But there are some general guidelines to know which version might be the one for your business (and your budget). In comparison with QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online is cloud-based, cheaper, easier to use, supports more integrations, and is unlikely to be discontinued by QuickBooks. Our complete QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop comparison covers key differences, pricing, features, and usability, so you can easily decide whether QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop is right for your business. If you invoke the guarantee, QuickBooks will conduct a full n evaluation of the Live Bookkeeper’s work. QuickBooks Desktop offers more than 100 standard reports that can be customized as needed.
- Rachel Barnett has been a QuickBooks user since 1995, eventually earning QuickBooks ProAdvisor status.
- Those interested in trying out QuickBooks Online can access a free 30-day demo with sample data that allows you to easily explore system features and functions without spending a lot of time entering data.
- Ironic, then, that choosing a QuickBooks product can be difficult, if not downright confusing.
Also budget for integrated add-on third-party apps, including AP automation software. Julie is a dynamic professional with over 16 years of rich experience as a VDI and Application Hosting expert. On the weekend, you will find her hanging out with her family or surfing around the North Shore of Oahu. Yes, you can convert your QuickBooks Online data to QuickBooks Desktop using Intuit’s conversion tools. It’s important to note that the process may not transfer all data and features, so thorough preparation and backup are advised before switching. In conclusion, the choice between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop comes down to individual business needs.
However, a major pitfall is that previous QBO files cannot be restored like with QBDT files. One workaround for this is to purchase a subscription to your own backup and restore software. In addition to your initial QuickBooks Desktop purchase, you can opt to purchase additional add-ons, found at desktop.apps.com.
What QuickBooks Desktop offers
Intuit often offers discounts and incentives for purchasing it for set blocks of time, though for the purposes of this article, I’m only covering its full regular price. Hosting your QBDT file on the cloud is available for all editions of QuickBooks Desktop and is available through a variety https://accountingcoaching.online/ of providers. For the most part, QuickBooks Desktop offers similar features as QuickBooks Online. How features differ between QBDT and QBO tend to be in looks, functionality, and comprehensiveness. If your office computer is a Mac, you can still use QuickBooks Desktop on your Mac.
You can also integrate QuickBooks Online with Zapier, which lets you connect QuickBooks to thousands of other apps in your business’s tech stack. You can do things like automatically add customers to or create receipts in QuickBooks when payments happen in other apps, or track new QuickBooks invoices or payments in another app. Here are a few pre-made workflows to show you what’s possible, but you can use Zapier to connect QuickBooks to almost any app you use. All you need is your account information, and you can access your QuickBooks details on any device with an internet connection. Businesses with inventory items should choose accounting software that can track inventory costs, manage cost of goods sold (COGS), and monitor inventory units. On the flip side, some complained that QuickBooks Online can’t manage multiple companies in a single account and that it lacks assembly management features.
While you should strive to avoid multiple and consistent back-and-forths, your choice of QuickBooks version isn’t written in stone. The first — and probably most significant — difference refers to how you actually access QuickBooks. The licensing agreement specifies when and how you are able to use the software, as well as who is allowed capitalized costs: basic definitions access to it. The four remaining editions of QBO include Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. Each edition varies in terms of its available features and functionality, with Advanced providing the fullest feature set. Though there is a Mac version of QuickBooks Desktop, it’s not as well liked as the Windows version.
QuickBooks Online pros and cons
QuickBooks Desktop is like the traditional superhero – reliable, strong, and has been saving the day for years. You can use either QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop, but not both. You can, however, switch your business’s account from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online without losing your data. Learn more about the time tracking capabilities in our full review of QuickBooks Time. QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Pro Plus and Premier are no longer sold, although unsold copies may still be available at authorized vendors for a limited time.
If you made a one-time software purchase of QuickBooks Desktop, support for the 2021 edition will end in May 2024. For 2020 copies, support ends in May 2023, and for 2019 copies support has already ended, according to QuickBooks. As you consider whether QuickBooks Desktop vs. QuickBooks Online is better for your accounting needs, keep in mind that QuickBooks Online is the more recent, up-to-date, and constantly evolving product. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop share the same basic functionality of organizing your accounting processes and automating much of the manual data entry work. It has faster load times and quicker response rates, all while requiring minimal local processing power.
And if you manage your business from multiple locations, you’ll want QuickBooks Online over Desktop. Only QuickBooks Online includes free access to a comprehensive version of the QuickBooks mobile accounting app, which is one of the best apps in the accounting sphere. 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.
While people may assume that QuickBooks Online is simply the cloud version of QuickBooks Desktop, in reality, the two products are very different. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page.
In addition to third-party integrations, QuickBooks Online integrates with native products, such as QuickBooks Payments, QuickBooks Payroll, and QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets). QuickBooks Desktop can be integrated with QuickBooks Desktop Payroll and QuickBooks Time. Additionally, all versions of QuickBooks Desktop allow you to set up cost estimates for projects and then compare them to actual expenses.
QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are two solid accounting products from Intuit. While both software types have plenty of perks, QuickBooks Online is a more flexible, affordable, and scalable option for most small-business owners. QuickBooks Desktop doesn’t offer the same multi-user accessibility, but it does have a more comprehensive assortment of features that provide an in-depth view of your accounting operations. QuickBooks Desktop offers more advanced inventory management features, job costing worksheets, sales orders, and highly customizable reports.
Make a seamless switch to QuickBooks Online
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). QuickBooks Online and Desktop share many similarities, including income and expense tracking, bank reconciliation, accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R) management, and reporting. We consider them tied in terms of features, as they are both robust accounting software, and they have their own strengths and weaknesses. QuickBooks Online has a cheaper monthly cost and is more affordable if you have a lot of employees who will be using the software. QuickBooks Desktop Pro may be cheaper if you do not need additional users or add-ons such as payroll.
QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Pros & Cons
For instance, if you choose the Simple Start plan, you’re the only person who can use the software—apart from your accountant, with whom you can share your business’s account at no additional cost. We also don’t recommend QuickBooks Desktop to Mac users, since there’s just one desktop-based plan for Mac users. This plan, QuickBooks Desktop for Mac, has the same features as QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, the most basic desktop-based plan. In other words, Mac users can’t scale up their software from one plan to the next as they add software users. It’s important to note that QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online are two separate products, and data in the two versions do not automatically sync.
Pro Plus and Premier Plus limit customer service hours to just 12 hours a day, weekdays only. QuickBooks Self-Employed is a QuickBooks Online product for contractors and freelancers, specifically for those who do not have separate business and personal financial accounts. It starts at $30 a month and includes basic features only, such as mileage tracking and invoicing. However, if you’re not a Mac user, you can choose from all three QuickBooks Desktop plans.
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But based on the tech industry’s growing emphasis on cloud storage over local storage, it’s hard to imagine that downloadable programs like QuickBooks Desktop will still be relevant a decade down the road. For many small-business owners, most of the time, QuickBooks Online works better than QuickBooks Desktop. It’s more affordable, easier to share with your accountant or other financial stakeholders, and offers better invoicing than its locally installed counterpart. In contrast, QuickBooks Desktop’s interface was built with accountants in mind. Instead of showing clear images of your cash balance, outstanding invoices, and upcoming bills like the QuickBooks Online dash, the desktop version’s dash is a flowing series of connected folders and files. Unless you’re an accountant, the learning curve will likely be a little higher for you than it would with QuickBooks Online.