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QuickBooks is a popular accounting software package for small businesses. The latest version of the software (QuickBooks Pro) has been released and it still costs $19.99 per month, which makes it more expensive than its competitors such as Microsoft Excel.
QuickBooks Pro is a business accounting software that allows users to track their finances. It also offers features like invoicing, time tracking, and payroll. QuickBooks Premier is the next step up from Pro with more advanced features such as multi-currency support, enhanced reporting tools, and more. Enterprise is the most powerful version with even more advanced tools for finance professionals.
QuickBooks’ extensive product line contributes to its status as the most popular accounting software for small companies. QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, QuickBooks Enterprise, and QuickBooks Accountant are the four QuickBooks Desktop products. This QuickBooks Desktop comparison guide examines the price, features, and support choices to help you decide which QuickBooks Desktop package is best for you.
QuickBooks Desktop is one of our top picks for small company accounting software.
QuickBooks Pro vs. QuickBooks Premier vs. QuickBooks Enterprise vs. QuickBooks Accountant
- QuickBooks Pro: For organizations with up to three people and little inventory, QuickBooks Pro is the best option.
- QuickBooks Premier: Best for firms with five or fewer employees in the nonprofit, manufacturing and wholesale, professional services, construction, or retail sectors.
- QuickBooks Enterprise: Best for small to medium-sized retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers that have complex inventory management requirements.
- QuickBooks Accountant: Best for bookkeepers and accountants that offer accounting or payroll services to many firms
When Should QuickBooks Online Be Used?
As an alternative to the desktop version, business owners with many locations may wish to investigate QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based service that allows you to access your data from any smartphone or computer with an internet connection.
Tip: QuickBooks for Mac is the only QuickBooks desktop program accessible for Macintosh users, and it provides comparable functionality as QuickBooks Pro. QuickBooks Online, which runs on both Windows and Macintosh systems, is a good option for Macintosh customers who want more functionality.
Comparison of Pricing for QuickBooks Desktop and Features
Pricing for QuickBooks Desktop
Each concurrent user of QuickBooks Desktop software needs a separate license. With a single license, you may create an unlimited number of users in a business file and install QuickBooks on up to two computers. You’ll need a license for each user if you want two or more people to open QuickBooks at the same time.
Purchase of QuickBooks Desktop vs. Plus Subscription
In addition to choosing a QuickBooks version, you must pick whether to buy the software outright or sign up for a Plus yearly subscription. You can’t buy QuickBooks Enterprise or QuickBooks Accountant, therefore you’ll have to sign up for an annual membership.
Customer service is too costly without the Plus membership. If you know you’ll need to contact QuickBooks with issues, the Plus membership, which includes unlimited customer assistance, is the way to go. You may save money with the one-time purchase if you have QuickBooks knowledge and are certain that you can answer your own queries utilizing their publicly accessible online resources.
QuickBooks Pro vs. QuickBooks Premier
QuickBooks Pro is a complete bookkeeping application that includes the essential accounting capabilities that most small and medium companies (SMBs) need, such as integrating bank transactions, monitoring overdue invoices, invoicing customers, and producing thorough reports. For farmers that use independent bookkeepers or tax preparers, this is our best accounting software.
QuickBooks Premier, on the other hand, has extra inventory management features as well as five industry-specific versions for retail, nonprofit, contractors, manufacturing and wholesaling, and professional services. Backorders, sales orders, and inventory monitoring are other features of QuickBooks Premier that are not accessible in QuickBooks Pro.
QuickBooks Pro vs. QuickBooks Premier at a Glance
Takeaway: QuickBooks Pro is appropriate for most organizations with no more than three concurrent users. If your company deals with a lot of inventory or uses one of the five industry-specific QuickBooks Premier versions, the extra cost is well worth it. Additional reporting capabilities and procedures tailored to your sector are included in the industry-specific versions.
Premier vs. Enterprise QuickBooks
QuickBooks Enterprise is the most robust of all QuickBooks packages, enabling up to 40 people to scale up the capability given by Premier (Diamond). Enterprise is available in a basic business version as well as the five industry-specific editions that are available in QuickBooks Premier. It includes all of the capabilities of Premier, as well as the ability to manage inventory at numerous locations and with bar codes, produce sophisticated reports, pay workers using QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll (Platinum only), track inventory with more depth and efficiency, and apply advanced pricing (Platinum and Diamond). However, unlike QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premium, QuickBooks Enterprise does not provide a one-time cost option. Enterprise is more than twice as expensive as Premier, so the sophisticated features come at a premium.
Premier vs. Enterprise QuickBooks
Takeaway: Due to the expensive cost, most firms will likely wait until they need more than five concurrent users before upgrading from Premier to Enterprise. Enterprise, on the other hand, maybe worth the extra expense if your company spends a lot of time dealing with inventories in different locations.
QuickBooks Accountant vs. QuickBooks Premier
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop contains all of the features of QuickBooks Premier, plus additional tools and capabilities to assist professional bookkeepers in working with a variety of clientele. QuickBooks Accountant Desktop, for example, may switch between all of the industry-specific Premier and Pro editions. It can also access QuickBooks Desktop files from previous years without having to update them. This is necessary to ensure that customers using earlier versions of QuickBooks Desktop can open the file when it is returned. Professional bookkeepers may also use QuickBooks Accountant Desktop’s tools to import, evaluate, amend, and communicate changes with their clients.
Takeaway: QuickBooks Accountant Desktop is required if you are a bookkeeper or accountant who wants to give accounting services to customers that use QuickBooks Pro or Premier. However, the license is only valid if you are a current ProAdvisor member. You may buy the application and start using it right away, but you’ll need to complete around 20 hours of training and pass a test to become a ProAdvisor.
Conclusion
The proper QuickBooks Desktop version for your business is determined by the size of your company and the features and capabilities you need. If you have a big company that requires advanced inventory management solutions, QuickBooks Enterprise is the way to go. Choose Pro or Premier if you don’t require these inventory features and have less than five users. QuickBooks Accountant Desktop is the ideal option if you’re an independent bookkeeper with a lot of customers.
QuickBooks has a wide range of sophisticated software to meet practically every need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between QuickBooks Premier and QuickBooks Enterprise?
A: The biggest difference between QuickBooks Premier and QuickBooks Enterprise is the amount of data that can be stored in both systems. A lot of the businesses will most likely use a version with more storage because it’ll allow them to do a much bigger fiscal year than they would be able to without this feature.
Is QuickBooks Premier the same as QuickBooks Accountant?
A: Yes, QuickBooks Premier is the same as a standard-grade version of Quickbooks Accountant.
What is the difference between QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Enterprise?
A: The only difference is that the desktop version offers more features such as automatic backup and data synchronization.
