You should give QuickBooks Desktop serious consideration if your business is a retailer, manufacturer, wholesaler, professional service provider, construction contractor, or nonprofit. QuickBooks Desktop excels with its industry-specific editions that include custom workflows and reports tailored to specific industries. QuickBooks Desktop is more preferable for managing complex accounting needs as its features are generally more developed than those of QuickBooks Online. Visit QuickBooks Online When to Use QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Online is included in our list of best church accounting software and best nonprofit accounting software. It is powerful software that can serve companies in a wide variety of industries. However, cloud-based accounting is not the only strength of QuickBooks Online. It also offers more time-saving automation features than QuickBooks Desktop and integrates with third-party payment processors, allowing your customers to pay their invoices directly online. It’s also the ideal choice if you want remote access with mobile applications. You should consider QuickBooks Online if you need to provide access to your books for more than one person, including an outside accountant, such as a tax professional. For QuickBooks Desktop, your only option is an independent QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor.
QuickBooks Desktop can either be purchased for a one-time fee that varies with the number of users, or as an annual subscription with some additional benefits.
The only mobile app available for Desktop is to capture receipts, and it requires a Plus subscription to Desktop.