In-Depth OneUp Accounting Review 2024

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Our Verdict

AI-powered sophisticated accounting

The popular SaaS solution offers small businesses a straightforward package of essential back-office management tools, from bookkeeping to reporting, forecasting to invoicing, and CRM — all through an intuitive and un-cluttered user interface. Best of all it’s optimised for smartphones and tablets, with one of the most full-featured accounting apps around.

It’s international in scope, offering pre-integrated banking connections in 50 countries. And it’s newly upgraded AI functionality makes bookkeeping less of a chore.

Pros

  • AI business assistant generates forecasts and business performance
  • Excellent mobile app
  • Great tools for inventory management and pricing

Cons

  • No customer support on the starter plan
  • No time-tracking or payroll options

OneUp Plans & Pricing

OneUp’s pricing structure looks like its designed to match every stage of small business growth, from freelancers to small partnerships.

It starts with the Self plan for freelancers, sole traders, solopreneurs, and independent contractors. Next is the Pro plan, when the solo business needs to make room for a partner or professional accountant. This is followed by the Plus plan, when the business needs to add a third user, perhaps a bookkeeper or office manager. After that, it’s an upgrade to Team level, with space for up to seven users. For businesses in growth mode, there’s the top-level Unlimited plan, with space for unlimited users.

Every level gives you access to OneUp’s full feature set.

Self Pro Plus Team Unlimited
Monthly Cost $9/month $19/month $29/month $69/month $169/month
Users 1 2 3 7 Unlimited
Free Trial
Payroll
Expense Management
Double Entry
Reporting Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard
Customer Support 1-on-1 support 1-on-1 support 1-on-1 support 1-on-1 support

Self – $9/month

Self is OneUp’s starter plan. It’s priced at $9 per month and accommodates one user. Like all the plans, it comes fully loaded with features, so it is perfect for independent contractors, solopreneurs, and freelancers looking for a cost-effective way to manage their finances. The only downside is, you’re on your own. There’s no support available if you have questions about the solution that aren’t answered in the Knowledge Base FAQs.

Pro – $19/month

Pro level gives you all the same features and functions but gives you space for a second user if you want to give your accountant access, for example. It also wraps in OneUp’s standard one-on-one customer support via chat, phone, and email.

You effectively double the Self plan price by an increment of one user, then top it up with one more dollar to include support for two.

Plus – $29/month

For businesses with an office manager or dedicated bookkeeper, OneUp’s Plus plan lets you add a third user. It’s $29 per month and offers the same full functionality and support as the Pro plan. Much as the jump from Self to Pro, moving from Pro to Plus is an incremental step up of $9, topped up with another buck to wrap in support for all three users.

Team – $69/month

When your business is big enough to have multiple hands on the financial tiller, the Team plan makes space for up to seven users. It comes with everything the Pro and Plus plans offer.

Unlimited – $169/month

When your needs extend to eight users or more, it’s time to consider OneUp’s Unlimited plan. For $169 a month, you keep all the functionality and support in the previous price tiers, but for an unlimited number of users.

This one seems tailor-made for scale-ups on an accelerating growth trajectory. If it seems expensive, take the 30-day free trial before you commit. It offers all features and accommodates unlimited users.

OneUp Overview

Starting price $9
Best for Freelancers to mid-sized businesses
Customer support Help desk, chat, and email. Free access to Knowledge Base.
App integrations Square and Google Workspace
Security & Compliance Data protected with secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored with a AES-256 encryption
Payroll
Reporting & analytics
Mobile app
Double entry
E-signatures
Auto-alerts and reminders

Features

OneUp’s website promises ‘everything you need to run your business‘ and that’s largely true — with some notable omissions. Its main functional modules are invoicing, accounting, inventory, and CRM. Its 700,000+ user base is international in scope, and OneUp has integrated banking connections in over 50 countries to make retrieving and reconciling transactions easier.

A payroll module would level up OneUp’s capabilities nicely for firms at the Unlimited end of the pricing plan, while time-tracking or task management would be attractive for freelancers on the Self plan who sell professional services by the hour (accountants, consultants, designers, coders, and so on).

One highlight is the solution’s intelligent (and now AI-driven) ability to categorize transactions automatically for accurate bookkeeping — one of accounting’s most tedious (and vital) tasks. Another is its mobile app. OneUp offers all these features on any device, so you can manage your finances on the move.

Invoicing

Screenshot of OneUp's invoicing feature

OneUp’s invoicing module is designed to take the pain out of sending out invoices and makes tracking and receiving payments much easier. Users can easily generate invoices, quotes, and purchase orders, plus automate them for monthly subscriptions and other recurring purchases. As with most of the best accounting software, OneUp offers a range of templates that take steps out of the invoicing process and everything can be customized to reflect your branding. Invoices are sent directly from the solution. Integration with Square means those transactions are imported into OneUp automatically.

Accounting

Screenshot of OneUp's accounting feature

OneUp’s accounting module aims to add capabilities you wouldn’t have had otherwise while automating as much of your current manual workflow as possible. Its easy-to-navigate screens are designed to make life easier for time-poor freelancers and small business owners. Once all transactions for a period have been imported or input, OneUp will automatically create a financial statement. You can set it to synchronize bank transactions automatically and sort them into their correct categories.

Inventory

Screenshot of OneUp's inventory management feature

Managing inventory is a feature not every accounting package offers. OneUp has made it a core capability and gives small business owners an immediate real-time overview of everything they have in stock. It also attaches key information to each SKU including supplier information, purchase orders, order status, and more. Inventory management can be one of the most time-consuming management tasks as it demands highly detailed data entries. OneUp helps growing businesses sustain inventory levels with minimum fuss.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Screenshot of OneUp's CRM module

‘Know thy customer’ is an edict all successful small businesses take to heart. OneUp helps make it a reality by including a robust CRM module in its solution. All transactions and interactions with customers are captured and stored in their profiles. That simplifies the decision-making process when issues arise, discounts are being negotiated, or marketing campaigns are underway.

If you’re looking for a dedicated CRM solution, check out the top-rated CRM solutions.

Integrations

Integrations with other apps and platforms is one area where we’d say OneUp could do more. A payroll and HR integration would be a welcome addition, alongside time tracking for solopreneurs offering professional services.

What it offers at the moment is integration with Square for both inventory and accounting and integration with Google Workspace.

OneUp User Reviews

User reviews for OneUp aren’t plentiful and most seem to date back to 2020, but we can see that OneUp has undergone development and improvement since then. The overall score on the G2 review site is 4.1 out of 5 stars. One common theme was how effective OneUp was when used with other apps Google’s G Suite (now Google Workspace).

OneUp vs Top Competitors

OneUp QuickBooks ZarMoney Xero
Best for Freelancers and small businesses that operate on the move SMBs with up to 250 employees Growing e-commerce businesses who want advanced reporting Mid-sized businesses with several employees
Starting Price $9 USD per month $15 per month USD on the Simple Start plan $15 USD per month $29 per month USD
Free Trial
Payroll
Reporting Standard Standard Advanced Standard
Mobile App No

OneUp vs QuickBooks

OneUp faces tough competition from QuickBooks. As the bigger, older, and more established of the two, Quickbooks feels to us like OneUp’s older cousin. It’s a proper SaaS platform blending a comprehensive set of built-in features with loads of third-party integrations for businesses that need a bit more. It does everything OneUp offers plus payroll and time tracking.

QuickBooks also has a plan for enterprise-scale organizations and sector-specific offers for manufacturing, retail, legal, and more. Where OneUp can compete is in the mobile arena. QuickBooks mobile app gets solid user ratings but can only be considered equal to the desktop version at QB’s entry plan level.

Find out more in our QuickBooks review.

OneUp vs ZarMoney

Facing off against ZarMoney brings OneUp’s international footprint to the fore. Bank integrations are an essential component of almost any small business accounting solution, and while ZarMoney offers over 9500 — they’re all in the US and Canada. It can’t match OneUp’s bank connections in 50 countries.

While ZarMoney claims it works seamlessly on mobile browsers, its lack of a mobile app is a potential weakness that bears a closer look. Reporting is the area where ZarMoney shines. It offers 40 standard reports with over a thousand options to customize. You can tweak the parameters to your own specifications.

OneUp vs Xero

With Xero you have another mature, established, and full-featured accounting platform that’s comparable in features and functionality to QuickBooks. It handles payroll, offers multi-currency accounting, and has loads of third-party integrations. Xero also has a sterling reputation for delivering seamless banking reconciliation. You can connect it directly to accounts at over 21,000 banks worldwide and reconcile bank transactions in real time.

The worst news for OneUp is Xero’s mobile app, which gets top marks from users on both the iOS and Android app stores. On the upside, Xero costs a lot, starting at $29 per month. At the freelance and startup end of the market, OneUp looks to be a much better option.

Find out all the details in our Xero accounting review.

Verdict – is OneUp Worth it?

Our reviewers found OneUp to be a modern SaaS solution that meets the accounting needs of agile entrepreneurs who need to do some or all of their accounting on the move. It’s not as full-featured as some more established solutions like Xero, but for smaller businesses and sole traders, it does the basics really well. We loved its exceptional mobile app, which delivers all the functionality of the desktop version via an intuitive tap-and-swipe interface. The more recent additions of AI-driven bookkeeping automation, analytics, and advisory could well push it close to the top of the list when we review again in 2025.

How We Test Accounting Software

Techopedia is a leading authority on business technology. Our independent reviews of SaaS platforms, applications, and services are designed to help small business owners make better buying decisions. When we review an accounting software product, we look for positives and negatives in six areas:

  • Pricing – We evaluate the cost of each software platform in comparison to competitors, providing insights into its affordability within the market.
  • Feature Analysis – Leveraging our expertise in accounting software, we compare features with other top providers, examining aspects such as ease-of-use, reporting capabilities, bookkeeping, CRM integrations, and security.
  • Integration Assessment – For each software platform under scrutiny, we evaluate the available integrations and their contribution to helping end users achieve their objectives.
  • Automation Testing – Given the paramount importance of efficiency and accuracy in accounting software, we systematically test automation capabilities across every feature, highlighting platforms that can optimize productivity.
  • User-Friendliness – Recognizing that a complex platform can be discouraging and time-consuming, we assess the user experience of each review as if we were unfamiliar with accounting software, gauging its ease of use for non-technical users.
  • Third-Party Reviews – To provide a comprehensive understanding of a product, we consolidate our reviews with those obtained from reputable third-party websites such as G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot.

How to Choose the Best Accounting Software

Choosing the right accounting software can impact critical business essentials including financial performance, profitability, and cash flow. If you’re thinking of trying a new accounting solution or investing in one for the first time, here are some key considerations:

  • Pricing – Assess the software’s cost both initially and over an extended period, ensuring it remains affordable as your business expands in the future.
  • Feature Exploration – Examine the features available in each plan, aiming for a provider that can fulfill as many needs as possible without necessitating additional software purchases. When comparing plans within the same provider, be vigilant not to overlook essential features in higher-tier plans.
  • Scalability – Contemplate your business’s long-term growth plans and assess whether the software offers the flexibility to scale seamlessly as you acquire more customers.
  • User-Friendly Experience – Prioritize software that is user-friendly, intuitive, and enjoyable to use. This ensures quick and efficient utilization, allowing you to reap its benefits immediately rather than investing working hours in learning its intricacies.
  • Integration Assurance – Confirm that the plan you select provides access to the integrations you require, ensuring seamless connectivity.
  • Customer Support – Ensure the chosen provider offers dependable customer support, preferably accessible through 24/7 live chat, to assist you promptly if you encounter any challenges.

FAQs

Does OneUp offer a free trial?

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Mark De Wolf
Technology Journalist
Mark De Wolf
Technology Journalist

Mark is a freelance tech journalist covering software, cybersecurity, and SaaS. His work has appeared in Dow Jones, The Telegraph, SC Magazine, Strategy, InfoWorld, Redshift, and The Startup. He graduated from the Ryerson University School of Journalism with honors where he studied under senior reporters from The New York Times, BBC, and Toronto Star, and paid his way through uni as a jobbing advertising copywriter. In addition, Mark has been an external communications advisor for tech startups and scale-ups, supporting them from launch to successful exit. Success stories include SignRequest (acquired by Box), Zeigo (acquired by Schneider Electric), Prevero (acquired…