The Quickbooks desktop is present in the market from a very
long time but with the introduction of Quickbooks online edition in 2000, the
only question which businesses still have in their mind is; which one is
better? The desktop users who are using it from the 90’s always fall into the
dilemma of whether to switch to online version or not? Although the adoption
rate of QB online has been high but even after 17 years of release of the online
edition, the debate of preferring one over another is still a hot topic.
That’s why in this article, we will look at a detailed
comparison between QB desktop and QB
online, so that the enterprises can choose the best for their businesses
because both the products are different and deciding which one is better will
be like deciding the best from jam and peanut butter. But before even starting
the comparison, let’s look at what these products are.
QB Online
It is cloud based software which requires reliable internet
connection for accessibility. It can be accessed from anywhere (where you have internet)
and from any device. It also comes with a 30 days free trial and free support.
As the trial period ends, you will have to pay a monthly subscription fee.
QB desktop
QB desktop needs to be installed on a computer and there is
no free trial period for it. The accessibility is also limited to the computer
in which it is installed because it is not cloud based. Support for this is
available in only the ProPlus version or by paying for it.
Comparison
First of all we will look at what these both products have
in common. Although this comparison doesn’t cover all the benefits but it will
be enough to give a shape to your perception of both the products.
Benefits
|
QBO
|
QBD
|
One click sales and tax report
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Manage Account Payable
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Expense Tracking
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Reports
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Inventory
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Multi-Currency
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Business Planner
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Create Professional invoice
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
60 days money back guarantee
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Tax support
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Importing and Exporting
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Print Checks
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Bank Reconciliation
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Budgeting
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Price Levels
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Units of Measure
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Shipping Manager
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Forecasting
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Calendar
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Customer Snapshot
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Now we will look at the advantages which online edition has
over the desktop
Benefits
|
QBO
|
QBD
|
Accessibility
through any device at any time
|
Yes
|
No
|
Automatically
send and schedule invoice
|
Yes
|
No
|
Automatic
updates
|
Yes
|
No
|
Company
scorecard
|
Yes
|
No
|
Income
list
|
Yes
|
No
|
Free
technical support
|
Yes
|
No
|
Automatic
access to latest version
|
Yes
|
No
|
Now we will look at the advantages which desktop edition has
over online
Benefits
|
QBD
|
QBO
|
Industry
specific reports
|
Yes
|
No
|
Calculate
discount by customer
|
Yes
|
No
|
Forecasting
|
Yes
|
No
|
Calendar
|
Yes
|
No
|
Inventory
Center
|
Yes
|
No
|
Price
levels
|
Yes
|
No
|
Sales
Orders
|
Yes
|
No
|
Now after looking at the various benefits which both the
editions have in common and different, an enterprise can choose one of them by
analyzing their requirement but to make it more clear while opting, we will now
look at which edition is suitable for which type of business.
The desktop version is suitable for those types of
businesses which are product based. This
is because product based business requires features of QBD like, two options
for tracking inventory; FIFO and Average cost method, batch invoicing capability which allows you to
invoice the billing of multiple clients at the same time when the amount and
type of service is same. Product based enterprise also requires industry
specific version which only desktop has.
While talking about the QBO; it is best suitable for service
based businesses which requires simple invoicing. A service based enterprise can
be benefited from various features of QBO versions like flexible accessibility,
regular update and entry of transaction through mobile device, PC or MAC.
So, both the products have different features and benefits, and the choice of opting one over other; totally depends upon the requirement of your business. So analyze the features and advantages of both the products and choose the best for your business.
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