Why QuickBooks Is The Best Bookkeeping Software For Beauty Businesses

If you follow me on social media you probably have heard me recommend QuickBooks time and time again. You may wonder why I’m so loyal to one Bookkeeping software, but here’s the big truth — it’s by far the best and most wise option specifically for beauty professionals. Yes, QuickBooks is great for any business, BUT it has a particular version that I’ve been able to effectively utilize and tailor to my clients within the beauty industry. 

My reasons are simple. QuickBooks is affordable, has a nifty mobile app, saves lots of time with automations, and is cloud based! So let’s get into it, shall we? 

It’s easy on the wallet.

QuickBooks has a few versions to choose from and many times I’ve seen clients make a very BIG mistake. That would be choosing QuickBooks Self Employed. It seems like it would be the reasonable choice for a self-employed beauty business owner, but this version isn’t equipped to serve a beauty professional properly. 

QuickBooks Self-Employed will limit you because of 4 problems:

1. QuickBooks Self-Employed only tracks your income and expenses. This means no way to track sales tax or credit card balances and most importantly, no way to reconcile your accounts. 
2. The lack of reconciliation features is a recipe for disaster. You won’t know if you’re missing transactions or if anything has been duplicated. 
3. QuickBooks self-employed is very cookie cutter. Meaning uncustomizable. The beauty industry is unique and if you’re using cookie cutter account names, your reports just won’t make sense. Yeah, the report will be good enough to file a tax return but you want your reports to provide you with additional value. If you’re going to spend the time doing your bookkeeping, it may as well help you do more than a tax return once a year.
4. Once you realize it’s not a good system, upgrading isn’t simple. Switching versions won’t be possible because QuickBooks Self-Employed is missing transactions. That means you’ll need to start a whole new QuickBooks file.

So what version is supreme for the beauty professional? That would be the Simple Start version. And guess what? It’s only $30 a month. 

And actually, if you haven’t purchased it yet, QuickBooks is running a promotion for 50% your first 3 months. So your $30 would be $15 a month, initially. That’s some nice savings! 

A nifty mobile sidekick.

Let’s just start by saying that most actions are more easily performed via the desktop, but the mobile version of QuickBooks Simple Start allows you to take advantage of on-the-go tools to make your bookkeeping much simpler. We’re talking supply runs, business travel and mileage, you name it, the app makes it easier! You can:

1. Categorize transactions on the go – This is great, because it can lessen your categorizing when you’re cleaning up your bookkeeping via the desktop. Waiting in line? No problem. Categorize a few transactions.
2. Take pictures of receipts – Anything you purchase for your business, save the receipt! This includes business meals, travel, lodging, etc. 
3. Track mileage – Hello mileage tracker! This is such a handy tool when it comes to keeping track of your business mileage. Refer to our blog on business mileage for more information on how to make and track these deductions! 

Automations are a time saver! 

Automations are incredibly helpful when there are numerous housekeeping tasks to keep track of for your beauty biz. QuickBooks Simple Start allows you to:

1. Connect to your bank account – so transactions are automatically downloaded
2. Set up rules – so recurring vendors are automatically categorized
3. Set up recurring invoices – so your booth renters are automatically charged each week

I share step by step tutorials on each of these automations in my Beauty Bookkeeping Course including how to fully set up your QuickBooks account while tailoring it to business! 

The cloud has you covered.

Using spreadsheets or pen and paper to track your business numbers? What happens when your computer crashes and loses documents or your trusty pen and paper gets lost or misplaced? Good luck trying to recover those documents.

Oooh la la, nothing gets lost in the all-powerful cloud! The beauty of QuickBooks Simple Start is that it’s cloud based. 

This means that the program allows your data to be automatically backed up to the cloud. No worries and no sweat – ever. 

Plus, you can give your accountant access to your QuickBooks, making tax time a breeze.

I’m still not sure where to start!

We understand that, especially if you’re setting up your bookkeeping for the first time, you’ll have jitters, questions and you might feel a bit unsure. Click here to utilize our services!