I am an entrepreneur and I opened a small business 4 months ago. I don't have employees or any staff yet... can I start with the Self employed Plan and later maybe upgrade for the Essential?

Hi there LaBombaLatina,

Congrats on opening your small business! That's an exciting step and I'm happy that you chose QuickBooks to help you with your books. QuickBooks Self-Employed is a great solution for tracking your self-employed business-related transactions, while QuickBooks Online is a slightly different product that has a few extra features. Let me help you decide which will be the best fit for you starting out, and how you can upgrade.

Start off by checking out this article for more information on QuickBooks Self-Employed. It defines self-employment and gives an overview of what you can do with our Self-Employed product:

• QuickBooks Self-Employed Overview

If it seems that this program will work for you, that's fantastic! But let's say your business starts to grow in the coming months or years. You may need a more robust accounting software that will provide you with some additional tools and features better suited to your business' needs. Luckily, switching from Self-Employed to one of our QuickBooks Online offerings is straightforward. Refer to the article below for all of the information you'll need to make the switch:

• Switch from QuickBooks Self-Employed to QuickBooks Online

It's important to note that once you've moved from Self-Employed to QuickBooks Online, you won't be able to switch back. However, I'm confident that with all of the extra features, QuickBooks Online will meet your needs. Here's another great resource that will help you Get started with QuickBooks Online.

Don't hesitate to reach out again if you have follow-up questions. I'm here to help!