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QuickBooks Online vs Quickbooks Desktop: Which is best? 2024

By admin | June 16, 2022

quickbooks cloud vs desktop

Subscription clients in QuickBooks Desktop 2023 (R1) or older versions will need to update to the latest 2023 (R3) version before their subscription expires. Reporting options are good in both applications, though only one of the applications offers industry-specific reporting options. It offers more integrations, as well as a much smoother integration process that allows you to access third party apps directly within QuickBooks Online without the need to sync applications or import data. Small to midsize businesses that want a desktop solution or need advanced inventory and industry-specific features.

quickbooks cloud vs desktop

Though QuickBooks Desktop is more expensive and can be more confusing to learn, it has its place with large businesses that need advanced accounting. Send invoices, run reports, and get mobile alerts for key events—all on your smartphone. 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 monthly subscription, while QuickBooks Desktop has an annual cost. QuickBooks Desktop features are better developed than comparable features found on QuickBooks Online. Though not web-based, QuickBooks Desktop can be hosted online for more convenient access if desired.One of QuickBooks Desktop’s best features is its use of centers, which provide a central point for all activity.

  1. QuickBooks Online supports up to 25 users, which does fall short of the 40 users supported under QuickBooks Desktop.
  2. Here are a few pre-made workflows to show you what’s possible, but you can use Zapier to connect QuickBooks to almost any app you use.
  3. The banking section of this case study focuses on cash management, bank reconciliation, and bank feed connections.
  4. QuickBooks Desktop still has a place in the accounting software industry.

Industry-Specific Features

While QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop is there a difference between ein and tax id number offer contact management, only QuickBooks Desktop allows you to manage and track leads as well as contacts. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop offer a large number of features. While they share many of the same features, QuickBooks Desktop’s features are often more developed, except when it comes to invoicing. Both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online utilize a subscription pricing model. Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes. To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website.

QuickBooks Online is faster, lighter, and uses less processing power than QuickBooks Desktop

The software itself may look like an outdated image on some monitor within a cubicle maze, but it’s versatile in what it can do. The dashboard does an excellent job dividing all accounting aspects into a flowchart type of view, while the sidebar provides quick access to a list of features. That said, it can feel overwhelming and confusing if you don’t have prior accounting knowledge. QuickBooks Online is optimized to be as user-friendly as possible and very easy to navigate. The side menu categorizes features for easy access, for example, aggregating sections for employees, their taxes, and compliance details under the Payroll category. It takes a bit of time to click around and understand where everything is, but a quick run-through is more than enough to familiarize yourself with what QuickBooks Online can do.

Bookkeeping and accounting software

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. 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.

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. Customer service is evaluated based on the number of communication channels available, such as phone, live chat, and email. Software providers also receive points based on other resources available, such as self-help articles and user communities.

Add new QuickBooks Online invoices to Google Sheets spreadsheet rows

Move from any version of QuickBooks Desktop, and only migrate the data that accounting for wholesale distribution businesses matters most to you. 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 losing your data. 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 similar to QuickBooks Desktop, we recommend using the QuickBooks Online Desktop app.

One is sleek and modern, and the other seems to have been designed for a cubicle. 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 addition to having more integrations, QuickBooks Online also has better integrations. QBO’s integrations cover more business needs and include multiple payment gateway options. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Pro offer a good number of helpful integrations and add-on products.

QuickBooks Desktop is a good choice if you need specialized features such as inventory tracking or forecasting, and you don’t mind paying more for them. When signing up for QuickBooks Online, it only gives options for paying monthly. However, once you’ve signed up, navigate to your account settings, and you can switch to annual billing to save 10%.

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. Fortunately, a mobile app is now available with the introduction of QuickBooks Desktop 2022. However, the top 7 types of journal entries QuickBooks Desktop app is a very pared-down version of the desktop and is poorly rated.

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