QuickBooks is one of the biggest names in accounting and bookkeeping, customizable enough to appeal to a wide range of business types and sizes while remaining standardized enough to ensure a common user experience for all. users, including international customers.
Although it is usable by clients from many countries and even integrable between them, one question tends to be difficult to answer: Does QuickBooks accept international payments?
QuickBooks Overview
QuickBooks, owned by Intuit, is a one-stop shop for many accounting and bookkeeping tasks. Although the platform began primarily as a basic double-entry accounting tool, it expanded its offering to a range of popular fintech services designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) around the world as digital advancements changed the way we work. carry out transactions, do business and manage cross-border payments.
What products does QuickBooks offer?
Across its range of platforms, QuickBooks offers:
- QuickBooks Payroll to help manage employee and contractor payments.
- QuickBooks Time is used to record work hours on a project or to track hourly work periods for employees and contractors.
- QuickBooks Money is a comprehensive banking solution that includes interest-bearing deposit, payment and billing accounts; Essentially, a one-stop shop designed to B2B transactions.
- Optical character recognition to manage manual and paper documents.
QuickBooks also offers customized solutions, including virtual accounting, professional tax advice, and many other features that are ideal for SMBs that may not fully understand the numerous financial requirements they face but lack the need or funds to hire full-time help. .
However, you may notice that one key feature that many need in today's economy is missing: QuickBooks online international payments.
How to use QuickBooks for international payments
Here's the thing: QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online are technically international and cross-border platforms. That means users around the world can leverage its tools for accounting and bookkeeping purposes and enjoy local support, regional currency management, unique tax structures, and other features associated with international business.
However, it does No We offer direct international payment processing.
Instead, QuickBooks offers a range of integrations with third-party applications to manage international payments. So while the platform does not provide global or cross-border payments, it enables and facilitates them when used with third-party tools. You'll have to research third-party options to determine which best suits your needs, but options include GoCardless, Wise, Veem, Stripeand Freedom Traders.
ACH vs. Wire Transfer
A quick note before we move forward: most legacy international payment solutions were done through ACH or bank transfer. Although they are sometimes used interchangeably, their execution is a little different:
- Bank transfers Transfer cash directly from one bank to another without intermediaries or third parties to facilitate the move. Bank transfers tend to be used for large transactions and support currency exchange, but they also tend to have high fees. Still, they tend to be fast and some banks even accept same-day deposits, although these are less common for international bank transfers than domestic ones.
- ACH Transfers use a third-party facilitator to process a variety of transactions, including debits, direct deposits, electronic checks, electronic fund transfersand direct payments. ACH Transfers They tend to be low-cost but slower, especially abroad; Its execution can take up to a week.
You'll probably use ACH or bank transfers when paying directly from a bank account. Other payment options, such as credit cards, are also available, but are processed differently than bank transfers and ACH. Check the third-party QuickBooks app to see its limitations on either method, how fast they typically run, and what fees to expect.
QuickBooks Features That Support International Payments
You will need to use QuickBooks Bill Pay to send international payments using QuickBooks and the third-party application of your choice. You'll need to enable multi-currency transactions, add your supplier, and then use the standard invoice payment process in QuickBooks or adjust to directed actions from your third-party app to complete the transaction.
You'll also need a third-party app to receive international payments through QuickBooks. The good news is that most apps support international transfers, card payments, and even PayPal options. QuickBooks Payments will then manage the back-end actions to ensure the cash is properly deposited into your account.
Benefits of using QuickBooks for international payments
Since QuickBooks lacks a native feature for sending or receiving international payments, the benefit of using the platform for these transactions lies primarily in the interest of maintaining as many financial functions in a single platform as possible. While you'll need to do a little work and due diligence to determine the best third-party app, integrating it and adapting to its nuances, it's a small price to pay for long-term convenience.
Best QuickBooks Payment Alternatives for International Payments
Not convinced? If you need a solution that offers native support for international payments, you may want to consider these QuickBooks payment alternatives:
Intelligent: Wise is one of the most popular cross-border businesses. payment processors. The tool allows users to make batch payments and includes payroll tools for foreign suppliers. Wise also integrates with QuickBooks, so determining which is best doesn't have to be an “either or” choice.
Xero: You'll need a specific multi-currency plan to send or receive international payments with Xero, but the process is simple and streamlined from there. Xero also offers multiple tax management solutions that are essential in cross border transactions between regions with varying tax code requirements and expectations.
PayPal: PayPal It tends to be a perennial favorite and really needs no introduction. PayPal's fees are reasonable and the company operates in most countries where SMBs do business. The downside to PayPal is its independent nature; You will need standalone tools like QuickBooks for general accounting purposes.
Conclusion
While QuickBooks doesn't offer native international payment options, it makes transactions easy through its numerous third-party app integrations. Approved by QuickBooks, these tools are vetted and secure and effective when sending cross-border payments. Still, while there's something to be said for the ease of use of sticking with one platform for all your needs, alternatives that offer direct payment options may be best for your business needs, especially if you tend to transact payments. large or frequent international
