Odoo 19 vs QuickBooks
Let's start with the fact that changes everything: QuickBooks left France on December 31, 2023. Accounts were deactivated and data cut off. If you searched for this page, you're probably a former user, or an international team wondering whether the global version can be used in France. The detailed answer is below.
Why QuickBooks is no longer an option in France
Three facts, not opinions.
The exit from the French market
New subscriptions ended on January 18, 2023, the service shut down on December 31, 2023, data stayed viewable in read-only mode until March 31, 2024, and then accounts were deactivated. Intuit even confirmed that data from the French version could not be moved to the international version. A software vendor can pull out of a market: it has happened.
The international version isn't compliant
QuickBooks Online still exists elsewhere, and nothing technically stops you from using it. But there's no French chart of accounts (PCG), no FEC (the standard accounting file French tax auditors require), no CA3 (French VAT return), and no prospect of French e-invoicing: if you're audited, you carry the risk, not Intuit.
Invoicing alone is no longer enough
QuickBooks won people over with its simplicity: invoices, expenses, reconciliation. That narrow scope already meant juggling other tools for inventory, complex quotes or projects. France's e-invoicing reform puts an end to standalone, non-approved tools for good.
The technical verdict
A visual comparison of out-of-the-box capabilities, with no custom development or third-party modules.
Ease of getting started
Invoicing and expenses
French accounting compliance
2026 e-invoicing
Quotes and sales cycle
Inventory and purchasing
Projects and time tracking
Long-term presence in France
1. Invoicing, expenses and banking
QuickBooks' original core, judged on today's international version.
| Feature | QuickBooks | Odoo 19 |
|---|---|---|
| Creating invoicesFast and clean | Simple and pleasant to use, its biggest strength | Just as simple, and linked to quotes and orders |
| Invoices compliant with French lawBUILT-INMandatory details, numbering, VAT | International version not adapted to France | Compliant, with French mandatory details and numbering sequences |
| Expense trackingExpense reports, receipts | Receipt photos, automatic categorization | Expense reports with AI receipt scanning |
| Bank reconciliationMatch transactions | Connection to French banks not guaranteed, to be checked bank by bank | French banks synced, assisted matching |
| Online invoice paymentGet paid faster | QuickBooks Payments, not available in France | Stripe and European payment providers integrated |
| Automatic payment remindersChase unpaid invoices | Basic reminders | Automatic multi-level reminders |
| Multiple currenciesBill clients abroad | Available depending on the plan | Built in, automatic exchange rate differences |
2. Accounting and French compliance
The chapter that killed QuickBooks in France, and that rules out the global version.
| Feature | QuickBooks | Odoo 19 |
|---|---|---|
| French chart of accountsThe foundation of French accounting | US/UK-style chart of accounts | French PCG built in |
| Accounting entries fileThe FEC, for tax audits | No FEC export in the international version; the French version's export disappeared along with it | Compliant export built in |
| French VAT returnCA3, reverse charge, intra-EU | Generic VAT, no CA3 | CA3 generated and ready to file online |
| 2026 e-invoicingBUILT-INFactur-X, approved platform | Nothing planned for France | Odoo has been an approved e-invoicing platform (PA) since April 2026, certified by the DGFiP (French tax authority) |
| Financial statements and tax returnYear-end closing | US/UK-style financial statements | French financial statements, tax return filed through your accounting firm |
| Accountant accessYour firm works directly in it | Accountant portal, but unusable under French standards | Dedicated access included, FEC and standard exports |
| Legal archivingKeep records for ten years | French accounts already cut off once | Your data, your database, downloadable |
3. Quotes, sales and customer relationships
QuickBooks sends invoices. Selling is what happens before that.
| Feature | QuickBooks | Odoo 19 |
|---|---|---|
| QuotesPropose before you invoice | Simple quotes that convert into invoices | Structured quotes, options, online signature |
| Sales pipelineTrack deals | Customer records and quotes, but no opportunities or pipeline | Full CRM included |
| E-signatureClose deals without printing | DocuSign connector limited to the Advanced plan, in the US market | Sign app included |
| PricelistsPrices by customer | Per-customer price rules on the Plus and Advanced plans, but no multi-tier pricelists or quantity-based pricing | Pricelists, discounts, promotions |
| Customer portalSelf-service documents | Invoice viewing | Full portal: quotes, invoices, projects, tickets |
| SubscriptionsRecurring billing | Simple recurring invoices | Subscriptions built in, self-service customer portal |
4. Inventory, purchasing and beyond
The limits that were already driving French users away before the exit.
| Feature | QuickBooks | Odoo 19 |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory managementQuantities and valuation | Limited to the Plus and Advanced plans, with no multi-warehouse, lots or serial numbers | Full inventory: locations, lots, valuation |
| Purchase ordersStructure your purchasing | Basic purchase orders | Full purchasing, automatic replenishment |
| Projects and time trackingBill for your time | A real Projects feature on Plus and Advanced, but limited to cost tracking: no planning, milestones or workload | Projects, timesheets, invoicing on actual time spent |
| ManufacturingMake products | Out of scope | Full MRP included |
| Point of SaleTake payments in store | Discontinued on October 3, 2023, with Intuit sending its POS customers to Shopify | Point of Sale included |
| Website and e-commerceSell online | No website; QuickBooks Commerce was also discontinued in August 2023 | Website and online store included |
| French payrollPay the team | Never available in France | French payroll localization, or a connected accounting firm |
5. Longevity, data and ecosystem
What QuickBooks' French episode taught everyone.
| Feature | QuickBooks | Odoo 19 |
|---|---|---|
| Presence in the French marketA vendor that's there when you call | Gone since late 2023 | European software vendor, present and growing in France |
| Data portabilityBUILT-INLeave with everything | Partial CSV exports, and the French episode is still fresh in memory | Complete PostgreSQL database, downloadable |
| App ecosystemExtend the tool | Rich marketplace, but built for English-speaking markets | Apps included + community app store |
| Interface in FrenchFor the whole team | Interface can be translated into French, but with no French accounting localization and no French-language support | Fully in French, documentation included |
| SupportWhen you're stuck | International support, France not covered | Software vendor + French integrator |
| Choice of hostingLocked into their cloud, or not | Intuit cloud only | Odoo.sh, French hosting, or your own servers |
6. What it really costs
Comparing prices hardly makes sense for France anymore, but let's look at the real issue: the cost of replacing it.
Staying on international QuickBooks
What a French company that holds on to it actually pays.
- Subscription billed in dollars, not compliant in France
- French books to be redone in parallel, often by your accounting firm
- No FEC: exposed if you face a tax audit
- Shut out of mandatory e-invoicing
- The 2023 precedent: a market can be cut off at short notice
Odoo 19 Enterprise
QuickBooks' simplicity, plus compliance, plus a wider scope.
- Invoicing, expenses, banking: QuickBooks-level ease, fully compliant
- Complete French accounting, FEC, CA3, Factur-X included
- CRM, quotes, inventory, projects and website in the same subscription
- Your data in a database that belongs to you
- European software vendor, French integrator
Subscribe through a partner rather than directly
Hors du Commun, an Odoo integrator in Lyon, is an official Odoo partner. Going through us doesn't cost you more, and it gives you three things a direct subscription doesn't.
60-day trial instead of 15
We extend your test database ourselves, so you can put the tool through a real monthly cycle, month-end close included, instead of skimming through a demo.
3 to 10% off the license
On average, depending on your commitment. We know what to negotiate, and with whom at Odoo.
A free seat for your accountant
We work with accounting firms that are Odoo partners, or we negotiate access for your current firm.
Hors du Commun partner link.
Your questions, answered
Questions from former QuickBooks users, and from those still on the fence.
Intuit refocused on English-speaking markets and stopped selling in France at the end of 2023, at a time when the e-invoicing reform would have required heavy investment in compliance. French accounts were deactivated, with a read-only period until March 2024.
Nothing stops you from opening an account on an international version. But without a French chart of accounts, an FEC or e-invoicing, your books won't hold up with the tax authorities as they stand, and the burden of bringing them into compliance falls on your accounting firm. That setup ends up costing more than a proper compliant tool.
If you have CSV exports or backups from that time, we migrate them: customers, invoices, history. If nothing was exported before March 2024, we start again from the accounting documents and your accounting firm. Either way, this kind of data migration is familiar ground.
Creating an invoice, snapping a photo of an expense, reconciling the bank: the level of ease is comparable, AI included. The difference is that Odoo doesn't stop there: when you need signed quotes, inventory or projects, it will be an app to switch on, not another tool to buy.
For a freelancer who only needs to send invoices, simple tools are enough. For a business that handles quotes, inventory, projects or a team, Odoo offers the scope of an ERP at the price of an invoicing tool. That room to grow is what sets it apart from single-purpose replacements.
Documents and entries from past fiscal years must remain available for ten years. We can re-import your QuickBooks history into Odoo so it stays searchable, or archive it properly alongside. What matters is not leaving that history in scattered exports.
Pennylane is an excellent accounting production platform, designed around accounting firms. Odoo is a complete business management system in which accounting is one module out of thirty. If your needs stop at accounting, compare the two; if they include sales, inventory or projects, it's a different game altogether. See our Odoo vs Pennylane page.
Your invoices go out in Factur-X format through an approved platform, and supplier bills come in through the same channel and create their own journal entries. No extra tool, no new subscription: the same invoicing module applies the reform.
An invoicing and banking setup can be rebuilt in anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on how much history needs to be migrated. French accounting configuration is standard. The initial audit, credited toward the project, determines the exact cost.
We set up a trial database with your customers and a few typical invoices, and you run through your daily routine: invoicing, collecting payment, reconciling, sending reminders. The decision is based on hard evidence, and you keep the audit whatever you decide.
Let's talk about your project
Former QuickBooks user or international team in France: we rebuild your invoicing to French compliance standards and migrate whatever can be recovered from your history. The cost of the audit is credited toward the project.
Request an assessment