital records of their finances and make VAT submissions to HMRC. 



If you’re a self-employed business or landlord with annual business or property income above £50,000, you need to be registered for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and using recognised software by April 2026. In April 2027, this income threshold lowers to £30,000 and once again to £20,000 in April 2028.

Accounting software records all your business’s financial transactions and stores them in a desktop or cloud-based software that is easy to access when you need to have an overview of your financial performance.

Different companies have different needs, but all businesses need an overview of their finances. QuickBooks’ all-in-one accounting software has helpful features for businesses of any size, but here are a few things to consider.

• Online is the most flexible option. You can pay monthly subscriptions which takes less toll on your cash flow and the software automatically updates.
• If you’re looking to save time, working in the cloud means you can send invoices, track receipts and get an overview of your finances from anywhere in the world and on any device.
• The government will be rolling out Making Tax Digital rules across all types of tax over the coming years. Make sure your accounting software is MTD-ready.

You can find more tips for choosing an accounting software on the QuickBooks blog.

Cloud-based accounting software allows you to store all of your business’s financial data on a cloud server which allows you to access your accounts from anywhere and see your transactions in real time.

QuickBooks is not here to replace accountants; instead we are here to make their lives a lot easier. Our cloud-based accounting software allows your accountant to have a real-time overview of your business’s finances from anywhere in the world, on any device. QuickBooks can help you move from data input to business advisors, helping your business grow and thrive.

QuickBooks Desktop was discontinued for our UK customers on 30 June 2023. This includes all versions of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premier. QuickBooks Enterprise was discontinued in 2014. However, you can access all of our most up to date product features and services through QuickBooks Online, helping you to manage your accounts with ease, and stay compliant to the latest tax regulations.

Intuit has a suite of AI agents designed to minimise manual work and drive business success by automating workflows and surfacing valuable insights. Your access to the various AI agents depends on your plan.

Agents include:

• Accounting Agent

• Finance Agent

• Customer Agent

• Project Management Agent

• VAT AI Agent (BETA)

Each agent focuses on a specific area—like books, finances, lead management or project management—and works quietly in the background to assist you as you use the product. Work done by our agents is added to your personalised business feed–ready for you to review and approve–so you're always in complete control.

Your access to the different AI agents depends on the products and features you’ve subscribed to.

Agentic AI is a type of artificial intelligence that performs goal-oriented actions, makes decisions, and automates complex processes with little human guidance. Generative AI (GenAI) is a technology that creates new content based on existing data patterns and prompts given by humans.

The main difference between agentic AI and GenAI lies in their core functions: achieving something versus creating something.

By letting AI agents handle the tedious and repetitive tasks, your accountant can focus more of their time providing strategic guidance to help you meet your goals.

Intuit follows clear responsible AI principles to ensure our technology is safe, fair, and trustworthy. We design AI to enhance human talent, protect privacy and security, and promote fairness and transparency, always with accountability and customer trust at the core. Learn more about our responsible AI principles.

Yes. QuickBooks AI Agents learn from your business data and operations to provide insights, recommendations, and automation that fit your workflows. With their help, your virtual team becomes more efficient over time.

AI Agents help small and mid-sized businesses run more efficiently by automating tasks like bookkeeping, customer management, and tracking finances. They spot important trends, highlight issues, and give suggestions so you can save time, avoid mistakes, and make better decisions. Work done by Intuit AI agents is added to your personalised business feed–ready for you to review and approve–so you're always in complete control.

No. While AI Agents can automate tasks, they go beyond simple automation for your business. Agentic AI actively analyse your business, flag issues, offer recommendations, and help you make smarter decisions. Think of them as a virtual team that works alongside you to keep your business running smoothly.

Each QuickBooks plan includes a set of AI agents that scale with the plan you select. The right choice depends on your business size and needs. Small businesses benefit from agents that handle essentials such as expense organisation and bookkeeping, while growing businesses might benefit from additional AI agents that support payments, customer management and project tracking.