N3 AI Accounting vs SQL Accounting:
AI-Powered Accounting With
Built-In Malaysian Compliance
N3 AI Accounting and SQL Accounting handle LHDN e-Invoice and SST compliance natively — Malaysian businesses are covered either way. The real difference is what's built around that compliance.
- Author: QNE Marketing
- Last Updated: August 2026
N3 AI Accounting vs SQL Accounting
| Features | N3 AI Accounting | SQL Accounting |
|---|---|---|
| Plan Overview | ||
| Pricing (entry → top tier) | Starts from RM62/month (Prime) up to RM500/month (Enterprise), annual billing, users included in the price. | Essential RM79/month, Pro RM109/month, plus RM60/month per additional user beyond the base allocation. |
| Storage & invoice limits | 100GB–300GB storage, scaling by tier. | Unlimited invoices, quotations, and storage on both Essential and Pro. |
| Deployment | Cloud-based SaaS only. | Local desktop, public cloud, or self-hosted private cloud — no lock-in contract. |
| Free trial | Confirm current N3 trial terms before publishing. | Free demo available (RM0), giving trial access to Essential and Pro features — not a usable free production tier. |
| AI Module | ||
| AI-powered assistant | Quinny AI Virtual CFO — bundled into every plan from Prime up, with credit allowances that scale from 800/mo to 20,000/mo by tier. | Not bundled into Essential or Pro pricing. SQL AI Easy Scan (AI-powered OCR) is offered as a separate add-on product. |
| Document/OCR capture | QuickScan OCR — 200 credits/month included on every plan from Prime up. | Available via SQL AI Easy Scan as a separate purchase; not itemized in Essential/Pro pricing. |
| Automated bank reconciliation | AI Auto-Bank Reconciliation, part of the General Ledger Module. | Bank Connection & Auto Bank Reconciliation included on both Essential and Pro — a genuine SQL strength included from its entry-level RM79/month plan. |
| Compliance Module: e-Invoice & SST | ||
| LHDN e-Invoice (Peppol) | Included in every plan, including entry-level Prime, running natively with no external party in the data path. | Included as a headline feature on both Essential and Pro — a genuine point of parity with N3, not a gap on SQL's side. |
| SST tracking & compliance | A standard SST feature on N3's plan comparison page; exact tier availability is being confirmed directly with QNE. | Listed as "SST Ready" and included on both Essential and Pro. |
| Core Accounting Modules | ||
| Sales & Purchase documents | End-to-end invoicing, credit/debit notes, quotations, sales and purchase orders, delivery/goods-receive notes. | Quotation, Invoice, Order, and Return documents included on both Essential and Pro. |
| Accounting reports | Financial, sales, purchase, customer, supplier, and inventory reports spread across every module. | Ledger, Trial Balance, P&L, and Balance Sheet included on both tiers; Advanced Sales & Purchase Reports (price history, yearly analysis, picking lists, outstanding lists) are Pro-only. |
| Templates, batch email & WhatsApp | Not itemized as a standalone feature on N3's pricing page. | Customisable templates and batch emails/WhatsApp included on both Essential and Pro. |
| Data backup & security | Not itemized as a standalone feature on N3's pricing page. | Full backup data and advanced security lock included on both Essential and Pro — a genuine, clearly published feature N3 doesn't itemize. |
| Inventory & Multi-Currency | ||
| Inventory management | A full Inventory Module — stock in/out, negative stock control, adjustments, costing methods, and stock bundling. | Inventory tracking (stock card, month-end balance, adjustments, aging, physical worksheet) is a Pro-only feature — not available on Essential. |
| Multi-currency accounting | Add-on on Prime/Essential; included from Professional tier up. | Multiple currencies is a Pro-only feature — not available on Essential. |
| Customer/vendor credit risk checking | Not a published feature on N3's pricing page. | Full CTOS credit reports — a genuine Pro-only feature N3 doesn't offer. |
| Support | ||
| Phone & training support | Phone/priority support included from Growth tier up; Qbot AI Support and email/live chat included on every plan from Prime. | 1 year of phone support and monthly training included on both Essential and Pro — a lower entry point than N3's Growth-tier gate for phone support. |
N3 AI Accounting vs SQL Accounting Comparison Overview
N3 AI Accounting and SQL Accounting both serve Malaysian businesses with native LHDN e-Invoice and SST compliance, and both price and bill in Ringgit — on compliance and currency, Malaysian businesses are well served either way, so that's not where this comparison is decided. Where the two platforms genuinely diverge is AI: N3 is built AI-first, with intelligent bookkeeping bundled into every plan, while SQL Accounting treats AI as a separate, optional add-on layered on top of a traditional accounting core. Below, we break down plans, pricing, and features to help you decide which fits your business.
N3 AI Accounting Overview
N3 AI Accounting starts from the same place SQL Accounting does — full LHDN e-Invoice and SST compliance built for the Malaysian market — but takes it further by making AI a core part of the product rather than an optional extra. Quinny AI and AI QuickScan document capture are bundled directly into the subscription, with credit allowances that scale as the business grows. Its plans also include a set number of users per tier rather than charging per additional seat. It's trusted by more than 75,000 Malaysian businesses and rated 4.7/5 on Google.
Overall features
Want to learn more about QNE’s Peppol capabilities? Read about QNE as a Peppol Malaysia Solution Provider.
- Quinny AI and AI QuickScan OCR document capture, bundled into every plan from Prime up
- A standard SST tracking, forms and reports feature
- User counts included in the plan price, from 2 users (Prime) up to 10 (Enterprise), with no per-seat add-on fee within that allocation
- Inventory, Project, and Multi-Location modules built into the plan structure at higher tiers
SQL Accounting Overview
SQL Accounting is a long-established Malaysian accounting platform, used by more than 320,000 companies across South East Asia according to SQL's own published figures. SQL Account Cloud runs on a simple two-tier structure — Essential at RM79/month and Pro at RM109/month — with LHDN E-Invoice and SST compliance included as a headline feature on both. SQL also offers flexible deployment: local desktop, public cloud, or a self-hosted private cloud, with no lock-in contract. Additional users beyond the plan's base allocation cost RM60/month each, and SQL markets a 10-year price guarantee.
Plans & pricing
- Free Demo (RM0) — trial access to Essential and Pro features
- Essential (RM79/month) — sales & purchase documents, accounting reports, bank connection and auto reconciliation, unlimited invoices/quotations/storage, LHDN e-Invoice & SST compliance, 1 year phone support and monthly training
- Pro (RM109/month) — everything in Essential, plus inventory tracking, multiple currencies, advanced sales & purchase reports, unlimited user-defined fields, and full CTOS credit reports
- RM60/month per additional user on either plan; exact included user baseline not stated on SQL's pricing page — confirm before publishing a specific per-seat total
How N3 AI Accounting can help your business differently
Compliance is table stakes — AI is where the two platforms actually differ
Both N3 AI Accounting and SQL Accounting support LHDN e-Invoice and SST compliance. The key difference is how AI is included. N3 AI Accounting bundles Quinny AI and AI QuickScan into its subscription, with credits that scale by plan. SQL Accounting AI Easy Scan is offered as a separate add-on rather than being included in its Essential or Pro plans.
User pricing that doesn't add up per seat
SQL charges RM60/month for each additional user beyond its base allocation. N3's plans include a set number of users in the price — for example, 3 users on Essential (RM100/month) — so a small team's total cost is predictable without stacking per-seat fees.
A broader native module set at scale
N3 AI Accounting's Inventory, Project, and Multi-Location modules are part of the core plan structure as a business grows, alongside AI-assisted workflows that aren't part of SQL Accounting's published feature set.
Local Support
Onboarding and support come from a Malaysian team, with priority and phone support included from Growth tier up.
Use Cases: Which fits your Business?
Business that wants AI-assisted bookkeeping bundled into its subscription
Better Fit: N3 AI Accounting
Why: Quinny AI and AI QuickScan tools are included in the plan price; SQL's AI Easy Scan is a separate product to purchase on top of Essential or Pro.
Small team of 2–3 users on a budget
Better Fit: N3 AI Accounting
Why: N3 AI Accounting's Essential plan includes 3 users at RM100/month flat. SQL Accounting's per-additional-user fee (RM60/month each) means a 3-user team could cost meaningfully more on SQL Essential — worth confirming SQL's exact included-user baseline before quoting a total.
Business that wants to check customer or vendor credit risk before extending trade terms
Better Fit: SQL Accounting
Why: Full CTOS credit reports are a genuine Pro-tier feature N3 AI Accounting doesn't offer — useful for businesses that extend credit and want to vet counterparties.
Growing SME that wants inventory, multi-location, and project tracking as native modules
Better Fit: N3 AI Accounting
Why: N3 AI Accounting's Inventory, Project, and Multi-Location modules are built into its plan structure at the mid-to-upper tiers, alongside AI-assisted workflows SQL Accounting doesn't publish.
Business that wants full control over where its data is hosted
Better Fit: SQL Accounting
Why: SQL Accounting's local desktop, public cloud, and self-hosted private cloud options give data-control flexibility that N3 AI Accounting, as a pure SaaS platform, doesn't offer.
See N3 AI Accounting vs SQL Accounting Books in Action
Watch how N3 AI Accounting pairs AI-assisted bookkeeping with native e-Invoice and SST compliance in one plan — compliance you'd get either way, plus AI that SQL Accounting sells as a separate add-on.
N3 AI Accounting vs SQL Accounting
Seamless migration from SQL Accounting to N3 AI Accounting
Switching from SQL Accounting doesn't mean starting from zero. N3 AI Accounting's implementation team can help map exported SQL data into N3's chart of accounts and module structure during onboarding.
- Export your chart of accounts, contacts, and transaction history from SQL Accounting before switching, so they can be mapped into N3 AI Accounting's structure.
- If you're using SQL Accounting's inventory or multi-currency features, confirm how that historical data maps into N3 AI Accounting's equivalent modules during setup.
- Plan for a short transition window where both systems may run in parallel while the migrated data is verified.
N3 AI Accounting supports onboarding from existing systems, including importing data from Excel or other accounting software, as part of client setup
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What makes N3 AI Accounting different from SQL Accounting?
N3 AI Accounting combines AI-powered accounting and Malaysian compliance in one platform. Quinny AI and AI QuickScan are included in N3 AI Accounting’s subscription plans, while SQL AI Easy Scan is offered separately from its core accounting plans.
Is AI included in N3 AI Accounting plans?
Yes. N3 AI Accounting includes Quinny AI and AI QuickScan in its subscription plans, with AI credit allowances that vary by plan. Businesses can use AI-assisted accounting without purchasing a separate AI add-on.
Does N3 AI Accounting support LHDN e-Invoice and SST?
Yes. N3 AI Accounting supports Malaysian LHDN e-Invoice and SST requirements, making it suitable for businesses that need accounting and local compliance capabilities in one platform.
Does N3 AI Accounting charge per user?
N3 AI Accounting includes a set number of users in each plan. For example, the Essential plan includes 3 users plus 1 Accountant at RM100/month when billed annually. This makes user costs more predictable compared with platforms that charge separately for additional users.
Can N3 AI Accounting handle inventory and multi-location operations?
Yes. N3 AI Accounting offers Inventory, Project, and Multi-Location modules at higher plan tiers. This allows growing businesses to add operational capabilities as their needs expand.
Can I migrate from SQL Accounting to N3 AI Accounting?
Yes. Businesses moving from SQL Accounting can export relevant accounting data and work with the N3 implementation team to map it into N3 AI Accounting’s chart of accounts and modules. Migration requirements should be confirmed with the implementation team based on the data and modules being transferred.
Is N3 AI Accounting cloud-based?
Yes. N3 AI Accounting is a cloud-based accounting platform, allowing businesses to access their accounting system online without maintaining their own accounting software infrastructure.
Who should choose N3 AI Accounting over SQL Accounting?
N3 AI Accounting is a strong fit for Malaysian businesses that want AI-assisted bookkeeping, built-in LHDN compliance, included user seats, and scalable modules in one cloud-based platform. SQL Accounting may be a better fit for businesses that prioritize self-hosted deployment, unlimited storage, CTOS credit reports, or included phone support.
