For additional options, head to our guide on the leading QuickBooks Online alternatives. We have an extensive history of reviewing QuickBooks products, and we stay up-to-date with the latest features and inventory management 2020 enhancements. Our first-hand experience, guided by our internal case study, helps us understand how the different QuickBooks products compare with each other and how they work in real-world scenarios.
QuickBooks Desktop wins this, offering more reporting options as well as industry-specific reports and forecasting options not offered in QuickBooks Online. Depending on your business, the ability to integrate with other applications may be convenient, while for others, it can be a necessity. QuickBooks Online offers a variety of pricing plans, which range from $12 to $75 for the first three months. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop have very different pricing structures, with QuickBooks Online available by a monthly subscription, while QuickBooks Desktop has an annual cost. While the features are similar, QuickBooks Desktop offers more functionality, such as the ability to run checks to pay bills and more in-depth customer and vendor management capability.
Bookkeeping and accounting software
The copy will allow you to continue to work on transactions in the current period while your accountant makes adjustments to past periods. It’s an acceptable system but isn’t nearly as convenient as sharing your books through QuickBooks Online. Additionally, all versions of QuickBooks Desktop allow you to set up cost estimates for projects and then compare them to actual expenses. In contrast, you need to upgrade to Advanced to be able to use QuickBooks Online’s budget vs. actual reporting feature.
- While both QuickBooks Online and Desktop are supported by a large network of independent ProAdvisors, it’s much easier to share your books with your ProAdvisor using QuickBooks Online.
- 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.
- Because it is a cloud-based service, you may access your data from any location at any time using any internet-connected device.
- Meanwhile, if you or your accountant want to become a ProAdvisor to demonstrate expertise in QuickBooks, read our article on how to become a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
QuickBooks Online is user-friendly, but it requires some prior accounting knowledge to get the most out of it. Katherine Haan, MBA is a former financial advisor-turned-writer and business coach. When she’s not trying out the latest tech or travel blogging with her family, you can find her curling up with a good novel. Another notable difference is QuickBooks Online offers a Self-Employed version for $15 per month, which is not available with QuickBooks Desktop. You can switch from QuickBooks Online to Desktop, and many users who are used to traditional accounting and working with QuickBooks tend to do so after giving QBO a try.
QuickBooks Cloud VS Desktop: Which one to Choose?
While people may assume that QuickBooks Online is simply the cloud version of QuickBooks Desktop, in reality, the two products are very different. You can send a copy of your company file to your accountant and import their changes. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page.
Meanwhile, QuickBooks Desktop allows you to set up classes, but you can’t track your income and expenses by location. In the comparison of QuickBooks Cloud Vs. desktop, one can easily see the apparent winner. With QuickBooks cloud, you will enjoy enhanced team collaboration, higher uptime, and remote software access. Your QB desktop setup may only support integrating a limited number of add-ons and face performance lag on adding more add-ons than it can support. QuickBooks cloud, which is hosted on an HPC server, is a good alternative and allows you to integrate as many add-ons as needed. Scaling the in-house IT infrastructure up for changing business requirements requires significant investments and resources.
You’re our first priority.Every time.
Every business is unique, and there may be instances where QuickBooks Desktop may be a better fit. For example, it may be more suitable for businesses with complex inventory management needs or those wanting offline access to their financial data. However, QuickBooks Online is the better choice for most companies, especially those with remote accountants and multiple employees.
- All reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel for customizing, viewing on screen, printing, or emailing directly to recipients.
- If you have a number of users, or are a quickly growing company, you will be promoted to the Priority Circle which gives an even better level of support.
- QuickBooks Desktop also offers easy integration with QuickBooks Payments so you can accept online payments from customers.
- If required, you can quickly scale down by once again contacting your provider.
- QBO’s integrations cover more business needs and include multiple payment gateway options.
- This may signal future abandonment of its Desktop version as more people move to the cloud.
Most organizations use conventional desktops with outdated security systems and lack the modern anti-hacking tools to secure your financial data effectively. All versions of QuickBooks Desktop include the option to generate payroll for your employees and 1099 contract workers. Subscription clients in QuickBooks Desktop 2023 (R1) or older versions will need to update to the latest 2023 (R3) version before their subscription expires. 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. It offers more integrations, as well as a much smoother integration process that allows you to access third party apps directly within QuickBooks Online without the need to sync applications or import data. A variety of short video tutorials are available as well as on-demand webinars and training classes.
However, it doesn’t compare with the more than 500 options offered by QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online offers integration with more than 500 third party apps in categories such as Payments, CRM, Project Management, Payments, Payroll, Invoicing, Inventory, and Time Tracking. You can easily connect to any third-party app from within the application, saving you a ton of time in the process. Support options are fairly similar for both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop, with the more expensive plans offering better support options.
QuickBooks makes it easy to backup and restore your data to keep it safe, and you can select between manual and automatic backup options. Having strong security protections against hacks and cyberattacks is essential since you are entering and storing sensitive financial data and personally identifiable information. There are a few distinct differences between Online and Desktop Quickbook versions with security and protection against data loss. When you upgrade to Enterprise, QuickBooks Desktop’s most comprehensive plan, you’ll gain access to advanced inventory features, including barcode scanning and serial number tracking. When you use QuickBooks in a desktop environment, the responsibility to maintain this environment falls on you.
This device is too small
QuickBooks Online has a cheaper monthly cost and is more affordable if you have a lot of employees who will be using the software. QuickBooks Desktop Pro may be cheaper if you do not need additional users or add-ons such as payroll. However, most users still view Quickbooks Desktop favorably, and the product receives high marks on most customer review sites. The software receives 4.4/5 (based on 1,800+ reviews) on Software Advice and 4.3/5 (based on 1,700+ reviews) on G2. QuickBooks Pro is praised for its strong accounting, ample features, reliability, and reporting. QuickBooks Online is a subscription-based business model with numerous price tiers that each offer varying levels of capabilities.
If you are currently using QuickBooks Online and want to switch to an interface similar to QuickBooks Desktop, we recommend using the QuickBooks Online Desktop app. Read our article on what the QuickBooks Online Desktop app is to learn more. Alternatively, you can hire a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to help with your bookkeeping needs. To help you get started, we prepared a guide on how to find a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
Is QuickBooks Online Or QuickBooks Desktop Better For My Business?
Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. Both versions offer automatic syncing with your bank so you can categorize transactions. Add payroll to QuickBooks Online starting at $45 per month, or to Desktop starting at $50, plus $2 per employee, per month.
