There are over 200 options instead of the 650-plus to its cloud counterpart. When signing up for QuickBooks Online, it only gives options for paying monthly. However, once you’ve signed up, navigate to your account settings, and you can switch to annual billing to save 10%. All Online plans include receipt capture, QuickBooks support and more than 650 app integrations with apps such as PayPal, Square and Shopify. For $1,922 per year, get the Enterprise plan with advanced pricing, reporting and inventory.

Plans for every kind of business

For Xero’s Early plan ($13), the number of invoices that users can send each month is capped at 20, but for all other Xero plans, users can send unlimited invoices. The software is incredibly expensive, and for the price you’re paying, certain features — such as invoicing, project management, time tracking, and importing — are fairly limited. Apart from being expensive, the other thing with QuickBooks Enterprise is that it really isn’t an enterprise solution — it’s best for large businesses. While this isn’t a drawback necessarily, it’s important to keep in mind.

QuickBooks Online Vs. Desktop: What’s The Difference?

While QuickBooks Online is only 50 cents more than Xero, note that that is the introductory cost for the first three months. QuickBooks Online goes to $30 per month after that and is easily our most expensive option. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are capable programs with strong accounting features.

Simple Start

In particular, you can only generate annual financial reports, not month-to-month reports, which complicates making wise financial decisions that benefit your business. QuickBooks’ self-employed solution is also more expensive than some other self-employed accounting software—and it has fewer features, too. (Crucially, its invoices are fairly standard and not very customizable.) If you want to do more than file taxes, even as a sole proprietor, QuickBooks Online is honestly a better fit. QuickBooks Online offers more features on the go and is a better overall value than QuickBooks Desktop. If you don’t need the advanced features offered by the Desktop plan, the Online version will save you money. QuickBooks Desktop is a good choice if you need specialized features such as inventory tracking or forecasting, and you don’t mind paying more for them.

1. 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.
2. Christine Aebischer is an assistant assigning editor on the small-business team at NerdWallet who has covered business and personal finance for nearly a decade.
3. You can download the QuickBooks Online mobile app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
4. Accountants often find QuickBooks Pro and Premier to be more traditional, but you don’t have to be an accountant or professional bookkeeper to learn QuickBooks Online.

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. Accessible from any device with an Internet connection, QBO allows business owners to manage their finances on the go. With a range of features and flexible pricing plans, QBO offers businesses a user-friendly cloud accounting solution.

Once your bookkeeper receives all the necessary documentation, they’ll typically complete your cleanup within 30 days. In some cases, your cleanup may take longer depending on timeliness of documentation and the complexity of your books. Yes, you can switch to another plan from any version of QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Payroll, and QuickBooks Time.

However, existing Self-Employed users can still renew their subscriptions. These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, https://www.adprun.net/ growth trajectory and which features you need most. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one.NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews.

Kristy Snyder is a freelance writer and editor with 12 years of experience, currently contributing to the Forbes Advisor Small Business vertical. She uses her experience managing her own successful small business to write articles about software, small business tools, loans, credit cards and online banking. Kristy’s work also appears in Newsweek and Fortune, focusing on personal finance. QuickBooks Self-Employed might not be the best choice for an LLC because it lacks important features you might need, including profit and loss reports and 1099 contractor payments. However, it all depends on the needs of your business and may be sufficient for single-member LLCs. Both versions of QuickBooks let you send invoices—but Online is the only one that lets you send estimates.

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. Launched back in 1992, QuickBooks Desktop Pro is the software that put QuickBooks on the map. QuickBooks Pro Plus is one of the four desktop applications QuickBooks offers. QuickBooks Pro is locally-installed software with highly developed how do dividends affect the balance sheet features like contact and lead management, expense tracking, project management, accounts payable, invoicing, and more. In terms of accounting, QuickBooks Pro is one of the most developed solutions available, boasting a chart of accounts, journal entries, bank reconciliation, 130 reports, and more. Quickbooks Self-Employed is an easy-to-use, cloud-based software with strong mobile apps.

There are six different versions of QuickBooks, including QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Self-Employed, QuickBooks Pro Plus, QuickBooks Premier Plus, QuickBooks Enterprise, and QuickBooks Mac Plus. The type of business you run has a huge influence on which QuickBooks product is right for you. If you’re a freelancer, QuickBooks Self-Employed is the obvious choice.

It’s packed with features including expense tracking, invoicing and mileage tracking. Moving up to the Essentials Plan, you’ll pay $30 per month for the first three months, then $60 per month. This plan adds up to three users to the account so that the right people have access to data at their fingertips.

Higher-tier plans include more advanced capabilities like inventory management and job costing. Because the product is cloud-based, it’s accessible anywhere with an internet connection. QuickBooks Plus is the most popular plan for businesses since it includes features such as inventory tracking, project https://www.personal-accounting.org/depreciation-and-accelerated-depreciation-method/ management and tax support. Midsized businesses with several customers or clients might benefit from the ability to track profitability with QuickBooks Plus. QuickBooks Mac Plus — also known as QuickBooks for Mac — is locally-installed accounting software designed specifically for Mac users.

In our review of more than a dozen accounting software products, NerdWallet determined a couple of products are strong contenders that may be worth consideration for certain businesses. Consider one of the following solutions if those on our list above don’t suit your small-business accounting needs. It is possible to purchase cloud access so your team can better collaborate and access the software and its data from anywhere, but costs add up quickly with an additional monthly charge per user. Both services offer either introductory pricing or a free trial so you can test them out.

Even though QB Desktop has more comprehensive features in general, there are some key features that only QuickBooks Online has, such as bookkeeping support. See articles customized for your product and join our large community of QuickBooks users. QuickBooks Online is user-friendly, but it requires some prior accounting knowledge to get the most out of it. Remember, software companies like Intuit will always allow you to upgrade your services in the future.