Software Comparisons

QuickBooks Online vs Planyard

Looking for a QuickBooks alternative for construction job costing? This page compares QuickBooks Online (QBO) and Planyard — where each fits, what they cover, and how they work together for UK construction teams.

Short answer: QuickBooks handles accounting and VAT; Planyard manages project-side budgets, approvals, valuations, and forecasting. Many contractors use both together — so only approved, fully coded costs hit QuickBooks automatically.

On this page

  • Scope and fit
  • Reviews at a glance
  • Feature-by-feature comparison
  • Approvals and job costing workflows
  • Implementation time
  • Who should choose what
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Logos of Planyard and QuickBooks Online construction job costing integration

What they do (scope at a glance)

  • QuickBooks Online — Cloud accounting with Chart of Accounts, supplier bills, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. Some basic job-cost tracking via Projects, but limited approvals or forecasting.
  • Planyard — Construction job costing and project control: estimating, budgets vs actuals, purchase orders, multi-step approvals, subcontractor and client valuations, retentions, variations, and live forecasting. Syncs only approved, coded costs to QuickBooks Online with supplier, category, VAT/currency, and the invoice PDF attached.

Reviews at a glance

Public ratings from Capterra UK.

Programme Rating Summary
QuickBooks Online 4.3 / 5.0 ✔ Great for bookkeeping and small business accounting; job costing and approvals need add-ons or spreadsheets.
Planyard 4.6 / 5.0 ✔ Praised for ease of use, visibility, and clean QuickBooks/Xero/Sage sync. Reviewers highlight less manual entry and a full audit trail.

Quotes: “Planyard integrates perfectly with QuickBooks.” · “Finally stopped updating endless cost spreadsheets.”

Quick summary

  • QuickBooks. Excellent for accounting, VAT, and reporting. Basic project tracking, but limited visibility on job profitability.
  • Planyard. Full commercial control with budgets, POs, valuations, and live forecasting. Designed for project managers and finance teams who want to avoid spreadsheet rebuilds.
  • Together. Approval-only sync ensures QuickBooks holds clean, coded costs. No duplicates, no drafts, no re-typing.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature QuickBooks (alone) Planyard (alone) Planyard + QuickBooks
Multi-step approvals (routes, thresholds) ✖ Basic bill approval ✔ Configurable multi-step approvals ✔ Full routing with audit trail before posting
3-way match (PO ↔ delivery ↔ invoice) ✖ Manual ✔ Automated, blocks mismatches ✔ Full 3-way match; only approved bills sync
PO control (raise against budget) ✖ Not native ✔ Linked to live budgets ✔ Prevents over-commitment before posting to QuickBooks
Invoice capture (email-in/OCR) ✔ Built-in via QuickBooks Capture ✔ OCR + PO/valuation link ✔ Unified capture + approval + sync
Approval-only sync ✖ Manual posting ✔ Automatic once approved ✔ Keeps ledger clean
Mapping to categories/accounts ✔ Within QuickBooks ✔ Uses synced Chart ✔ Accurate mapping with every posted bill
Attachments (PDF, refs in accounting) ✔ Supported ✔ Auto-sends with post ✔ All bills arrive in QuickBooks with PDFs and metadata
Live variance & forecasting (EAC) ✖ Limited reporting ✔ Real-time CVR & forecasting ✔ Shared visibility across finance & site
CIS & reverse charge VAT ✔ Applied in QuickBooks ✔ Ensures correct coding and supplier linkage ✔ Coding enforced project-side; rules applied in QuickBooks
Full audit trail ✔ Financial approvals logged ✔ Full project approval history ✔ End-to-end transparency
No re-typing (site → budget → accounting) ✖ Manual entry common ✔ Seamless workflow ✔ Fully automated, duplicate-free

What posts to accounting

  • Posts: Approved bills/credit notes with supplier, account code, VAT/currency, and invoice PDF.
  • Doesn’t post: Estimates, budgets, detailed time records (only summaries).
  • System of record: Accounting stays in QuickBooks; Planyard manages approvals and live job costing.

Features in detail

How they handle approvals, job costing, valuations, retentions and forecasting.

Approvals and purchase orders

Planyard manages purchase orders, subcontracts and supplier approvals in one place. QuickBooks records only the approved cost once synced.

Screenshot showing Planyard’s user-friendly construction cost control software interface, featuring commitment templates, approval options, and detailed financial information such as current valuation, committed totals, and valuation remaining.

Valuations and retentions

Planyard manages subcontractor and client valuations and tracks retentions. Approved items flow to QuickBooks as coded bills for payment.

Proje bütçenizi yükleyin ve finansal ilerlemeyi gerçek zamanlı olarak takip edin

Kredi kartı gerekmez. Satış veya BT desteği gerekmez.

14 günlük deneme başlatın Demo talep edin
Screenshot of Planyard’s project overview displaying financial data, including project names, budgets, income, costs, and profitability forecasts.

Live CVR and forecasting

Planyard updates project CVR and EAC automatically as invoices and variations are approved. QuickBooks reflects the same totals in financial reports.

CIS in QuickBooks with Planyard—approved bill to correct vendor, HMRC-ready exports.

CIS and compliance

QuickBooks applies CIS and reverse charge VAT automatically when posted bills arrive. Planyard ensures supplier linkage and coding so the deductions apply correctly.

Implementation timelines

System Typical duration Typical steps
Planyard + QuickBooks ✔ 1–5 days
  1. Connect QuickBooks via OAuth
  2. Import Chart of Accounts and suppliers
  3. Pilot one live job
QuickBooks alone ✔ Immediate
  1. Set up Chart of Accounts
  2. Optional Projects tracking

Who should choose what

  • Choose Planyard if you need proper job costing — budgets, POs, valuations, retentions, forecasting and approvals — without spreadsheets.
  • Choose QuickBooks if you only need accounting, VAT, CIS and basic Projects tracking.
  • Choose both if you want a joined-up workflow: Planyard for project control, QuickBooks for accounting and compliance.

Pricing and packages

Planyard has transparent per-user plans and a free trial. QuickBooks Online starts from around £15/month. The QuickBooks integration is included in all Planyard plans.

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Maliyet Hesaplama Paketi

$52
/ month / project manager
 

Maliyet Hesaplama

Ücretsiz deneyin

Temel Paket

$105
/ month / project manager
$43
for supporting staff
Destek rolleri veya paydaşlar için mükemmel—kullanıcıların bilgilendirilmesini ve katkıda bulunmasını sağlarken, tam platform izinleri olmadan temel proje özelliklerine ve önemli finansal verilere erişim sağlar.

Genellikle seçilenler: saha mühendisleri, müşteriler, tahminciler veya denetçiler.

Maliyet Hesaplama ve Bütçe Kontrolü

  • Maliyet Hesaplama paketindeki tüm özellikleri içerir
  • Bütçeleri ve gerçekleşen harcamaları takip edin
  • Satın alma faturalarını otomatik yönetin
  • Aktif projelerin maliyet verilerini yeniden kullanarak tahmin yapın
  • Faturaları Xero ve QuickBooks ile senkronize edin
Ücretsiz deneyin

Profesyonel Paket

$158
/ month / project manager
$43
for supporting staff
Destek rolleri veya paydaşlar için mükemmel—kullanıcıların bilgilendirilmesini ve katkıda bulunmasını sağlarken, tam platform izinleri olmadan temel proje özelliklerine ve önemli finansal verilere erişim sağlar.

Genellikle seçilenler: saha mühendisleri, müşteriler, tahminciler veya denetçiler.

Maliyet, Bütçe ve Satın Alma Yönetimi

  • Temel Paket özelliklerinin tamamını içerir
  • Satın alma siparişlerini oluşturun ve yönetin
  • Bütçelerdeki taahhüt edilmiş maliyetleri takip edin
  • Proje kârlılığını gerçek zamanlı olarak tahmin edin
  • Nakit akışı projeksiyonları oluşturun
  • Müşteri sözleşmelerini ve ilerleme raporlarını yönetin
Ücretsiz deneyin

Genişletilmiş Paket

$210
/ month / project manager
$43
for supporting staff
Destek rolleri veya paydaşlar için mükemmel—kullanıcıların bilgilendirilmesini ve katkıda bulunmasını sağlarken, tam platform izinleri olmadan temel proje özelliklerine ve önemli finansal verilere erişim sağlar.

Genellikle seçilenler: saha mühendisleri, müşteriler, tahminciler veya denetçiler.

Tüm Özelliklerle Tam Fonksiyonellik

  • Profesyonel Paket özelliklerinin tamamını içerir
  • Taşeron ve tedarikçi tekliflerini otomatikleştirin
  • Alt yüklenici sözleşmelerini ve ilerlemeleri takip edin
  • Alt yüklenici değişiklik emirlerini yönetin
  • Alt yüklenici ödeme taleplerini yönetin
Ücretsiz deneyin

In one paragraph

QuickBooks keeps your books compliant; Planyard keeps your projects profitable. QuickBooks handles accounting, VAT and CIS, while Planyard manages budgets, purchase orders, valuations, retentions and approvals. The integration means only approved, fully coded costs reach QuickBooks — no spreadsheets, no duplicates, no re-typing.

Sources and last updated. Intuit QuickBooks UK documentation (CIS, Projects), Planyard Capterra UK listings, and customer case studies. Last reviewed 8 October 2025.