QuickBooks Online Review 2024: Features, Pros & Cons
You can (almost) always trust your local access, and QuickBooks Desktop reinforces that by keeping your accounting data on your local drive or network. QuickBooks Online is optimized to be as user-friendly as possible and very easy impaired asset definition to navigate. The side menu categorizes features for easy access, for example, aggregating sections for employees, their taxes, and compliance details under the Payroll category. It takes a bit of time to click around and understand where everything is, but a quick run-through is more than enough to familiarize yourself with what QuickBooks Online can do.
Is QuickBooks Online Right for You or Your Business?
Support is limited, so users are left reading help articles rather than getting a live person to help. Advanced Pricing / Control, customize, and automate pricing is included in the Platinum and Diamond subscriptions only. In contrast, QuickBooks Desktop’s interface was built with accountants in mind.
QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop starting plans and prices
Features include mileage tracking, basic reporting, income and expense tracking, capture and organize receipts and estimation of quarterly taxes. Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Let us know how well the content on this page solved your problem today. All feedback, positive or negative, helps us to improve the way we help small businesses.
Customer Support: Tie
QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop operate on true double-entry accounting principles and have both accrual and cash-basis accounting. Each offers a detailed chart of accounts, journal entries, bank reconciliation, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and the basic reports needed to run a company. However, QuickBooks Desktop offers better reporting and supports more complex accounting.
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Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop offer a large number of features. While they share many of the same features, QuickBooks Desktop’s features are often more developed, except when it comes to invoicing. Both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online utilize a subscription pricing model.
One is sleek and modern, and the other seems to have been designed for a cubicle. Subscription clients in QuickBooks Desktop 2023 (R1) or older versions will need to update to the latest 2023 (R3) version before their subscription expires. Because QuickBooks Online is connected to the cloud, you can work from any device with an internet connection.
- In contrast, QuickBooks Desktop’s interface was built with accountants in mind.
- Additionally, all versions of QuickBooks Desktop allow you to set up cost estimates for projects and then compare them to actual expenses.
- You can, however, switch your business’s account from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online without losing your data.
With QuickBooks Desktop, you must make an Accountant’s Copy of your data file and send it to your ProAdvisor. The copy will allow you to continue to work on transactions in the current period while your accountant makes adjustments to past periods. It’s an acceptable system but isn’t nearly as convenient as sharing your books through QuickBooks Online.
QuickBooks Payroll allows you to pay your employees by checks or direct deposits, e-file and e-pay taxes, print and e-file W-2 Forms at year-end, and more. Head to our detailed QuickBooks Payroll review to see if it fits the bill. While QuickBooks Online offers project management features, it doesn’t have the same level of customization options as QuickBooks Desktop.
Those who want to take their accounting on the go will appreciate the mobile app. It brings most of the features of the online platform, plus it enables mileage tracking and receipt capture for quick and convenient recordkeeping. QuickBooks Online is a good option for many small businesses that are looking to make invoicing customers easy and integrate invoicing and payments into the general ledger. Small businesses can customize how they use the platform so that they only use the features they need. QuickBooks Payments account subject to credit and application approval. Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments Inc., licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.