QuickBooks Time vs Resource Guru vs Runn

QuickBooks Time

Monthly subscription with a flat base fee plus a per-active-user monthly fee, offered in two tiers (Premium and Elite); a QuickBooks Online subscription is required to use it. · From From 20 US dollars per month base fee plus 10 US dollars per user per month (Premium plan, current 2026 pricing)

Best for: Field service and hourly workforce businesses already using QuickBooks Online that need GPS time tracking and geofencing tied directly to payroll.

Resource Guru

Per-user monthly or annual subscription · From $5/user/month billed monthly, from $4.16/user/month billed annually

Best for: Agencies and studios that want a simple, affordable drag-and-drop calendar for booking people, equipment, and rooms without a steep learning curve.

Runn

Per-resource seat subscription, minimum 20 seats, monthly or annual billing, with a free trial · From $7 per resource per month (Lite plan)

Best for: Mid-sized professional services firms that need to combine visual resource scheduling with project budgets, billable rates, and revenue forecasting.

QuickBooks Time

Resource Guru

Runn

QuickBooks Time

Pros

• Native, tight integration with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll
• GPS and geofencing features well suited to field service and mobile workforces
• Scheduling and time tracking combined in a single product
• Overtime alerts help control unplanned labor costs
• Free admin license included on both pricing tiers
• Backed by Intuit's scale and long-term product investment since the 2018 acquisition

Cons

• Requires an active QuickBooks Online subscription to use, adding to total cost
• Per-user pricing increased in July 2026, raising ongoing costs for existing customers
• Elite tier's advanced project collaboration features come at a notable price premium
• Less useful as a standalone product outside the QuickBooks ecosystem
• Base fee plus per-user pricing can add up quickly for larger hourly workforces
• Feature parity with dedicated standalone scheduling tools varies by tier

Resource Guru

Pros

• Simple, purpose-built scheduling UI that's fast to learn
• Affordable per-user pricing with a generous free trial
• Handles people, equipment, and rooms in one calendar
• Strong clash and overbooking prevention
• Reduced pricing for non-human resources like equipment and rooms

Cons

• Not a full project management tool, no task boards or Gantt charts in the core product
• SSO and approval workflows are locked to the top Master tier
• Per-user pricing can add up for larger teams
• Reporting and analytics depth is lighter than dedicated PM or BI suites
• No native time-tracking beyond the Blackbelt-and-above timesheets

Runn

Pros

• Resource-seat pricing scales predictably with headcount rather than software logins
• Combines scheduling and financial forecasting in one visual tool instead of separate spreadsheets
• Free trial available without requiring a credit card
• Skills and tags make it easy to match the right person to the right project
• Remote-first company with a global customer base across 100-plus countries

Cons

• Seat-based pricing counts every planned resource, which can raise costs for larger teams even if they rarely log in
• 20-resource minimum makes it less economical for very small teams
• Timesheets, integrations, and API access are locked behind the higher Standard tier
• Company size is relatively small, which may mean slower feature velocity than larger competitors
• Primarily built for professional services scheduling, so it is less suited to general project management needs

QuickBooks Time

• Field service and mobile workforce time tracking — Field service companies use GPS-enabled clock-in and geofencing to accurately track hours for employees working across multiple job sites.
• Payroll-integrated hourly workforce management — Businesses already using QuickBooks Online and Payroll use QuickBooks Time to eliminate manual timesheet entry and streamline payroll runs.
• Project-based time and labor cost tracking — Project-driven businesses use the Elite tier's project time tracking to monitor labor costs and collaboration in real time against specific jobs.

Resource Guru

• Creative and marketing agencies — Schedule staff across multiple client projects and prevent double-booking.
• Engineering and architecture firms — Book specialists and shared equipment for project timelines.
• Professional services teams — Track capacity and utilization across consultants and billable staff.

Runn

• Agency resource scheduling — Creative and digital agencies use Runn to schedule billable staff across concurrent client projects and avoid overbooking.
• Consultancy capacity planning — Consulting firms use Runn to forecast bench time and billable utilization across teams and practice areas.
• Project financial forecasting — Finance and delivery teams use Runn's project financials to model budgets and forecasted revenue against planned hours.