Relentify vs QuickBooks: Which Is Better for Small Businesses?
QuickBooks dominates small business accounting. Intuit has spent decades building brand recognition, training an ecosystem of accountants, and creating integrations everywhere. But dominance doesn't mean best value.
Many QuickBooks users discover the same problem: opaque per-user pricing, features locked behind higher tiers, and an interface that feels more complicated than it needs to be. When small businesses are comparing Relentify vs QuickBooks to decide which is better for their teams, the comparison often comes down to three things: cost, what's actually included, and usability.
This is where Relentify enters the picture. Built from the ground up as a modern alternative, it addresses the specific frustrations QuickBooks users face. For small businesses, the difference isn't subtle.
Pricing: Where the economics actually make sense
QuickBooks Online tiers start at £8.80/month for Simple Start, climb to £17.50/month for Essentials, £49/month for Plus, and £99/month for Advanced. But here's what catches people off guard: each additional user costs £11/month.
A business with five people on QuickBooks Plus? That's £49 + (4 × £11) = £93/month. A business with ten people? That's £49 + (9 × £11) = £148/month just for software.
"Per-user pricing" is enterprise software speaking for "we'll charge you more as you grow." Most small businesses don't have a Finance Department charging back by employee. You have you, a spreadsheet, and now QuickBooks Plus. You need your team to see the books. You don't need Intuit's cost to scale with it.
Relentify's pricing structure is built differently: unlimited users on every paid plan. No per-seat surcharges. Whether you're a sole trader or managing a team of fifteen, the user cost stays the same. For teams of four or more, this saves £30–150/month in per-user fees alone.
Features: What's included vs. what costs extra
This is where the original comparison gets interesting.
Invoicing. Both platforms handle it. Relentify lets you convert quotes to invoices in a single click, attach documents, and record partial payments without leaving the screen. QuickBooks works, but requires more steps.
Expense management. QuickBooks includes basic receipt capture, but approval workflows and mileage tracking with HMRC-compliant rates (the compliance part matters) live on Plus and above. Relentify includes all of this on every plan.
Project tracking. If you bill by project, you need to know profitability. QuickBooks offers it on Plus and above. Relentify includes it on every plan, with the ability to allocate expenses, track time, and generate project-specific reports. Compare full accounting features between these platforms to see what else varies.
Multi-entity management. Running two or three businesses? QuickBooks makes you buy separate subscriptions and log in separately. No consolidated reporting. No intercompany transactions. No consolidated cash flow view.
Relentify includes this on every plan. Managing multiple entities from a single dashboard, without additional cost, is a feature that many growing businesses find transformative.
Credit notes, partial payments, purchase orders. Relentify integrates these into standard workflows. QuickBooks treats them as separate processes or higher-tier features. Small businesses handle both of these regularly—managing partial refunds, vendor approvals, and retainer adjustments. Burying them behind a paywall or making them cumbersome is a design choice that affects your week.
Reporting. QuickBooks offers standard reports (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow). Custom reports? Only on Plus and above.
Relentify includes all standard reports plus cash flow forecasting and financial health scores on every paid plan. For a growing business, knowing your cash position next month isn't a premium feature—it's essential.
Bank feeds and reconciliation. Both offer automatic feeds from major UK banks. Relentify's reconciliation interface was built for minimal clicks—match, categorise, confirm, move on. The matching algorithm learns from your patterns. QuickBooks' reconciliation works, but involves more steps and sometimes struggles with irregular transactions.
VAT and HMRC compliance. Both are MTD-compliant and submit directly to HMRC. Relentify automates the nine-box VAT return calculation, supports flat rate scheme, and handles reverse charge VAT for domestic services. QuickBooks often requires manual adjustments for these edge cases.
When you add it all together, the "lower-tier" QuickBooks plan often requires a tier upgrade to include features Relentify ships as standard. The real cost of QuickBooks isn't the advertised price—it's the tier you actually need.
Interface and everyday usability
QuickBooks has gone through multiple redesigns, which sounds good until you use it. Some areas feel modern. Others carry the design language from five years ago. Navigation is sometimes confusing—features appear in unexpected places.
Relentify was designed as a single, cohesive application from the start. Navigation is consistent. The design language is uniform. When you're looking for a feature, it's usually where you'd expect. There's no "Intuit updated this workflow three years ago, so it looks different from everything else."
For small-business owners already stretched thin, this matters. Every minute spent hunting for a feature is time away from your actual work. Explore how Relentify's interface compares to other accounting software if usability is a primary concern.
Integrations and third-party tools
QuickBooks has a larger app marketplace, which is natural given its market maturity. But "larger marketplace" is often misleading.
Why? Many QuickBooks integrations exist because QuickBooks doesn't include the feature natively. Expense approval workflows, project tracking, purchase order management, multi-entity reporting—these are built into Relentify. You don't need an integration for what's already there.
That said: if you rely on a specific third-party integration only available through QuickBooks, check before you switch. Compare Relentify to other platforms to see how integrations might differ.
For most small businesses, the integrations you actually need are available through Relentify or built in as standard features.
Migrating from QuickBooks
This is surprisingly straightforward. You import your chart of accounts, customer records, supplier records, and opening balances. Most small businesses complete the migration in under an hour.
Our step-by-step QuickBooks migration guide walks through the process. Support is available via live chat, and there's no set-up fee for imports.
If you run payroll separately (through Simply Payroll, Guidepoint, or another provider), that doesn't change—you just stop using QuickBooks for accounting.
Who should choose which
Choose QuickBooks if:
- Your accountant requires it (some still do, though this is rare)
- You need a specific third-party integration only available through QuickBooks
- You're embedded in the Intuit ecosystem (payroll, invoicing, time tracking, all from Intuit)
Choose Relentify if:
- You want unlimited users without per-seat charges
- You need multi-entity support on a single subscription
- You want more features on lower-priced plans
- You prefer a modern, consistent interface
- You're tired of paying for features you'll never use
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I import my QuickBooks data into Relentify? Yes. You can import your chart of accounts, customer records, supplier records, and opening balances via CSV or direct integration. See our migration guide for step-by-step instructions.
Do I need an accountant to use Relentify? No. Relentify is designed for small-business owners and office managers who manage their own books. If you work with an accountant, they can access your account and review records. The software doesn't replace professional advice—it just makes day-to-day bookkeeping simpler.
What if I use QuickBooks for payroll as well? Relentify's accounting features replace QuickBooks for invoicing, expenses, and tax. Payroll is separate. Most small businesses use dedicated payroll providers anyway (Simply Payroll, Guidepoint, etc.). You can continue using your current provider without disruption.
Is Relentify suitable for managing multiple businesses? Yes. Multi-entity management is included on all paid plans, with consolidated reporting and intercompany transaction support. No extra subscription required. This is one of Relentify's major advantages over QuickBooks.
What if I have a specific QuickBooks integration I rely on? Contact our support team or check our integrations list. If the integration isn't available, we likely have the feature built in natively (which is often why the QuickBooks integration was needed in the first place).
Can I try Relentify before migrating? Yes. Try Relentify free for 14 days without a credit card. This gives you time to import test data, explore the interface, and confirm it's the right fit.
What support do you offer? We offer 24/5 live chat support with AI-assisted responses for common questions and human agents for complex issues. Response times are typically under an hour, and our team has access to your account to diagnose issues quickly.
Does Relentify support UK-specific accounting requirements? Yes. All features are UK-specific: HMRC Making Tax Digital compliance for VAT, PAYE, CIS (Construction Industry Scheme), and standard UK tax deductions. We also have region-specific versions for the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU, each with local tax support.
The bottom line: QuickBooks is a capable platform with enormous market share. That dominance was built in an era when per-user pricing made sense and hiding features behind higher tiers was standard practice.
Relentify addresses what small-business owners actually complain about: unlimited users at no extra cost, features included rather than paywalled, and an interface that doesn't require a learning curve.
If you've stayed with QuickBooks because "it's what everyone uses," consider this permission to try something better. Start your free trial today—no credit card required.