If you're a small to mid-sized business using QuickBooks Online (QBO), chances are you've experienced its ease of use for accounting—but maybe not so much for budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting. You're not alone. While QBO is a powerful cloud-based accounting platform, its native FP&A (financial planning & analysis) capabilities are limited, especially as your company scales.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the best budgeting software for QuickBooks Online in 2025. We’ll break down the top three FP&A tools—Limelight, Jirav, and Cube—evaluating their features, pricing, usability, and integration with QBO. As someone who has spent 30+ years working with finance teams to improve planning processes, I’ll also walk you through the signs that it’s time to move on from Excel, and what to look for in a QBO-integrated FP&A solution.
QuickBooks Online is a market leader in cloud accounting, used by over 7 million businesses globally. Its intuitive UI and essential financial tools make it a go-to solution for bookkeeping, invoicing, and payroll. But when it comes to creating budgets, building forecasts, or delivering real-time financial reports, QBO falls short.
That’s why so many finance teams export their data into spreadsheets. Unfortunately, that workaround quickly becomes a nightmare.
According to MarketWatch, 88% of spreadsheets contain errors—and when your budgets and forecasts are built in Excel, that’s a big problem. Here's why Excel doesn’t scale with you:
If you’re using QBO + Excel for budgeting and forecasting, you’re operating in reactive mode. The good news? You can automate and streamline all of this with FP&A software built for QBO.
Here are the red flags that it’s time to upgrade from Excel to FP&A software:
You’ve had a material error in a report or budget due to broken formulas or copy-paste mistakes.
Reports are consistently delayed to the board, lenders, or investors.
You don’t forecast because there’s simply no time.
You recreate the same reports every month or quarter manually.
You have to hire contractors or consultants to build models due to a lack of bandwidth
If any of these sound familiar, it's time to consider a QBO-compatible FP&A solution.
When choosing the right budgeting and forecasting software for QuickBooks Online, prioritize:
Now, let’s dive into the best FP&A tools for QBO users.
Limelight is a powerful FP&A platform designed to eliminate the need for spreadsheets and integrate seamlessly with QuickBooks Online. With a modern interface, automation baked in, and unlimited users included, Limelight is a top pick for growing finance teams.
Key Features:
Finance teams with multiple users, ready to ditch spreadsheets, forecast with confidence, and scale their processes.
Jirav offers a flexible, driver-based planning solution with a strong visual dashboard experience. It’s particularly useful for companies that want features tied to operational forecasts.
Operations-heavy teams that require headcount and workforce planning alongside traditional budgeting.
Cube is great for teams who still love Excel but want modern FP&A tools. It connects your spreadsheets to a centralized database, enabling real-time updates.
Key Features:
Excel power users looking for a hybrid approach.
The finance function has evolved. Reporting delays, formula errors, and static plans are no longer acceptable. Your team needs agility, accuracy, and automation—and that starts with adopting budgeting software built for QuickBooks Online.
Limelight stands out as the most cost-effective, scalable, and easy-to-use FP&A platform for QBO users. With unlimited users, quick deployment, and proven results across hundreds of customers, it’s time to say goodbye to spreadsheets for good.
Book a personalized demo of Limelight now and discover how modern FP&A can transform your business.