– QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop: Which Is Right for Your Business? – NerdWallet

However, if you want the ability to manage your books without an internet connection or you need industry-specific features, choose QuickBooks Desktop. Find Timothy On LinkedIn. He then taught tax and accounting to undergraduate and graduate students as an assistant professor at both the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Mississippi State University.

He most recently spent two years as the accountant at a commercial roofing company utilizing QuickBooks Desktop to compile financials, job cost, and run payroll. Find Mark On LinkedIn. Mark Calatrava is an accounting expert for Fit Small Business. He has covered more than 50 accounting software for small businesses and niche industries and has developed an in-depth knowledge of the important features of accounting software and how the importance of these features vary by business.

Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Fit Small Business content and reviews are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More. Published January 31, Table of Contents. Question 1. How many hours per day will you or your primary bookkeeper spend in QuickBooks?

Question 1 of 3. More than 4 hours. How often do you or your bookkeeper contact an external accountant or CPA to help correct errors or give advice on your bookkeeping? Question 2 of 3. Once per Week. Once per Month. Once per Quarter. Question 3 of 3. A service industry. Construction, manufacturing or wholesale, or retail. QuickBooks Desktop Homepage. Visit QuickBooks! No, thanks. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Feedback Yes No.

Human Resources. Real Estate Agents. Up to 40 users with QuickBooks Enterprise. Maximum number of financial accounts in chart of accounts. Cloud-based; mobile apps available for iOS and Android. Locally hosted on PC. Sharing with accountants. You can invite your accountant via email at no additional cost. Your accountant will have access to your account from any device that has an internet connection. You can work with an accountant at no additional cost. Unless you have the remote access add-on, however, you cannot work with your accountant in real-time.

You can easily upgrade to any of the QuickBooks Online plans as your business grows. You also can add on other Intuit products like QuickBooks Time to expand your functionality. You can upgrade to any of the versions of QuickBooks Desktop as your needs change. To upgrade, however, you will have to convert your data from one software solution to another — which can be a complex process. Ease of use. Excellent with an 8. Pro Plus: Excellent with an 8.

Premier Plus: Excellent with an 8. Enterprise: Poor with a 1. Note: With a smaller sample size, ratings are more easily skewed by outliers. Read our QuickBooks Mac Plus review for more information. QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based software that can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection. Depending on which package you choose, the software includes access to all product and feature updates, automatic data backups, as well as the ability to restore company data from backups.

Additionally, because QuickBooks Online is web-based, you can automatically download bank transactions and work with your accountant in real time.

You also can download the QuickBooks mobile app for free to manage your account on the go. With QuickBooks Desktop, on the other hand, you have to download the software to your computer and can use it on that computer only. To use QuickBooks Desktop on multiple computers, you have to purchase additional licenses. With its release, QuickBooks shifted all Desktop offerings to annual subscription-based plans that allow you to download bank transactions and receive product updates.

All Desktop plans, including QuickBooks Pro Plus and Premier Plus , include automatic data backup and recovery, and mobile receipt management. For QuickBooks Enterprise, you can pay extra for cloud access to use your account from any device.

QuickBooks Online has four different plans, and each plan is priced as a monthly subscription. QuickBooks Online doesn’t require a contract and you can cancel the account at any time. Each plan includes various features — the more features you need, the more expensive the plan. All plans give you access to receipt capture with the QuickBooks mobile app, integration with third-party tools through the QuickBooks app marketplace and customer support by phone or live chat.

You can sign up for QuickBooks Online quickly and start setting up your account immediately. The pricing for QuickBooks Desktop is more complex. Pro Plus and Premier Plus are available as annual subscriptions. The price is based on the number of user accounts. For example, QuickBooks Pro Plus costs:. QuickBooks Enterprise , on the other hand, has multiple plan options — Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond — with local-only and remote access versions.

Who is QuickBooks Online for? Who is QuickBooks Desktop for? What QuickBooks Online offers During the setup process, you can choose the features and functions that you will likely be using in QuickBooks Online.

Other features include: Accounting: QuickBooks Online offers solid accounting capability, though only accounts are included in their standard plan. The automatic bank reconciliation feature makes it easy to keep your bank balance reconciled with your general ledger , and a budget feature is also available to create monthly, quarterly, or annual budgets.

Sales: The Sales feature lets you keep track of all of your customers, create custom invoices, and post payments. You can also send payment reminders to past due customers and include a payment link in the invoice that makes it easy for them to pay online. Expenses: You can track all of your business expenses from a single screen, including the option to pay bills electronically. You can also view any upcoming bills that will need to be paid, as well as view the status of any bill by vendor or by due date.

The Bill Tracker feature lets you view all current bills including due dates, and you can also view recently paid bills, or pay bills that are due, with options to pay bills by check, ACH transfer, or credit card. Customer Center: The Customer Center lets you manage all customers, including the ability to create invoices, process customer statements, record payments, and process sales orders and sales receipts. The Premier edition offers advanced inventory functions such as a low stock alert notification, the ability to set reorder levels, product tracking by part number, and custom fields for tracking additional information.

Image source: Author QuickBooks Desktop also offers easy integration with QuickBooks Payments so you can accept online payments from customers. Results QuickBooks Desktop wins. What QuickBooks Desktop offers QuickBooks Desktop offers the same support options found in QuickBooks Online including video tutorials, on-demand webinars, and various training options.

QuickBooks Desktop: Ease of use Ease of use is one of the most important things to consider when shopping for software. Results QuickBooks Online wins this one, offering easy system navigation from the user dashboard.

Image source: Author Features are plan-dependent, so be sure to check the features you want are included in the plan you subscribe to. Plan options offered include: Simple Start: The Simple Start plan is a good option for sole proprietors and independent contractors.

Simple Start supports a single user, and tracks income and expenses, tracks sales tax, and can capture and organize receipts. Essentials: The Essentials plan can support up to three system users, and also includes bill management capability. Plus: The Plus plan supports up to five users and includes everything in Simple Start and Essentials plus inventory tracking and the ability to manage projects. Advanced: The most powerful version of QuickBooks Online, the Advanced plan can support up to 25 users and includes all of the features mentioned above, along with invoice batching capability, business and analytic reports, and a dedicated account manager.

Image source: Author QuickBooks Desktop offers the following plans: Pro: QuickBooks Pro is good for smaller businesses or those looking for entry-level accounting software.

Pro supports up to three users and can track both income and expenses, manage inventory, and invoice customers. Premier: QuickBooks Premier supports up to five users and offers industry-specific features for niche businesses such as General Contractor, Manufacturing and Wholesale, Retail, and Nonprofit.

Enterprise: Best for growing businesses, Enterprise supports up to 30 system users, and includes all of the features found in both Pro and Premier along with mobile barcode scanning and enhanced pick, pack, and ship options that are perfect for retail businesses.

Results QuickBooks Desktop wins this category, with pricing coming in much lower than its online counterpart. QuickBooks Desktop: Integration with other software Depending on your business, the ability to integrate with other applications may be convenient, while for others, it can be a necessity. What QuickBooks Desktop offers QuickBooks Desktop offers good integration options, integrating with more than third party applications, making it one of the better integrated desktop application options.

Results QuickBooks Online easily wins this one. QuickBooks Desktop: Reporting options Reporting options are good in both applications, though only one of the applications offers industry-specific reporting options. What QuickBooks Online offers All QuickBooks Online plans include good reporting options, with the Advanced plan offering the most comprehensive reporting options, including key financial metrics such as revenue and cash flow.

Image source: Author 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. What QuickBooks Desktop offers QuickBooks Desktop offers more than standard reports that can be customized as needed.

Image source: Author In addition, the Premier and Enterprise plans offer more than reports, with industry-specific reporting options available. Results QuickBooks Desktop wins this, offering more reporting options as well as industry-specific reports and forecasting options not offered in QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks Desktop QuickBooks Desktop wins this head-to-head competition, with better reporting, industry-specific features, a better price structure, and more comprehensive features. Some final thoughts on QuickBooks While there are significant differences between QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, both applications offer solid accounting capability for small businesses.

QuickBooks Desktop is the quintessential accounting software for small business owners featuring invoicing, revenue tracking, and inventory tracking capabilities.

For small and growing businesses, QuickBooks Online can give you a way to manage your business today and grow along with your business tomorrow. QuickBooks Online. About the Author. Blue Twitter Icon Share this website with Twitter. Email Icon Share this website with email. Back to The Motley Fool. Good for SMBs. Info Icon Circle with letter I in it. We want your money to work harder for you.

Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.

QuickBooks Product. Online Essentials3-User. Online Plus 5-User. Online AdvancedUser. Desktop Pro3-User. Desktop Premier5-User.

– QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Desktop |

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here’s how we make money.

Known as the industry standard for small-business accounting software , QuickBooks offers two core types of products — the cloud-based QuickBooks Online and the locally hosted QuickBooks Desktop. With four plans, robust features and a user-friendly interface, QuickBooks Online will be the ideal choice for most small businesses.

QuickBooks Desktop, on the other hand, is best for businesses that prefer a desktop solution, or those that need its advanced inventory tracking, job costing or reporting tools. Here’s a breakdown of QuickBooks Online versus QuickBooks Desktop, including how they compare on accounting software features.

Maximum number of users. Up to 25 users and 3 accountants with Advanced plan. Up to 40 users with QuickBooks Enterprise. Maximum number of financial accounts in chart of accounts. Cloud-based; mobile apps available for iOS and Android. Locally hosted on PC. Sharing with accountants. You can invite your accountant via email at no additional cost. Your accountant will have access to your account from any device that has an internet connection.

You can work with an accountant at no additional cost. Unless you have the remote access add-on, however, you cannot work with your accountant in real-time. You can easily upgrade to any of the QuickBooks Online plans as your business grows. You also can add on other Intuit products like QuickBooks Time to expand your functionality.

You can upgrade to any of the versions of QuickBooks Desktop as your needs change. To upgrade, however, you will have to convert your data from one software solution to another — which can be a complex process. Ease of use. Excellent with an 8. Pro Plus: Excellent with an 8. Premier Plus: Excellent with an 8. Enterprise: Poor with a 1. Note: With a smaller sample size, ratings are more easily skewed by outliers.

Read our QuickBooks Mac Plus review for more information. QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based software that can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection. Depending on which package you choose, the software includes access to all product and feature updates, automatic data backups, as well as the ability to restore company data from backups. Additionally, because QuickBooks Online is web-based, you can automatically download bank transactions and work with your accountant in real time.

You also can download the QuickBooks mobile app for free to manage your account on the go. With QuickBooks Desktop, on the other hand, you have to download the software to your computer and can use it on that computer only. To use QuickBooks Desktop on multiple computers, you have to purchase additional licenses.

With its release, QuickBooks shifted all Desktop offerings to annual subscription-based plans that allow you to download bank transactions and receive product updates. All Desktop plans, including QuickBooks Pro Plus and Premier Plus , include automatic data backup and recovery, and mobile receipt management. For QuickBooks Enterprise, you can pay extra for cloud access to use your account from any device.

QuickBooks Online has four different plans, and each plan is priced as a monthly subscription. QuickBooks Online doesn’t require a contract and you can cancel the account at any time. Each plan includes various features — the more features you need, the more expensive the plan. All plans give you access to receipt capture with the QuickBooks mobile app, integration with third-party tools through the QuickBooks app marketplace and customer support by phone or live chat. You can sign up for QuickBooks Online quickly and start setting up your account immediately.

The pricing for QuickBooks Desktop is more complex. Pro Plus and Premier Plus are available as annual subscriptions. The price is based on the number of user accounts. For example, QuickBooks Pro Plus costs:. QuickBooks Enterprise , on the other hand, has multiple plan options — Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond — with local-only and remote access versions.

Silver, Gold and Platinum plans require an annual subscription, while Diamond is a monthly commitment. They are all still priced based on the number of users. Although some versions of QuickBooks Desktop are more affordable than QuickBooks Online — an annual subscription to QuickBooks Pro Plus or Premier Plus, for example, is cheaper than one year of the Essentials plan — Desktop lacks the accessibility of QuickBooks Online and quickly grows in price if you want to give multiple users access.

This explainer on how much QuickBooks costs provides more details about pricing differences between Desktop and Online plans. Automatic mileage tracking is included with all versions of QuickBooks Online, but isn’t offered with any versions of QuickBooks Desktop.

Then, you can categorize trips as “business” or “personal” to help maximize your tax deductions. You also can add trips to your account manually, as well as run mileage reports and share them with your accountant. Mileage tracking is included in all versions of QuickBooks Self-Employed as well. QuickBooks Desktop allows you to add mileage manually to your account, or integrate with a third-party service for mileage tracking — this software doesn’t, however, offer automatic tracking within its system.

Track stock levels and receive notifications when inventory is low. Generate inventory reports to identify top selling items, total sales and taxes.

With QuickBooks Premier Plus and QuickBooks Enterprise, however, you also have access to industry-specific inventory capabilities that are designed for businesses such as manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. These versions of QuickBooks Desktop allow you to create sales orders and track items promised to customers, change and control price levels based on the customer, and track inventory reorder points by vendor. Similar to inventory management, the job costing features available in QuickBooks Desktop are more detailed compared with those in QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks Online offers job costing and project profitability with its Plus and Advanced plans, including the ability to track labor costs, payroll and expenses. You also can assess costs using a tracking calculator or view profitability through project dashboards.

With QuickBooks Desktop, you can get more granular. QuickBooks Pro Plus allows you to create rule-based customer groups to better manage customers, and QuickBooks Premier Plus allows you to track profitability by product or by project and client. Premier Plus also lets you enter job changes within an estimate and track the impact on your bottom line.

With Enterprise, you have additional job costing features designed specifically for construction businesses and contractors, as well as professional service companies.

There are a variety of resources and community forums online to guide you through setting up your QuickBooks account and navigating the software. Additionally, QuickBooks has a wide network of ProAdvisors, accountants who are certified in the software, who you can work with for professional assistance.

Compare the features included with each QuickBooks Online plan with those included with the different versions of QuickBooks Desktop. For additional information, consult our guide on how to choose the right QuickBooks product for your business. Simple Start: 1 user. Essentials: Up to 3 users. Plus: Up to 5 users.

Advanced: Up to 25 users. Pro Plus: Up to 3 users. Premier Plus: Up to 5 users. Enterprise: Up to 40 users. Must be input manually for all plans. Receipt management app for all plans. Only for Essentials, Plus and Advanced plans. Bill management and accounts payable.

Yes for all plans. Enterprise offers advanced inventory features. Project profitability and job costing. Only for Premier Plus and Enterprise. Read more about how QuickBooks Online stacks up against the competition. QuickBooks Online vs. Sage 50cloud. FreshBooks vs. Desktop comparison. QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Desktop. Mileage tracking. Inventory management. Create purchase orders.

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Which Is Right for You in ?.

Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Fit Small Business content and reviews are editorially independent.

We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More. Published January 31, Table of Contents. Question 1. How many hours per day will you or your primary bookkeeper spend in QuickBooks? Question 1 of 3. More than 4 hours. How often do you or your bookkeeper contact an external accountant or CPA to help correct errors or give advice on your bookkeeping?

Question 2 of 3. Once per Week. Once per Month. Once per Quarter. Question 3 of 3. A service industry. Construction, manufacturing or wholesale, or retail.

QuickBooks Desktop Homepage. Visit QuickBooks! No, thanks. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Feedback Yes No. Depending on which package you choose, the software includes access to all product and feature updates, automatic data backups, as well as the ability to restore company data from backups.

Additionally, because QuickBooks Online is web-based, you can automatically download bank transactions and work with your accountant in real time. You also can download the QuickBooks mobile app for free to manage your account on the go.

With QuickBooks Desktop, on the other hand, you have to download the software to your computer and can use it on that computer only. To use QuickBooks Desktop on multiple computers, you have to purchase additional licenses. With its release, QuickBooks shifted all Desktop offerings to annual subscription-based plans that allow you to download bank transactions and receive product updates.

All Desktop plans, including QuickBooks Pro Plus and Premier Plus , include automatic data backup and recovery, and mobile receipt management. For QuickBooks Enterprise, you can pay extra for cloud access to use your account from any device. QuickBooks Online has four different plans, and each plan is priced as a monthly subscription.

QuickBooks Online doesn’t require a contract and you can cancel the account at any time. Each plan includes various features — the more features you need, the more expensive the plan. All plans give you access to receipt capture with the QuickBooks mobile app, integration with third-party tools through the QuickBooks app marketplace and customer support by phone or live chat. You can sign up for QuickBooks Online quickly and start setting up your account immediately. The pricing for QuickBooks Desktop is more complex.

Pro Plus and Premier Plus are available as annual subscriptions. The price is based on the number of user accounts. For example, QuickBooks Pro Plus costs:. QuickBooks Enterprise , on the other hand, has multiple plan options — Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond — with local-only and remote access versions. Silver, Gold and Platinum plans require an annual subscription, while Diamond is a monthly commitment. They are all still priced based on the number of users.

Although some versions of QuickBooks Desktop are more affordable than QuickBooks Online — an annual subscription to QuickBooks Pro Plus or Premier Plus, for example, is cheaper than one year of the Essentials plan — Desktop lacks the accessibility of QuickBooks Online and quickly grows in price if you want to give multiple users access.

This explainer on how much QuickBooks costs provides more details about pricing differences between Desktop and Online plans. Automatic mileage tracking is included with all versions of QuickBooks Online, but isn’t offered with any versions of QuickBooks Desktop. Then, you can categorize trips as “business” or “personal” to help maximize your tax deductions.

You also can add trips to your account manually, as well as run mileage reports and share them with your accountant. Mileage tracking is included in all versions of QuickBooks Self-Employed as well. QuickBooks Desktop allows you to add mileage manually to your account, or integrate with a third-party service for mileage tracking — this software doesn’t, however, offer automatic tracking within its system.

Track stock levels and receive notifications when inventory is low. We are currently using quickbooks desktop pro on one PC in our office. We would like to have another person in the office use the software at the same time and for the company files to update on both PCs when one of us makes a change. I contacted quickbooks last week and they told me the only way to do this was to pay a hosting service.

I’m doing some more research today and I’m noticing quickbooks pro says “collaborate with 1 to 3 concurrent users”. I’m hoping someone can help point me in the right direction on how we can best setup our office so that we can have two users using quickbooks at the same time.

We have 8 different company files and we have to use the desktop version in order to import certain iif files from our point of sale system.

Will solve our problem? Is there a way to make this work with the version? Thank you! You can still work with your QuickBooks Desktop Pro Let’s set up and install a multi-user network so you can share your QuickBooks Desktop data with another team member person.

Please note that the recommended multi-user setup is having the company file stored on the Host computer. You can keep your company on your server computer’s local hard drive, so you can easily share it. Then set up folder permissions on your server computer. Ensure that the folder holding your company files has permission to be on your network. Once done, install the Database Server Manager. This will let you share your company files with other computers over your network and helps you monitor your multi-user network.

For detailed steps, just click this article: Set up and install a multi-user network for QuickBooks Desktop. Just proceed to Step 5,6,7. Now you can host your company files over your network.

If you want to access your multi-user network, sign in as a user with admin rights on your server computer and workstations. Such a feature was not available in the and version. This new feature saves time by automating recurring statements to the different groups created depending on their payment tendencies. In the previous versions, you could gain access to the website directly from QuickBooks. This feature is newly introduced in the QuickBooks Desktop version and was not available in the previous versions.

You can download it from a renowned source. To start the installation process, launch QuickBooksToolHub. Though round-the-clock support is always made available by Intuit, fixing bugs in the tool hub is another new feature in Let us draw a comparison between QuickBooks , , and with the help of a table:.

This article provides a comparison between the three versions of QuickBooks from subsequent years.