The specific QuickBooks version and edition you buy dictates how many users are allowed access to your business’ individual account. In other words, if you buy one license for QuickBooks Desktop, only one specific person at your company can access the app and file. The “Plus” subscription affords you certain benefits, including 24/7 support, automatic backups of your QuickBooks file, and yearly software upgrades. However, in most cases, it’s recommended that you purchase the software-only version. While this means you’d be subject to certain service discontinuations on a rolling three-year basis, you’d be saving money on the annual subscription.
The software must also have a mobile app to enable users to perform accounting tasks even when away from their laptops or desktops. The software must have features that allow users to set sales tax rates, apply them to invoices, and enable users to pay sales tax liability. The banking section of this case study focuses on cash management, bank reconciliation, and bank feed connections.
One-time vs. monthly purchases
This user review score helps us give more credit to software products that deliver a consistent service to their customers. Service or project-based businesses should choose accounting software that can track project costs, revenues, and profits. The software must have tools to track time, record billable hours or expenses, send invoices for progress billings, or monitor project progress and performance. While QuickBooks Online offers project management features, it doesn’t have the same level of customization options as QuickBooks Desktop. For instance, QuickBooks Desktop allows you to create customized job costing reports tailored to specialized industries, including manufacturers, contractors, and retailers. Both versions offer automatic syncing with your bank so you can categorize transactions.
- However, converting your data from one desktop solution to another can be a complex process.
- QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop operate on true double-entry accounting principles and have both accrual and cash-basis accounting.
- In both QuickBooks Online and Desktop, you can assign costs to your inventory items and track the quantities sold to calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS).
- In the past, customers could choose between annually renewing plans and single-purchase software with a license that stayed valid for three years.
Users can simply click on the Reports option to access reports in a variety of categories including Favorites, Business Overview, Expenses and Vendors, Employees, and Sales Tax reports, along with several others. All reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel for customizing, viewing on screen, printing, or emailing directly to recipients. Users can access features via the vertical menu to the left of the screen or by using the drop-down menu bar at the top, and the My Shortcuts option allows you to add a shortcut to frequently used features. If the default screen is too crowded for your taste, you can hide the vertical menu, only displaying it when you wish. You can easily access all QuickBooks Online features from the dashboard, where you’ll find a vertical menu bar to the left of the screen.
QuickBooks Online is more collaborative, whereas QuickBooks Desktop provides more tools for solo users
You can learn more in our guide to the industry-specific editions of QuickBooks Enterprise. If your business needs sales orders, QuickBooks Desktop is your only option. Although Intuit has talked about adding sales orders to QuickBooks Online, this feature is only available with QuickBooks Desktop products at this time. In the battle between QuickBooks Online versus Desktop, it’s best to focus on the differences between the two accounting software options since they are so similar.
However, it doesn’t compare with the more than 500 options offered by QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online offers integration with more than 500 third party apps in categories such as Payments, CRM, https://accountingcoaching.online/ Project Management, Payments, Payroll, Invoicing, Inventory, and Time Tracking. You can easily connect to any third-party app from within the application, saving you a ton of time in the process.
QuickBooks Online is accessible from any device with an internet connection, while QuickBooks Desktop is installed locally
However, QuickBooks Online is the better choice for most companies, especially those with remote accountants and multiple employees. QuickBooks Desktop is preferable for companies wanting to manage their books without an internet connection. It’s also the better option for businesses requiring complex inventory accounting features. Ease of use gets the highest weight in this case study because we want to give more credit to easy accounting software. For this section, we considered customer service, support network, and a subjective expert opinion score. Users must have easy access to customer service channels in case of problems, questions, or assistance.
Some commented that it’s easy to add vendors and customers and share files with their bookkeepers—and we couldn’t agree more. The cloud accessibility plus the user-friendly interface makes QuickBooks Online easier to use than QuickBooks Desktop. QuickBooks Online’s monthly subscription may be easier for some small businesses to fit into their financial situation. The good news is, whichever you purchase, accounting software counts as a tax-deductible expense. In addition, the Premier and Enterprise plans offer more than 150 reports, with industry-specific reporting options available. When working with the Desktop version, it’s downloaded right to your computer.
Before the launch of QuickBooks Desktop 2022, the QuickBook products were available as a one-time purchase. Now, Premier Plus and Enterprise packages are available on a subscription-basis only. If you’re a QuickBooks Online user who wants these Desktop features, many third-party apps offer them for an extra charge. The software itself may look like an outdated image on some monitor within a cubicle maze, but it’s versatile in what it can do. The dashboard does an excellent job dividing all accounting aspects into a flowchart type of view, while the sidebar provides quick access to a list of features. That said, it can feel overwhelming and confusing if you don’t have prior accounting knowledge.
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QuickBooks Desktop software is as an annual subscription that will auto-renew with your credit card on file, so there’s no service interruption. If you purchased Desktop software via retail, make sure to place your credit card on file for uninterrupted service. All QuickBooks Online plans include good reporting options, accrued vs. deferred revenue with the Advanced plan offering the most comprehensive reporting options, including key financial metrics such as revenue and cash flow. QuickBooks Desktop offers good integration options, integrating with more than 200 third party applications, making it one of the better integrated desktop application options.
It is worth noticing that an accounting firm can add their team members, and this does not impact the user limit because it happens from within the firm’s access. When it comes to user limits, the major difference between QBDT and QBO is in how access is granted to additional users. Fortunately, you can purchase access to additional license seats, which is a fancy term for additional users. When subscribing to a QuickBooks Online plan, you can elect to purchase add-on services and enhancements to better suit your needs, found at The software-only QBDT versions are fully functional and useful at the time you purchase them. However features present in editions older than three years are subject to planned obsolescence, removal, and discontinuation to “incentivize” you to purchase a new release.
Live Bookkeepers aren’t responsible for errors resulting from incorrect information that you provide, or if you re-open the books by overriding closure after a Live Bookkeeper completes the month-end closure. Keep in mind that if you do decide to have QuickBooks Desktop hosted, there will be an additional fee. As an added convenience, if you outgrow your current edition of QuickBooks Online, upgrade to a more powerful plan in minutes. QuickBooks Desktop’s user interface is very different from QuickBooks Online, offering navigation using a flowchart style menu.
Now that we’ve gone over the main differences in features, let’s see the cost of QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop. QuickBooks Online boasts a user-friendly, intuitive design, while QuickBooks Desktop looks quite antiquated and summons memories from the mid 2000s. To access QuickBooks Desktop, on the other hand, you need to use the PC where you have the software installed. Let’s see how these two platforms compare in features, pricing, and reviews to help you decide on QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop in 2023. Below you’ll find a QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop comparison chart showing the main differences between the platforms. The decision to use one QuickBooks version over another (QuickBooks Online vs Desktop) isn’t one that’s written in stone.