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. The dashboard is super intuitive with large, easy-to-understand charts, and the mobile app is similarly easy to use. 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. In the battle between QuickBooks Online and Desktop, it’s best to focus on the differences between the two accounting software options since they are so similar.

You need to properly install and set up the software, which often requires IT support for proper configuration. For example, we commend QuickBooks Enterprise’s multicompany reporting feature. This tool allows you to create consolidated financial reports across multiple company files—making it ideal for businesses that operate multiple entities and subsidiaries. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Desktop has two payroll options with prices that start at $50 per month plus $6 per employee. If you can file taxes confidently on your own, Enhanced Payroll might be suitable. If you want QuickBooks to file your taxes for you, then you must upgrade to audit and it audit for dummies QuickBooks Desktop Assisted Payroll.

Generating reports in QBO

1. While QuickBooks products work for many businesses, they aren’t the best choice for all businesses.
2. Meanwhile, if you or your accountant want to become a ProAdvisor to demonstrate expertise in QuickBooks, read our article on how to become a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
3. With our online migration tool, you can move all your data or move only what’s key—like balances and specific lists.
4. A variety of short video tutorials are available as well as on-demand webinars and training classes.

QuickBooks Desktop’s user interface is very different from QuickBooks Online, offering navigation using a flowchart cost benefit analysis style menu. Find help articles, video tutorials, and connect with other businesses in our online community.

DIY clients often find that hiring a professional bookkeeper for on-demand support is a better use of their time and money than the 24/7 support desk. By not purchasing the Plus edition of the software, you lose the automatic backups, but those can be easily handled by yourself. Subscription clients in QuickBooks Desktop 2023 (R1) or older versions will need to update to the latest 2023 (R3) version before their subscription expires. QuickBooks Online is a good option for many small businesses that are looking to make invoicing customers easy and integrate invoicing and payments into the general ledger.

What QuickBooks Desktop offers

The specific QuickBooks version and edition you buy dictates how many users are allowed access to your business’ individual account. In other words, if you buy one license for QuickBooks Desktop, only one specific person at your company can access the app and file. The “Plus” subscription affords you certain benefits, including 24/7 support, automatic backups of your QuickBooks file, and yearly software upgrades. However, in most cases, it’s recommended that you purchase the software-only version.

Number of users

Discover BusinessLoans.com’s lender network offering up to $3M in funding, no minimum credit score required. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Pro and Premier have notoriously poor customer support (QuickBooks Enterprise support has better priority support). It’s hard to say which software is cheaper because there are so many variables. But there are some general guidelines to know which version might be the one for your business (and your budget). QuickBooks Online supports up to 25 users, which does fall short of the 40 users supported under QuickBooks Desktop.

While Enterprise missed a few points because it doesn’t provide income/loss by location reports, it offers many other advanced reporting options and features that provide additional value for many businesses. The Plus Plan is $45 per month for the first three months, then becomes $90 per month, and adds up to five users. It also has inventory management and gives you the ability to project profitability with forecasting reports. The Advanced Plan is the final tier for $100 per month for the first three months, then reverts to $200 per month. This allows more users (up to 25) and increases analytics for users to assess the business’s health.

The Complete Guide To Getting A Free Square Card Reader For Your Business

Getting assistance with your Desktop bookkeeping is difficult since you must save an Accountant’s Copy of your company file and send it to your ProAdvisor. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop have very different pricing structures, with QuickBooks Online available by a direct write off method definition monthly subscription, while QuickBooks Desktop has an annual cost. QuickBooks Desktop features are better developed than comparable features found on QuickBooks Online.