We evaluated QuickBooks Online vs Desktop based on pricing, ease of use, customer support, and the availability of important features, like banking, project accounting, and inventory management. QuickBooks Online wins because it offers more professional-looking and customizable invoices than QuickBooks Desktop. Also, it allows you to calculate sales taxes automatically to apply to an invoice based on the customer’s address. This feature is particularly useful if you sell and ship products out of your state. QuickBooks Desktop offers the same support options found in QuickBooks Online including video tutorials, on-demand webinars, and various training options.
All feedback, positive or negative, helps us to improve the way we help small businesses. By providing feedback on how we can improve, you can earn gift cards and get early access to new features. I recommend saving a backup of your QuickBooks Desktop company file in case of any issues. While most information transfers well to QBO, not all of your information will convert from Desktop. We think QuickBooks Online is the best overall option for small businesses, but QuickBooks Desktop Premier is a great option for niche businesses. 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.
As I was testing them out, I found QuickBooks Online a lot sleeker, more modern, and easier to navigate than QuickBooks Desktop. Every step was prefaced with a tutorial, guiding me in setting up my company’s profile by prompting me to provide specific information. 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. All reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel for customizing, viewing on screen, printing, or emailing directly to recipients. Users can access features via the vertical menu to the left of the screen or by using the drop-down menu bar at the top, and the My Shortcuts option allows you to add a shortcut to frequently used features.
Though not web-based, QuickBooks Desktop can be hosted online for more convenient access if desired.One of QuickBooks Desktop’s best features is its use of centers, which provide a central point for all activity. During the setup process, you can choose the features https://intuit-payroll.org/ and functions that you will likely be using in QuickBooks Online. No need to worry if you skip one; you can always go back and add it at a later date. QuickBooks Online is user-friendly, but it requires some prior accounting knowledge to get the most out of it.
- QuickBooks Online offers a variety of pricing plans, which range from $12 to $75 for the first three months.
- Granted, you don’t have to be an accountant to learn QuickBooks Desktop either, but if you are new to accounting, you will need a lot of time to learn the program.
- One of the most common complaints about QuickBooks Desktop is its steep learning curve.
- However, it doesn’t compare with the more than 500 options offered by QuickBooks Online.
QBO’s integrations cover more business needs and include multiple payment gateway options. These versions give business owners more features and reports geared toward their industry. You can learn more in our guide to the industry-specific editions of QuickBooks Enterprise. QuickBooks Online offers over 80 reports depending on your plan, whereas QuickBooks Desktop Pro has over 130 reports. QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Quickbooks Desktop Enterprise have even more reports (especially if you opt for the industry-specific versions of these programs).
QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Desktop: Reporting options
Both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online support small business bookkeeping, but the manner in which each product does so differs. But if your team has no experience with accounting systems, QB Online is a better choice. We need to be able to use quickbooks while it is accessed by other employees elsewhere. All QuickBooks Enterprise plans are available only via monthly or annual subscriptions, depending on your plan.
Industry-specific reports
All Online plans include receipt capture, QuickBooks support and more than 650 app integrations with apps such as PayPal, Square and Shopify. QuickBooks Enterprise is designed for large businesses or small enterprises and starts at $1,410/year. 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.
Looking for the Quickbooks Desktop Hosting?
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. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services.
However, if you need more features and customization options, currently, QuickBooks Desktop has the lead. The main difference between QuickBooks Desktop and Online is that QuickBooks Desktop is desktop-based, while QuickBooks Online, you guessed it, is a cloud-based software. This means that accessing your data with QuickBooks cash vs accrual profit and loss Online is easier and more convenient as all you need is a device with an internet connection. QuickBooks Online follows a monthly subscription model, making it more affordable for businesses with limited upfront budgets. QuickBooks Desktop requires a one-time purchase, but long-term costs may be higher due to upgrade expenses.
Granted, you don’t have to be an accountant to learn QuickBooks Desktop either, but if you are new to accounting, you will need a lot of time to learn the program. With QuickBooks Desktop, you can set recurring invoices, send payment reminders, send batch invoices, and track invoices, but you’ll miss out on many of the other modern, cloud-based automations that QBO provides. Katana integrates with QuickBooks Online and equips you with all the necessary tools to manage your inventory and manufacturing processes. It also keeps all your information automatically synced across all your business tools, saving you precious time and eliminating human errors. While QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop both have their merits, experts suggest that certain capabilities of QuickBooks Desktop often score better points for their robust capabilities.
The superiority of QuickBooks Online or Desktop depends on your specific needs. QuickBooks Online offers accessibility, automatic updates, and multi-user access, making it ideal for small to medium-sized businesses. QuickBooks Desktop, on the other hand, is highly customizable and suitable for small to large-sized businesses with advanced requirements.
QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop starting plans and prices
Intuit and QuickBooks Online also offer a mileage and expense tracking app called QuickBooks Self-Employed. If you invoke the guarantee, QuickBooks will conduct a full n evaluation of the Live Bookkeeper’s work. With QuickBooks Desktop, you must make an Accountant’s Copy of your data file and send it to your ProAdvisor.
Businesses with inventory items should choose accounting software that can track inventory costs, manage cost of goods sold (COGS), and monitor inventory units. The A/P section focuses on vendor management, bill management, bill payments, and other payable-related transactions. A/P features include creating vendors and bills, recording purchase orders and converting them to bills, creating service items, and recording full or partial bill payments. Even after initial setup, the software must also let users modify information like company name, address, entity type, fiscal year-end, and other company information.
QuickBooks Online files are also easier to share because you only need to invite a ProAdvisor to your company file, and they’ll have 24/7 access to your books. 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. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are designed to handle small business’s bandwidth and needs. Strictly based on ease of use and basic functionality, QuickBooks Online is an easier-to-adopt option that can handle small business accounting needs well.
About The Author
