In both QuickBooks Online and Desktop, you can assign costs to your inventory items and track the quantities sold bookkeeping journals to calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS). 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.
In some cases, your cleanup may take longer depending on timeliness of documentation and the complexity of your books. You can use either QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop, but not both. You can, however, switch your business’s account from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online without losing your data. QuickBooks Online is cheaper than QuickBooks Desktop if you need multiple users.
While both software types have plenty of perks, QuickBooks Online is a more flexible, affordable, and scalable option for most small-business owners. Not only is QuickBooks Online easier to use, but it offers additional support — for a fee. QuickBooks Online users can sign up for QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping to assist with getting the books up to date and managing bookkeeping tasks.
Advanced Inventory is included in the Platinum and Diamond subscriptions only. Advanced Reporting is included in all QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise subscriptions. QuickBooks might encourage its users to switch from QuickBooks Desktop to Online, but it hasn’t issued any statements about discontinuing Desktop entirely. But based on the tech industry’s growing emphasis on cloud storage over local storage, it’s hard to imagine that downloadable programs like QuickBooks Desktop will still be relevant a decade down the road. Different software packages include licenses for 1 to 10 users, up to 20 users, up to 30 users, and up to 40 users. In evaluating pricing, we considered the billing cycle (monthly or botkeeper raises $25 million in series b to continue helping cpa firms thrive annual) and number of users.
Unfortunately, pricing is no longer disclosed and you will need to contact QuickBooks Sales for more pricing details. At the time of our last review, pricing started at $349.99/year for a single user. While QuickBooks Online boasts many of the features you’ll find with Desktop, some of its features, such as inventory management, aren’t quite as advanced. Additionally, you won’t find the industry-specific features and reports that you’ll get if you sign up for Desktop. In the battle accounting for research and development between QuickBooks Online and Desktop, it’s best to focus on the differences between the two accounting software options since they are so similar. It is worth noting that QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premier versions will soon discontinue sales to new users.
Alternatively, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial with QuickBooks Online. Just know that doing so waives your option to get 50% off your QuickBooks Online subscription for your first three months. QuickBooks Self-Employed is a QuickBooks Online product for contractors and freelancers, specifically for those who do not have separate business and personal financial accounts. It starts at $30 a month and includes basic features only, such as mileage tracking and invoicing.
It also gives you bill management and collects employee time for invoices to add them for proper billing. QuickBooks Online has four pricing tiers and offers 50% off for the first three months when you purchase. The first tier is the Simple Start Plan at $15 per month for the first three months, then is $30 per month. This plan gives you all the basics needed to run your business accounting, including income and expense monitoring, invoice and payment capability, tax deductions, receipt capture and mileage tracking. The QuickBooks Online plan that’s best for you largely depends on the number of users who will be using the program, the size of your business and your particular needs.