QuickBooks is by far the best and most popular company providing excellent accounting software to businesses of all sizes. But when the same company provides two similar-looking versions, it's normal to get confused as to which will suit your business process the best. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are one example.

Not many are aware of the differences between QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop,the two versions of this accounting software. In this article, we will list out all the differences, price, feature comparisons and more, so that you can easily figure out the best suited QuickBooks accounting software for your business.

Overview

Before diving into the differences between QuickBooks Online versus Desktop in detail, let us understand the basic functionality of each of these QuickBooks versions.

QuickBooks Online:

QuickBooks Online was primarily designed for small businesses looking for easily accessed online. Over the years the online version has evolved and ventured into several new-age formats. Small businesses trust QuickBooks Online for its easy user interface, freedom to access the accounting application from any corner of the world on any type of device.

QuickBooks Desktop:

Meanwhile, QuickBooks Desktop is exclusively designed for small to medium-sized businesses that strive for the reliability and trustworthiness of a desktop application. And if your business is niche-specific like non-profit organizations, retailers, and manufacturers, you need to look for industry-specific accounting software. In cases like these, QuickBooks Desktop comes into play.

Features | QuickBooks Online Vs QuickBooks Desktop

There is no doubt that both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop offer a comprehensive set of features enabling the user with easy and safe accounting. Nevertheless, there are a couple of differences in the form of the features provided.

QuickBooks Online Features:

In the online version, you can choose the required features while setting up your account. Also be mindful while choosing your plan, as each plan comes with a set of features available exclusively for the chosen plan.

QuickBooks Online features include easy online connectivity, where the accounting platform will match your bank and credit card transactions including the expenses automatically. This reduces the manual efforts of entering the transaction entries every single time. Apart from this, there are several other features offered, such as:

• Accounting: QuickBooks Online allows over 250 accounts in their standard plan with a solid accounting capability. You can easily keep your bank balance reconciled with your general ledger, all thanks to the automatic bank reconciliation feature. You can also create monthly/quarterly/annual budgets with their budget feature.

• Sales: This feature enables you to create invoices, post payments, and keep a track of all your customers. You can send payment reminders or include payment links in your invoices and send them to your customers who are yet to pay. This way your customers can easily furnish their payments, lessening your due payments and further increasing the rate of your cash flow.

• Expenses: This feature enables you to make easy electronic bill payments and track all your company expenses on a single screen. You can find your dues and upcoming payments on the screen and can further aid you in making timely payments. You can also check the status of your successful and due bills either vendor-wise or due-date-wise.

QuickBooks Desktop Features:

If you compare QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online closely, the features in the former are better developed than the latter. Primarily the medium is not web-based, however, it can be migrated to online for easier and more convenient access if required.

QuickBooks Desktop's Centre feature is by far its most powerful aspect, where you can manage all activities in the main Center. Even QuickBooks Desktop has plans including a set of features, just like its online version. And you can easily connect your bank feeds and download transactions daily using the automatic bank feeds feature. The desktop feature includes many other features like:

• Vendor Center: You can manage all your vendor activity from start to end in this Vendor Center. You can also enter information for each vendor and customize the vendor details according to your preference. You can also view all current bills, paid bills, and due bills using the bill track feature. You can further categorize these bills with options to pay bills by check, ACH transfer, or credit card.

• Customer Center: In this space, you can manage all the customer information. You can create invoices, record payments, and process customer payments, sale orders, and sales receipts.

• Inventory: QuickBooks Desktop's Inventory module offers robust inventory management features. The module offers low stock notification features in its premium edition. In this case, you can set the reorder levels, can track products by part number, and track additional information using custom fields. Also, the Inventory set up feature lets you add product costs and generate a reorder point.

• Online payments: The desktop module integrates easily with QuickBooks payments, hence you can accept or process online payments easily with the desktop version.

Pricing | QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop

Both the QuickBooks versions differ in their pricing schema on a wide level. For instance, QuickBooks Online is available with monthly subscriptions whereas QuickBooks Desktop is billed annually. Let's discover what each platform offers,

QuickBooks Online Pricing:

The online module comes with a variety of pricing plans ranging from $12 to $75 on a 3-month basis.

The QuickBooks online pricing starts at $12 for the first three months. They offer a set of features in each plan with a fixed price. The subscription plans are as follows:

• Simple Start: This plan is designed for sole proprietors and independent contractors, basically supporting a single user. Here you can access features including income and expense tracker, sales tax tracker, and Receipt organizer.

• Essentials: In this subscription plan, the system supports up to three users. Apart from the features provided in Simple Start, you get access to additional features like bill management capability.

• Plus: This plan supports up to five system users. Apart from the features provided in Simple Start and Essentials, plus includes inventory tracking and project management features.

• Advanced: The Advanced plan supports up to 25 system users. It includes all features offered in Simple start, Essential, and. Apart from these, it has features like invoice batching capability, business and analytic reports, and a dedicated account manager.

• You can further extend your plans in case your business outgrows the needs. You can easily upgrade to a more potent plan in minutes.

QuickBooks Online Plans:

• Simple Start: $25

• Essentials: $40

• Plus: $70

• Advanced: $150

QuickBooks Desktop Pricing:

QuickBooks Desktop is usually billed manually with a small amount of accounting fee, making it extremely pocket-friendly in comparison with QuickBooks Online.

• Pro: This plan is exclusively designed for smaller businesses. Usually, startups and small businesses look for entry-level accounting software and QuickBooks Pro provides just that. Pro supports up to three system users. It includes features like income and expense tracker, inventory management, and customer invoicing.

• Premier: This plan supports up to five users. QuickBooks Premier offers industry-specific features curated for niche-specific businesses. They include features like accounting and reporting functionality.

• Enterprise: As the name suggests, this plan is built for an enterprise-level supporting up to 30 users. It includes all the features provided in Pro and Premier. Apart from these, it includes features like mobile barcode scanning and enhanced pick, pack, and ship options that are perfect for retail and niche-specific businesses.

QuickBooks Desktop Plans:

• Pro: $399.99

• Premier: $649.99

• Enterprise: $1,213

Support | QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Desktop

Both the versions, QuickBooks Online versus Desktop, offer similar and extensive support options. In both cases, the costlier the plan the better the support options.

QuickBooks Online Support:

With the wide variety of support options available in QuickBooks Online, the QBO Community stands tall and solid. In this community, you can share tips, answer questions, find answers to your QuickBooks related problems and content with the other users effectively. Apart from this, QuickBooks Online offers product support in the app, where you can ask your queries and connect to support personnel. There are numerous short video tutorials, training classes, and on-demand webinars available that can help you to use QuickBooks Online more effectively.

QuickBooks Desktop Support:

The desktop version offers mostly the same features as QuickBooks Online. Even QuickBooks Desktop includes video tutorials, training options, and on-demand webinars. The setup process and running time is the same in both cases as well. Nevertheless, both the versions have long wait times for telephonic support access.

If you are looking for 24/7 support, it's best to put your money on Quickbook Online Advanced or QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise.

Integrations - QuickBooks Apps

It's ideal to check the accounting software integration as per your business needs. For some businesses, certain integrations with other applications may be a matter of convenience, while for others, it can be a necessity. Also in the integration scenario, the QuickBooks version may vary widely.

QuickBooks Online Integrations:

The online version offers integration with more than 500 third-party apps. The third-party category includes Payments, CRM, Project Management, Payments, Payroll, Invoicing, Inventory, and Time Tracking. You have to head to the apps section and connect to the desirable third party app. Also, this process is time-saving and easy to use.

Whenever you are needed to enter bulk transactions data into QuickBooks, use the SaasAnt Transactions application which is ideal for importing any type of QuickBooks transactions in bulk from an Excel or CSV file in a single click.

Use PayTraQer to import/export and sync your transaction data from payment processors like Paypal, Stripe, and Square into Quickbooks in minutes.

QuickBooks Desktop Integrations:

QuickBooks Desktop also offers decent integration options, however, the numbers are less compared to QuickBooks Online. The desktop product offers integration with more than 200 third party applications. This is the finest desktop version you will find in the market with the highest number of integrations in this module.

QuickBooks Reporting

Both the products offer excellent reporting options, however, only one of them provides industry niche-specific reporting options.

QuickBooks Online Reporting:

QuickBooks Online provides good reporting options in all of their plans. However, in the Advanced plan, the user enjoys the most comprehensive reporting options. This includes key financial metrics such as revenue and cash flow.

To claim the reporting options, head to the Reports option, a plethora of categories will be displayed including Favorites, Business Overview, Expenses and Vendors, Employees, and Sales Tax reports, along with several others. You can further customize, view it on-screen, print, or mail it to the recipients directly by exporting all the reports to Microsoft Excel.

QuickBooks Desktop Reporting:

The desktop product offers more than 100 standard reports, which can be further customized if needed. And in the Premier and Enterprise plan, you will be offered 50 additional reports including Industry-specific options. A series of icons are displayed below each reported image, making it easy to process the report. It further allows you to tick on the favorite report, making it easier for future access. You can also view additional information about the report and request report-specific help.

Conclusion

Understanding your business type and choosing the desired accounting version will be more appropriate

QuickBooks Online is a good choice for:

• Businesses who need remote access to the books (access books anytime anywhere)

• If your business needs to access books with multiple users at the same time.

• Businesses that prefer comfortable monthly subscriptions, and claim for additional services if and when required.

• Businesses that prefer cloud computing and are comfortable storing all the data online, and access the books with an internet connection. 

• Businesses that want to venture into automation.

QuickBooks Desktop is a good choice for:

• If your business has a fixed office location

• If your business has a small number of people who need access to the books.

• Businesses that opt for affordable annual charges.

• Businesses that prefer privatization of their books and don’t want their books to be accessible online.

• Businesses that want to discover customized features including the ability to track budget and spending.

To wind up, do thorough homework on your business type and your business needs, to differentiate between Quickbooks Online vs desktop. Look into which formats can satisfy the company’s needs more effectively, and only then lock your choice for QuickBooks Accounting Software.