QuickBooks Desktop is more traditional accounting software that you download and install on your computer, while QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software you access through the internet. For the Desktop version, you pay an annual fee starting at $1,922 per year, and the cloud-based option starts at $15 per month. Both versions have mobile apps, but the app for the Desktop version primarily functions as a way to upload receipts, and the Online mobile app is robust in comparison.

1. You can download the QuickBooks Online mobile app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
2. Working from the cloud means you need an internet connection, so a poor signal or an intermittent connection can be an issue.
3. QuickBooks Desktop is an annual subscription, starting at $549.99 per year, which may be cost-prohibitive for small businesses or cash-strapped startups.
4. Enterprise is our best-in-class business management solution.

Know where your money is going

Other popular merchant processors don’t require this, making collecting payments more difficult. The best QuickBooks product depends on your needs and the size of your business. SMBs needing remote access to their account files should choose QuickBooks Online.

What is QuickBooks? A Complete Small Business Guide

You can directly record a manual transaction easily, whether in cash or check. To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website. However you work, no matter what your business does, QuickBooks has a plan for you.

Plans for every kind of business

It also gives you bill management and collects employee time for invoices to add them for proper billing. If you don’t need accounting just yet, our new money solution offers banking, payments, and 5.00% APY—all with no subscription or starting fees. Access your account via the cloud for up to 25 users with the Online version, and pay an additional fee per user, up to 40 users, for cloud access with Desktop. What used to be a huge bulk of QuickBooks business is no longer so—it focuses mostly on its cloud version and actively encourages users to make the switch from Desktop to Online. This may signal future abandonment of its Desktop version as more people move to the cloud. If you make the switch from Desktop to Online, you can import your data and access your original company file at any time.

This allocation is a requirement for calculating taxable income and is very cumbersome to do by hand. QuickBooks can also remind you to order inventory automatically when quantities are low. A seasoned small business and technology writer and educator with more than 20 years of experience, Shweta excels in demystifying complex tech why profits don’t equal cash flow tools and concepts for small businesses. Her work has been featured in NewsWeek, Huffington Post and more. Her postgraduate degree in computer management fuels her comprehensive analysis and exploration of tech topics. If you operate in multiple international locations QuickBooks allows you to accept payment in local currencies.

The QuickBooks product line includes several solutions to support different business needs, including QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Payroll, QuickBooks Time, QuickBooks Payments, and QuickBooks Checking. Payroll processing is an important function for any business. The payroll add-on calculates payroll automatically as often as you want.

Three plans give your business the scalability to grow over time and add features as necessary. The Core plan offers everything a small to midsized business would need to get started, while Premium and Elite plans enable options such as same-day direct deposit and expert assistance with setup. Simply put, the best accounting software is one that suits your unique needs.