QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Testimonial given in an online survey among remunerated QBO customers. 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. Yes, you can, but the process is a bit tedious, as you need to export your files from QuickBooks Online to Desktop manually. If you are currently using QuickBooks Online and want to switch to an interface ageing similar to QuickBooks Desktop, we recommend using the QuickBooks Online Desktop app.

Pricing

It’s also the better option for businesses requiring complex inventory accounting features. We went to user review websites to read first-hand reviews from actual software users. This user review score helps us give more credit to software products that deliver a consistent service to their customers. Service or project-based businesses should choose accounting software that can track project costs, revenues, and profits.

QuickBooks Online goes to $30 per month after that and is easily our most expensive option. Yes, you can switch to another plan from any version of QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Payroll, and QuickBooks Time. A Live Bookkeeper cannot begin cleaning up your past books until they receive the required supporting contribution margin documentation, which your bookkeeper will request from you after your first meeting. Once your bookkeeper receives all the necessary documentation, they’ll typically complete your cleanup within 30 days. In some cases, your cleanup may take longer depending on timeliness of documentation and the complexity of your books.

Plus, with access for up to 40 users, Enterprise can scale with your business as it grows. QuickBooks Self-Employed is a QuickBooks Online product for contractors and freelancers, specifically for those who do not have separate business and personal financial accounts. It starts at $30 a month and includes basic features only, such as mileage tracking and invoicing. In the past, customers could choose between annually renewing plans and single-purchase software with a license that stayed valid for three years. If you purchased a Desktop Pro plan in 2021, your software will still work until 2024—but new customers who bought the 2022 software version can only choose annual subscriptions.

Best Accounting and Bookkeeping Apps for Small Businesses

If you want to perform bookkeeping from anywhere, we strongly recommend QuickBooks Online’s mobile app. 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. QuickBooks Online wins for pricing because it’s essentially more affordable than QuickBooks Enterprise. 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.

QuickBooks Contractor Payments

Additionally, the desktop products are only available as annual subscriptions, making them a bigger commitment than QuickBooks Online. 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. A popular add-on is the payroll feature where you can run payroll and access benefits in one convenient place. It does cost more to access this, which is approximately $22.50 more per month plus how to calculate direct labor and indirect labor for a factory payroll $6 per employee, per month.

1. QuickBooks Online offers more features on the go and is a better overall value than QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Even after initial setup, the software must also let users modify information like company name, address, entity type, fiscal year-end, and other company information.
3. Businesses with inventory items should choose accounting software that can track inventory costs, manage cost of goods sold (COGS), and monitor inventory units.
4. Service or project-based businesses should choose accounting software that can track project costs, revenues, and profits.

We don’t guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services. For many small-business owners, most of the time, QuickBooks Online works better than QuickBooks Desktop. It’s more affordable, easier to share with your accountant or other financial stakeholders, and offers better invoicing than its locally installed counterpart. QuickBooks Online is highly user friendly with a low learning curve. The dashboard is super intuitive with large, easy-to-understand charts, and the mobile app is similarly easy to use.