QuickBooks Desktop has editions for construction, retail, professional services, manufacturing and wholesale, and nonprofit companies that include industry-specific reports and workflows.

Industry-specific software: QuickBooks Online doesn’t have any industry-specific editions.

Any changes made by your accountant must then be imported into your QuickBooks Desktop company file. With QuickBooks Desktop, you must create an Accountant’s Copy, which then must be transferred to your accountant.

Sharing with your tax pro: You can give an external accountant complete access to your QuickBooks Online company without it counting toward your maximum users.

See our pricing section below for more information. QuickBooks Desktop is available as an annual subscription with some additional benefits.

Pricing: QuickBooks Online is a monthly subscription that includes a set number of users.

This isn’t to say that Desktop is going away anytime soon, but it’s no longer the focus of QuickBooks.

Future development: New features and improvements to QuickBooks Online have been developed at an incredible pace during the past couple of years.

The mobile app available for Desktop is only for capturing receipts.

Mobile app: QuickBooks Online has a mobile app capable of performing most of the functions needed to keep your books.

QuickBooks Desktop can have multiple users set up but only one user at a time can access the program unless you add extra users at an additional fee.

Simultaneous users: QuickBooks Online comes with a set number of users included in your subscription price, and all users can access the program simultaneously.

Cloud vs Desktop: The biggest difference is that QuickBooks Online is cloud-based and can be accessed from anywhere on the internet while QuickBooks Desktop must be installed on a single computer or network.

QuickBooks Desktop is our choice for the best desktop accounting program while QuickBooks Online is our pick for the best overall small business accounting software.Ĩ Key Differences Between QuickBooks Online and Desktop Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop make it onto our list of the best small business accounting software.

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