Can I Buy QuickBooks Desktop without a Subscription?

Which Version Of Quickbooks Online Should You Use? often offers 50% discounts for the first three months on various products – however, this replaces the free trial offer. A second navigation button, labeled My Business, displays a chart showing your profit for the current month, a link to transactions that need to be categorized, and a mileage report. A third one takes you directly to a cash flow screen so you can get a quick, real-time read on your company’s cash flow. Finally, the Menu icon opens to a screen full of shortcuts to commonly used functions. Click the All tab at the top of the screen, and a comprehensive navigation menu opens. While QuickBooks Online is designed for non-accountants, new users will likely have questions. Online help files have improved over the years, though they’re not as good as Xero’s.

• The Today icon opens the dashboard, which displays links to commonly used functions at the top, followed by a to-do list.
• There is also no protection against having your data deleted by a hacker or a server problem.
• There are several entries here that take you to various sections of the site, like Customers, Invoices, Estimates, and Products & services.
• So if you are looking for a quality accounting program that will meet your needs without breaking the bank, look no further than QuickBooks Online.
• The mobile app for Online is robust, and Desktop’s mobile app is so limited, that it essentially functions as a receipt uploader.
• The content of Part-Time Money® is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

However, in addition to its mobile app, QuickBooks Online has a desktop app. So, any info you enter into the QuickBooks Online desktop app will sync with your cloud-based QuickBooks platform if your computer is connected to the internet. If your business employs several employees who perform a lot of project work, this tracking is especially helpful. It gets down to the granular level— if you want to find out how much the business paid for particular employees to work on particular projects, you can! Beyond the more common reports, though, QuickBooks Desktop products track employee information, too. Businesses can keep track of employee time and employee-related expenses by using the free TSheets by QuickBooks app in conjunction with their QuickBooks Desktop product. You can track business mileage with the QuickBooks mobile app and import that data into your regular QuickBooks program.

Cost

The right QuickBooks Online plan depends on the size of your business and the features you need. For example, Self-Employed is best for freelancers or solopreneurs, while Simple Start is ideal for small businesses wanting to track assets and liabilities. Essentials is preferable if you need to track unpaid bills, while Plus is great if you require inventory and project management. It’s so much better to have everything available to me and the employees online.

However, if you https://intuit-payroll.org/ to add the payroll extension to your QuickBooks Desktop purchase, you will be required to upgrade QuickBooks Desktop every three years. Although only QuickBooks Desktop offers these features, QuickBooks Online integrates with many third-party apps that offer them too. Additionally, not all QuickBooks Desktop tiers have all of these features. Both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online offer multiple service tiers that cater to different business needs, such as the number of employees who need to access the software. Despite the platform’s ubiquity, however, many business owners remain uncertain about the differences between QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online.

How We Evaluated QuickBooks Online Versions

It’s a good choice for budget-conscious business owners who don’t need to track inventory or time and are satisfied with simple customer and vendor records. Intuit QuickBooks is one of the most widely used accounting software packages on the market. Many businesses use it for bookkeeping, inventory management, payroll, and other financial tasks.

• Here, we’ll detail everything you should know about the two versions, including their core functions, pricing tiers, hosting location, and extra features.
• While both solutions offer an excellent selection of features, QuickBooks Desktop has more extensive elements.
• Explore insights into our innovative model and the successes of companies we’ve partnered with.
• The first major deciding factor is whether or not you want cloud-based or locally-installed software.
• Since QuickBooks Online is cloud-based and doesn’t require installation, it’s the clear winner in terms of ease of installation.

If you have QuickBooks Desktop and would like to switch to the online version, Intuit makes it easy. So, once you make the switch you’ll want to start using the Online version right away. Putting your information on the cloud is inherently more dangerous than leaving it onsite within your company’s walls. That’s because all your data is traversing the internet where it is susceptible to being intercepted. Also, if you are visiting customers, you risk losing your device which could have access to all your accounts. Since it is cloud-based software, you don’t control when feature upgrades or changes occur. And if the new software version has removed features, bugs, or other issues, you cannot roll back to the previous software version.

How the Software Stacks Up

Take a look at this chart to see which product suits your business’s size. If you’re a freelancer, QuickBooks Self-Employed is the way to go. If you are a small business owner, it will come back to the decision between cloud-based and locally-installed software to determine which software is right for you.

Finally, you can efficiently manage and track your time and expenses by category, including employee, project, client or services. Simple Start costs $30 per month and is designed for microbusinesses. You can track expenses and income, create and send invoices and estimates, connect to your bank accounts, receive online payments, run basic reports, and track sales tax, among other things. QuickBooks Mac Plus — also known as QuickBooks for Mac — is locally-installed accounting software designed specifically for Mac users.

Reporting options

It’s aimed chiefly at freelancers, contractors, and service-based small businesses. Quickbooks Online can be the wisest option if you have a sole proprietorship with no workers. Twenty-five years, we have found that QuickBooks is the best option for small and medium service business and nonprofit business’s accounting needs. Finding a financial system that works best for you and your business is important for your success, and with many options to choose from, it might seem difficult to find the right software. QuickBooks Online’s security is the responsibility of Intuit because it is cloud-based. However, that does require that you have consistent internet connection. If you install QuickBooks Desktop locally, an additional anti-virus is always recommended whereas internet connection is not needed.