QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop 2023
Ease of use is one of the most important things to consider when shopping for software. Neither QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop are difficult to use, although they offer very different user experiences. You can use either QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop, but not both. You can, however, switch your business’s account from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online without bank loans and overdrafts losing your data. 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.
What is the Difference between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop?
It’s designed to foster collaboration between multiple users, facilitating multi-user access to accounting data. Each user has their own login credentials, which can be customized to limit access to sensitive information. There’s also a feature that facilitates inviting your accountant to the platform, so they can have direct access to your data. You must purchase additional licenses if you want to access it on multiple computers.
The assisted migration offer is eligible to Desktop customers that are migrating their data and setting up QuickBooks Online. Personalized setup is limited to a 1-hour session with a customer success product prepaid insurance definition expert. Intuit reserves the right to limit the number of sessions and the length and scope of each session. Assisted migration results may vary based on business complexity and file size.
QuickBooks Desktop plans and pricing
QuickBooks Desktop versions are Pro Plus, Premier Plus, and Enterprise, which are sold as yearly editions with an annual price that varies by the number of users. 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. Since QuickBooks Online offers four cloud-based plans, it easily grows with your business.
QuickBooks Desktop vs. Online: Service tiers and pricing
The downsides are the lack of sales orders, lead management, and other complexities that loyal Desktop users may miss (such as customizable letter templates, a built-in calendar, and even spellcheck). One big drawback of QuickBooks Pro in the past was that it didn’t have mobile apps. Fortunately, a mobile app is now available with the introduction of QuickBooks Desktop 2022.
- 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.
- You don’t have to worry about losing everything in a fire or an unforeseen event.
- While both software types have plenty of perks, QuickBooks Online is a more flexible, affordable, and scalable option for most small-business owners.
- Features include mileage tracking, basic reporting, income and expense tracking, capture and organize receipts and estimation of quarterly taxes.
However, if things like integration and cloud access are important to you, QuickBooks Online may be the way to go. Once you decide, if you need some assistance with your QuickBooks Migration, be sure to check out our comprehensive QuickBooks Tutorial. QuickBooks Online offers a variety of pricing plans, which range from $12 to $75 for the first three months. 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.