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Redline vs QuickBooks Online: the jobs, not the books.

These aren't the same kind of software. QuickBooks Online is accounting: bank feeds, bills, taxes and reports. Redline is chat-first field service software for the work before the money hits the bank: leads, quotes, the calendar, and on Solo, invoices and card payments. Redline doesn't do bookkeeping and doesn't sync with QuickBooks. If you have QuickBooks, keep it.

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The short version

Redline covers the part of the week QuickBooks never sees: the call from a new customer, the estimate visit on Thursday, the quote that went quiet, the tech who needs tomorrow's address. Free handles that by chat for $0. Solo at $29 a month adds invoices, card pay links on your own Stripe account, expenses filed against jobs and profit per job after materials. Reports has an Export for QuickBooks button that saves a CSV file, plus a plain CSV. That's a file you hand over, not a live connection.

QuickBooks Online is accounting software from Intuit for small businesses of every type, contractors included. It does customizable estimates (including estimates with a deposit customers can pay online), digital invoices with online payment, mileage tracking, receipt capture, bank feeds, bills, reports and 1099 preparation and filing. Project profitability, which tracks labor costs, payroll and expenses per project, starts on its Plus plan. Its plans step up by bookkeeping features and user counts, not by field workflow.

QuickBooks' pricing page lists Simple Start at $38 a month, Essentials at $85 a month, Plus at $140 a month and Advanced at $340 a month. Solopreneur, for self-employed sole proprietors, is listed at $20 a month or $215 a year. Payroll and payment processing are priced separately. There's a 30-day free trial, and QuickBooks runs discounts for the first months when you buy without the trial.

Month end, before the bookkeeper calls

What did I collect this month, and what's overdue?

Collected $18,450 this month, net of refunds. Overdue: $2,310 on 2 invoices, Donnelly (deck rebuild balance, $1,640, 19 days) and Varga (storm door install, $670, 9 days). Expenses filed this month: $4,120.

Where do I get the file for my bookkeeper?

Money, then Reports, then Export for QuickBooks. It saves a CSV file. Redline doesn't sync with QuickBooks, so send the file over each month.

Money and reports are on Solo and up. The QuickBooks export is a CSV file, not a sync.

Redline and QuickBooks Online, side by side

	Redline	QuickBooks Online
How you use it	Chat first. You message it ("invoice Sullivan for the roof job") and it updates contacts, jobs, the calendar and invoices, asking you to confirm before it changes customer records. Web and iPhone.	Accounting software: bank feeds, bills, reports and invoices from QuickBooks' screens and mobile app.
Free plan	Yes. $0 with no end date: AI chat, contacts, pipeline, calendar, scheduling assistant, Quick-Sort and a Pro Page. 1 seat and 4,000 AI credits that don't refill.	No free plan. 30-day free trial.
Starting price	Solo at $29 a month, or $23 a month billed yearly. 7-day free trial on the web.	Solopreneur at $20 a month, or Simple Start at $38 a month, per its pricing page.
Seats	Free and Solo: 1. Team ($129 a month): 3. Team+ ($299 a month): 10, plus extra seats at $29 each.	Capped by plan. Its pricing lists Essentials with up to 3 users and Plus with 5 users plus 2 accountants.
Quotes	Itemized quotes by chat, including from a site photo, with an optional deposit %. Good, better and best options and tax are in the Quote composer (Solo and up). Saved as drafts; you email the customer from your own Gmail. No quote link, online approval or e-sign today.	Customizable estimates, including estimates with a deposit customers can pay online.
Invoicing and payments	Solo and up. Branded card pay links on your own Stripe account, no Redline fee on top. Card only, US dollars. Overdue flags at day 3, 7 and 14.	Digital invoices with online payment. Payment processing is priced separately.
Scheduling	Every plan. Suggests up to 3 open slots, groups visits in the same town, sets up repeating visits with one save. No calendar sync, no online booking.	See their site. Its plans are built around bookkeeping, not a job calendar.
Dispatch	Team and up. Dispatch board, tech app, assign jobs by chat, crew chat. Techs tap their status; there's no GPS.	See their site.
What QuickBooks Online has that Redline doesn't	Not in Redline today.	Real bookkeeping: bank feeds, bills, 1099 preparation and filing, accountant access, mileage tracking, project profitability with labor and payroll costs (Plus and up).
What Redline has that QuickBooks Online doesn't	A Free plan. A job pipeline, a calendar with a scheduling assistant, and crew dispatch on Team, all run by chat.	No free plan. Plans are separated by bookkeeping features rather than field work.

QuickBooks Online details come from QuickBooks Online's own website, checked October 2026. Plans and prices change, so confirm on their site before you decide.

Who should pick which

For a lot of shops the honest answer is both: QuickBooks for the books, something else for the jobs.

Pick QuickBooks Online if

You need real books: bank reconciliation, bills, sales tax and year-end
You pay subs and need 1099s prepared and filed
Your accountant already works in it
You want job costing that includes labor and payroll (Plus)
You log truck mileage for taxes

Pick Redline (next to QuickBooks) if

Leads, quotes and the schedule live in your head or a notebook right now
You want to run the field side from your phone by message
You want customers paying by card from a link, then a file for your bookkeeper
You're fine with a monthly CSV export instead of a sync
You're adding a helper and need a dispatch board (Team)

Questions contractors ask

Does Redline sync with QuickBooks?

No. On Solo and up, Money, then Reports has Export for QuickBooks, which saves a CSV file, and a plain CSV export. Nothing moves between the two on its own. If a live sync is a must, Redline isn't the right tool for that part.

Can Redline replace QuickBooks?

No. Redline has no bank feeds, bills, payroll, tax filing or chart of accounts. Its Reports show profit, collected, spent and booked-not-banked for the month, quarter or year, and profit per job after materials. Labor isn't tracked. See expenses and reports.

Can I invoice in Redline and keep my books in QuickBooks?

Yes, that's the setup Redline fits. Invoice by chat ("invoice Donnelly for the deck balance"), the customer pays by card on your own Stripe account, and you export the month for your bookkeeper. Card only, US dollars.

What does it cost to try?

Redline's Free plan has no end date and covers the chat, contacts, pipeline, calendar and quotes. Invoicing is on Solo at $29 a month with a 7-day free trial on the web. For other options, see QuickBooks Online alternatives.

Keep your books where they are.

Start Redline Free for the leads, quotes and calendar. Your bookkeeper doesn't have to change a thing.