QuickBooks Desktop is an annual subscription, starting at $549.99 per year, which may be cost-prohibitive for small businesses or cash-strapped startups. While the Desktop version has app integrations, it doesn’t have near as many as the Online version. There are over 200 options instead of the 650-plus to its cloud counterpart. For $27.50 per month for the first three months, then $55 per month after that, get up to three users, manage and pay bills and track time with its Essentials plan, which is its most popular plan. Upgrade to Plus for $42.50 per month for the first three months, then $85 per month afterward, and you will receive access for up to five users, inventory tracking and the ability to track project profitability. For $1,410 per year, get the Enterprise plan with advanced pricing, reporting and inventory.
- Specific instructions and tools are available from Intuit or your chosen QuickBooks Cloud provider.
- The online version of QuickBooks is much easier to use than the desktop version.
- Therefore, it allows you to access all the features of accounting software rather than just one part of it.
Accountants often find QuickBooks Pro and Premier to be more traditional, but you don’t have to be an accountant or professional bookkeeper to learn QuickBooks Online. With QuickBooks Online, you can add QuickBooks Online Payroll starting at $45/month. Both QuickBooks Online and 40 donation receipt templates and letters QuickBooks Desktop offer a large number of features. While they share many of the same features, QuickBooks Desktop’s features are often more developed, except when it comes to invoicing. Both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online utilize a subscription pricing model.
Is QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop cheaper?
QuickBooks Payroll allows you to pay your employees by checks or direct deposits, e-file and e-pay taxes, print and e-file W-2 Forms at year-end, and more. Head to our detailed QuickBooks Payroll review to see if it fits the bill. With NetSuite, you go live in a predictable timeframe — smart, stepped implementations begin with sales and span the entire customer lifecycle, so there’s continuity from sales to services to support. The dashboard is super intuitive with large, easy-to-understand charts, and the mobile app is similarly easy to use. The maximum amount of users you can have with a QuickBooks Online subscription is 25 (plus an accountant).
In contrast, QuickBooks Desktop may have a steeper learning curve because of its classic UI despite delivering more advanced functions. In the world of leading accounting software, both QuickBooks online and QuickBooks Desktop are user’s first choice. If we compare it, QuickBooks Online vs Desktop have their own benefits and cost functions which make them effective in their own way. Should you let a third-party company source raw materials for your products with contract manufacturing? Or should you supply them yourself and pay a toll for the manufacturing services?
This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, if you own a big business, prefer locally stored software, or want industry-specific reports, QuickBooks Desktop could be a better fit for your business. Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. However, Intuit’s push for its QuickBooks Online software and discontinuation of its Desktop offering in the UK has caused users to worry about possible sunsetting. QuickBooks Desktop is better for small to large-sized businesses with complex accounting needs requiring more customizable features.
QuickBooks Desktop wins this, offering more reporting options as well as industry-specific reports and forecasting options not offered in QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Desktop offers good integration options, integrating with more than 200 third party applications, making it one of the better integrated desktop application options. However, it doesn’t compare with the more than 500 options offered by QuickBooks Online.
QuickBooks Cloud vs Online – Third Party Integration
Learn how else the two products differ in our QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Enhanced vs Assisted Payroll comparison. 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. Small to midsize businesses that want a desktop solution or need advanced inventory and industry-specific features. QuickBooks Online is cloud based, which means you can access your QuickBooks account anywhere you have the internet and an internet-enabled device.
Two modes of QuickBooks are in use by businesses nowadays- QB Cloud and QB Desktop. In this article, we will discuss QuickBooks Cloud vs Desktop and conclude what is better for different business processes. Remote Access – Since QuickBooks Online is cloud-based, users can access QuickBooks reports wherever they have Internet access and from multiple devices. The QuickBooks Desktop version is linked to the computer it is installed on and therefore can only be accessed on-site. For an additional monthly fee, QuickBooks Online offers a virtual bookkeeping solution, which can be used to get help with setting up and managing your accounts. Subscription clients in QuickBooks Desktop 2023 (R1) or older versions will need to update to the latest 2023 (R3) version before their subscription expires.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. 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.
Advanced Pricing / Control, customize, and automate pricing is included in the Platinum and Diamond subscriptions only. Yes, you can migrate your existing QuickBooks Desktop data to QuickBooks Cloud. The migration process usually involves exporting data from the desktop version and importing it into the cloud version. Specific instructions and tools are available from Intuit or your chosen QuickBooks Cloud provider. No, an internet connection is required to access QuickBooks Cloud since the software and data are stored on remote servers.
Tech support
When you do, you’ll notice the difference immediately as QuickBooks Online offers a streamlined user interface, while QuickBooks Desktop relies on a flow-chart based interface. While both provide easy access to a variety of features and functions, only you can decide which one will work best for you. QuickBooks Desktop is preferable for companies that want to manage their books without an internet connection. It’s also a better option for businesses requiring complex inventory accounting features. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Desktop gets more praise for strong functionality, such as inventory accounting and the ability to generate advanced reports. One user is happy that they can set up different reports so that they can see what and who needs to be paid easily.
QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop FAQ
I would like some information on how to transfer quickbooks from the cloud to a On-prem server please. Early adopters (i.e. people who have been using QuickBooks Desktop since the 1990s) wonder if they should switch while individuals who are new to QuickBooks are often unsure which version they should choose. Having lived most of his adult life abroad, he’s amassed a variety of experiences from many different fields. From ForEx trading to compliance to mobile engineering to demolition, he’s definitely not afraid to test out new things. Now that we’ve gone over the main differences in features, let’s see the cost of QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop. When comparing the platforms, the first thing you notice is the design.
QuickBooks Desktop is desktop based, meaning you’ll buy a hard copy of QuickBooks’ software, then download that software once onto a single device. However, if you’re not a Mac user, you can choose from all three QuickBooks Desktop plans. The QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus plan is particularly useful for business that want industry-specific features. Most notably, Premier Plus has 150+ customizable reports for nonprofits, general contractors, and retailers. QuickBooks Online has its own limitations – a few important features such as inventory tracking, creating POs, and assigning multi price-levels to items are only included in its more expensive plus version. These are important features for an accountant, which are available with the hosted QuickBooks Desktop.
QuickBooks Time
It starts at $30 a month and includes basic features only, such as mileage tracking and invoicing. 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.
It’s an acceptable system but isn’t nearly as convenient as sharing your books through QuickBooks Online. 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. The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.