On the flip side, you can access QBO from any location in the world, with the sole requirement of connecting to the internet. You’re not limited to a single machine or even device and can easily log in to QBO from any PC, Mac, tablet, or smartphone. Intuit often offers discounts and incentives for purchasing it for set blocks of time, though for the purposes of this article, I’m only covering its full regular price.
As a Priority Circle member, you get access to a dedicated customer success manager who can assist you with any questions or issues you have with your software. You will get priority support through chat and phone, with shorter wait times than non-Priority Circle members. Advanced also removes the limitations on the number of classes, locations, and charts of accounts, making it ideal for businesses with a growing staff. It also has a batch invoicing and expense management feature, which is ideal for those who manage a large volume of invoices and expenses daily. With QuickBooks Essentials, you can track billable time by job and assign it to a specific customer—something you can’t achieve with Simple Start. Once you’ve recorded your billable time, you can add it to your invoice and then send it to your client.
Let’s see how these two platforms compare in features, pricing, and reviews to help you decide on QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop in 2023. Below you’ll find a QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop comparison chart showing the main differences between the platforms. While the cloud-based convenience of QuickBooks Online certainly has its appeal, it seems that when functionality takes center stage, QuickBooks Desktop often steals the limelight. QuickBooks Desktop is like the traditional superhero – reliable, strong, and has been saving the day for years.
While QuickBooks Online does offer security features like multi-factor authorization and encrypted data storage, it’s accessible by anyone with employee login credentials and an internet connection. You can also integrate QuickBooks Online with Zapier, which lets you connect QuickBooks to thousands of other apps in your business’s tech stack. You can do things like automatically add customers to or create receipts https://www.bookkeeping-reviews.com/ in QuickBooks when payments happen in other apps, or track new QuickBooks invoices or payments in another app. Here are a few pre-made workflows to show you what’s possible, but you can use Zapier to connect QuickBooks to almost any app you use. While there are significant differences between QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, both applications offer solid accounting capability for small businesses.
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The online version will soon be the only available version, and it’s used by hundreds of thousands of American businesses. To find out what we thought about it, please check out our review of QuickBooks Online 2024. Launched in 1983, it was originally aimed at individuals looking to manage their money better. If you made a one-time software purchase of QuickBooks Desktop, support for the 2021 edition will end in May 2024. For 2020 copies, support ends in May 2023, and for 2019 copies support has already ended, according to QuickBooks.
- Though there is a Mac version of QuickBooks Desktop, it’s not as well liked as the Windows version.
- However, in addition to its mobile app, QuickBooks Online has a desktop app.
- That’s because access to online apps for Desktop users is being discontinued after May 31, 2023.
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Julie is a dynamic professional with over 16 years of rich experience as a VDI and Application Hosting expert. On the weekend, you will find her hanging out with her family or surfing around the North Shore of Oahu. 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.
QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Desktop at a glance
The licensing agreement specifies when and how you are able to use the software, as well as who is allowed access to it. If your office computer is a Mac, you can still use QuickBooks Desktop on your Mac. I do this using Parallels, software which allows you to run Windows applications on your Mac.
You also have the option to import products and services into the application to avoid having to re-enter the data. QuickBooks Desktop has a more dated user interface than some cloud-based products and requires prior accounting knowledge to get the most out of the product. 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. Until Intuit’s announced that they were no longer going to support QuickBooks Desktop products after May 2023, this was a hard question to answer. Every business has its own needs and demands that make one accounting software version or the other a better fit.
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. I’ve deduced that it comes down to a stubborn user base—one that refuses to let go of QuickBooks Desktop in favor of its cloud-based successor. Granted, most people agree QuickBooks Online is the better option, but the old-timer is still somehow in the running. Depending on your business, the ability to integrate with other applications may be convenient, while for others, it can be a necessity. While people may assume that QuickBooks Online is simply the cloud version of QuickBooks Desktop, in reality, the two products are very different. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us.
QuickBooks Desktop offers the same support options found in QuickBooks Online including video tutorials, on-demand webinars, and various training options. Both applications also include an easy setup process, so you can be up and running in little time. QuickBooks Online offers more features on the go and is a better overall value than QuickBooks Desktop. If you don’t need the advanced features offered by the Desktop plan, the Online version will save you money.
The company has updated its help centers to be more user-friendly, but there’s still no email support. Both options, however, are working to reduce long hold times on the phone by now offering a callback feature. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Pro offer a good number of helpful integrations and add-on products. However, QuickBooks Online offers over 750 integrations to QuickBooks Pro’s 260+ integrations.
Contact Management
QuickBooks Online can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection, and because it’s web-based, you can work with your accountant in real time. The QuickBooks mobile app is also available for free and lets you manage your account on the go. Intuit QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting software with more than 6.1 million paying customers, according to Intuit’s Investor Day 2020. It is an effective product for small and medium-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-use bookkeeping and accounting solution. With QuickBooks Desktop, users receive some of the most developed accounting tools on the market.
QuickBooks Desktop vs. Online: Which Should You Use?
If you have employees, you can add QuickBooks Payroll to your QuickBooks Online account for as little as $45 per month plus $5 per employee. QuickBooks Payroll allows you to pay your employees https://www.quick-bookkeeping.net/ 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.
The client may pay at the time of the service or they might send a check later. Access to accountants is granted independently from your regular user limit in QBDT. However, QBO restricts access to up to two accountants or accounting firms. It is worth noticing that an accounting firm can add their team members, and this https://www.online-accounting.net/ does not impact the user limit because it happens from within the firm’s access. When subscribing to a QuickBooks Online plan, you can elect to purchase add-on services and enhancements to better suit your needs, found at The software-only QBDT versions are fully functional and useful at the time you purchase them.