Features include mileage tracking, basic reporting, income and expense tracking, capture and organize receipts and estimation of quarterly taxes. With QuickBooks Online, you also get the latest security capabilities. Know that your data is protected without downloading and installing product updates. You don’t have to worry about losing everything in a fire or an unforeseen event. Should you use the desktop application or web browser version of QuickBooks?
But based on the tech industry’s growing emphasis on cloud storage over local storage, it’s hard to what happens if the contribution margin ratio increases imagine that downloadable programs like QuickBooks Desktop will still be relevant a decade down the road. It’s important to note that QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online are two separate products, and data in the two versions do not automatically sync. A company should work with either QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online to avoid data discrepancies. Both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online offer multiple service tiers that cater to different business needs, such as the number of employees who need to access the software. Despite their differences, QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online also have plenty of overlap. Here’s a look at how these two QuickBooks accounting software options stack up.
Terms and conditions, features, what is gross profit support, pricing, and service options are subject to change without notice. Terms and conditions, features, support, pricing, and service options subject to change without notice. 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.
QuickBooks Online VS QuickBooks Desktop: Pricing Comparison
Users can access features via the vertical menu to the left of the screen or by using the drop-down menu bar at the top, and the My Shortcuts option allows you to add a shortcut to frequently used features. If the default screen is too crowded for your taste, you can hide the vertical menu, only displaying it when you wish. You can easily access all QuickBooks Online features from the dashboard, where you’ll find a vertical menu bar to the left of the screen. While the dashboard is a bit cluttered, you can easily customize it to only display the information you wish. Those interested in trying out QuickBooks Online can access a free 30-day demo with sample data that allows you to easily explore system features and functions without spending a lot of time entering data.
Add new QuickBooks Online invoices to Google Sheets spreadsheet rows
All Online plans include receipt capture, QuickBooks support and more than 650 app integrations with apps such as PayPal, Square and Shopify. 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. QuickBooks Online has been part of the Intuit accounting software family for a few decades now. Since QuickBooks Online is browser-based, not desktop-based, you can log on to your Quickbooks Online account from any web-enabled device with a sturdy internet connection. Until Intuit’s announced that they were no longer going to support QuickBooks Desktop products after May 2023, this was a hard question to answer.
QuickBooks Desktop plans and pricing
For an extra $50, sign up for a one-time live Bookkeeping setup with any of its plans. Different software packages include licenses for 1 to 10 users, up to 20 users, up to 30 users, and up to 40 users. QuickBooks Online’s month-to-month subscription service starts at $30 a month (totaling $360 a year).
- While the Desktop version has app integrations, it doesn’t have near as many as the Online version.
- Support options are fairly similar for both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop, with the more expensive plans offering better support options.
- What stands out most about QuickBooks Online when compared to Desktop is that QBO is cloud-based accounting software.
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Whereas one is completely online and cloud-based, the other operates locally on your computer. One is sleek and modern, and the other seems to have been designed for a cubicle. Because QuickBooks Online is connected to the cloud, you can work from any device with an internet connection. QuickBooks Desktop wins this, offering more reporting options as well as industry-specific reports and forecasting options not offered in QuickBooks Online. All QuickBooks Online plans include good reporting options, with the Advanced plan offering the most comprehensive reporting options, including key financial metrics such as revenue and cash flow.
As you consider whether QuickBooks Desktop vs. QuickBooks Online is better for your accounting needs, keep in mind that QuickBooks Online is the more recent, up-to-date, and constantly evolving product. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop share the same basic functionality of organizing your accounting processes and automating much of the manual data entry work. Seeing as it’s a program installed on your local system, it relies on the device’s processing power and resources. With larger datasets or complex operations, QuickBooks Desktop might utilize more local processing power compared to the online version. QuickBooks Desktop can feel rigid and resistant to modification or integration—the same way Apple products and iOS felt rigid back when everyone had overheating, self-cooking Android phones. As I was testing accounting practice academy them out, I found QuickBooks Online a lot sleeker, more modern, and easier to navigate than QuickBooks Desktop.
Every business has its own needs and demands that make one accounting software version or the other a better fit. That’s because it’s one of the leading accounting software programs for managing payroll, operations, accounts receivable and numerous other financial functions. QuickBooks Desktop has a more dated user interface than some cloud-based products and requires prior accounting knowledge to get the most out of the product. Going completely cloud-based comes with marginally higher security risks. While QuickBooks Online does offer security features like multi-factor authorization and encrypted data storage, it’s accessible by anyone with employee login credentials and an internet connection.