This takes into account customer management, revenue recognition, invoice management, and collections. While QuickBooks products work for many businesses, they aren’t the best choice for all businesses. If neither of these options seems to be the right fit or you’re just exploring your options, make sure to check out our list of the best accounting software for small businesses for more great options. QuickBooks Enterprise is designed for large businesses or small enterprises and starts at $1,481/year or $142/month.
- QuickBooks Online simplifies both the receipt collection and organization process by allowing you to easily capture and upload a photo or document into your QuickBooks file.
- Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes.
- Each offers a detailed chart of accounts, journal entries, bank reconciliation, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and the basic reports needed to run a company.
- If you don’t need the advanced features offered by the Desktop plan, the Online version will save you money.
- Both applications also include an easy setup process, so you can be up and running in little time.
Cassie is a former deputy editor who collaborated with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Prior to joining the team at Forbes Advisor, Cassie was a content operations manager and copywriting manager. QuickBooks Desktop offers more than 100 standard reports that can be customized as needed. 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.
Online Plus and Payroll Core Bundle
One of the biggest differences here is that QuickBooks Online now offers a bookkeeping service called QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping, where you can pay for professional support from certified QBO accountants and CPAs. For small business owners new to the accounting scene, this service may bring much-needed peace of mind when managing your books and filing small business taxes. QuickBooks Desktop is also not a great choice for accounting newbies, as the UI is quite unintuitive and has a what are examples of typical leasehold improvements steep learning curve. And while Desktop has a respectable number of integrations when compared to other accounting software, it falls far short of what QBO offers its users. What stands out most about QuickBooks Online when compared to Desktop is that QBO is cloud-based accounting software. Because of this, QuickBooks Online is much easier to use and has many more integrations and time-saving invoicing automations, such as auto-scheduling.
Transitioning between the cloud and the desktop version
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 $1,922 per year, and the cloud-based option starts at $15 per month. Both versions have mobile apps, but the app for the Desktop version primarily functions as a way to upload receipts, and the Online mobile app is robust in comparison.
What used to be a huge bulk of QuickBooks business is no longer so—it focuses mostly on its cloud version and actively encourages users to make the switch from Desktop to Online. This may signal future abandonment of its Desktop version as more people move to the cloud. If you make the switch from Desktop to Online, you can import your data and access your original company file at any time. QuickBooks is a suite of accounting software developed and marketed by Intuit, designed for small and medium-sized businesses to handle their financial management and automate accounting operations. It business invoicing software provides features that cater to invoicing, expense tracking, payroll management, and tax preparation.
Not sure which QuickBooks Online plan you need? We can help.
Not only is it the newer tool, but it also seems to be the focus in terms of update frequency, development, and marketing. QuickBooks Online is simply easier to learn, provides a detailed onboarding process, and is very intuitive. The software itself may look like an outdated image on some monitor within a cubicle maze, but it’s versatile in what it can do. The dashboard does an excellent job dividing all accounting aspects into a flowchart type of view, while the sidebar provides quick access to a list of features.
One workaround for this is to purchase a subscription to your own backup and restore software. Fortunately, you can purchase access to additional license seats, oregon department of revenue : calculator : individuals : state of oregon which is a fancy term for additional users. In addition to your initial QuickBooks Desktop purchase, you can opt to purchase additional add-ons, found at desktop.apps.com. QuickBooks Desktop is, as its name implies, the desktop version of the software. QBDT is installed locally on your PC in much the same way other software is, like your internet browser. Ironic, then, that choosing a QuickBooks product can be difficult, if not downright confusing.
While the Desktop version has app integrations, it doesn’t have near as many as the Online version. To expedite product setup, you can choose to use the default chart of accounts that is included in the application. You also have the option to import products and services into the application to avoid having to re-enter the data. This is a tie since both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop offer users the same support options. QuickBooks Desktop offers the same support options found in QuickBooks Online including video tutorials, on-demand webinars, and various training options.
