Should I Build It Should I Build It
19 Apr 2025
Fintech Accounting

A modern alternative to Quickbooks. Modern bookkeeping / accounting ...

...solution for businesses

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space with your modern bookkeeping/accounting solution, as evidenced by the 27 similar products we found. This puts you firmly in what we call the "Swamp" category, characterized by numerous mediocre solutions that struggle to gain traction. The low average comment count of 3 across these similar products suggests low engagement, meaning it's hard to capture user attention. While the absence of net positive buy/use signals isn't inherently negative (most products don't get explicit feedback), it highlights the challenge of differentiating your product in a market already saturated with options. The discussions from similar product launches reveal common pain points like deployment complexity, lack of tax support, and feature gaps compared to established solutions like Quickbooks. To succeed, you'll need to offer something fundamentally different and solve problems that current solutions aren't addressing. Otherwise, you may save yourself energy and move on to a better opportunity.

Recommendations

  1. Given the crowded market and existing criticisms, start by deeply researching why existing "modern" solutions haven't truly disrupted incumbents like QuickBooks. Don't just assume you know the answer; conduct thorough user interviews and competitive analysis. Focus on identifying unmet needs or underserved segments within the accounting software market. For example, analyze why so many users seem to struggle with deployment, taxes, and integrations across the listed competitors.
  2. Instead of directly competing with QuickBooks head-on, consider focusing on a specific niche or type of business that is poorly served by existing solutions. Are there specific industries (e.g., startups, freelancers, e-commerce businesses) with unique accounting needs? Are there specific user personas (e.g., non-technical business owners) that need a simpler, more intuitive solution? Niche down as much as possible.
  3. Explore the possibility of building tools or integrations that enhance existing accounting platforms rather than replacing them. For example, develop a plugin for QuickBooks that automates a specific task or provides advanced reporting capabilities. This approach allows you to leverage the existing user base of established solutions and validate your value proposition before committing to a full-fledged product.
  4. Before investing significant resources in building a new accounting solution, consider tackling an adjacent problem that is closely related but potentially more promising. For example, could you build a tool that helps businesses optimize their cash flow, manage their invoices, or automate their expense reporting? These problems often tie into accounting but may have less competition.
  5. Given the comments highlighting the need for a simpler solution for non-technical users, invest heavily in user experience (UX) design. Conduct usability testing throughout the development process to ensure that your product is intuitive and easy to use, even for users with no prior accounting knowledge. Focus on clear, concise language and avoid technical jargon.
  6. Address the common criticism of complexity by prioritizing ease of deployment and integration. Offer a cloud-based solution that requires minimal setup and maintenance. Provide clear, comprehensive documentation and tutorials to guide users through the onboarding process. Consider offering personalized support to help users get started.
  7. Based on the discussion around open-source alternatives, decide whether you will make your solution open source. If so, consider the implications of licensing (e.g., AGPL) and the need to encourage community contributions. If not, clearly differentiate your product from open-source options by highlighting its ease of use, features, and support.

Questions

  1. Given the saturation in the accounting software market, what is your specific plan to acquire users beyond just building a better product? How will you stand out and attract customers in a cost-effective way, especially considering the low engagement seen in similar product launches?
  2. Many similar products face criticism related to deployment complexity, tax support, and feature gaps compared to QuickBooks. How have you validated that your solution adequately addresses these pain points for your target niche, and what specific features or integrations will you offer to overcome these challenges?
  3. Considering the importance of user adoption and credibility in the accounting software space, how will you establish trust with potential customers and financial institutions? What certifications, security measures, or partnerships will you pursue to build confidence in your solution?

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space with your modern bookkeeping/accounting solution, as evidenced by the 27 similar products we found. This puts you firmly in what we call the "Swamp" category, characterized by numerous mediocre solutions that struggle to gain traction. The low average comment count of 3 across these similar products suggests low engagement, meaning it's hard to capture user attention. While the absence of net positive buy/use signals isn't inherently negative (most products don't get explicit feedback), it highlights the challenge of differentiating your product in a market already saturated with options. The discussions from similar product launches reveal common pain points like deployment complexity, lack of tax support, and feature gaps compared to established solutions like Quickbooks. To succeed, you'll need to offer something fundamentally different and solve problems that current solutions aren't addressing. Otherwise, you may save yourself energy and move on to a better opportunity.

Recommendations

  1. Given the crowded market and existing criticisms, start by deeply researching why existing "modern" solutions haven't truly disrupted incumbents like QuickBooks. Don't just assume you know the answer; conduct thorough user interviews and competitive analysis. Focus on identifying unmet needs or underserved segments within the accounting software market. For example, analyze why so many users seem to struggle with deployment, taxes, and integrations across the listed competitors.
  2. Instead of directly competing with QuickBooks head-on, consider focusing on a specific niche or type of business that is poorly served by existing solutions. Are there specific industries (e.g., startups, freelancers, e-commerce businesses) with unique accounting needs? Are there specific user personas (e.g., non-technical business owners) that need a simpler, more intuitive solution? Niche down as much as possible.
  3. Explore the possibility of building tools or integrations that enhance existing accounting platforms rather than replacing them. For example, develop a plugin for QuickBooks that automates a specific task or provides advanced reporting capabilities. This approach allows you to leverage the existing user base of established solutions and validate your value proposition before committing to a full-fledged product.
  4. Before investing significant resources in building a new accounting solution, consider tackling an adjacent problem that is closely related but potentially more promising. For example, could you build a tool that helps businesses optimize their cash flow, manage their invoices, or automate their expense reporting? These problems often tie into accounting but may have less competition.
  5. Given the comments highlighting the need for a simpler solution for non-technical users, invest heavily in user experience (UX) design. Conduct usability testing throughout the development process to ensure that your product is intuitive and easy to use, even for users with no prior accounting knowledge. Focus on clear, concise language and avoid technical jargon.
  6. Address the common criticism of complexity by prioritizing ease of deployment and integration. Offer a cloud-based solution that requires minimal setup and maintenance. Provide clear, comprehensive documentation and tutorials to guide users through the onboarding process. Consider offering personalized support to help users get started.
  7. Based on the discussion around open-source alternatives, decide whether you will make your solution open source. If so, consider the implications of licensing (e.g., AGPL) and the need to encourage community contributions. If not, clearly differentiate your product from open-source options by highlighting its ease of use, features, and support.

Questions

  1. Given the saturation in the accounting software market, what is your specific plan to acquire users beyond just building a better product? How will you stand out and attract customers in a cost-effective way, especially considering the low engagement seen in similar product launches?
  2. Many similar products face criticism related to deployment complexity, tax support, and feature gaps compared to QuickBooks. How have you validated that your solution adequately addresses these pain points for your target niche, and what specific features or integrations will you offer to overcome these challenges?
  3. Considering the importance of user adoption and credibility in the accounting software space, how will you establish trust with potential customers and financial institutions? What certifications, security measures, or partnerships will you pursue to build confidence in your solution?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 27
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 3
  • Net use signal: 1.6%
    • Positive use signal: 14.3%
    • Negative use signal: 12.8%
  • Net buy signal: -7.3%
    • Positive buy signal: 1.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 8.3%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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