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QuickBooks Desktop, Compare QuickBooks Desktop to Online

Additionally, the desktop products are only available as annual subscriptions, making them a bigger commitment than QuickBooks Online. With four plans, robust features and a user-friendly interface, QuickBooks Online is the ideal choice for most small businesses. QuickBooks Desktop, on the other hand, is a good option for businesses that prefer desktop software, need its advanced inventory tracking and reporting tools, or are looking for an industry-specific solution. QuickBooks Online is cloud-based with monthly subscriptions, while QuickBooks Desktop is locally installed with one-time purchases. QuickBooks Online offers multi-user access and automatic updates, whereas QuickBooks Desktop allows for advanced customization and industry-specific versions.

Thanks to the cloud, you can also access QBO from the convenience of your smartphone or tablet. This means you can check in and manage your books from anywhere in the world, whether you’re relaxing on a beach in The Bahamas or enjoying a hot chocolate at a ski lodge. If your office computer is a Mac, you can still use QuickBooks Desktop on your Mac.

Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses

Most importantly, Plus will separate the cost of your ending inventory from COGS using first-in, first-out (FIFO). You’ll need to make this tedious calculation in a spreadsheet if you choose a lower-tier plan. Meanwhile, Essentials gives you access to more than 40 reports, including those you can generate in Simple Start. Its additional reports include accounts payable (A/P) and A/R aging, transaction lists by customer, expenses by vendor, uninvoiced charges, unpaid bills, and expenses by supplier summaries. You can drill down to a list of your outstanding invoices instead of only the total outstanding. QuickBooks Online is our overall best small business accounting software.

1. This means it’s “harder” to use because QBO is honestly more complicated than QuickBooks Desktop.
2. With QuickBooks Online you can easily link to your client’s bank accounts to automate the collection of bank transactions, statements, and receipts.
3. However, it doesn’t compare with the more than 500 options offered by QuickBooks Online.
4. QuickBooks Online Advanced now offers a fixed asset accounting feature that allows you to enter and track fixed assets, such as vehicles, buildings, and equipment.
5. QuickBooks Desktop requires a one-time upfront payment, making it more cost-effective in the long run for users who don’t require regular upgrades.
6. This feature is particularly useful if you sell and ship products out of your state.

To help narrow down the best plan for your business, answer a few short questions below. This will offer you a customized recommendation based on the responses you give. Afterward, continue reading our article for a more detailed comparison of the five QuickBooks Online plans. Small to midsize businesses that want a desktop solution or need advanced inventory and industry-specific features.

Optional QuickBooks Online add-ons

What used to be a huge bulk of QuickBooks business is no longer so—it focuses mostly on its cloud version and actively encourages users to make the switch from Desktop to Online. This may signal future abandonment of its Desktop version as more people move to the cloud. If you make the switch from Desktop to Online, you can import your data and access your original company file at any time. QuickBooks Online wins because it offers more professional-looking and customizable invoices than QuickBooks Desktop.

If you’re looking for more from your subscription—like productivity on the go, collaboration with your team, and access on multiple devices (PC, Mac, and mobile)—QuickBooks Online may work better for you. Because QBDT is a local install on your computer, you can access your file at any time. If the internet https://www.quick-bookkeeping.net/ goes out, you’re still able to view, edit, and otherwise work on your books. There’s never any requirement that you have internet connectivity after the initial download and install. When it comes to user limits, the major difference between QBDT and QBO is in how access is granted to additional users.

Receipt management

Subscription clients in QuickBooks Desktop 2023 (R1) or older versions will need to update to the latest 2023 (R3) version before their subscription expires. Similar to other cloud-based apps, QuickBooks Online allows for anytime/anywhere access to your books. The “Plus” subscription affords you certain benefits, including 24/7 support, automatic backups of your QuickBooks file, and yearly https://www.online-accounting.net/ 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. Four pricing plans for QuickBooks Online are available, ranging from $30 to $200/month (with an additional $45+/month for payroll).

A notable new feature is Spreadsheet Sync, which helps you generate consolidated reports across multiple entities easily. It is an advanced feature that lets you import and export data between QuickBooks and Microsoft Excel. You can easily generate custom reports in a single spreadsheet, create complex calculations, and use Excel’s built-in tools to work on your data. Once the data is finalized in Excel, you can easily post it back to QuickBooks Online Advanced. Plus allows you to assign classes and locations to your transactions, so you can see how your business performs across divisions, locations, rep areas, or any units that are relevant to your business.

It also has barcode scanning capabilities — business owners can download the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app and use their mobile device as a scanner. QuickBooks Desktop is more traditional accounting software that you download and install on your computer, while QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software you access through the internet. For the Desktop version, you pay an annual fee starting at $549.99 per year, and the cloud-based option starts at $15 per month.

I’ve also had some not-so-great experiences with QuickBooks’ support, but there are occasions when they manage to resolve things well—and that depends greatly on the assigned agent. If you’re a freelancer, stick with its Self-Employed plan, which is $15 per month 9after the three-month discount at $7.50). Features include mileage tracking, basic reporting, income and expense tracking, capture and organize receipts and estimation of quarterly taxes. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team. QuickBooks Desktop wins this head-to-head competition, with better reporting, industry-specific features, a better price structure, and more comprehensive features. However, if things like integration and cloud access are important to you, QuickBooks Online may be the way to go.

Each offers a detailed chart of accounts, journal entries, bank reconciliation, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and the basic reports needed to run a company. However, QuickBooks Desktop offers better reporting and supports more complex accounting. 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. We are driven by the Fit Small Business mission to provide you with the best answers to your small business questions—allowing you to choose the right accounting solution for your needs.

The software offers comprehensive features, unique touches (such as lead management and sales orders), industry-specific versions of the software, and the potential to be more secure. Many satisfied QuickBooks Online users appreciate that they can access the program from any internet-enabled device. 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 is a cloud-based software that can be accessed anywhere with an internet connection, while QuickBooks Desktop is on-premise—meaning it can only be accessed from the computer where it is installed. QuickBooks Online offers more features on the go and is a better https://www.kelleysbookkeeping.com/ overall value than QuickBooks Desktop. If you don’t need the advanced features offered by the Desktop plan, the Online version will save you money. QuickBooks Desktop is a good choice if you need specialized features such as inventory tracking or forecasting, and you don’t mind paying more for them. Clarify complexity with efficient inventory management and integrated payroll and time tracking.