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Inventory · head to head

Quartzy vs QuickBooks Enterprise

Quartzy logo

Quartzy

Inventory

Lab inventory and ordering software funded by the supply marketplace attached to it

From
$50/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks Enterprise logo

QuickBooks Enterprise

Inventory

Advanced inventory for QuickBooks users

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Quartzy the vendor earns margin on supplies bought through its own Shop, so the recommended purchasing path is not necessarily the cheapest one for a university that already holds negotiated supplier contracts.; QuickBooks Enterprise quickBooks Desktop Enterprise is capped at 1-30 users per company file; Silver, Gold and Platinum are sold as annual subscriptions, not perpetual licenses, and auto-renew until cancelled (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • They diverge on capability: Quartzy covers Inventory tracking, QuickBooks Enterprise covers Advanced inventory.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Quartzy and QuickBooks Enterprise actually diverge.

Attributes where Quartzy and QuickBooks Enterprise differ
AttributeQuartzyQuickBooks Enterprise
Starting price$50/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer month by user tiersubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidDesktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows
FoundedUnknown1983

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Inventory).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Quartzy

  • Inventory tracking
  • Request and approval
  • Quartzy Shop
  • Order tracking
  • Spend reporting
  • Barcode scanning
  • PunchOut
  • Vendor catalogues

Only in QuickBooks Enterprise

  • Advanced inventory
  • FIFO costing
  • Serial/lot tracking
  • Multi-location
  • QuickBooks ecosystem
  • Fishbowl
  • TSheets
  • Method CRM

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Quartzy

  • An academic lab of three postdocs replacing a shared freezer spreadsheet that nobody updates after a reagent runs outnot QuickBooks Enterprise
  • A small biotech that wants requests approved by a lab manager before any money is committednot QuickBooks Enterprise
  • A principal investigator tracking consumable spend against separate grant codes for reportingnot QuickBooks Enterprise
  • A growing company standardising ordering across two lab sites so duplicate reagent purchases stopnot QuickBooks Enterprise

QuickBooks Enterprise

  • Advanced inventory trackingnot Quartzy
  • Cost accountingnot Quartzy
  • Multi-location managementnot Quartzy
  • Lot trackingnot Quartzy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Quartzy

  • The vendor earns margin on supplies bought through its own Shop, so the recommended purchasing path is not necessarily the cheapest one for a university that already holds negotiated supplier contracts.
  • Seat limits are tight, at three users on Academia and five on Industry, and exceeding them pushes you into a quoted Enterprise contract rather than a predictable per seat increment.
  • It is not a LIMS: there is no sample workflow, instrument integration, electronic lab notebook or 21 CFR Part 11 audit trail, so a lab moving toward regulated work will need a second system.
  • Prices are billed annually, so the USD 250 Industry plan is a USD 3,000 upfront commitment for a five-person team, which is significant for an early-stage company.
  • Supplier catalogue coverage and pricing accuracy vary by region, and labs outside the United States frequently find their usual distributors missing or their contract pricing not reflected.

QuickBooks Enterprise

  • QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is capped at 1-30 users per company file; Silver, Gold and Platinum are sold as annual subscriptions, not perpetual licenses, and auto-renew until cancelled (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • Filing taxes in more than one state costs an additional $12/month per extra state on top of the base subscription (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • Introductory discounts (10 percent off for 1-4 users, 40 percent off for 5-30 users) apply only to the first year; the account is automatically charged the full then-current subscription fee from year two onward until the customer cancels (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)

Pricing, plan by plan

Quartzy

$50/month
  • Academia$50/month
    • Billed annually
    • Up to 3 users
    • Inventory tracking and request workflow
  • Industry$250/month
    • Billed annually
    • Up to 5 users
    • Everything in Academia
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Quoted pricing
    • Unlimited users
    • PunchOut integration with institutional procurement

QuickBooks Enterprise

On request
  • Gold$199/month
    • Core features
    • Up to 5 users
    • Standard support
  • Platinum$299/month
    • Advanced inventory
    • Up to 10 users
    • Priority support
  • Diamond$449/month
    • Full features
    • Up to 40 users
    • Premium support

Which should you pick?

Choose Quartzy if

  • You need inventory tracking.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want request and approval.
Quartzy review

Choose QuickBooks Enterprise if

  • You need advanced inventory.
  • You work on Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows.
  • You also want fifo costing.
QuickBooks Enterprise review

Questions people ask

Is Quartzy or QuickBooks Enterprise better?
Neither clearly leads. Quartzy starts at $50/month and QuickBooks Enterprise at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Quartzy or QuickBooks Enterprise?
Quartzy starts at $50/month and QuickBooks Enterprise at On request.
Does Quartzy or QuickBooks Enterprise run on more platforms?
Quartzy runs on Web, iOS, Android. QuickBooks Enterprise runs on Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows.
What is Quartzy best used for?
Quartzy is most often used for an academic lab of three postdocs replacing a shared freezer spreadsheet that nobody updates after a reagent runs out, a small biotech that wants requests approved by a lab manager before any money is committed, a principal investigator tracking consumable spend against separate grant codes for reporting, a growing company standardising ordering across two lab sites so duplicate reagent purchases stop. Of those, an academic lab of three postdocs replacing a shared freezer spreadsheet that nobody updates after a reagent runs out and a small biotech that wants requests approved by a lab manager before any money is committed are not what QuickBooks Enterprise is typically brought in for.
What can Quartzy do that QuickBooks Enterprise cannot?
Quartzy covers Inventory tracking, Request and approval, Quartzy Shop, Order tracking. QuickBooks Enterprise covers Advanced inventory, FIFO costing, Serial/lot tracking, Multi-location.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Quartzy: How much does Quartzy cost?

USD 50 per month billed annually for up to three users on Academia, USD 250 per month for up to five users on Industry, and quoted pricing for unlimited users on Enterprise.

Quartzy: Do I have to buy supplies through Quartzy?

No, you can record orders placed elsewhere. But the Shop is how Quartzy earns beyond the subscription, and supplier credits are tied to it.

Quartzy: Is Quartzy a LIMS?

No. It handles inventory and purchasing. It does not do sample workflow, instrument data or regulated electronic records.

Quartzy: What happens when we exceed the user limit?

You move to Enterprise, which is quoted rather than listed, so budget for a step change rather than an extra seat charge.

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