QuickBooks Online VS Desktop Comparison 2023

Oh, and if you like spreadsheets, here’s a mammoth that breaks down every single difference between QuickBooks software options. ZipBooks backs up all of your account information and files on encrypted servers that are monitored and secured 24 hours a day. If you use QuickBooks Payments as your credit card processor, it can be integrated with either QB Online or Desktop Invoicing.

While they share many of the same features, QuickBooks Desktop’s features are often more developed, except when it comes to invoicing. When you download the Windows Client App or the Mac Client app, you’ll get the beauty of online collaboration with the speed of running QuickBooks on your local machine. To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website. Find help articles, video tutorials, and connect with other businesses in our online community. Keep in mind that if you do decide to have QuickBooks Desktop hosted, there will be an additional fee. As an added convenience, if you outgrow your current edition of QuickBooks Online, upgrade to a more powerful plan in minutes.

What is QuickBooks Payroll?

Because QuickBooks Online is cloud-based, it is a great option for those who need QuickBooks access while not in the office. These versions, available in Premier and Enterprise, provide custom-tailored features and reports based on the unique needs of their industry. QuickBooks Online has a slight advantage over QuickBooks Desktop in terms of invoicing because of its ability to calculate sales taxes automatically to apply to an invoice based on the customer address. This feature is particularly useful if you sell and ship products out of your state. Both programs allow you to create and send invoices to clients, but QuickBooks Online’s invoices are more professional-looking and have more room for customizations.

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. 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. Despite the platform’s ubiquity, however, many business owners remain uncertain about the differences between QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online. Here, we’ll detail everything you should know about the two versions, including their core functions, pricing tiers, hosting location, extra features and latest updates.

What’s the difference between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop Pro?

The downsides are the lack of sales orders, lead management, and other complexities that loyal Desktop users may miss (such as customizable letter templates, a built-in calendar, and even spellcheck). 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. If your business needs sales orders, QuickBooks Desktop is your only option. Although Intuit has talked about adding sales orders to QuickBooks Online, this feature is only available with QuickBooks Desktop products at this time. QuickBooks Premier also has a payroll add-on, or you can purchase the QuickBooks Premier + Payroll annual plan.

QuickBooks Online is cheaper than QuickBooks Desktop if you have many employees who’ll be using the program. For instance, QuickBooks Online Plus only costs $85 per month for up to five users as opposed to Desktop’s Premier, which costs $799 for only one user. If you need personalized customer support, you can upgrade to QuickBooks Online Advanced or QuickBooks Enterprise. Doing so grants you access to the Priority Circle loyalty program, including a dedicated account team, free on-demand training, and premium care from QuickBooks experts. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop offer the same customer service options. Both even give you access to many independent QuickBooks ProAdvisors whom you can hire to help you get started and keep things in order.

QuickBooks Premier Plus 2023

Customer, vendor, and account details can be viewed by clicking on the left menu bar. For instance, customer details, including what they owe you, can be viewed by clicking on Sales and then Customers. All transactions in QuickBooks Online can be initiated by clicking the + New button above the left menu bar and selecting from the menu of transactions.

While both software types have plenty of perks, QuickBooks Online is a more flexible, affordable, and scalable option for most small-business owners. It includes things like unlimited invoicing, bookkeeping, how to hire a top bookkeeper: a comprehensive guide connecting one bank account, and accepting credit card and PayPal payments. Upgrade to the Smarter or Sophisticated plans for $15 or $35/month, respectively–or try them free for 30 days.

QuickBooks Online VS Desktop FAQs

We also offer expert-led webinars, easy-to-use guides, and phone and chat support with no additional cost. After that date, you won’t be able to access QuickBooks add-on services like Online Banking, Online Backup, Live Support and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Services from any version of the desktop software. The home page displays the most essential functions, including Vendors, Customers, Employees, and Banking. Each function includes respective icons that allow you to access and perform certain transactions easily, such as Enter Bills for vendors, Create Invoices for customers, and Enter Time for employees.

Both services will automatically calculate paychecks, deduct payroll taxes and remit those taxes for you. We’ll be focusing on its cloud-based payroll service, Paychex Flex, in this review because of its popularity. However, Paychex does offer a couple of other payroll options, such as Paychex PEO.

Both QuickBooks Online and Desktop are on our list of the best small business accounting software. QuickBooks Online is our top recommendation, while QuickBooks Desktop is our leading desktop accounting program. These versions give business owners more features and reports geared toward their industry. You can learn more in our guide to the industry-specific editions of QuickBooks Enterprise. Both include the basic reports you’d expect to find with accounting software, such as a balance sheet, a Profit & Loss report, a cash flow statement, etc.

QuickBooks Desktop’s user interface is very different from QuickBooks Online, offering navigation using a flowchart style menu. Ease of use is one of the most important things to consider when shopping for software. Neither QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop are difficult to use, although they offer very different user experiences. You can send email invites to your accountant from within the software. ZipBooks updates automatically and continuously as features are upgraded and improved, and any bugs are fixed.

Local installations are billed annually, while hosted solutions are billed monthly. QuickBooks Online offers many advantages over QuickBooks Desktop, such as cloud accessibility, more convenient file sharing and collaboration, scalable plans with varying features, and a functional mobile app. With QuickBooks Desktop, users receive some of the most developed accounting tools on the market. The software offers comprehensive features, unique touches (such as lead management and sales orders), industry-specific versions of the software, and the potential to be more secure. QuickBooks Enterprise is designed for large businesses or small enterprises and starts at $1,340/year. You can add payroll, more users, and cloud hosting for additional fees.

You can have up to 5 users registered to your QuickBooks Online account, for free. This could include access for an accountant or other professional to be able to view your files. One of the perks of cloud accounting is getting software updates in real time. QuickBooks Online provides bug fixes, new features, and updates as they’re released, any time of year. With Desktop, you have to wait for the new version to be released each year, and then you have to pay about $300 for it.

• We’re obviously big fans of the flexibility, accessibility and affordability of cloud-based applications.
• In addition to having more integrations, QuickBooks Online also has better integrations.
• That being said, it does offer a free trial option, so you can try before you buy.
• However, Paychex does offer a couple of other payroll options, such as Paychex PEO.

QuickBooks Desktop is preferable for companies that want to manage their books without an internet connection. It’s also a better option for businesses requiring complex inventory accounting features. If you have employees, you can add QuickBooks Payroll to your QuickBooks Online account for as little as $45 per month plus $5 per employee. QuickBooks Payroll allows you to pay your employees by checks or direct deposits, e-file and e-pay taxes, print and e-File W-2 Forms at year-end, and more. While QuickBooks Online also offers project management features, it doesn’t have the same level of depth and customization options as QuickBooks Desktop when it comes to project accounting.