However, in most cases, it’s recommended that you purchase the software-only version. While this means you’d be subject to certain service discontinuations on a rolling three-year basis, you’d be saving money on the annual subscription. MarketWatch Guides may receive compensation from companies that appear on this page. The compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear, but it does not influence the recommendations the editorial team provides. I find myself leaning toward the futuristic solution, which makes QuickBooks Online my preferred choice of accounting software (my Ralph Macchio). Plus, it’s the only one that integrates with Zapier, enabling you to seamlessly link your accounting management to the rest of your business’s tools.

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. While QuickBooks Desktop is great for users who prefer locally-installed software, users will have to pay additional fees for cloud hosting, adding to the already expensive cost. QuickBooks Desktop also has several additional features you won’t find with QBO, including sales orders and lead management. Because it is locally installed software, you also have more control over keeping your financial data secure.

When she’s not busy supporting professionals and their businesses, Rachel enjoys actively participating in the QuickSource accounting community. The sales receipt can be created by clicking the +New button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, followed by choosing the sales receipt under the header called Customers. The sales receipt can be created from the Home Page or from the Customers menu on the top of the screen.

QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop share the same basic functionality of organizing your accounting processes and automating much of the manual data entry work. You can (almost) always trust your local access, and QuickBooks Desktop reinforces that by keeping your accounting data on your local drive or network. It’s fair to point out that multiple people can use QuickBooks Desktop over the local network at the office. But when multiple users are working on the same file simultaneously, changes made by one user won’t be instantly visible to the rest of the team.

Since QuickBooks Online offers four cloud-based plans, it easily grows with your business. As you hire more employees or bring on more customers, you can scale up your software to match. And if you manage your business from multiple locations, you’ll want QuickBooks Online over Desktop. Only QuickBooks Online includes free access to a comprehensive version of the QuickBooks mobile accounting app, which is one of the best apps in the accounting sphere.

Improve your productivity automatically. Use Zapier to get your apps working together.

Unlike QuickBooks Desktop, QBO is only available in a subscription-based format regardless of the edition you choose. Both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online support small business bookkeeping, but the manner in which each product does so differs. If you don’t renew your QuickBooks Desktop subscription at the end of the year, then you will no longer be able to access your data on the desktop app. It has faster load times and quicker response rates, all while requiring minimal local processing power. 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.

Pushing the Boundaries of Finance: How Pushkin Industries Revolutionized Their Accounting with FinOptimal

The dashboard is super intuitive with large, easy-to-understand charts, and the mobile app is similarly easy to use. For instance, if you choose the Simple Start plan, you’re the only person who can use the software—apart from your accountant, with whom you can share your business’s account at no additional cost. Unlike QuickBooks Online, Desktop Pro includes built-in inventory management. And if data analysis is an important part of growing your business, QuickBooks Desktop is a solid pick. It includes 100+ reports, while QuickBooks Online Simple Start includes around 40. The Desktop Premier edition escalates to 150+ reports, including industry-specific reports for general contractors, manufacturers and wholesalers, nonprofits, and retailers.

What happens if I don’t renew my QuickBooks Desktop subscription?

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. Whether it’s QuickBooks Online or Desktop, each platform offers a range of pricing plans to fit your specific needs. The specific QuickBooks version and edition you buy dictates how many users are allowed access to your business’ individual account. In other words, if you buy one license for QuickBooks Desktop, only one specific person at your company can access the app and file.

1. She has spent the last year and a half working at a software company, managing content about CRM, project management and other business topics.
2. While they share many of the same features, QuickBooks Desktop’s features are often more developed, except when it comes to invoicing.
3. There’s also a feature that facilitates inviting your accountant to the platform, so they can have direct access to your data.
4. Existing QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, Mac, or Enhanced Payroll users will not be impacted.
5. You don’t have to worry about losing everything in a fire or an unforeseen event.
6. QuickBooks Online lets you use Macs or Chromebooks for accounting to avoid the complexities of Windows updates and syncing issues.

QuickBooks migration is (hopefully) something you do once, and there is no benefit for you to spin your wheels for days trying to make this work. This is also possible with QuickBooks Desktop, though some banks charge connection fees. If your bank is one such institution, you may opt to upload your transaction data to QBDT yourself. Doing so isn’t necessarily a complicated or a time-consuming process, but it does require more importance of accounting for startups effort than having QuickBooks download your bank transactions automatically.