QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

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Our analysts compared QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Accounting Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Software Tool

Product Basics

QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It simplifies bookkeeping tasks like tracking income and expenses, managing invoices and payments, and generating financial reports. Its user-friendly interface and mobile accessibility make it ideal for entrepreneurs and non-accountants. Key benefits include automated data entry, real-time financial insights, and seamless collaboration with other online tools. Popular features include inventory management, payroll integration, and tax preparation assistance. Compared to similar products, QuickBooks Online shines in ease of use and scalability, offering tiered plans with varying features and pricing. Costs typically range from monthly subscriptions based on the number of users to additional fees for payroll and advanced features.

Pros
  • Easy to use
  • Mobile access
  • Automated tasks
  • Scalable plans
  • Integrates well
Cons
  • Limited customization
  • Costly add-ons
  • Customer support
  • Reporting restrictions
  • Learning curve
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QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is a comprehensive software solution designed to manage complex accounting tasks, including payroll, inventory, and financial reporting. It is particularly well-suited for medium to large-sized businesses across various industries such as manufacturing, retail, and construction, due to its robust features and scalability. The software offers unique benefits like advanced inventory tracking, customizable reporting, and enhanced user permissions, making it a powerful tool for businesses with intricate financial needs.

Users appreciate its ability to handle large data files and multiple users simultaneously, which sets it apart from similar products. The software's advanced features, such as job costing and field service management, provide significant value to businesses requiring detailed financial oversight. Pricing for QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise varies based on the number of users and specific needs, typically involving an annual subscription model. For precise pricing details, it is recommended to contact SelectHub for a tailored quote.

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Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Streamline Processes: Input, revise and deliver numerous invoices, expenses, checks and bills in just a few clicks with the batch invoicing module. Users may also cut and paste invoices and data from Excel into QuickBooks. 
  • Establish Permissions: Govern who may or may not review sensitive data as well as adjust custom permissions for deposits, sales, transactions and expense reports among other things with the user permissions functionality.  
  • Diminish Errors: Alleviate hazards, modify reminders and triggers, save time and initiate prompt reminders to obtain greater cash flows with the workflows accessory. 
  • Effortlessly Restore Data: Promptly back up any changes made in QuickBooks Online in addition to reviewing version histories with all changes made in its handy time log. 
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  • Enhanced Reporting: Generate detailed financial reports with customizable templates, providing deeper insights into your business performance.
  • Advanced Inventory Management: Track inventory across multiple locations and manage stock levels efficiently to reduce carrying costs and avoid stockouts.
  • Robust Security: Implement user permissions and roles to control access to sensitive financial data, ensuring compliance and data integrity.
  • Scalability: Accommodate up to 40 simultaneous users, making it suitable for growing businesses with expanding teams.
  • Comprehensive Payroll Management: Automate payroll processing, tax calculations, and compliance reporting to save time and reduce errors.
  • Customizable User Interface: Tailor the dashboard and navigation to fit your workflow, enhancing productivity and user experience.
  • Industry-Specific Solutions: Utilize specialized features designed for industries like manufacturing, wholesale, and nonprofit, ensuring relevant functionality.
  • Seamless Integration: Connect with third-party applications and services to streamline operations and enhance functionality.
  • Efficient Job Costing: Track project expenses and profitability with precision, aiding in better budgeting and financial planning.
  • Reliable Customer Support: Access dedicated support from QuickBooks experts to resolve issues quickly and keep your operations running smoothly.
  • Multi-Currency Support: Manage transactions in multiple currencies, making it easier to handle international business operations.
  • Batch Invoicing: Create and send multiple invoices simultaneously, saving time and reducing administrative workload.
  • Data Backup and Recovery: Protect your financial data with automatic backups and easy recovery options, minimizing the risk of data loss.
  • Comprehensive Audit Trail: Maintain a detailed log of all financial transactions and changes, ensuring transparency and accountability.
  • Flexible Payment Processing: Accept various payment methods, including credit cards and ACH transfers, to improve cash flow and customer convenience.
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  • Income and Expense Tracking: Import bank, credit card, PayPal, Square and other transactions as well as promptly sort them into the right tax categories with the income and expense tracking module. Users may also take pictures of receipts with their smartphones and link them directly to expenses. 
  • Invoicing: Trace invoice statuses, deliver payment reminders to patrons, immediately match payments to invoices, accept credit cards and complete free bank transfers directly from an invoice with the invoicing attribute. 
  • Estimations: Transform estimates into invoices, validate mobile signatures, review estimate statuses and modify estimates to align with business requirements via the estimations appliance. 
  • Reporting: Create a variety of reports, including product profit and loss, expense, balance sheet, inventory, enhanced sales, profitability and other reports, through this attribute. Users may also oversee crucial financial metrics including cash flow and revenue on one dashboard. 
  • Organize Receipts: Expeditiously arrange and associate expense receipts with transactions, keeping them all in one place. 
  • Inventory Tracking: Receive alerts when inventory is running low as well as monitor products and the cost of goods with the inventory tracking system. Users may even evaluate popular items, draft purchase orders and superintend vendors.  
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  • User Permissions: Set up users quickly with 14 pre-set roles such as accountant, accounts payable and receivable, banking, finance, inventory and more with the user permissions tool. 
  • Inventory Management: Initiate automatic inventory and order management appliances with the advanced inventory attribute. It also has picking, packing and shipping assets to administer the full sales order fulfillment process from beginning to end. 
  • Reporting: Work with more than 200 built-in adjustable report templates that cater to your industry. Users may also develop custom ad hoc reports for particular business requirements. 
  • Time Tracking: Guarantee that assignments are done on time and under budget with the TSheets elite function in the time tracking apparatus. Users may record time on any mobile device, compare estimated to actual hours, distribute jobs and follow a task's progress. This tool also enables users and patrons to sign off on projects and timesheets with the digital signature capture extension on the mobile app. 
  • Connect with Salesforce CRM: Leverage the Salesforce CRM connector integration to sync QuickBooks data right into Salesforce to reduce duplicate entries. This component provides users with a single source of information between the sales and support department, improving how users help their clients, produce prompt sales orders and invoices and obtain a more transparent snapshot of the sales pipeline. 
  • Field Service Management: Gain more insight on financial and field service data, including real-time updates, effective job scheduling and immediate invoicing. Users may also utilize GPS and mapping with Google Maps to monitor workers and manage client sites, receive a clear view of tasks complete, electronic work orders and more. 
  • Job Costing: Distribute all associated costs to projects as they accumulate with the job costing appliance. Users also obtain real-time project information to take the necessary actions if expenses are cutting into profits. This appliance even allows users to evaluate the difference between proposed expenditures and actual fees to make improved budgets in the future. 
  • Advanced Reporting: Create custom reports with ease using the built-in report builder, which allows for deep data analysis and tailored insights.
  • Enhanced Payroll Services: Handle complex payroll needs, including direct deposits, tax calculations, and compliance with federal and state regulations.
  • Role-Based User Permissions: Assign specific access levels to different users, ensuring that sensitive financial information is only accessible to authorized personnel.
  • Multi-User Mode: Allow multiple users to work on the same company file simultaneously, improving collaboration and efficiency within your team.
  • Job Costing: Track expenses and revenues for individual projects, providing detailed insights into job profitability and helping to manage project budgets effectively.
  • Advanced Pricing: Set up custom pricing rules and discounts based on customer, item, or date, allowing for flexible and dynamic pricing strategies.
  • Batch Invoicing: Create and send multiple invoices at once, saving time and reducing the administrative burden of billing.
  • Field Service Management: Integrate with third-party applications to manage field service operations, including scheduling, dispatching, and invoicing for service calls.
  • Customizable Dashboards: Design personalized dashboards to monitor key performance indicators and financial metrics at a glance.
  • Data Backup and Recovery: Protect your financial data with automatic backups and easy recovery options, ensuring business continuity in case of data loss.
  • Industry-Specific Editions: Choose from editions tailored to specific industries such as manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and nonprofit, each with specialized features and reports.
  • Mobile Inventory Barcode Scanning: Use mobile devices to scan barcodes for inventory management, streamlining the process of tracking and updating stock levels.
  • Vendor Management: Manage vendor relationships with tools for tracking purchase orders, bills, and payments, as well as setting up vendor-specific terms and conditions.
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Integration: Integrate with popular CRM systems to synchronize customer data and improve sales and service processes.
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Product Ranking

#1

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#259

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
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Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Banking And Cash Management Budget And Expense Management Financial Statements And Revenue Management General Ledger And Chart Of Accounts Integration And Extensibility Inventory Management Journal Entries Mobile Support Multi-company Accounting And Asset Management Platform Capabilities Project Accounting Reporting And Analytics Tax Management 97 100 100 91 93 100 100 100 82 92 65 100 100 96 100 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 9426 reviews
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84%
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QuickBooks Online has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 84% when considering 9426 user reviews from 6 recognized software review sites.

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Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated QuickBooks Online and concluded it deserves the award for the Best Overall Accounting Software available today and earns best-in-class honors for Accounts Receivable, Integration and Extensibility, Inventory Management, Platform Capabilities and Reporting and Analytics.

Analysts' Pick Award
Accounts Receivable Award
Integration and Extensibility Award
Inventory Management Award
Platform Capabilities Award
Reporting and Analytics Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Easy to use: Intuitive interface and clear navigation make it accessible for users of various accounting experience levels.
Automated tasks: Streamlines workflows by automatically importing bank transactions, categorizing expenses, creating invoices, and sending reminders.
Real-time insights: Provides up-to-date financial information through customizable dashboards and reports, enabling informed decision-making.
Mobile accessibility: Access and manage finances anytime, anywhere with the mobile app.
Scalability: Grows with your business, offering different plans with varying features to accommodate evolving needs.
Integrations: Connects seamlessly with various business tools, such as bank accounts, payment gateways, and e-commerce platforms.
Payroll: Simplifies payroll processing, including tax calculations and direct deposits.
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User-Friendly Interface: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is celebrated for its intuitive design, which simplifies the process of setting up new companies and navigating its features.
Comprehensive Reporting: The software offers a wide array of reporting options, encompassing accounts payable, receivable, and payroll, providing businesses with a comprehensive financial overview.
Advanced Features: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise includes advanced tools such as inventory tracking, job costing, and customizable reports, catering to businesses with intricate operational needs.
Integration and Flexibility: The software seamlessly integrates with other systems and third-party applications, offering businesses the flexibility to connect their existing tools and workflows.
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Limited customization: Lacks flexibility in customizing certain features, such as reports and chart of accounts, compared to some alternatives.
Costly add-ons: Essential features like payroll and advanced reporting often require additional fees, increasing the overall cost of ownership.
Customer support: Mixed reviews on the quality and availability of customer support, with some users reporting delays or difficulty reaching knowledgeable representatives.
Reporting restrictions: Certain financial reports and data exports have limitations, potentially requiring workarounds or manual adjustments.
Learning curve: While generally user-friendly, some features and functionalities may have a learning curve for those new to accounting software.
Occasional glitches: Users have reported occasional bugs or glitches that can disrupt workflows, requiring troubleshooting or waiting for fixes.
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Price: The recurring subscription fees, especially when factoring in potential costs for cloud storage and additional user licenses, can strain budgetary constraints for some businesses.
Complexity: Navigating the software's extensive features can pose a challenge for some users, particularly those transitioning from simpler accounting solutions or lacking prior experience with similar software.
Compatibility: The software's exclusive compatibility with the Windows operating system may present a significant obstacle for businesses utilizing alternative operating systems, potentially necessitating a costly transition to ensure compatibility.
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QuickBooks Online remains a popular choice for many users, praised for its user-friendly interface and automated features. "It feels like Intuit took the complexity out of accounting and made it accessible even for someone like me with limited accounting experience," shared a small business owner. However, user reviews also highlight limitations, particularly around customization and cost. "I love the ease of use," stated a freelancer, "but the reporting options feel restrictive. I often have to export data and work with it in Excel to get the insights I need." This sentiment, coupled with complaints about the cost of add-ons like payroll, leads some users to compare QuickBooks Online to competitors. "Xero seems to offer more flexibility and advanced features," mentioned an accountant, "but the learning curve is steeper, and the monthly subscription is higher." Ultimately, the decision comes down to individual needs and priorities. For those seeking a balance of ease of use, automation, and affordability, QuickBooks Online continues to be a strong contender. However, users with more complex accounting needs or a desire for greater customization might find themselves looking towards competitors offering more robust features, even if it comes at a higher cost or with a steeper learning curve.

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Is QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise a quick book to success for businesses, or does it leave users feeling like they're drowning in a sea of red ink? User reviews from the past year paint a somewhat mixed picture of this popular accounting software. While many appreciate its user-friendly interface and comprehensive reporting features, some find the cost prohibitive and the software overly complex. Users consistently highlight the intuitive design as a major strength, praising its ease of navigation and setup. The robust reporting capabilities, including detailed accounts payable, receivable, and payroll reports, are also frequently commended. Many users find these features a significant upgrade from their previous accounting solutions, allowing for better financial oversight and decision-making. However, the high cost of the software, particularly the annual subscription fee and additional charges for cloud hosting and extra users, is a recurring concern. Some users feel that the price tag, while justifiable for larger businesses, might be too steep for smaller enterprises with limited budgets. Another point of contention is the software's complexity. While some users find it relatively straightforward, others report a steep learning curve, particularly those unfamiliar with accounting software. The platform limitation to Windows is also a drawback for some, restricting its accessibility for businesses using other operating systems. Overall, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise seems best suited for medium to large businesses with dedicated accounting personnel who can fully utilize its advanced features and justify the investment. Smaller businesses or those with limited technical expertise might find more value in simpler, more affordable accounting solutions.

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