If you’re not certain whether you need every industry-specific feature Premier Plus offers, it’s worth looking closely at both products to see whether Pro Plus might be a better fit. If you don’t need industry-specific reports, however, QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus may not offer as much value. QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus has many of the same features for a lower price. And if you’re considering moving from desktop software to the cloud, QuickBooks Online is a very popular alternative. Like all Intuit products, QuickBooks Desktop is fairly intuitive for most customers. However, QuickBooks Desktop isn’t quite as user-friendly as QuickBooks Online, especially for business owners who don’t know much about accounting.

QuickBooks Desktop Pro Review: Features and Pricing

  • Alternatively, all the necessary actions are available through the top menu.
  • We evaluated QuickBooks Online vs Desktop based on our internal case study.
  • You can also create customized reports to meet your specific business needs.
  • The choice between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop for payroll depends on the complexity of your payroll needs.
  • Pricing for Enterprise plans with cloud hosting starts at $1,740 for one user per year.
  • Moreover, we’d also like to see customization options to enable users to generate reports based on what they want to see.

Prior to joining the team at Forbes Advisor, Cassie was a content operations manager and copywriting manager. QuickBooks offers both an online and on-premise version of its software. It has an option under the File menu to convert an Accountant’s Copy (.QBA) to a regular QuickBooks company file (.QBW). I checked out online reviews to see if users have positive experiences with the software. QuickBooks Accountant Desktop includes telephone support, but you have to send a request and wait for a call from a representative—resulting in a significant blow to its score. You can also talk to an agent through live chat during business hours or explore some of its self-help resources and troubleshooting guides online.

QuickBooks Online: Cloud-based accounting

  • At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations.
  • QuickBooks Desktop, installed locally on your computer, generally handles large data volumes more efficiently than QuickBooks Online.
  • Tracking is more manual, and updates are not instantly accessible, which can be a limitation for businesses managing multiple locations.
  • Think CRM platforms for managing customer relationships, inventory management tools for tracking stock, and e-commerce platforms for selling online.
  • Using QuickBooks Payments, you can include a link with every invoice so that your customers can pay online using their credit cards.
  • Online, accessible through any internet-connected device, boasts a modern and intuitive interface, as explained by Zapier.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is good for handling everything in our small environment so that we don’t have multiple software and have to double enter information or worry about integrations. We chose a subscription level that doesn’t charge based on the quickbooks desktop review number of paychecks, but that could be an issue depending on the size of the company and cash flow. I use QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise to keep up with the finances of several of my small businesses.

QuickBooks Desktop Premier would have hit all the right notes if not for its inability to track activity by location, which is a popular feature of its cloud-based counterpart, QuickBooks Online. However, as with QuickBooks Online, setting up QuickBooks Desktop Premier is easy and detailed. After setting up basic information, you can also modify or import a chart of accounts, close prior period accounts, and input beginning balances. It is moderately priced for a single user at $799 per year but can get expensive if you need five people to access your software.

Mobile App (1.00/

Additionally, the Intuit Quickbooks website makes it pretty clear that Intuit wants as many customers as possible to switch to QuickBooks Online. Read through our list of the best accounting software for nine affordable QuickBooks alternatives for companies like yours. But QuickBooks Desktop’s technical interface works better for accountants and bookkeepers than small-business owners, most of whom have limited financial backgrounds. And QuickBooks Desktop plans cost more than comparable QuickBooks Online plans—which already have higher entry-level prices than competitors like Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho Books.

QuickBooks Pro Vs Premier: Which Is Better?

For basic inventory features, we looked for the ability to track units, per-unit costs (using either FIFO or average cost), and the automatic recording of COGS upon a sale. Advanced features included the ability to adjust inventory on hand for shrinkage with an automatic expense recorded and the option to choose from either FIFO or average cost to value inventory. Choose QuickBooks Online for its extensive app marketplace and seamless real-time integration. Opt for QuickBooks Desktop if your business requires specialized tools for industry-specific needs.

In addition, it has special tools to allow accounting professionals to import, adjust, and export their clients’ QuickBooks Pro and Premier company files. Ideally, accounting practice software providers should offer various ways for users to seek support, including phone and email support, self-help guides, and training opportunities. A good accounting practice management software should offer fundamental bookkeeping features to support your firm. Some of the essential bookkeeping features the Fit Small Business accounting team looks for include general ledger (GL), A/P, and A/R management.

The software must also have a mobile app to enable users to perform accounting tasks even when away from their laptops or desktops. This takes into account customer management, revenue recognition, invoice management, and collections. If QuickBooks Desktop offered a tax filing service for its users, then that would have earned it a perfect score.

He is also a certified bookkeeper with expertise in Quickbooks Online and Xero. With hands-on experience in accounting software since 2014, I bring a deep understanding of accounting and bookkeeping to my writing. If you’re integrated with Method CRM, transitioning to QuickBooks Online requires a couple of additional steps to ensure that all linked data and custom workflows continue to operate smoothly.