A Guide to QuickBooks for Handyman Businesses

If you run a handyman business, you likely know all too well how tricky it can be to stay on top of your finances. But you can’t let yourself get bogged down in a swamp of figures. You need to pay your taxes on time and ensure your handyman business is always making a profit. 

Luckily help is at hand! With QuickBooks accounting software, you’ll never have to spend long hours manually ordering your accounts again.

Short on time? Jump ahead!

1. What is accounting or bookkeeping software?
2. QuickBooks for handymen - what is it and how does it work?
3. QuickBooks pricing and plan options
4. What is handyman contractor software?
5. The benefits of bringing two systems together
6. How to integrate QuickBooks and Tradify
7. Get your accounts in order once and for all

1. What is accounting or bookkeeping software?

Bookkeeping software handles all your financial affairs in one accessible place. It performs all the important functions your handyman business needs - like sending quotes, generating invoices and calculating tax. The best accounting systems offer online features, like using secure cloud software to save your information.

Normally, you should expect to receive the following services from accounting software:

• Invoicing
• Payroll
• Bill payments
• Accounting
• Financial reporting

2. QuickBooks for handymen - what is it and how does it work?

With online accounting software like QuickBooks, running a profitable handyman business has never been so easy. It dramatically reduces the amount of manual data entries you’ll need to make by automating the admin, like reconciling expenses, organizing the payroll, and generating financial statements.

What’s the best QuickBooks version for your handyman business?

The version of QuickBooks that’s best for your handyman business depends on your job turnover and how many staff you employ.

• QuickBooks Online - Wherever you are, you can access your accounts from the palm of your hand without any fuss. Nothing beats it for those handymen who are always on the move.
• QuickBooks Desktop - Prefer to do your bookkeeping from a permanent office? Get all the tools you’ll ever need to keep your books in order. 

What are some of QuickBooks’ core features?

• Accounting - Keep sight of your cash flow. Generate and file statements. Scan and save receipts to claim business expenses.
• Payments - Accepting credit and debit cards, ACH, and eCheck, QuickBooks makes it easier than ever for customers to pay you on time.
• Payroll - Get salaries paid accurately every time. Manage HR and employee bonuses. Automatically have your taxes calculated, filed, and paid.

3. QuickBooks pricing and plan options

You can choose from the three great different plans which QuickBooks offers. It’s just like any other handyman tool you’d pick for a job — you want the one that fits your business and budget requirements best.

Simple Start - Best for new handyman businesses

• Track income and expenses
• Send custom invoices and quotes
• Connect to your bank
• Track Sales Tax, GST, VAT
• Insights and reports
• Capture and organize receipts
• Progress invoicing
• For one user, plus your accountant

Essentials - Best for handymen looking to consolidate their business

The same features as Simple, plus:

• Manage bills and payments
• Track employee time
• Multi-currency
• For three users, plus an accountant

Plus - Best for handymen expanding their business

The same features as Essentials, plus:

• Pay recurring transactions and bills
• Track inventory
• Track project profitability
• Manage budgets
• For five users, plus an accountant

4. What is handyman contractor software?

Thanks to new digital tools, like bookkeeping software, working as a handyman has never been so stress-free. So why stop at accounting software? Job management software, like Tradify, is the only other digital tool your handyman business will ever need. Nothing else compares when it comes to helping you stay on top of your work schedule and finish tasks more efficiently. 

Here’s an overview of what Tradify can do for you:

• Schedule and manage jobs on the go, from the palm of your hand.
• Estimate & quote with customizable templates, and upload material lists with prices.
• Send invoices from anywhere, helping you get paid faster.
• Schedule subcontractors and other handyman professionals through our connections feature.
• Capture inquiries so you never miss a lead. Tradify will automatically turn them into quotes.
• Connect Tradify with Google Calendar to see who’s closest to a job for faster uptake.

5. The benefits of bringing two systems together

When you link Tradify and QuickBooks together you get an unrivalled end-to-end business management solution. What’s more, the integration between the two is super seamless and easy to operate.

Once you’ve integrated the two systems, you can use whichever app you prefer for different tasks. And all the information you submit will be automatically shared with the other app too!

Handymen choose to sync Tradify with QuickBooks because they know it makes their work more manageable and profitable than it’s ever been before.

Work faster, not harder

Work life’s much easier when you don’t have to double-hand data. With QuickBooks and Tradify’s integrated system, you can finally say “goodbye” to manually typing out documents and “hello” to automation.

So, you’ve made an estimate? When you accept the job, the figures from the estimate get used to automatically generate an invoice for you. Now that’s speedy, and you didn’t even break a sweat.

One source of truth

Thanks to Tradify and QuickBooks syncing their data with each other, you never have to manually submit data into more than one system! 

For instance, after Tradify has automatically created an invoice, all the financial data from it gets synced to your QuickBooks account. Has staying on top of your taxes ever been so effortless? 

Take control of your finances

It’s not easy to run a successful handyman business if you and your accountant aren’t on the same page. When you integrate QuickBooks and Tradify, both you and your accountant can access all the same data in the same place. That means no more confusion or wasting time chasing each other for vital numbers. 

6. How to integrate QuickBooks and Tradify

Connecting Tradify with Quickbooks is simple:

1. Head to Settings, click ‘Integrations’, and then ‘QuickBooks’.
2. Select ‘Log in to QuickBooks’. You’ll be redirected to QuickBooks to log in and authorize Tradify.
3. Enter your QuickBooks login details and click ‘Sign in’.
4. Select ‘Authorize’ to allow data sharing between Tradify and QuickBooks.
5. Next, you’ll be redirected to Tradify and four new account fields.
6. Choose the appropriate account codes for labour, materials, your bank account, and purchases using the fields provided, and click ‘OK’.

7. Get your accounts in order once and for all

If you’re still using a paper diary, Word, or Excel to manage your handyman business you’ve probably been wondering for too long now how you can cut down on the time-consuming monotony of manual admin. Luckily, the help you’ve been crying out for has finally arrived! QuickBooks accounting software does your dirty work, so you can spend more time making money and less time managing the admin. 

When integrated together, QuickBooks and Tradify form the most efficient and effortless end-to-end business management solution yet. So why keep stressing over your workload?

You can experience the incredible benefits of a job management software for nothing! Sign up for a 14-day free trial with Tradify, or book a free demo!

No credit card need and no contracts :)

This article is not intended to be financial advice. Please discuss your individual financial situation with your registered financial advisor, bookkeeper, or accountant.