The platform has an intuitive layout that we were able to navigate on our own. However, QuickBooks also provided help bubbles and other guidance throughout the platform when we opened certain features for the first time. Though QuickBooks Desktop is more expensive and can be more confusing to learn, it has its place with large businesses that need advanced accounting. Ready to boost your team’s productivity and access QuickBooks from anywhere? Contact our specialists today to get started with a seamless QuickBooks hosting solution. Hosting QuickBooks on V2 Cloud combines the power of desktop features with the convenience and security of the cloud.
See why more businesses are choosing QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Pro and Premiere will also discontinue sales to new users on July 31, 2024. QuickBooks Online has a lower initial cost with subscription-based pricing, making it more cost-effective for small businesses. QuickBooks Desktop has a higher upfront cost but may be more cost-effective in the long run for businesses that require advanced features.
For instance, if you have five members, you can purchase the Plus plan for only $90 monthly, whereas with Enterprise, you need to pay $427 monthly for five users. I find myself leaning toward the futuristic solution, which makes QuickBooks Online my preferred choice of accounting software (my Ralph Macchio). Plus, it’s the only one that integrates with Zapier, enabling you to seamlessly link 1040x instructions your accounting management to the rest of your business’s tools.
QuickBooks Payroll allows you to pay your employees 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. QuickBooks Online is the power of compound interest and why it pays to start saving now simply easier to learn, provides a detailed onboarding process, and is very intuitive. Ultimately, your specific business’s size, type, and needs are the real deciding factors in determining which of the QuickBooks versions is best for your business. Just remember, you will need to make a decision quickly if you want QuickBooks Desktop Pro or Premier, as sales of these products will be discontinued this year. One big drawback of QuickBooks Pro in the past was that it didn’t have mobile apps.
Over 2.3 million Desktop customers have made the switch to QuickBooks Online.1
In both QuickBooks Online and Desktop, you can assign costs to your inventory items and track the quantities sold to calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS). All you need is an invoice the same as a bill with definitions and examples is your account information, and you can access your QuickBooks details on any device with an internet connection. While QuickBooks Desktop is great for users who prefer locally-installed software, users will have to pay additional fees for cloud hosting, adding to the already expensive cost.
- However, businesses with more complex accounting needs may find QuickBooks Desktop’s Enterprise version more suitable.
- QuickBooks Online wins because it offers more professional-looking and customizable invoices than QuickBooks Desktop.
- QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based accounting software designed to help small businesses manage their finances efficiently.
With QuickBooks Online, users receive many of the same great features while gaining the mobility of cloud-based software. QuickBooks Online is easier to use and has more automations, more integrations, and better invoicing. 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). These versions give business owners more features and reports geared toward their industry. 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).
Make the switch to QuickBooks Online
For instance, you can set up QuickBooks Online for nonprofits by adjusting the settings, customizing sales forms, and creating a chart of accounts based on Form 990. While QuickBooks Online offers project management features, it doesn’t have the same level of customization options as QuickBooks Desktop. For instance, QuickBooks Desktop allows you to create customized job costing reports tailored to specialized industries, including manufacturers, contractors, and retailers.
Is QuickBooks Online suitable for large businesses?
However, if you’re not a Mac user, you can choose from all three QuickBooks Desktop plans. The QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus plan is particularly useful for business that want industry-specific features. Most notably, Premier Plus has 150+ customizable reports for nonprofits, general contractors, and retailers. We also don’t recommend QuickBooks Desktop to Mac users, since there’s just one desktop-based plan for Mac users. This plan, QuickBooks Desktop for Mac, has the same features as QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, the most basic desktop-based plan. In other words, Mac users can’t scale up their software from one plan to the next as they add software users.
