QuickBooks is accounting software: it keeps complete, tax-ready books for one company. A revenue tracker shows what you are bringing in across your businesses and whether you are on pace for the year. If an accountant files your taxes, keep QuickBooks or similar. If you need a daily answer to how the year is going, add a revenue tracker.
“Should I use QuickBooks or something else?” is one of the most common questions small business owners ask. The honest answer: they do different jobs. QuickBooks keeps your books. A revenue tracker tells you how the year is going. This guide to revenue tracking vs. QuickBooks covers what each does, what each costs, and when you need one, the other, or both.
We make Yegly, so we have a point of view. We tried to be fair: every price below links to the company’s own pricing page, and we say where another tool is the better choice.
1.What QuickBooks does well
QuickBooks Online is the accounting software most US accountants know. It shines at:
- Tax-ready books: every transaction categorized, accounts reconciled, a balance sheet and profit and loss your accountant trusts.
- Running the business: invoices, bills, payroll (as an add-on), sales tax and inventory on higher plans.
- Accountant workflows: most bookkeepers already work in it.
Plans run from $38/month (Simple Start) to $340/month (Advanced) per company, after Intuit’s August 2026 increase (QuickBooks pricing).
2.What a revenue tracker does well
A revenue tracker is built for the owner, not the accountant. It connects to your bank accounts and answers, every day:
- What did every business I own bring in this month, and this year?
- Am I on pace for my goal, and what does each month need?
- Which clients pay the most, and who has gone quiet?
- What recurring income and bills can I count on?
It doesn’t file taxes or run payroll, and it shouldn’t try to. Its strength is speed: connect bank accounts, set a goal, and the answers are there the same afternoon, with no chart of accounts to design and nothing to reconcile. Because it reads the bank directly, it is current every day rather than after the books close. And because it is built for owners, it speaks in plain terms: what came in, from whom, and what the rest of the year needs. For an owner who checks numbers on a phone between meetings, that difference matters more than any feature list.
3.Revenue tracking vs. QuickBooks, side by side
| QuickBooks Online | Revenue tracker (Yegly) | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Complete books for taxes | Revenue and pace across your businesses |
| Who uses it most | Your bookkeeper or accountant | You, the owner |
| Multiple businesses | One company per subscription | Each business separate, plus one combined total |
| Goal for the year | Budgets on Plus and above | Year-End Goal with pace, built in |
| Setup | Chart of accounts, categories, reconciliation | Connect bank accounts and set a goal |
| Starting price | $38/month per company | $99/year for one business |
Prices checked November 10, 2026, in US dollars. Software prices change often, so confirm on each company’s site before you buy.
4.When you need QuickBooks
You need real accounting software, QuickBooks or an alternative like Xero, when you have employees, collect sales tax, carry inventory, or have an accountant who files from your books. That covers most businesses beyond a simple side hustle, and nearly every business with a team. It is also the right call if a lender or investor will ask for financial statements, since those come from your books, not from a dashboard.
5.When you need a revenue tracker
Add a revenue tracker when the books exist but you still can’t answer “how is the year going?” without asking your accountant. It matters most when you own more than one business, when revenue is uneven month to month, or when you want a clear goal for the year and a weekly check on your pace.
What it costs for three businesses
Pricing per company is where the difference shows up for owners with more than one business. With list prices from November 2026:
| Setup for three businesses | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Simple Start × 3 | $114 | $1,368 |
| QuickBooks Plus × 3 | $420 | $5,040 |
| Yegly Pro (up to 3 businesses), billed yearly | $29 | $348 |
| Yegly Pro, billed monthly | $39 | $468 |
QuickBooks promotions can lower the first months. These are list prices, before add-ons like payroll.
This isn’t an either-or price comparison, because the tools do different jobs. If you need books for all three companies, you pay for them either way. The point is that adding an owner’s view across all three costs far less than another accounting subscription, and it answers a different question.
Questions to decide which you need
- Does anyone file taxes from your books? Then you need accounting software, QuickBooks or similar.
- Do you have payroll, sales tax or inventory? Accounting software again.
- Do you own more than one business, rental or side project? A tracker gives you the combined view QuickBooks doesn’t.
- Can you say, today, whether you are on pace for the year? If not, a tracker with a goal closes that gap.
- Who will look at it every week? If it is you, choose the tool that makes your weekly check fastest.
Common mistakes
- Using QuickBooks as a dashboard nobody opens. Many owners pay for QuickBooks and only see numbers when the accountant sends them, weeks later.
- Dropping the books to save money. A tracker doesn’t replace tax-ready books. Keep them.
- Paying for Plus to get budgets you won’t maintain. If the goal is simply “am I on pace?”, a revenue goal in a tracker is lighter.
- Forgetting the accountant. Give them read-only access to the tracker, so you are both looking at the same numbers.
How the two fit together each month
When owners use both, the rhythm is simple:
- Every week, the owner checks the tracker: revenue so far, pace against the year’s goal, recurring income, clients who have gone quiet. Ten minutes, on a phone if needed.
- Every month, the bookkeeper closes the books in QuickBooks: categorizes expenses, reconciles accounts, and sends a profit and loss.
- Every quarter, owner and accountant compare notes: estimated taxes, owner pay, and whether the goal still makes sense.
The tracker and the books read the same bank accounts, so their revenue numbers should be close. When they differ, it is usually timing (the books record an invoice when it is sent, the bank when it is paid) or a transfer counted as income somewhere. Both are worth a quick look.
If not QuickBooks, then what?
QuickBooks isn’t the only choice for the books. Xero includes unlimited users on every plan, from $27 a month per organization. Wave has a free Starter plan and a $19 Pro plan per business for bank imports. Ask your accountant which they prefer; the best accounting software is usually the one your accountant already works in. Whichever you choose, the case for a revenue tracker on top is the same: the books are for taxes, and the tracker is for running the year.
6.Using both
The most common setup we see: QuickBooks (or Xero) per company for the books, and Yegly on top for the owner’s view. Yegly connects the same bank accounts, read-only, keeps each business separate, adds them up and tracks the total against your Year-End Goal. Your accountant gets a free view-only seat, so nobody exports anything.
For the broader comparison with other accounting tools, read revenue tracking vs. accounting software.
Frequently asked questions
Can a revenue tracker replace QuickBooks?
Usually not. QuickBooks keeps the complete books your accountant needs for taxes: every expense categorized, accounts reconciled, payroll and sales tax handled. A revenue tracker is lighter and focused on what came in and your pace. Most owners use QuickBooks or similar for the books and a tracker for the day-to-day view.
Is QuickBooks good for multiple businesses?
QuickBooks Online handles each business as a separate company with its own subscription, so you switch between them. That keeps the books clean, but there is no combined view on the standard plans.
How much does QuickBooks cost compared with a revenue tracker?
QuickBooks Online starts at $38 a month per company, and Plus is $140 a month after the August 2026 increase. Yegly starts at $99 a year for one business and $348 a year for up to three.
When is QuickBooks alone enough?
If you run one business, someone keeps the books current every week, and you are comfortable reading its reports, QuickBooks alone can be enough.
Yegly is open now, and the special deal runs through December 31, 2026.
Know your number every day, not just today.
Yegly adds up every business you own and keeps your Year-End Goal pace current, automatically. Start a free trial: pay yearly by December 31, 2026 for two extra people free and a locked price.
- 14 days free
- Cancel anytime
- Nothing is charged until the trial ends
— The Yegly team
