Compare QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop
We meticulously and objectively assess each software based on a fixed set of criteria—including pricing, features, ease of use, and customer support—in our internal case study. Clarify complexity with efficient inventory management and integrated payroll and time tracking. Plus, with access for up to 40 users, Enterprise can scale with your business as it grows. QuickBooks Online offers more features on the go and is a better 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 what is an accrual inventory tracking or forecasting, and you don’t mind paying more for them.
You can download a 30-day trial version of QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise only—both the Premier Plus and Pro Plus plans come with a 60-day money-back guarantee, but no free trial. Alternatively, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial with QuickBooks Online. Just know that doing so waives your option to get 50% off your QuickBooks Online subscription for your first three months. QuickBooks Online has been part of the Intuit accounting software family for a few decades now. Since QuickBooks Online is browser-based, not desktop-based, you can log on to your Quickbooks Online account from any web-enabled device with a sturdy internet connection.
Which Is Best For My Business?
You can (almost) always trust your local access, and QuickBooks Desktop reinforces that by keeping your accounting data on your local drive or network. No matter which version of QuickBooks Desktop you’re using, you can switch to QuickBooks Online quickly and seamlessly. With our online migration tool, you can move all your data or move only what’s key—like balances and specific lists. If you need help, we can migrate your data for you at no additional cost.
- QuickBooks Simple Start has a decent ability to record and track payments to independent contractors, making it easier to stay compliant with tax regulations.
- The two versions are independent of each other, which means the data you enter on Desktop doesn’t sync to the Online version and vice-versa.
- If your business is service-based without any inventory, then Essentials should provide everything you need while saving you $34 per month compared to Plus.
- While they share many of the same features, QuickBooks Desktop’s features are often more developed, except when it comes to invoicing.
- There are over 200 options instead of the 650-plus to its cloud counterpart.
Desktop Enterprise
If you aren’t sure about the product, you can give it a 30-day test run with 100% capabilities of the Simple Start Plan to see if it meets your needs. Advanced Pricing / Control, customize, and automate pricing is included in the Platinum and Diamond subscriptions only. Ultimately, your specific business’s size, type, and needs are the real deciding factors in determining which of the QuickBooks versions is best for your business. Just remember, you will need to make a decision quickly if you want QuickBooks Desktop Pro or Premier, as sales of these products will be discontinued this year. The company has updated its help centers to be more user-friendly, but there’s still no email support. Both options, however, are working to reduce long hold times on the phone by now offering a callback feature.
The bank reconciliation module must also let users reconcile accounts with or without bank feeds for optimal ease of use. Most small businesses will find Plus the perfect fit, but there are many reasons you may want to upgrade to Advanced, especially now that several new features have been added. It now offers fixed asset accounting, estimated vs actual cost reporting, and multi-company report consolidation. These can be useful for companies with more complex business structures and accounting workflows. Plus includes inventory accounting that allows you to monitor stock items and quantity—a necessity if you’re selling products. It also lets you update inventory costs and quantities, separate taxable from nontaxable items, and set up alerts if you’re running out of stock.
It’s fair to point out that multiple people can use QuickBooks Desktop over the local network at the office. But when multiple users are working on the same file simultaneously, changes made by one user won’t be instantly visible to the rest of the team. The changes need to be saved and refreshed, leaving a lot of potential for errors.
How We Evaluated QuickBooks Online Plans
QuickBooks Solopreneur works very well for one-person businesses, especially those with a limited client base and minimal expenses and income streams. The tier provides features such as invoicing, expense tracking, and mileage tracking that can help users effectively manage business finances. Additionally, it has tax filing capabilities for those who report their income on Schedule C (Form 1040), making it ideal for solo proprietors and single-member LLCs. QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software that covers all the accounting needs you may have. It’s a subscription-based service that is good for various industries and beneficial to those who regularly work with a bookkeeper or accountant because you can give them access to your files.
The most notable difference, aside from price, between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop is the Online version is cloud-based. The mobile app for Online is robust, and Desktop’s mobile app is so limited, that it essentially functions as a receipt uploader. Working from the cloud means you need an internet connection, so a poor signal or an intermittent connection can be an issue. QuickBooks Enterprise is designed for large businesses or small enterprises and starts at $1,481/year or $142/month. Speaking of extra fees, QuickBooks Desktop also charges for e-commerce app integration, invoice-based payment acceptance, and online data hosting.
