And let’s not forget offline accessibility for the times your ISP decides to ruin your Monday. Advanced Inventory is included in the Platinum and Diamond subscriptions only. Advanced Reporting is included in all QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise subscriptions. Deciding between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop can feel overwhelming.
Advantages of Cloud Accounting
If not, and you prefer a more traditional software experience, Desktop might be a better choice, even if your business operates primarily online. While this gives you more control, it also means you’re responsible for initiating and implementing them. This can be time-consuming and, as Method explains, may involve extra costs for the latest versions and features. Delaying updates can leave your system open to security threats and prevent you from using new functionalities. While Bundle Cricut points out that Desktop may offer more advanced features, the manual update process is a trade-off to consider.
Suitability: Determining if a Process is Fit for Automation in Accounting and Finance
QuickBooks Online offers a large selection of reports, but they aren’t industry-specific. 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.
The QuickBooks mobile app is also available for free and lets you manage your account on the go. 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. With QuickBooks Online, users receive many of the same great features while gaining the mobility of cloud-based software.
I want to confidently say that the difference in pricing is due to the considerable amount of features that QuickBooks Desktop offers, but I’m unsure if that’s the case. If your accounting software doesn’t register changes here’s what you should know about the ipo process in real time, it could lead to costly delays. QuickBooks Online is highly user friendly with a low learning curve. The dashboard is super intuitive with large, easy-to-understand charts, and the mobile app is similarly easy to use. Speaking of extra fees, QuickBooks Desktop also charges for e-commerce app integration, invoice-based payment acceptance, and online data hosting.
- Zapier is a no-code automation tool that lets you connect your apps into automated workflows, so that every person and every business can move forward at growth speed.
- The “safer” option depends on your comfort level with cloud-based security versus managing your own data protection.
- In both QuickBooks Online and Desktop, you can assign costs to your inventory items and track the quantities sold to calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS).
Advanced inventory management
This section breaks down the key factors to consider so you can make the best choice for your business. Connecting QuickBooks with other software can significantly improve your workflows. But how each version—Online and Desktop—handles integrations is a key difference. Understanding the pricing structures of both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop is crucial for making the right decision for your business. QuickBooks Online is user-friendly, but it requires some prior accounting knowledge to get the most out of it. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website.
Desktop Software Extensions
We also don’t recommend QuickBooks Desktop to Mac users, since there’s just one desktop-based plan for Mac users. This plan, QuickBooks Desktop for Mac, has the same features as QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, the most basic desktop-based plan. In other words, Mac users can’t scale up their software from one plan to the next as they add software users. QuickBooks cost center meaning Desktop involves a one-time purchase, which can be appealing from a budgeting perspective. QuickBooks Online operates on a subscription model, spreading the cost out over time.
It’s an especially good choice for small-business owners without a consistent internet connection and big businesses with complex, industry-specific financial needs. But for most small-business owners in most industries, QuickBooks Online has better automation, better access, and a better price point. 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. Every business is unique, and there may be instances where QuickBooks Desktop may be a better fit. For how to calculate unemployment compensation taxes example, it may be more suitable for businesses with complex inventory management needs or those wanting offline access to their financial data.