QuickBooks for Contractors: Which Version Do You Need?

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Why Contractors Use QuickBooks

QuickBooks is the most popular accounting software in the trades. Your accountant probably uses it. Your bookkeeper definitely knows it. Most field service tools integrate with it.

But QuickBooks is an accounting tool, not a field service tool. It tracks money. It does not schedule jobs, dispatch crews, or send quotes. Contractors who try to run everything from QuickBooks end up frustrated.

The key is knowing what QuickBooks is good at and what to pair it with.

Simple Start vs Essentials vs Plus

QuickBooks Online comes in three main versions. Here is what each one offers.

Simple Start: $30 Per Month

This covers the basics. You get invoicing, expense tracking, mileage tracking, and basic reports. You can connect your bank account and credit cards. It tracks income and expenses automatically.

Best for: Solo contractors with no employees. If it is just you, Simple Start handles everything your accountant needs at tax time.

Limitations: One user only. No bill tracking. No time tracking. No purchase orders.

Essentials: $60 Per Month

Essentials adds multi-user access (up to 3 users), bill management, and time tracking. You can track what you owe vendors, not just what customers owe you.

Best for: Contractors with 1 to 5 employees who need to manage bills and let a bookkeeper log in. The time tracking feature is useful for labor cost tracking.

Limitations: No job costing. No inventory tracking. No project profitability reports.

Plus: $90 Per Month

Plus adds job costing, inventory tracking, and project profitability reports. You can see how much you made (or lost) on each job. Up to 5 users.

Best for: Contractors who want to track profit per job. Especially useful for remodelers, GCs, and anyone buying materials for projects.

Feature	Simple Start	Essentials	Plus
Price	$30/mo	$60/mo	$90/mo
Users	1	3	5
Invoicing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bill tracking	No	Yes	Yes
Time tracking	No	Yes	Yes
Job costing	No	No	Yes
Inventory	No	No	Yes

What Contractors Actually Need from QuickBooks

Here is the truth. Most contractors only use QuickBooks for three things:

1. Tracking income and expenses. See what came in and what went out.
2. Tax preparation. Give your accountant clean books at year end.
3. Syncing with a field service tool. When Jobber creates an invoice, it flows into QuickBooks automatically.

If that describes you, Simple Start or Essentials is enough. Do not pay $90 per month for Plus unless you specifically need job costing reports.

QuickBooks with Jobber

Jobber has a built-in QuickBooks sync. When you create an invoice in Jobber, it automatically creates a matching invoice in QuickBooks. Payments sync too.

This is the most popular combo for small contractors. Jobber handles the field work (scheduling, quoting, invoicing, customer communication). QuickBooks handles the books.

How it works:

• Create a quote in Jobber. Customer approves it.
• Schedule and complete the job in Jobber.
• Send the invoice from Jobber. Customer pays online.
• The invoice and payment sync to QuickBooks automatically.
• Your accountant sees clean books in QuickBooks without touching Jobber.

Which version to pair with Jobber: Simple Start ($30 per month) is enough for most users. Jobber handles the invoicing, so you just need QuickBooks for the accounting side.

QuickBooks with ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan also integrates with QuickBooks. The sync pushes invoices, payments, and customer data from ServiceTitan into QuickBooks.

ServiceTitan users typically need more from QuickBooks because they run larger operations. Multiple employees, vendor bills, and more complex job costing make Plus a better fit.

Which version to pair with ServiceTitan: Essentials ($60 per month) minimum. Plus ($90 per month) if you want job costing. ServiceTitan itself costs $200 to $500 per month, so the QuickBooks cost is a small piece of the total. For the full cost picture, see our contractor software cost guide.

QuickBooks with JobTread

JobTread is a project management tool for contractors who need detailed job costing, budgeting, and change order tracking. It syncs with QuickBooks for accounting.

If you use JobTread, you might not need QuickBooks Plus. JobTread handles the job costing itself. QuickBooks just needs to track the money.

Which version to pair with JobTread: Essentials ($60 per month) is usually enough since JobTread handles the project-level financial tracking.

QuickBooks Alone vs Paired with a Field Service Tool

QuickBooks alone works if:

• You are a solo contractor doing fewer than 10 jobs per month.
• You just need invoicing and expense tracking.
• You do not need scheduling, dispatching, or customer portals.

Pair QuickBooks with a field service tool if:

• You have employees or subcontractors.
• You need scheduling, quoting, and dispatching.
• You want customers to book, approve quotes, and pay online.
• You do more than 15 jobs per month.

For most contractors, the pairing is worth it. Jobber plus QuickBooks Simple Start costs $69 per month total. That covers field operations and accounting. It is the sweet spot for contractors doing $100K to $500K in revenue.

If you are looking for the best invoicing setup, read our best invoicing software guide for more options.

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