An article written by Kim Gélineau.

Quickbooks (QBO) online is a very popular accounting software that offers a variety of tools and features to help you easily manage your finances. But the software is even more powerful when combined with complementary applications that offer features that are not available in QBO, or that don't quite meet your needs. Learn about Noa's favorite complementary essential applications.

The Processing of Supplier Invoices and Expenses (Dext or ApprovalMax + Dext)

The application Dext Prepare, or simply Dext, is the Quickbooks add-on application that we use and recommend the most. Dext allows you to add purchase documents to its platform (invoices payable, credit card expenses and expense reports), either by manually adding them to the website, or by sending them by email or by photo via a mobile device. Artificial intelligence detects the following 9 elements:

• The type of document
• The date of the document
• The name of the supplier
• The motto
• The total amount
• The amount of VAT
• The secondary tax amount
• The payment reference
• The type of payment

This makes it easier to fill in data beforehand, which can be improved by adding classification rules. Then, all you have to do is review and publish the data to QBO, along with supporting documentation. This saves a lot of time.

A similar function is available in Quickbooks, but Dext has advantages that are worth implementing it in most cases. For example, Dext allows better detection of the elements listed above and its interface is more ergonomic in its use.

This tool allows documents to be linked to QBO purchase orders, projects, classes, and locations. Dext also allows you to create expense reports from the documents entered and send them for approval. However, it is not possible to create an approval process for regular documents.

In the event that an approval process is required, we can add ApprovalMax between Dext and QBO in order to manage an approval process that is just as complex, but above all, adapted to your needs.

Supplier Payments (Plooto and Assets RBC Payments)

Quickbooks online has a lot of features, but it lacks the ability to pay suppliers from within the software. However, there are third-party applications that can be installed to meet this need.

The two applications that we recommend are Plooto And RBC Payment Advantages (RBC PayEdge). Both applications work according to the following principle:

The app syncs with Quickbooks and allows you to see unpaid supplier invoices in the payment application. Select the bills you want to pay and implement the payment. Nothing could be easier!

The application takes care of grouping invoices from the same payee. If an approval process is in place (highly recommended), approvers receive a notification and need to go and review the payments and approve them. The funds are then taken from your account and transferred to the payee.

There is only one downside to using one of these applications: it is often necessary to review the supplier payment process, as there is a delay of a few days for the supplier to receive the funds. However, the process is simpler and more efficient for you compared to sending a check, or even paying to the bank, which is usually done one payment at a time and requires manual data entry.

Having the right tools for managing payables, which include the combination of Dext+QBO+Plooto applications, or Dext+QBO+RBC Payments assets, can simplify the management of payables considerably.

Customer collections (Quickbooks Payments in French and eBizCharge)

Managing cash receipts can be a relatively important issue for a business. That's why Quickbooks Online offers its customers the option of activating the online checkout function called Quickbooks payments (it is now available in Quickbooks in French). This function allows you to pay your bill online by credit card and the accounting is done automatically in Quickbooks. Note that fees are charged for each transaction and that it is possible to block it for some invoices.

The downsides, despite the fact that this feature is interesting: it has some limitations compared to multi-currency, is limited to credit cards and does not allow recurring payments to be scheduled.

When its limits are reached, it is more advantageous to turn to a third-party application like eBiz Charge, because it allows you to go further. With this application, it is possible to cash in several currencies, create recurring payments and cash credit cards. The application creates receipts in QBO for the majority of transactions and offers a simple interface for matching recurring transactions to invoices.

Whether with Quickbooks payments or with RBC payments asset, we save data entry time and we free ourselves from the hassle of having to associate all collections with invoices. Payment terms are often improved since they allow you to pay on the spot when the invoice is displayed. The risk of error is then very reduced in sending payments since you do not have to copy bank account information or amounts.

Payrolls (Nethris and Employer D)

When it comes to payroll, we strongly recommend the use of a comprehensive payroll solution such Nethris Or Employer D. These two service providers not only offer access to their platform, but also all the support you need during the set-up or when you have questions along the way.

These platforms, which are essentially the same, offer to assist you with payroll processing. They allow direct deposit to the employee's bank account, manage government remittances for you, provide you with the right payroll reports, and telephone support in case of a glitch. These service providers have the advantage of taking care of the complex management of payroll by departments or any other particular characteristic.

Although Nethris And Employer D offer to connect and send payroll entries in QBO, we do not recommend these options since the results we have obtained so far have not been conclusive. There are several reasons for this, but it is mainly because the configuration must be constantly redone as situations change in payroll, which is not intuitive. Moreover, by the time payrolls become complex enough to be worth paying for a connection, the connection in turn becomes too complex to transfer smoothly into QBO without significantly altering the structure.

It is often more beneficial to find a solution directly in Excel to generate a payroll entry efficiently.

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