LiveFlow vs. QuickBooks Spreadsheet Sync
If you’re looking for a tool to pull your data from QuickBooks Online into a spreadsheet for more straightforward data analysis and dashboard building, you have many options.
Data connectors are a dime a dozen these days, and anyone with API access can spin one up in a few weeks, so it’s crucial to make the right choice.
To capitalize on this competitive market, QuickBooks rolled out its own data connector, Spreadsheet Sync, which you can access with QuickBooks Online Advanced pricing tier.
So, why would you choose another option, like LiveFlow, when the QuickBooks Online platform already has a spreadsheet data connector natively integrated?
This article will examine Spreadsheet Sync's key features and compare them to a true FP&A platform like LiveFlow.
Let’s get to it.
Overview: QuickBooks Spreadsheet Sync
Before comparing both platforms, you should understand what QuickBooks Spreadsheet Sync does.
As previously mentioned, Spreadsheet Sync is a data connector created by QuickBooks' developer Intuit for native integration between Quickbooks Online and Microsoft Excel.
As various data connectors, like G-Accon or Coefficient, have emerged over the years, QuickBooks maker Intuit decided to roll out a native connector to allow their users to sync QuickBooks Online data with Microsoft Excel for easier data slicing, reporting, and consolidation of multiple entities.
Essentially, Spreadsheet Sync does just that: it links your QuickBooks Online data with Excel and allows you to pull various reports from their database into your spreadsheet. This allows you to visualize numbers for clients or stakeholders, create shareable dashboards, or consolidate multiple entities.
Also, Spreadsheet Sync is bi-directional, meaning you can upload data from your spreadsheet to your QuickBooks Online account. This can be especially helpful when bulk importing invoices or altering customer data at a batch scale.
Overview: LiveFlow
Like Spreadsheet Sync, LiveFlow also connects your QuickBooks Online data to a spreadsheet.
However, LiveFlow is much more than a data connector. It is a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) platform built from the ground up to speed up reporting workflows and empower financial professionals to create live, impactful reports in minutes.
LiveFlow integrates QuickBooks Online data with both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel and has over 100 pre-built spreadsheet templates that are wholly customizable for your unique use case, including profit & loss, cash flow, and forecasting reports.
Because LiveFlow was built with financial professionals in mind, the platform allows for fast and accurate consolidation of multi-entity financials. It even allows for the consolidation of multiple currencies in under three minutes.
Now that you know the basics about both platforms, let’s compare the two on a case-by-case basis.
Integration Capabilities
Spreadsheet Sync only connects your data to Microsoft Excel. If you use Google Sheets for easy sharing, you must manually export data with Spreadsheet Sync, which is no better than the native QuickBooks workflow without Spreadsheet Sync.
On the other hand, LiveFlow connects to both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel, allowing for natural reporting flexibility. If you run an Excel-only shop, you can still create reports lightning-fast and share them with clients who may be outside the Microsoft ecosystem.
🏆 Winner: LiveFlow
Customization
One major downside with Spreadsheet Sync is that the dashboards it automatically creates are not flexible.
Say you create an accounts payable report from one of their baked-in templates but want to add a column that breaks down how overdue an invoice is.
For one, you can’t create formulas within their dashboard; the formatting rules seem to override this. Worse, any custom formatting or additional columns or rows you add will be erased when the dashboard updates.
With LiveFlow, customizable dashboards are a built-in feature of the platform. This means you can add columns, rows, images, and conditional formatting that stick around when you update your dashboard. It just works like magic.
🏆 Winner: LiveFlow
Consolidation
Spreadsheet Sync can be limited when consolidating multiple entities and currencies, depending on the data you’re working with. Simply put, it lacks the flexibility to select and map accounts if their names don't perfectly match across different entities.
Imagine trying to consolidate your financials across multiple subsidiaries or franchises, but you're stuck unless every account name is an exact mirror image— a scenario about as common as a unicorn.
LiveFlow, however, lets you map accounts easily, no matter how varied the account names are. You just tick off the accounts that need to be consolidated, regardless of their naming differences. This isn’t just convenient; it's a game-changer. It’s a big part of why our average customer saves 25 hours monthly on their consolidated reporting.
🏆 Winner: LiveFlow
Customer Support
QuickBooks Online is a great platform, but due to its size and sheer number of customers, its customer service may need to improve, especially for the QuickBooks Online power user or financial professional.
You only need to do a quick Google search for “QuickBooks customer service reviews” to see that on Trustpilot and Consumer Affairs, they average a 1-star rating from customers who review their experience with QuickBooks customer service.
Among the QuickBooks users, the main complaints are outsourced customer service staff who cannot troubleshoot complicated issues or glitches quickly.
That couldn’t be further from the case at LiveFlow, where our Customer Support Team is all in-house and has financial backgrounds. Our median time for customer response is under 2 minutes, and you get access to our Slack for around-the-clock support.
Do you need more convincing? Take a minute to review a couple of our glowing reviews on G2 from satisfied customers.
🏆 Winner: LiveFlow
LiveFlow Key Features
As you can see, LiveFlow is a more robust platform for financial planning and analysis than Spreadsheet Sync, but here’s a final run down of LiveFlow’s key features.
- Real-Time Updates: Reliable, live updates of your QuickBooks Online reports once synced with LiveFlow, ensuring your data is always current.
- Effortless Consolidation: Consolidate multi-entity business reports in less than three minutes, a game-changer for businesses with complex structures.
- Drill Down: You can drill down into every transaction for the context you need, all without logging into QuickBooks Online.
- Customizable Templates: Access over 100+ prebuilt financial templates, tailor your reporting to meet your specific needs, and save time to focus on more critical tasks.
- Uncompromised Security: Rest easy knowing that your data is protected with SOC-2 standard security, keeping your financial information safe and sound.
- Dedicated Customer Success Team: Our dedicated Customer Success Team ensures your onboarding is as smooth as possible, guiding you every step of the way.
Verdict
The choice is simple: If you’re just looking for a data connector to sync QuickBooks Online data to and from Microsoft Excel, QuickBooks Spreadsheet Sync would be the option for you.
However, suppose you’re an enterprising financial professional who wants a partner and platform to level up your reporting, turbocharge your consolidation workflow, or help you share live, impactful reporting with your clients. In that case, LiveFlow is the best choice, full stop.
Don’t take our word for it; we have dozens of case studies for you to check out, and we would be happy to give you a walkthrough of the platform so you can see what value LiveFlow can bring to your business.
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