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Gusto vs QuickBooks comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Gusto
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (11th), Talent Management (15th)
QuickBooks
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Billing Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Gusto and QuickBooks aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Gusto is designed for Benefits Administration and holds a mindshare of 1.1%, up 0.7% compared to last year.
QuickBooks, on the other hand, focuses on Billing Software, holds 5.6% mindshare, down 10.0% since last year.
Benefits Administration Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Gusto1.1%
Workday17.4%
Oracle HCM Cloud11.5%
Other70.0%
Benefits Administration
Billing Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
QuickBooks5.6%
Zuora6.1%
NetSuite ERP6.1%
Other82.2%
Billing Software
 

Featured Reviews

Mimi Evans - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple to use solution that offers a lot; gives employees the option to get cash advances
I think it's great that it syncs with QuickBooks Online and any payroll software that syncs with QuickBooks Online is great. My issue with their syncing was that every single account for a deduction went to a liability account, but not a lot of businesses run that way. As of September, they did not have the ability for me to put an employee's deduction for benefits in anything but a liability account; which made it not difficult, but added a manual step to the syncing of the entering of our payroll between Gusto and QuickBooks Online. I would also like for the tech support to be more responsive. Gusto also advertises their health benefits, but they don't do a good job of explaining why it's a better option to go through them. I think there's more communication that could be done on that. I also think that there are some HR benefits that they could be offering to these lower plans, without having to go to the Premium Plan. I think that that's something that they should consider in the future.
Dana Bakker - PeerSpot reviewer
Though the solution has great reporting capabilities, search functionality is an area in the product that needs improvement
The search functionality in the solution has shortcomings that can be improved in almost every area of the solution. The improvement of the solution's search functionality, particularly when it comes to the company's expense side where you have a bunch of different invoices from one company, can make it hard for a person to find an invoice that person wants to find because it doesn't necessarily let you filter by a specific amount or by a specific document number. The fact that the product doesn't necessarily allow for filtering is a pain when you want to dive deep into looking for something when you have a lot of invoices. For the size of my organization, QuickBooks is useful for what it does. I don't think any additional features are needed in the solution.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I appreciated the templates that they offered for new hires and onboarding."
"I like the payroll part. We also use documents and forms whenever we hire, such as a new hire form for each state, and we like that as well."
"Gusto is a really good payroll solution for small businesses."
"The solution is stable."
"QuickBooks Online has improved my organization by offering a vast array of integrations with other products that allow you to improve process efficiencies while keeping the cost of your ERP or accounting software affordable."
"The most valuable feature is its decent accounts payable module. It works pretty well."
"The most valuable feature of QuickBooks Desktop is its ability to import into QuickBooks Online files easily."
"One of the aspects I appreciate the most is its remarkable user-friendliness."
"Valuable features include ease of use, compatibility with Windows, and the easily customizable platform."
"Gives me the ability to do deep dives into accounting research."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from its reporting capabilities."
 

Cons

"Their enrollment e-signature, enrollment forms, and other documents need a lot of work. Once we fill in the information, we cannot go back and change any of that. It's a time-taking process. If there is any mistake in the document and if we need to go and change a specific field in the form, it's not possible. We have to redo the entire form."
"My experience with Gusto's customer support sometimes shows they're not responsive, and they have definitely made mistakes in the past."
"In the beginning, their support was top-notch. And then around the beginning of 2022, and end of 2021, their support tanked. We used to get responses in the beginning within one to two business days, and towards the end, we were getting responses in one to two business weeks."
"It would be beneficial to enhance inventory and manufacturing features, as it currently depends on third-party applications like Fishbowl Inventory to address these specific needs."
"Technical support could be easier to reach."
"We would like to have data conversion and upload applications included, without having to pay separately for them."
"As of right now, you cannot edit secondary lists in a batch feature."
"The main issue we are facing is related to licensing and the need to review invoices and product-wise details for international clients."
"The customer response team is slow and sometimes causes the user to have a loss."
"The area that I don't use as much is the area about reconciliation with the bank accounts. I do all of that manually. So, the area that they can probably improve upon is just better reconciliation with the bank accounts."
"The solution's import function can be quite complex and not as smooth. Importing data is a more complex process compared to the straightforward export feature."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing is considered reasonable and reflects the value provided, falling neither in the extremely expensive nor very cheap category."
"Regarding pricing, QuickBooks needs to make its point-of-sale system more affordable to onboard more small businesses. Many retail stores need a retail ERP, and QuickBooks POS is a good option. The pricing is a barrier for some businesses. If QuickBooks offered a more affordable package, it would be easier for businesses to choose QuickBooks POS and get the benefits of a retail ERP. It also gives you discounts."
"The price point is higher because you are paying for a whole year in advance. They recently moved to subscription pricing."
"They're trying to catch up with more expensive platforms, so they switched to a subscription model, which makes it even more expensive."
"QuickBooks is an amazingly priced solution since it's a very cheap product, making it so good for small organizations since you can get a lot out of it without paying a large amount."
"It is a bit on the high side, but it is affordable."
"When I first started, the only other options were the very expensive programs. QuickBooks Desktop you can find anywhere between $200 and $300 on Amazon or Costco."
"It is relatively expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Gusto?
I wish Gusto's customer support was better for improvements. My experience with Gusto's customer support sometimes shows they're not responsive, and they have definitely made mistakes in the past.
What advice do you have for others considering Gusto?
I would say, relative to another payroll solution, running payroll with Gusto probably costs half the price and saves us 5 to 10 hours a month. I would say Gusto is a really good payroll solution f...
What is your primary use case for Gusto?
Our main use case for Gusto is for payroll, and we pay our US employees through it. Gusto helps with our payroll process because we use it for tax filings and benefits.
What do you like most about QuickBooks Desktop?
One of the aspects I appreciate the most is its remarkable user-friendliness.
What needs improvement with QuickBooks Desktop?
The solution's import function can be quite complex and not as smooth. Importing data is a more complex process compared to the straightforward export feature.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

ZenPayroll
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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