Last updated: March 27th, 2025
Doing your accounting in spreadsheets and Word docs is easy. Until it’s not. Your business grows, and you find yourself drowning in admin, rather than building your business.
Bookkeeping software takes this problem off your hands.
It streamlines the accounting function in your business, so you can focus on revenue-generating activities.
It’s one of the first things I invested in when I first started freelancing a decade ago. I wanted my processes to loudly signal ‘credible business owner’.
But now, picking the right platform isn’t as straightforward. There’s more competition — and more options for small businesses.
Like fresh-faced newcomer Solo by MYOB.
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| Solo by MYOB is an attractive, all-in-one mobile app suited to the ‘bare bones’ business owner that’s always on the move. |
| QuickBooks is a full-fledged accounting tool that gives you more options, better reporting and supports expansion plans. |
| Solo offers better value if simplicity appeals, as the app’s feature set is squarely aimed at sole trader needs. |
Solo By MYOB vs QuickBooks: My Quick & Dirty Verdict.
Solo by MYOB is convenient if you’re the kind of small business owner that’s always in motion, say:
- Meeting clients at their home or business.
- Doing trades or manual work on site; or
- Selling goods from a market stall.
It’s designed exclusively for use on mobile devices and laser-focused on core sole trader financial management tasks.
It prioritises usability and speed: great if you’re a solopreneur who’s strapped for time to get invoices out and track your expenses.
(Related: Best Accounting Software For Small Businesses).
Launched in late 2024 as a standalone offering (not a tier in MYOB’s existing product), new features are still being rolled out regularly as its user base expands.
QuickBooks’ Online (QBO) — which includes a web-based account and a native app — has been around since 2001, so it’s feature-filled, and regularly updated as well.
Many ‘nice-to-have’ features that could elevate your business admin are available in QBO right now. Like the ability to lodge your BAS directly from the platform at tax time.
So handy.
But here’s the downside: there are also many features you’ll probably never need to touch, unless your business operations are complex and you employ a team.
And the fancier functions you do want can be hard to find and use, through multiple layers of confusing menu items or by requiring third-party app integrations.
Weighing up the cost-benefit depends on how you want to run your business.
| Solo By MYOB Is Best For: | QuickBooks Is Best For: |
|---|---|
| Small-scale sole traders sick of spreadsheets, with basic needs. | Sole traders looking to grow, with complex operations. |
| Accepting in-person payments and real-time admin on-the-go. | Services, retail and e-commerce small businesses. |
| Solopreneurs with small budgets. | People who want robust functionality and reporting. |
1. Set-Up Speed.
| Solo by MYOB: | 9/10 |
| QuickBooks: | 7/10 |
There’s an irony to QBO’s lowest tier being called ‘Simple Start’.
Once you’re past entering your contact info and creating a password, there are a lot of questions and a lot of steps.
The extensive guided set-up screens aren’t bad, but could be shorter. You’re also prompted to book in for a 45-minute onboarding call.
I pressed ‘skip’ a lot, keen to get to the actual product.
I also got an email from a ‘dedicated Business Consultant’ assigned to me by QuickBooks. Within minutes of that email, the consultant tried to call me on the phone, and left a voice message welcoming me.
But hey, maybe this onboarding process has been key to QBO’s success in retaining customers? If you need help, it’s there.
As a light-touch native app, Solo was easier to jump into.
Sign-up does require providing your payment information, but you can cancel anytime within the 14-day free trial period to avoid a charge.
Here’s the process:
- Add your contact details and a password to create a web-based MYOB account (where you input credit card details and can manage your subscription).
- Use those account credentials to log-in to the Solo iOS or Android app to begin your set-up, with non-intrusive pop-ups within the app helping you learn features.
Both Solo and QBO’s Simple Start plan allow for one user to have access. But you can also give access to your accounting firm, if you use one, with QBO.
2. Usability And Mobile App.
| Solo by MYOB: | 9/10 |
| QuickBooks: | 8/10 |
The online version of QuickBooks isn’t totally clunky, but for me, completing every task felt like a journey.
Online reviews reveal a mixed bag when it comes to its user experience.
One accountant literally said it helps them get clients because people find it complex to use correctly.
Important!
While accounting platforms are often designed to help you organise a chart of accounts, QBO includes too many fields and drop-down menu items that will be irrelevant and confusing to most sole traders.
What about the app?
You’ll need to set up a number of features online first to make the most of the QBO mobile app, such as creating/editing your invoice template and turning on invoice payment reminders (which was very well hidden).
A leaner feature set naturally leads to a smoother user experience in the Solo app.
For instance, on Solo’s ‘Money in’ tab there’s a quick menu in the top-right that lets you quickly choose key actions.
Once I left the QBO app’s home screen, I struggled to find where to generate a new invoice.
Important!
Both the Solo and QuickBooks mobile apps enable biometric sign-in so you can save time but benefit from multi-factor authentication protection.
Here’s what both mobile apps do well:
- Make useful actions prominent on the home screen, such as create an invoice, capture receipts, and add customers/suppliers.
- Highlight overdue invoices that need to be chased up immediately so you can get paid what you’re owed.
- Give you a clear view of cash flow from imported bank transactions so you quickly assess your financial health.
- Automate adding expenses by letting you simply take a pic of your bills or receipts then auto-matching the data.
- Provide in-app links to help articles and an AI assistant that can escalate to a human response.
Here’s where they stand out for sole trader accessibility:
- With Solo by MYOB everything originates from within the app — no jumping between accounts to change settings or download reports. Also, you can easily set-up a feature to take in-person payments by card using your phone as the terminal.
- QuickBooks Online’s app has helpful features such a being able to auto-track mileage, create quotes and sales receipts, and create re-usable product/service types. You can also customise the order of sections on your home screen dashboard.
If you need the greater functionality offered by QBO, its app is decent. Being low-touch and purpose-built makes Solo friendlier to use.
3. Invoicing And Payments.
| Solo by MYOB: | 7/10 |
| QuickBooks: | 8/10 |
Invoicing in the QBO app is effective. Useful features (that you don’t get in Solo yet) include the ability to:
- Set payment terms, e.g. due on receipt or net 30.
- Easily include line items based on products/services you’ve already added to the app.
- Specify the quantity of a line item as well as the value, such as 3 products at $50 each.
- Add GST on top of the total value (Solo forces you to input GST inclusive figures, if you collect it).
The workflow for dispatching invoices via QBO’s app is awkward.
Once created, you hit save and then you’re presented with a confusing screen that indicates where the invoice sits in a series of milestones — sent, viewed, paid or deposited.
- Pressing ‘Send invoice’ brings up the PDF preview and the email message the customer will get, which you can edit.
- Then you need to hit ‘send’ again — which takes you back to the milestone screen, with ‘sent’ ticked green.
Compare that with Solo — you complete the invoice details and then can choose to save, or email from the app immediately.
If you choose to send via email, the editable email message and PDF preview appears.
Solo also lets you generate a direct link to the invoice PDF that you can share via a text or in a different messaging app.
Important!
You can brand and choose a theme colour for invoices in Solo and QuickBooks – but you’ll need to do it online with QBO.
Both Solo and QBO handle this well.
- QuickBooks reminders can be turned on across all invoices (from the web-based account). You can send up to three and specify when they get sent and what they say.
- Solo lets you toggle reminders on or off on every invoice you send. If it’s ‘on’ a default series of emails will be sent: 3 days before, on the due date, and one day past due.
When it comes to taking payment, QBO takes the win.
Both apps can easily record direct bank transfers, and both apps can be set-up to enable in-person payments.
But QBO also enables online payments by card, direct from the invoice that lands in a customer’s inbox (requires a PayPal account).
However, Solo’s ‘Tap to Pay’ feature for in-person payments by card has a distinct advantage for sole traders on-the-move: your mobile phone acts as the card reader.
Whereas, QBO requires a Square integration and card reader device.
No extra hardware means less hassle.
Important!
Solo’s mobile payments attract fees of 1.6% of the value of a transaction, plus a flat fee of $0.30 per transaction. Square Payments charges 1.6% per transaction.
4. Reporting And Tax Management.
| Solo by MYOB: | 8/10 |
| QuickBooks: | 8/10 |
It’s clear that many QuickBooks Online users get significant value from its detailed reporting capabilities, including the comprehensive chart of accounts, potential to forecast revenue, track ROI of spending and other analyses.
All this reporting prowess is wasted on me.
I only need the basic P&L view and GST liability reporting that Solo delivers.
Most of the reporting has to be handled through the web-based interface. You can also turn on automated reminders to prompt yourself to get organised before your tax payments are due.
Some sole traders won’t be registered for GST.
That makes Solo a better fit, as the app makes it simple to record and differentiate between your business and personal income and expenses.
5. Value For Money.
| Solo by MYOB: | 9/10 |
| QuickBooks: | 7/10 |
When it comes to the ‘big 3’ accounting products bookkeepers are most likely to herd their clients into — MYOB, Xero and QuickBooks — Solo currently has the cheapest entry-level tier.
You can get Solo for 12 months, and pay only $12 for the entire period.
Yep, that’s for the whole year. Not per month.
This doesn’t include premium services like Tap To Pay, but you do get two bank feeds and unlimited invoices.
After the honeymoon ends, Solo will roll over into a monthly rate of $11/month.
And it’s not just in-product features where you get more. You can integrate tools like time tracking, Shopify, and Mailchimp.
Do you need those features as you grow? The answer will help you determine how much you’re willing to spend.
QuickBook’s Simple Start plan is $29 per month, with a current deal to save 50% for 3 months (or 50% off the annual subscription cost, bringing it down to $156.50).
For new businesses with limited budget, or established solopreneurs who just want the essentials in a slick app — Solo is cost-effective and poised to grow in capability.
Important!
Solo by MYOB takes community feedback seriously and is gradually adding functionality. Its forum is built-in to the app, where you can suggest and vote on product features you’d like.
Locking in a low price now means you get a user-friendly app that’s destined to get even more useful.
Solo By MYOB vs QuickBooks: My Conclusion.
Is any accounting software definitely better than spreadsheets? Almost always.
The danger of signing up for a product that doesn’t meet your needs, whether that’s through functionality or usability, is that you won’t use it. That’s a waste of time and money.
QuickBooks offers a lot to like for small businesses that need to carefully manage their accounts and tax obligations, offer online payments, and are keen to grow and potentially employ staff.
But if I was the kind of sole trader who was literally always ‘on the job’ — out in the field, driving lots, or dealing with in-person transactions — it would be hard to go past Solo for simplicity and value for money.
Jody
