QuickBooks Desktop is an annual subscription, starting at $549.99 per year, which may be cost-prohibitive for small businesses or cash-strapped startups. While the Desktop version has app integrations, it doesn’t have near as many as the Online version. 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. 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.

• Installing QuickBooks Desktop on multiple computers is a little more complicated since each computer will require access to the company data file.
• It is easy to invite your bookkeeper or tax professional to have access to your file in real-time.
• This means that QuickBooks Desktop users are limited to one hosting provider — the computer on which the software is installed — or a handful of licensed computers.
• Both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online utilize a subscription pricing model.
• He is an expert in resource and process optimization resulting in greater operational efficiencies.

You can add payroll, more users, and cloud hosting for additional fees. QuickBooks Desktop offers more control and extensive features, making it suitable for larger or more complex businesses. QuickBooks Online provides accessibility, automatic updates, and is generally a better fit for smaller businesses or those that require remote access to their financial data. There are a few key features construction companies typically want from their accounting software.

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While most information transfers well to QBO, not all of your information will convert from Desktop. We think QuickBooks Online is the best overall option for small businesses, but QuickBooks Desktop Premier is a great option for niche businesses. QuickBooks Online is praised for its mobility, ease of use, feature selection, time-saving automations, and integrations. With QuickBooks Online, you can add QuickBooks Online Payroll starting at $45/month.

QuickBooks can help – but it does best when properly integrated with apps that offer functionality QuickBooks lacks – like time tracking with Workyard. It has an easier learning curve, and you’ll have plenty of new features to learn before you reach the limits of what it can do. But it’s important to remember that even though QuickBooks Online is easier to use, you’ll still need some knowledge of basic accounting principles to use it effectively. QuickBooks Online and Desktop both allow tracking of partial payments and will update the project and subsequent invoices automatically. Both versions have all the core features you would expect, but the difference comes into play when looking at adjustments and flexibility.

Small Business

Yes, QuickBooks Enterprise does have a cloud-hosted option that gives you access to the software at any time, anywhere, and with any device. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise with Hosting is a subscription-plan and incurs an additional cost on top of the standard Enterprise licensing costs. Hosting for QuickBooks Enterprise is provided via Right Networks, who also perform all data backups on a nightly basis. The cloud-hosted version of QuickBooks Enterprise operates as you would expect most remote desktop services.

QuickBooks Online integrates with many other software platforms, such as PayPal and Square, but these platforms do not always have desktop versions. That’s why QuickBooks maintains a list of apps for QuickBooks Desktop that you can use to determine which desktop apps you can pair with your Desktop software. Because QuickBooks Online is cloud-based, it is a great option for those who need QuickBooks access while not in the office. The dashboard is super intuitive with large, easy-to-understand charts, and the mobile app is similarly easy to use. QuickBooks Online is cloud based, which means you can access your QuickBooks account anywhere you have the internet and an internet-enabled device.

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Features

QuickBooks Online is easier to learn and use on a daily basis with the accessibility of offers across multiple devices and the number of available automations and applications. However, the program is more “generic” and won’t give you the most industry-specific capabilities. It also lacks the level of customization that some companies may prefer.

Can I switch from QuickBooks Online to Desktop?

Depending on your needs, either of these versions should be able to help you run and manage your construction more efficiently. In the long term, QuickBooks may move entirely online, but by now, you can probably expect all (or at least most) of Desktop’s key features to be folded into QuickBooks Online. With QuickBooks Online, this is a critical integration and one that will end up saving you countless hours when running payroll. You’ll also be able to spot when projects are in danger of going over budget due to labor costs.

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This means that QuickBooks Desktop users are limited to one hosting provider — the computer on which the software is installed — or a handful of licensed computers. QuickBooks Online can be accessed from any internet-connected device, including a mobile device with the QuickBooks app installed, after you enter a valid username and password. For many small-business owners, most the definition of net credit sales on a balance sheet 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. In the past, customers could choose between annually renewing plans and single-purchase software with a license that stayed valid for three years.

However, this may not be the type of audit trail your company desires. This is for the “Self-Employed” version that is intended for use by freelancers. This simple version will help track income and expenses, organize your receipts, and help you invoice customers. QuickBooks Desktop has a lot of integration possibilities, with 200+ third-party apps, making it one of the more interconnected desktop software solutions.

QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are both excellent small business accounting software applications, both offering complete double-entry accounting as well as automatic processing of closing entries. For $1,410 per year, get the Enterprise plan with advanced pricing, reporting and inventory. The higher your plan tier, the more reports and users you can add, although it’s important to understand concurrent users are each sold separately. The two versions are independent of each other, which means the data you enter on Desktop doesn’t sync to the Online version and vice-versa. QuickBooks Online has a cheaper monthly cost and is more affordable if you have a lot of employees who will be using the software.