QuickBooks Online is Intuit’s hosted accounting service. It is sold as a subscription for each company, called a “company file” in the terms. US customers choose Simple Start, Essentials, Plus or Advanced, and the plan determines how many users and other objects the company may hold.[1][2] Intuit Enterprise Suite is Intuit’s multi-entity offering for larger businesses. It is bought through a Sales Order, and the Sales Order sets the users, entities and dimensions included.[4] Both are governed by the shared Section A platform terms and a product-specific Section B.
Editions
The four QuickBooks Online plans differ in features and in their usage limits. The US price page lists these monthly prices and limits.[3]
| Plan | List price (USD per month) | Billable users | Accountant firm users | Reports-only and time-only users | Classes and locations | Catalog SKU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Start | 38 | 1 | 2 | Not available | Not available | QuickBooks Online Simple Start |
| Essentials | 85 | 3 | 2 | Unlimited time-only; no reports-only | Not available | QuickBooks Online Essentials |
| Plus | 140 | 5 | 2 | Unlimited | 40 combined | QuickBooks Online Plus |
| Advanced | 340 | 25 | 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited | QuickBooks Online Advanced |
The user and object limits come from Intuit’s usage limits article, updated 2026-08-05. Simple Start, Essentials and Plus also cap the chart of accounts at 250 accounts, while Advanced has no cap. Custom fields run from 1 to 12 per transaction, depending on the plan.[2] The price page also shows introductory discounts. The catalog records the undiscounted list price.[3]
Intuit Enterprise Suite has no public price list. Its Section B describes multi-entity consolidation, custom dimensions and role-based access control. The number of dimensions “will be indicated in your Sales Order”.[4]
Metrics
QuickBooks Online uses three user metrics.
- Billable user. The usage limits article says that limits define “how many billable users, chart of accounts, classes, locations, and custom fields you can add”. Each plan has a fixed number of billable users.[2]
- Accountant firm user. These are listed as “Non-billable users”, with 2 on Simple Start, Essentials and Plus and 3 on Advanced. The price page calls them “Accountant seats”.[2][3]
- Reports-only or time-tracking-only user. Users limited to View company reports or Track time only do not count toward the user limit.[2]
Intuit Enterprise Suite counts Entitlements. The Sales Order “may include a set number of Users, Additional Entities, Dimensions and other fees that are charged on a monthly basis”.[4]
Counting / floors
Users in QuickBooks Online
The person who creates the account is the Administrator. The Administrator “may authorize additional users to access the applicable Services through the same account, subject to limitations based on the subscription you purchase”. Every Additional User must accept the Agreement, and the Administrator is responsible for their access.[1] An account created only for QuickBooks Money is limited to a single user.[1] Catalog proof: QuickBooks Online Administrator may add Additional Users up to the subscription limit.
Intuit’s counting rule is short: “Only active (or invited) users, accounts, classes, locations, and custom fields, count toward the limit in each category.” A pending invitation therefore uses a billable user just as an active one does, and deleting a user frees the place. Usage is shown per company under Settings, Account and settings, Usage, and customers with several companies “need to check usage for each one”.[2] Catalog proof: Only active or invited users count toward QuickBooks Online user limits; QuickBooks Online Plus includes 5 billable users and 2 accountant firm users.
Payroll can change the count. With both a payroll subscription and a QuickBooks Online subscription, the QuickBooks Online plan determines the limits. A payroll-only subscription has 5 billable users.[2] Catalog proof: Payroll-only subscriptions have 5 billable users; with QuickBooks Online the plan decides.
What happens above the limit
Section B s.3 allows Intuit to limit “chart of accounts, classes and locations (combined), system-generated fields, third party applications, and users” by subscription.[1] If a company exceeds them, Intuit “may immediately cancel or suspend your subscription” and access to data without notice, with no proration or refund. Intuit may keep the data read-only for up to 12 months.[1] A downgrade cannot complete until the company file is under the lower plan’s limits, and a cancelled subscription can be reactivated only within the plan’s limits.[1] In practice the product stops new users from being added at the limit. The help article lists two options: upgrade the plan, or reduce usage by deleting users or making accounts inactive.[2] Catalog proof: Exceeding QuickBooks usage limits allows immediate cancellation or suspension; A QuickBooks Online downgrade or reactivation requires being within the target plan limits.
Enterprise Suite Entitlements
When the Sales Order maximum is reached, “any additional Entitlements will incur an Additional Charge on a per-Entitlement basis at the rate specified in your Sales Order”. The charge is calculated on the number of Entitlements on the monthly billing day and billed the following month.[4] Removing Entitlements gives no refund of Additional Charges already paid. If the customer cancels before the end of the Contract Period, Additional Charges continue monthly until the period ends.[4] Intuit may also limit the number of Additional Users and “charge a per-user fee” for users beyond the Sales Order allowance. Linking Additional Entities beyond the Sales Order may incur additional fees.[4] Catalog proof: Intuit Enterprise Suite Entitlements above the Sales Order incur monthly Additional Charges; Intuit Enterprise Suite may charge a per-user fee above the Sales Order allowance.
Accountants and clients
Accounting firms work in QuickBooks Online through QuickBooks Online Accountant (QBOA) or Intuit Accountant Suite (IAS). These products let a firm “create and access new and existing QuickBooks Online and/or Intuit Enterprise Suite accounts” of its clients, and they include access to the ProAdvisor Program.[1] A firm must act on the client’s behalf and with written consent. It may “either purchase a separate subscription for each client … or be connected to a client’s existing subscription”, and the firm and client are jointly and severally liable for the client’s subscription fees.[1] Catalog proof: Accountants buy a separate subscription per client or connect to the client's own subscription.
For a licence manager, the firm’s own staff appear in each client company as accountant firm users. They do not consume the client’s billable users up to the 2 or 3 allowed.[2] A client subscription that the firm pays for belongs to that client’s company, not to the firm.
Virtualization & partitioning
Not applicable. QuickBooks Online and Enterprise Suite are hosted services counted by users and objects, not by machines. Section A forbids making the Platform available “on any file-sharing, virtual desktop or application hosting service”.[1] Catalog proof: No file-sharing, virtual desktop or application hosting of the Intuit Platform.
Cloud / BYOL
Both services run on Intuit’s platform, so there is no BYOL route. The QuickBooks Companion App is a desktop application that QuickBooks Online Advanced and QuickBooks Online Accountant users can download to access their QuickBooks Online data. It is governed by the same terms.[1]
Programs
- Subscription terms. Subscriptions renew automatically. A cancellation takes effect the day after the last day of the current period, and Intuit gives no refunds or credits for partial periods.[1] Annual subscribers receive a reminder with the current fee 30 to 60 days before the term ends, and price changes take effect at the start of the next period.[1] Catalog proof: Subscriptions renew automatically and cancellations take effect after the current period without refund; Annual subscription renewal notice 30 to 60 days ahead; price changes apply from the next period.
- Intuit Enterprise Suite Sales Order. By signing, the customer commits “to the minimum Contract Period set forth in your Sales Order”. Where the Sales Order conflicts with the QuickBooks Online or Mailchimp terms, the Sales Order takes precedence.[4]
- QuickBooks Online Accountant Revenue Share Program. Eligible QBOA and IAS firms receive a share of client subscription revenue. Each subscription in the program must be client-billed and “cannot be paid for by the IAS and QBOA accountant or firm”. For QuickBooks Online, Payroll and Time, payments run for 12 months after the free first month. The program does not include Enterprise Suite.[1]
- QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program. This is the accountant program referenced by QBOA and IAS. Either side may end enrolment on 30 days’ written notice.[5] Catalog proof: Either party may end QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program enrolment on 30 days notice.
- Test Drive, Sandbox and Demo Programs. These non-production environments “do not grant any rights with respect to any paid subscription”. They may not be used “for production, commercial, or revenue-generating purposes”, and their data may not be migrated into a paid subscription.[1] Catalog proof: QuickBooks sandbox and test drive environments may not be used for production.
Practical counting notes
The following points are commentary, drawn from the documents above.
- Count per company. Limits, plans and usage pages are all per company file, so each legal entity in QuickBooks Online needs its own plan and its own user count.[2]
- Separate users by role. Reports-only and time-tracking-only users are free on the plans that offer them, so assigning those roles to staff who only need reports or timesheets keeps them out of the billable count.
- Review pending invitations. Invited users count toward the limit until the invitation is removed.
- For Enterprise Suite, the Sales Order is the entitlement record. The public terms describe the mechanism but not the quantities or rates.[4]
Out of scope
- QuickBooks Online Free, Lite, Solopreneur and Ledger plans, which have their own limits.
- QuickBooks Payroll, Payments, Bill Pay, Time and other add-on services, which are sold separately within the same terms.
- QuickBooks Online outside the US, which uses country-specific terms.
- Intuit Enterprise Suite Sales Order quantities and rates, which are not public.