With QuickBooks Online Advanced, you can also restore a version of your company data based on a chosen date and time. Our security specialists work to protect your financial data with our latest data encryption technology. Best of all, your information is automatically backed up, so you never need to save your work.

When is QuickBooks Desktop better than QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks uses advanced, industry-recognized security safeguards to keep all your accounting data secure, private, and protected in the cloud. Invite your accountant, bookkeeper, or employees to work in the cloud so your team is on the same digital page. With a few clicks, you can create secure access privileges and change user access at any time. Since your accounting system is connected to the cloud, they can use their own login to access reports like the general ledger, balance sheet, or cash flow statement whenever they need. Julie is a dynamic professional with over 16 years of rich experience as a VDI and Application Hosting expert. On the weekend, you will find her hanging out with her accounting for inventory write downs family or surfing around the North Shore of Oahu.

This accounting data is sent to the cloud, processed on a remote server, and then returned to you as a user. This information is encrypted so only people with the login can view the data. Make better and faster decisions with your financial data available in real-time.

QuickBooks Online’s pros

Those who want to take their accounting on the go will appreciate the mobile app. It brings most of the features of the online platform, plus it enables mileage tracking and receipt capture for quick and convenient recordkeeping. There is no need to download QuickBooks Online because it is connected to the cloud, which means you can access it from any device with an internet connection. You can download the QuickBooks Online mobile app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

1. If you choose the free trial, note that QuickBooks requires a credit card to sign up.
2. Connect seamlessly with your current apps to keep your business running smoothly.
3. QuickBooks Online integrates with over 750 third-party apps, and we highlighted the most notable integrations in our guide to the best QuickBooks Online integrations for small businesses.
4. You can also accept payment directly through this online invoice by credit card, debit card, and ACH bank transfers.
5. Via QuickBooks Payments, which is included free (apart from industry-standard transaction fees) with each plan, users can also configure invoices to accept online bank transfers and credit card payments.

Businesses with inventory will likely get the most benefit from QuickBooks Plus. Large businesses that need access for up to 25 users will probably want to go with QuickBooks Advanced. As a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Mark has extensive knowledge of QuickBooks products, allowing him to create valuable content that educates businesses on maximizing the benefits of the software. The software must have features that allow users to set sales tax rates, apply them to invoices, and enable users to pay sales tax liability.

Intuit reports that 94% of accounting professionals feel QuickBooks Online saves them time and thus saves their clients’ money. While QuickBooks Online is very popular among business owners, some have problems with the system. Problems stem from the complexity of making simple fixes, such as miscategorizations or duplicate entries. Support is limited, so users are left reading help articles rather than getting a live person to help. QuickBooks Online made it to our Best Accounting Software for Small Business list because it is a comprehensive platform that checks all the boxes for accounting, invoicing and expense tracking. If you aren’t sure about the product, you can give it a 30-day test run with 100% capabilities of the Simple Start Plan to see if it meets your needs.

Let’s build your business together

The inventory management and job costing features are more robust in QuickBooks compared to QuickBooks Online. Another cumbersome feature that users don’t like is the requirement that clients must establish their own accounts to pay an invoice. Other popular merchant processors don’t require this, making collecting payments more difficult. You can also accept payment directly through this online invoice by credit card, debit card, and ACH bank transfers. The easier you make it for your clients to pay, the more likely they are to do so right away—putting less time between you and your money.

A/P features include creating vendors and bills, recording purchase orders and converting them to bills, creating service items, and recording full or partial bill payments. In evaluating pricing, we considered the billing cycle (monthly or annual) and number of users. With QuickBooks Desktop, you must make an Accountant’s Copy of your data file and send it to your ProAdvisor. The copy will allow you to continue to work on transactions in the current period while your accountant makes adjustments to past periods. It’s an acceptable system but isn’t nearly as convenient as sharing your books through QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online is generally easier to use than QuickBooks Desktop as it has a more streamlined navigation menu.

QuickBooks integrates with a wide range of apps including eCommerce, inventory, expense management, and CRM apps to streamline your business and sync your data. Connect with apps you already use to power your business like Shopify, eBay, OpenCart, Synder, and more. Access your business finances from any internet connected laptop, smartphone or tablet. Track sales, send invoices and see how your business is doing at any time from your office, home or even remotely. Cloud-based software is accessed via the internet so you won’t be tethered to your physical business location.