Guides · Comparisons
QuickBooks progress invoicing vs FullBoat
Mike Demo, Founder · 21 October 2026
QuickBooks Online can bill a contract in stages. FullBoat watches the contract itself, line by line, and runs on top of QuickBooks rather than replacing it. Here is what each does, and when QuickBooks on its own is enough.
What QuickBooks Online does well
- Projects. On QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced, you can group a client's estimates, invoices and costs under a project.
- Progress invoicing. You turn an estimate into invoices in stages, by a percentage or an amount on each line, and QuickBooks keeps track of what has been billed against the estimate.
- Change orders on Advanced. QuickBooks Online Advanced adds a change order you create from the project estimate and send for approval. On other plans, the usual approach is to revise the estimate itself.
Where it stops
- The contract is an estimate. QuickBooks tracks the money billed against it. It does not read the signed contract, so a total that does not match its own lines goes unnoticed until someone bills it.
- Billing past the total takes a revision. A progress invoice can only add what is left of the estimate, so going over means revising the estimate with the client first.
- No warning before a line runs out. You see what has been billed when you look. Nothing tells the delivery lead the day a line crosses, say, 75 percent of its value.
- One client at a time. Seeing every contract's position side by side, with what is left on each line, means building a report or a spreadsheet.
What FullBoat adds
| QuickBooks Online | FullBoat on top of QuickBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the contract lives | An estimate in your books | The contract itself, read into line items, which you review |
| Before signing | Not checked | The stated total is checked against the lines |
| Billed against each line | Yes, through progress invoicing | Yes, from the invoices already in your books |
| Warning before a line runs out | No built in alert | At the percentage you choose, to the people you choose |
| Change orders | Native on Advanced; revised estimates elsewhere | Raise or lower a line, add one, or move the end date, with the history kept |
| Every contract in one view | Through reports you build | Consumed, remaining and receivable for every contract, rolled up by client |
| Overdue invoice follow up | Scheduled reminder emails | Retriever, which reads replies (see Retriever vs QuickBooks reminders) |
| Changes to your books | It is your books | None. FullBoat is read only and never writes back |
When QuickBooks on its own is enough
If you run a handful of fixed fee jobs, one person does the billing, and scope rarely changes, progress invoicing covers it. FullBoat earns its place when there are many contracts with many lines, when the people delivering the work are not the people billing it, or when change orders keep arriving late.
Common questions
Does FullBoat replace QuickBooks? No. It reads your QuickBooks data and never writes back. Invoices are still created and sent in QuickBooks.
Does it work with QuickBooks Desktop? Yes, by report export and import rather than a live connection.
What if we also use Zoho Books or Sage Intacct? FullBoat runs on both, read only, the same way.
QuickBooks details from Intuit's help pages on Projects and progress invoicing, checked October 2026. Plans and features change, so check your own QuickBooks plan.