Which Features Make QuickBooks Desktop a Better Solution than QuickBooks Online?
Intuit offers multiple accounting solutions and choosing the best product for your business often requires an in-depth study of its features. QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online are among the strongest contenders when it comes to accounting and bookkeeping solutions available for today’s businesses. But how will you choose one between them? In this article, we will be exploring the features that are available in the desktop version of the software but missing in the cloud-based alternative, enabling you to understand why QuickBooks Desktop is still one of the primary choices of accountants worldwide.
Superior Capabilities of QuickBooks Desktop over QuickBooks Online:
Accounting
QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online both offer double-entry accounting, detailed chart of accounts, accounts payable, accounts receivable, journal entries, bank reconciliation, and reports to run your business. However, QuickBooks Desktop supports more complex accounting with capabilities such as automatically categorizing bank transactions. This feature includes more details by using rule-based techniques, batch editing, and improved matching.
Invoicing
When it comes to invoicing, the QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise version leads QuickBooks Online with a superb feature called batch invoicing. It helps you send out multiple invoices with a single click of a button. If you invoice specific clients once a month, this feature can make your task very easy.
Reporting
Depending upon the plan you choose, QuickBooks Online offers around 60 reports, whereas QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise comes with 130+ standard reports and gives you the freedom to build your own reports and customize reports using 200+ templates.
Payroll
QuickBooks Online doesn’t offer built-in payroll, while QuickBooks Desktop’s Enterprise edition comes with a built-in payroll service. Also, the QuickBooks Desktop Pro variant allows adding it at a considerably lower price as compared to QuickBooks Online.
Sales Orders
Sales orders let you record sales of products and services your customer orders. This feature enables you to keep track of multiple orders and combine them in a single invoice. If your company needs the sales order feature, QuickBooks Desktop is the only option you have as QuickBooks Online doesn’t have this feature.
Multiple Company Files
QuickBooks Desktop allows you to create and maintain multiple company files. This is not possible with QuickBooks Online as it allows only one company per subscription. Suppose you want to create and maintain 20 company files, you will have to pay the full monthly subscription fee for every company, which is not an economical solution.
Security Features
QuickBooks Desktop, especially the Enterprise version, offers more robust security controls to the owners. You can assign employees specific roles and allow them access to a specific area of the software based on their roles. For example, you can allow selected employees access to the company files while restricting others. This feature helps you limit authorized personnel and reduce the risk of data hacking and stealing.
Leads Tracking
While QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online both offer features to manage your contacts, QuickBooks Desktop allows you to track and manage leads as well. QuickBooks Desktop offers an additional feature called Lead Center to help you manage your potential customers and track information regarding your leads.
Template Customization
In general, QuickBooks Desktop gives more flexibility to customize forms and templates compared to QuickBooks Online. Thus, you can quickly create forms that match your brand’s identity.
Industry-Specific Features
QuickBooks Desktop versions, such as QuickBooks Desktop Premier and QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, allow you to opt for an industry-specific version of QuickBooks instead of the standard version. The available industry-specific versions can be beneficial for the following sectors.
- Retail
- Manufacturing and Wholesale
- Accountant
- Professional Services
- General Contractor
- Non-profit
These QuickBooks Desktop versions give businesses more powerful features and reports optimized for their specific industry.
Hosting Can Provide QuickBooks Desktop the Same Mobility as QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Desktop is a comprehensive solution for businesses that need more advanced capabilities for accounting, reporting, payroll, sales orders, and more. It can be the right fit for businesses that are larger in size and deal with more complex accounting. If the availability of QuickBooks through the internet is important for you, hosting the desktop software in the cloud can be the right decision. App4Rent is an Intuit Authorized QuickBooks Hosting Provider and can help you host your software on a virtual desktop. Contact our QuickBooks hosting professionals, available 24/7 via phone, chat, and email, for QuickBooks hosting plan inquiries.
