QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Which Is Best for You?
Terms, conditions, pricing, special features, and service and support options subject to change without notice. QuickBooks Online offers more features on the go and is a better overall value than QuickBooks Desktop. If you don’t need the advanced features offered by the Desktop plan, the Online version will save you money. QuickBooks Desktop is a good choice if you net 30 payment terms need specialized features such as inventory tracking or forecasting, and you don’t mind paying more for them. 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 a few key features construction companies typically want from their accounting software. Below, we’ll review how these features stack up between QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online. Despite its better mobile functionality, QuickBooks Online still lags behind QuickBooks Desktop in terms of job costing and advanced estimating features.
QuickBooks Desktop vs. Online: What’s the Difference?
Besides cloud access, there are other differences between these two applications that we will explore further. Every business has unique needs and demands that make one accounting software version a better fit than the other. Nevertheless, you may use the following general guidelines when deciding on the best product for your business.
As an added convenience, if you outgrow your current edition of QuickBooks Online, upgrade to a more powerful plan in minutes. QuickBooks Desktop’s user interface is very different from QuickBooks Online, offering navigation using a flowchart style menu. Find help articles, video tutorials, and connect with other businesses in our online community.
- On the left you can see the market penetration of both products in the small business segment.
- QBO was primarily frowned upon for not offering as much customization, being able to automatically send invoices, have job costing abilities, or provide the same security as Desktop.
- Cloud software allows you to automatically send invoices directly to customers so your clients can get paid faster.
- This lets their accountant access their company file without the need to sign in as admin.
- This simple version will help track income and expenses, organize your receipts, and help you invoice customers.
In contrast, as your needs evolve, you may upgrade to any of the QuickBooks Desktop editions. However, upgrading will need you to convert your data from one software solution to another, which may be a time-consuming and complex procedure. Hevo Data, a No-code Data Pipeline, helps load data from any data source such as Databases, SaaS applications, Cloud Storage, SDK,s, and Streaming Services and simplifies the ETL process. It supports 100+ Data Sources including QuickBooks and other 40+ Free Sources. It is a 3-step process by just selecting the data source, providing valid credentials, and choosing the destination.
This means most established construction companies choosing between the two likely won’t see price differences as a huge factor. Smaller businesses may find QuickBooks Online a better fit on price considerations but may also want to consider whether Online can provide everything they’ll need as they grow. QuickBooks offers traditional stand-alone desktop software – QuickBooks Desktop. This is a downloadable copy of QuickBooks you’d install on your computer.
QuickBooks Money
Well, QuickBooks is now working on an extension to job costing, which will ultimately make job costing in QBO much more robust than it is in Desktop. If QuickBooks Online seems like an appropriate solution for your home-service business, it’s easy to get started. Begin by visiting the QuickBooks Online signup page and choosing the plan that meets your needs. The QuickBooks product line contains a variety of solutions that may be used by anybody, from a freelancer to a small business. QuickBooks is an all-in-one software and offers 2 core products – QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.
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It has faster load times and quicker response rates, all while requiring minimal local processing power. You can (almost) always trust your local access, and QuickBooks Desktop reinforces that by keeping your accounting data on your local drive or network. 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. QuickBooks Desktop is a better fit for businesses that prefer to store their data locally and are less dependent on real-time updates or extensive collaboration.
Best Alternatives to QuickBooks Desktop Pro & Premier
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 QuickBooks Desktop app is a very pared down version of the desktop and is poorly rated. 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.
Let’s see how these two platforms compare in features, pricing, and reviews to help you decide on QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop in 2023. Below you’ll find a QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop comparison chart showing the main differences between the platforms. QBO provides up-to-the-minute info about your finances, rather than making you wait for transactions to reconcile at the end of the day.
You can migrate your business and payroll data to QuickBooks Online and keep a copy of the original file for your records. However, Intuit’s push for its QuickBooks Online software and discontinuation of its Desktop offering in the UK has caused users to worry about possible sunsetting. QuickBooks Desktop is better for small to large-sized businesses with complex accounting needs requiring more customizable features. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are capable programs with strong accounting features. Granted, you don’t have to be an accountant to learn QuickBooks Desktop either, but if you are new to accounting, you will need a lot of time to learn the program. With QuickBooks Desktop, you can set recurring invoices, send payment reminders, send batch invoices, and track invoices, but you’ll miss out on many of the other modern, cloud-based automations that QBO provides.