I believe that in many cases either software would work just fine for a small business. Think about a sports car and a pickup, both will take you to the store to buy Ben and Jerry’s but if you need to haul lumber maybe you need the truck. If you want to drive US Highway 101, you probably would enjoy the sports car more.

Transitioning from the Desktop Premier product to Premier Plus is easy and can be done in minutes. Live Bookkeepers aren’t responsible for errors resulting from incorrect information that you provide, or if you re-open the books by overriding closure after a Live Bookkeeper completes the month-end closure.

There are over 200 options instead of the 650-plus to its cloud counterpart. When working with the Desktop version, it’s downloaded right to your computer. This means the data operates as fast as your computer, all without needing to worry about a connection issue.

This introduces another notable issue with the Desktop software. You must pay an additional fee for every user who wants to access the account simultaneously, whereas Online lets multiple users access the account at the same time. 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 free wave accounting alternative 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. One of the biggest differences between QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier is that Quickbooks Premier offers six industry-specific versions of the software in addition to the standard version.

Also, QuickBooks will adjust your inventory in your balance sheet automatically, eliminating the need for manual data entry. QuickBooks Desktop Pro doesn’t fall short in terms of A/P features, but we found the A/P module difficult to use. While you can enter bills and vendor credits easily straight from the A/P register, the process can be difficult to follow for nonaccountant users. Pro also offers the other general features we look for, including the ability to import beginning and ending balances, create user-defined classes, and close year-end books.

Share QuickBooks Desktop Files with Qbox!

Perhaps the most essential thing to consider is which subscription plan works for you. Depending on your business needs and the types of documents you handle, select the plan that will benefit you the most and has all the features you need daily. While QBD and QBO are compatible and should be able to sync all the data accordingly, some features or reports are unavailable either in QBO or the plan you select.

• QuickBooks Desktop also has a vast help center with plenty of how-to guides, learning videos, and tutorials.
• We’ll create customized training and documentation specific to your business, processes, and industry.
• Of course, there’s also the budget element and figuring out which plan is the most affordable.
• Must have the QuickBooks Desktop App installed on a camera-enabled mobile device using Android 5.0 (API level 21, Lollipop or onwards), or iOS 13 or later.
• Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us.
• QuickBooks desktop’s home screen features the well-known flowchart style, which depicts how various transactions flow through the accounting system.

Fourlane has consultants certified in QuickBooks and other ERP software such as NetSuite and Acumatica. QuickBooks isn’t just for small businesses; we make it work for medium-sized enterprises as well by utilizing the API for integrations and apps. However, if you’ve hit a ceiling in what QuickBooks can do for your growing business, Fourlane is just one of a small handful of firms that have bridged the gap between QuickBooks and ERP systems. We’ll create customized training and documentation specific to your business, processes, and industry. With thousands of QuickBooks conversions, Fourlane is the most trusted company for converting your data to QuickBooks. Whether you’re currently using QuickBooks Desktop and need professional consulting services or are looking to buy QuickBooks Desktop for your business, we can help.

All plans include

With stronger reporting, industry-specific tools, a better price structure, and more extensive functionality, you can go with QuickBooks Desktop. QuickBooks desktop’s home screen features the well-known flowchart style, which depicts how various transactions flow through the accounting system. QuickBooks Online, on the other hand, may be the better option if bank feed integration is vital to you. QuickBooks is the most extensively used small business accounting software for tracking financial health and managing income and expenses.

• QuickBooks Desktop is an annual subscription, starting at $549.99 per year, which may be cost-prohibitive for small businesses or cash-strapped startups.
• On QBO you either lose these features or have to buy additional plans like QuickBooks Payroll, which starts from $37/month.
• Using a structured scoring rubric, we evaluated the three programs across 12 accounting metrics and rated them anywhere from zero (very poor) to five (excellent) for each category.
• Gentle Frog, LLC does not have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented herein.
• Read our full QuickBooks Desktop vs QuickBooks Online comparison for more information.

Unlike buying a subscription from Intuit directly, a reseller can sell you the QuickBooks Desktop application as a one-time fee. There will be no additional subscription fees while using the software for your business needs. QuickBooks Desktop software is as an annual subscription that will auto-renew with your credit card on file, so there’s no service interruption. If you purchased Desktop software via retail, make sure to place your credit card on file for uninterrupted service. QuickBooks Desktop is popular with small business owners for a reason. It offers affordability, a ton of useful features, easy system navigation, and scalability.

Some of the accounting software we reviewed, such as Zoho Books and FreshBooks, have better customer service, with the option to initiate a call. 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.

QuickBooks Desktop Pro Deciding Factors

But you don’t get support or updates and any add-ons like payroll or payment processing stop working. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. There is no longer an option for outright purchase of QuickBooks Desktop software license. Rather, you will be purchasing an annual subscription to the software, which must be maintained in order to keep using the software. Cost of poor quality (COPQ) is an essential accounting formula for calculating losses from poor quality products and services.

If you decide QuickBooks Desktop is best for your business, you can either purchase a subscription from Intuit or purchase the software directly from a reseller for a one-time fee. Once you have QuickBooks Desktop up and running, consider using Qbox to share your company file with remote users. QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus and Enterprise plans have industry-specific reports for manufacturing and wholesale, retail, nonprofit, general contractor and professional service businesses, too. For example, nonprofits can use the desktop products to run donor contribution summary reports while manufacturing, wholesale and retail businesses have the ability to forecast product sales.

Read our QuickBooks Payments review to learn more about the platform. However, despite this minor issue, Pro offers almost all the A/P features we look for in accounting software. It allows you to enter bills as you receive them and then pay them later. You can record a new bill from the Enter Bills window from the Vendors menu. For $1,410 per year, get the Enterprise plan with advanced pricing, reporting and inventory.

Accounts Payable Invoice Matching Automation

A series of icons appears below each displayed report, offering options to run the report, view additional information, mark the report as a favorite, and request report-specific help. Store all your data and documents in one powerful cloud based procurement app accessible from anywhere. Remove the opportunity for manual errors and lost data tripping you up. Request, approve, and manage purchase orders efficiently from anywhere on any device in Planergy’s cloud app with no user access to QuickBooks Desktop required.

Gentle Frog, LLC does not warrant that the material contained herein will continue to be accurate, nor that it is completely free of errors when published. Readers and viewers should verify statements before relying on them. Small to midsize businesses that want a desktop solution or need advanced inventory and industry-specific features.

QuickBooks Desktop Pro’s inventory accounting isn’t as enhanced as QuickBooks Premier’s, but it does a great job of monitoring the COGS and calculating ending inventory. You can track the availability of inventory and the average and the total number of items, create purchase orders (POs) for vendors, and set up alerts when you’re running out of inventory. Based on the chart above, QuickBooks Desktop Pro excels in most areas of accounting, including banking, A/P and A/R, project accounting, and inventory, which we discuss in greater detail below.

When you might choose QuickBooks Desktop instead

Whether you are looking to buy QB Pro 1-user license or need QuickBooks Enterprise 23.0, we can address all your requests. QuickBooks Desktop Pro can be cumbersome to use if it’s not set up properly, which explains its average score. We highly recommend hiring a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to set up your company and items, such as inventory. Spending the time and money to get your company set up correctly will make entering everyday activities a breeze.

Contractors and professional service businesses can use the software to compare revenue by city, customer and job type. QuickBooks Online offers a large selection of reports, but they aren’t industry-specific. These include the ability to track raw materials and finished products and automate order management, among other functions.

This date does not apply to Pro Plus, Premier Plus, or Enterprise customers. Online services vary by participating financial institutions or other parties and may be subject to application approval, additional terms, conditions, and fees. Buy QuickBooks is the process of acquiring license code of QuickBooks Desktop Application from a trusted Intuit Authorized QuickBooks Solution Provider (QSP) for its use. Purchasing QuickBooks from an Intuit Authorized Channel allows you to get access to genuine software to automate, streamline and ease your accounting practice.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Pricing

Take your bookkeeping further with Fourlane’s advanced experience implementing QuickBooks within thousands of businesses. From software to even coffee, it seems like in today’s world everything is moving towards subscription based billing. If you’re in the market to upgrade your QuickBooks Desktop application or maybe even waiting to purchase QuickBooks 2022, it may seem like you can only purchase a subscription plan. We’re here to make migrating your desktop data and getting to know QuickBooks Online as seamless as possible. Easily do it yourself, or get help from a specialist if you have questions.