Is Records ERP a QuickBooks alternative?

For a manufacturer or distributor, yes. QuickBooks is accounting software: invoices, bills and the books. Records ERP does those and also runs the operation — production runs with recipes, stock across godowns and depots with transfers, two units for one product, cost that follows the goods — in one system, so the factory is not left in a spreadsheet.

What does QuickBooks do better than Records ERP?

Bank feeds, a payroll ecosystem, and an accountant in every town who already knows it. If your business is services, or retail with no production and one location, QuickBooks is the simpler choice and we would tell you so on the phone.

What about KRA and eTIMS?

eTIMS is about the invoice, not the return — an electronic tax invoice has to reach KRA when it is issued, which is why “your accountant files” was never really an answer to this question. Records ERP does not transmit to eTIMS yet, so today you issue through whatever eTIMS route you already use and keep the business's own records here. Integration is being built and it is first on the roadmap. QuickBooks does not transmit either: in Kenya that is done with a paid third-party add-on bought separately.

KRA now wants stock records too. Does that change the comparison?

It sharpens it. The electronic tax invoice rules require a business to keep stock-in and stock-out records in the system — goods arriving by purchase, and goods leaving by sale, transfer, return or adjustment — and KRA has said stock functionality is coming to eTIMS. Those five things are what a movement ledger is, and Records ERP has kept one from the first day. An accounting package cannot produce a stock ledger it was never keeping. What applies to your particular business is a question for your own accountant.

Can I move from QuickBooks to Records ERP?

Yes. Export customers, suppliers, products and open balances from QuickBooks, bring them in from a spreadsheet, correct anything the screen highlights, and start — and if it goes wrong, the whole import undoes in one action. Your accountant still gets a trial balance, a balance sheet and a profit and loss, built from the same records.

Records ERP vs QuickBooks

QuickBooks keeps the books. Who keeps the factory?

We build one of the two systems on this page, so read it knowing that. What we have tried to do is make every line true of both products as they stand today — including the lines where QuickBooks wins, which are left in the middle of the table rather than tidied to the bottom.

Two people working at a laptop in a factory office, carbon-copy books and a rubber stamp on the desk, the production floor visible through the window behind them

One of these is in a spreadsheet.

QuickBooks is good accounting software and was built for the desk in the foreground. It has never heard of a production run, so the business on the other side of that window ends up in Excel — and month end becomes the job of making the two agree.

Records ERP was built alongside manufacturers and distributors in Kenya to be one set of records for both sides of the glass.

Where QuickBooks is better.

Bank feeds

Transactions pulled straight from the bank, in the countries it supports. We do not do this, and you would notice.

Payroll

Through add-ons in some markets. In Records, salaries are an expense you record.

Everybody knows it

An accountant in every town has used it. That is worth real money at handover, and we know it.

Buy QuickBooks instead if —

You do not make anything, and you sell from one place
Your accountant lives in it, and that is not going to change
Bank feeds would save you more time than a stock ledger would

It is cheaper for that business and it is well understood. We would rather tell you now than three months into a migration.

Side by side, for manufacturers and distributors.

You need	QuickBooks	Records ERP
Invoices, receipts, customer statements	Yes — this is what it is for.	Yes. Plus one link that opens the customer’s own statement on their phone.
Purchases, suppliers, bills, part-payments	Yes.	Yes, and the delivery becomes stock at the price you actually paid.
Profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, VAT summary	Yes.	Yes — from the same invoices, payments and stock movements. A figure on the trial balance opens into the ledger behind it.
Production runs and recipes (bills of materials)	No. Not in QuickBooks Online.	Yes. What went in, what came out, what each unit cost.
Correct a price you paid three months ago	Corrects the bill. The stock and the cost of what you already sold do not follow.	Follows the goods — through the production run, across transfers, into the cost of goods already sold.
Stock in a godown and a depot or two, with transfers	One stock figure per item, on the higher plans.	Per store, transfers between them, and a ledger of every movement.
Two units for one product — buy by the kilo, sell by the sack	No. One unit per item.	Yes, and the conversion holds in stock, in cost and in every report.
Selling stock the count says you do not have	Blocks the sale, or lets the figure quietly go wrong.	The sale goes through and the shortfall waits for somebody to confirm it — or the store goes negative, in red, if you switch that on.
A rep selling out on the road	A mobile app for invoicing. Nothing for stock on a van or a rep’s credit.	Invoices and payments from the phone they already have, and you see who sold what.
Ask a question in plain words and get a figure	No.	Yes — it answers from your own records and shows the table it counted.
Bank feeds	Yes, in the countries it supports.	Not today — you record the payment.
M-Pesa	Through third-party add-ons.	Not yet. A payment method you record; integration is on the roadmap.
Payroll	Through add-ons in some markets.	Not today — salaries are an expense you record.
Transmitting invoices to KRA (eTIMS)	Not built in. In Kenya it is done with a paid third-party add-on.	Not yet either, and it is the first thing on the roadmap.
Runs on a phone	A mobile app, for part of it.	The whole system installs to an Android phone or a Windows laptop as an app.
Taking your data out	Exports, report by report.	Everything as a spreadsheet, or all of it in one file, whenever you like.
Who you are actually buying from	A reseller. Intuit has no office in Kenya, and support is the global tier.	Us, in Nairobi. Within 5 hours, usually on WhatsApp.

Invoices, receipts, customer statements: QuickBooks · Yes — this is what it is for.Records · Yes. Plus one link that opens the customer’s own statement on their phone.
Purchases, suppliers, bills, part-payments: QuickBooks · Yes.Records · Yes, and the delivery becomes stock at the price you actually paid.
Profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, VAT summary: QuickBooks · Yes.Records · Yes — from the same invoices, payments and stock movements. A figure on the trial balance opens into the ledger behind it.
Production runs and recipes (bills of materials): QuickBooks · No. Not in QuickBooks Online.Records · Yes. What went in, what came out, what each unit cost.
Correct a price you paid three months ago: QuickBooks · Corrects the bill. The stock and the cost of what you already sold do not follow.Records · Follows the goods — through the production run, across transfers, into the cost of goods already sold.
Stock in a godown and a depot or two, with transfers: QuickBooks · One stock figure per item, on the higher plans.Records · Per store, transfers between them, and a ledger of every movement.
Two units for one product — buy by the kilo, sell by the sack: QuickBooks · No. One unit per item.Records · Yes, and the conversion holds in stock, in cost and in every report.
Selling stock the count says you do not have: QuickBooks · Blocks the sale, or lets the figure quietly go wrong.Records · The sale goes through and the shortfall waits for somebody to confirm it — or the store goes negative, in red, if you switch that on.
A rep selling out on the road: QuickBooks · A mobile app for invoicing. Nothing for stock on a van or a rep’s credit.Records · Invoices and payments from the phone they already have, and you see who sold what.
Ask a question in plain words and get a figure: QuickBooks · No.Records · Yes — it answers from your own records and shows the table it counted.
Bank feeds: QuickBooks · Yes, in the countries it supports.Records · Not today — you record the payment.
M-Pesa: QuickBooks · Through third-party add-ons.Records · Not yet. A payment method you record; integration is on the roadmap.
Payroll: QuickBooks · Through add-ons in some markets.Records · Not today — salaries are an expense you record.
Transmitting invoices to KRA (eTIMS): QuickBooks · Not built in. In Kenya it is done with a paid third-party add-on.Records · Not yet either, and it is the first thing on the roadmap.
Runs on a phone: QuickBooks · A mobile app, for part of it.Records · The whole system installs to an Android phone or a Windows laptop as an app.
Taking your data out: QuickBooks · Exports, report by report.Records · Everything as a spreadsheet, or all of it in one file, whenever you like.
Who you are actually buying from: QuickBooks · A reseller. Intuit has no office in Kenya, and support is the global tier.Records · Us, in Nairobi. Within 5 hours, usually on WhatsApp.

What switching actually looks like.

The fear is a migration that eats a quarter. This one is a spreadsheet, an afternoon, and a number you already know the answer to.

Export from QuickBooks
Customers, suppliers, products, and what each of them owed or was owed on your changeover date.
Bring it in
Upload the spreadsheet, look at your own rows on screen, fix anything highlighted. If it goes wrong, the whole import undoes in one action.
Check the trial balance
Against the one QuickBooks already gives you. If those two agree, you have moved.

Questions people ask before switching.

Is Records ERP a QuickBooks alternative?: For a manufacturer or distributor, yes. QuickBooks is accounting software: invoices, bills and the books. Records ERP does those and also runs the operation — production runs with recipes, stock across godowns and depots with transfers, two units for one product, cost that follows the goods — in one system, so the factory is not left in a spreadsheet.
What does QuickBooks do better than Records ERP?: Bank feeds, a payroll ecosystem, and an accountant in every town who already knows it. If your business is services, or retail with no production and one location, QuickBooks is the simpler choice and we would tell you so on the phone.
What about KRA and eTIMS?: eTIMS is about the invoice, not the return — an electronic tax invoice has to reach KRA when it is issued, which is why “your accountant files” was never really an answer to this question. Records ERP does not transmit to eTIMS yet, so today you issue through whatever eTIMS route you already use and keep the business's own records here. Integration is being built and it is first on the roadmap. QuickBooks does not transmit either: in Kenya that is done with a paid third-party add-on bought separately.
KRA now wants stock records too. Does that change the comparison?: It sharpens it. The electronic tax invoice rules require a business to keep stock-in and stock-out records in the system — goods arriving by purchase, and goods leaving by sale, transfer, return or adjustment — and KRA has said stock functionality is coming to eTIMS. Those five things are what a movement ledger is, and Records ERP has kept one from the first day. An accounting package cannot produce a stock ledger it was never keeping. What applies to your particular business is a question for your own accountant.
Can I move from QuickBooks to Records ERP?: Yes. Export customers, suppliers, products and open balances from QuickBooks, bring them in from a spreadsheet, correct anything the screen highlights, and start — and if it goes wrong, the whole import undoes in one action. Your accountant still gets a trial balance, a balance sheet and a profit and loss, built from the same records.

What is being built next — eTIMS and M-Pesa among it — is on the roadmap.

Bring your QuickBooks data and try one product.

Then check the trial balance against the one you already have. That is the only test that settles it.

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