How does an accountant firm user download the quickbooks online advanced desktop app?

One key difference between QuickBooks Online and Desktop is that you can access QuickBooks Online from any computer or mobile device connected to the internet, making it easy to share data with your accountant. However, QuickBooks Desktop, which must be installed on your computer, offers faster navigation and data input but a limited ability to share access.

• QuickBooks Online is best for companies that need to give multiple people access to the program, including outside accountants
• QuickBooks Desktop is best for experienced bookkeepers in specialized industries spending most of their time in an office and who want a fast program that doesn’t depend on internet speed

QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop at a Glance

When To Use Each

• Invoicing customers: One of the reasons QuickBooks Online is our best invoicing software is its ability to automatically calculate sales tax to apply to an invoice based on a customer’s address. It also integrates with third-party payment processors, allowing your customers to pay their invoices online.
• Businesses that prefer cloud-based accounting: You can access QuickBooks Online from any computer or mobile device connected to the internet, making it easy to share data with your accountant.
• Ecommerce businesses: QuickBooks Online integrates seamlessly with many ecommerce platforms and has a robust inventory management feature, making it our top-recommended ecommerce accounting software.
• Businesses with multiple users: You should consider QuickBooks Online if you need to provide access to your books to more than one person, such as a tax professional and even an outside accountant. With QuickBooks Desktop, you have to pay additional fees if you need extra users.

Read our QuickBooks Online review for an in-depth look at the software.

Visit QuickBooks Online

• Managing books across multiple businesses: QuickBooks Desktop allows you to manage the books for an unlimited number of companies as long as you don’t need consolidated financial statements. QuickBooks Desktop is our leading multicompany accounting software.
• Businesses needing intensive inventory accounting: Both Online and Desktop offer inventory accounting, but QuickBooks Desktop has more in-depth inventory management tools. For instance, it allows manufacturing companies to track their products using inventory parts and assemblies.
• Users who prefer desktop software: If you want access to your accounting program without an internet connection, QuickBooks Desktop is more suitable for you.
• Specialized industries: QuickBooks Desktop Premier includes five industry-specific editions: general contractor, manufacturing and wholesale, retail, nonprofit, and professional services.
• Farmers and ranchers working with an internal bookkeeper: Farmers with in-house bookkeepers can use QuickBooks Desktop to create cost centers and track income and expenses by class and location to better monitor the profitability of their farm. It is our top-recommended farm accounting software.

Find more to love about this platform by checking out our QuickBooks Desktop Premier review.

Visit QuickBooks Desktop

When To Use an Alternative

• Fixed asset accounting: QuickBooks Online and Desktop can’t track fixed assets. If your business uses a lot of machinery and equipment, you should consider Xero. It allows you to track fixed assets, such as buildings, machinery, equipment, and land, as well as record and calculate book depreciation on your assets.
• Mobile accounting: QuickBooks Online has a capable mobile application, but it’s not as powerful as the Zoho Books mobile app. It lets you record bills and bill payments, enter time worked, then assign it to a project or customer, which are things you can’t do in the QuickBooks Online mobile app.
• Small businesses seeking free accounting software: QuickBooks Online and Desktop are among the most powerful accounting software programs, but they’re also among the most expensive. If you’re a very small business that’s starting out, you can save money by using free accounting software like Wave.

FSB Case Study

Despite the two programs having very similar features, we found notable differences between QuickBooks Online Plus and Desktop Premier in our internal case study. For example, in Desktop Premier, you can only use one class per location to track account balances, whereas in Online Plus, you can track your income and expenses across multiple locations.

Another notable difference we found in the project accounting category is that you cannot compare estimated to actual project costs in Online Plus. With Desktop Premier, you can compare your estimated costs to your actual expenses and revenue.

You’ll also notice in the chart below that Online Plus beats Desktop Premier in terms of mobile accounting. While the QuickBooks Desktop app is limited to capturing and uploading requests, QuickBooks Online’s app lets you do more, such as invoicing, accepting online payments, and assigning expenses to projects or customers.

Case Study Results for QuickBooks Online Plus vs Desktop Premier

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Pricing

QuickBooks Online offers four plans, each with a set number of users while QuickBooks Desktop is available as a yearly subscription with an additional cost per user. QuickBooks Online’s pricing structure is a better choice since you can find a plan based on the number of users you have without paying an additional fee. It’s ideal for businesses that can’t afford expensive annual subscriptions.

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Features

Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop offer comprehensive features, but each has its own strengths and drawbacks. A big advantage of QuickBooks Online is its calculation of sales tax based on the customer address. While both platforms can manage inventory, QuickBooks Desktop takes it one step further by allowing you to create inventory assemblies, which is useful for manufacturing companies. It’s also preferable for budget planning since it lets users compare estimated and actual budget costs.

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Ease of Use

QuickBooks Online generally is easier to use than QuickBooks Desktop as it has a more streamlined user interface. QuickBooks Online files are also easier to share because you only need to invite a ProAdvisor to your company file and they’ll have 24/7 access to your books. With QuickBooks Desktop, you must make an Accountant’s Copy of your data file and send it to your ProAdvisor. The Accountant’s 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.

Tip:

If you’re currently using QuickBooks Desktop and you want to switch to QuickBooks Online, our guide on QuickBooks Desktop to Online migration will help you bring over your QuickBooks Desktop files to the cloud easily.

QuickBooks Online is easier to navigate than QuickBooks Desktop. Customer, vendor, and account details can be viewed by clicking on the left menu bar. For instance, customer details, including what they owe you, can be viewed by clicking on Sales and then Customers. All transactions in QuickBooks Online can be initiated by clicking the + New button above the left menu bar and selecting from the menu of transactions.

View customer details in QuickBooks Online (Source: QuickBooks)

QuickBooks Desktop offers a multitude of ways to navigate, but the easiest way for beginners is through the home page. Vendor, customer, or employee details can be viewed by clicking on the appropriate tab while transactions can be initiated by clicking on the corresponding icon.

The home page displays the most essential functions, including Vendors, Customers, Employees, and Banking. Each function includes respective icons that allow you to access and perform certain transactions easily, such as Enter Bills for vendors, Create Invoices for customers, and Enter Time for employees.

QuickBooks Desktop Homepage

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Assisted Bookkeeping

If you need more personalized support for your bookkeeping, QuickBooks Online might be a better choice since you can subscribe to QuickBooks Live for support. Users who need professional bookkeeping assistance can purchase an add-on called QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping, a service that connects you to a team of certified bookkeeping professionals for real-time support through video chat. Your dedicated bookkeeper will manage your books and provide month-end reports. Meanwhile, QuickBooks Desktop users can find a QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor to help with their bookkeeping needs. It should be easy to find one in your area, especially now that many accountants and bookkeepers want to become a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Integrations

If you need more automation features through integration with third-party tools, QuickBooks Online is the clear choice.

• QuickBooks Online: PayPal, Square, SOS Inventory, Fathom, QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets), WooCommerce, Shopify, and more
• QuickBooks Desktop: Gusto and Microsoft 365, plus a few others

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Mobile App

If you want to perform bookkeeping from anywhere, we strongly recommend QuickBooks Online. Its mobile app includes nearly all the features of the browser version, plus other functions like receipt capture and mileage tracking. It made our list of the best mobile accounting apps. You can download it on Google Play or the App Store.

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: Customer Support

QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop offer nearly the same customer service options and give you access to many independent QuickBooks ProAdvisors whom you can hire to help you get started and keep things in order.

The only difference is that when you subscribe to Enterprise, you’ll get access to the Priority Circle loyalty program, including a dedicated account team, free on-demand training, and premium care from QuickBooks experts. However, we don’t see this as an edge as both programs have excellent support options.

Bottom Line

If most of your accounting duties are done remotely, QuickBooks Online is the right choice. However, if you want the ability to manage your books without an internet connection or need industry-specific features, choose QuickBooks Desktop. It also has more advanced inventory accounting, but the lack of a fully functional mobile app is a serious shortcoming in today’s mobile age.