Everyone is aware that Intuit is pushing people toward their Quickbooks Online (QBO) version, but there are several reasons that this move doesn't make sense for people:
- Multiple organizations - if you manage multiple bookkeeping for organizations, the cost starts going up quickly
- Legacy applications - some programs haven't yet become compatible
- Familiarity - QBO is not the same interface we've had for many years with the desktop version
- Functionality - most functionality is in QBO, but not everything is the same.
The primary question is: "Do we move to QBO or stay with QB Desktop?". Here are things you should consider as you make that decision:
- After July 31, 2024, new QB Desktop subscriptions will no longer be available, making the decision simple.
- Check with your 3rd party payroll, CPA, expense/mileage provider, or other software integrations to see how long they will continue support the desktop version. That may make your decision for you.
- Nonprofits have always received discounted licenses for QB Desktop. Now the discount is only for yearly subscriptions for QB Online - see Intuit QuickBooks for Nonprofits (techsoup.org) for pricing.
- To compare pricing:
- Until July 31, you can purchase a new 1 year subscription to QB Desktop Plus for $649/yr, QB Premier Plus for $949/yr, and QB Enterprise Gold (includes QB Payroll with no monthly fees) for $1600/yr. https://quickbooks.intuit.com/email/final-desktop-plus-sale/
- Quickbooks Online's Essentials package (similar in functionality to Desktop Plus without inventory) is $720/year/company, and Plus (similar to Premier including inventory) is $1080/year/company. QuickBooks® Online: All-in-One Business Solutions (intuit.com)
For most companies, it's probably cheaper for now to stay with the desktop version, even though it's still done on a subscription basis. The exception is that if you're a non-profit with only one company to manage, then QBO is probably the way to go. We know that's where Intuit is going in the long-term, and even though the interface is a bit different, it's probably worth making the move sooner rather than later. For everyone else, from a purely financial standpoint, we're still recommending staying put with QB Desktop.
As an aside, one thing we looked at internally was switching away from Intuit Quickbooks altogether. Xero and Freshbooks are the other 2 cloud-based alternatives, but neither of those is as full-featured as Quickbooks. You could move up to Sage Intacct or Oracle's NetSuite, but I wouldn't go there unless Quickbooks really isn't sufficient - those are significantly more expensive options.