But if you’re a sole proprietor with solid internet access, our vote is to choose QuickBooks Online or another cloud-based software competitor instead.ĭisclaimer: The information featured in this article is based on our best estimates of pricing, package details, contract stipulations, and service available at the time of writing. Tl dr: Enterprise-level customers who can handle QuickBooks Desktop’s cost should get a lot out of its industry-specific features and extensive user collaboration. Finally, QuickBooks Desktop’s high per-user fee keeps it beyond the budget of most small-business owners who want to collaborate on finances with just one or two trusted business partners or accountants. Unlike its cloud-based counterpart, the desktop software’s mobile app is limited largely to receipt scanning and basic features only. Its extensive accounting features, scalable plan options, and overall accessibility can mean it works just as well for small-business owners who do their own bookkeeping as it does for the accounting departments of global companies.īut generally speaking, QuickBooks Desktop isn’t as flexible or easy to access as cloud-based software.

We’ve been pretty harsh on QuickBooks Desktop’s higher cost and extra fees, but honestly? QuickBooks Desktop’s fully featured desktop-based accounting program has quite a lot to recommend it. ( OnPay, for instance, has a $36 monthly base price and $4 per-payee fee.) This plan starts at $109 a month plus $2 per payee per month-and again, while the per-payee price is fantastic, you can easily find cheaper online payroll plans that include automatic tax filing. To get automatic payroll tax filing, you need the pricier Assisted Payroll QuickBooks plan.

The software can calculate taxes for you, but you (or your accountant) will need to remit the taxes and file end-of-year tax paperwork yourself. While $50 is a higher starting price than you’d pay for comparable online payroll software, the $2 fee per payee is low enough to help counter the high base price.īut QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll doesn’t include automatic payroll tax filing. At, we’re definitely fans of QuickBooks Payroll, especially the online version-but the desktop version has a lot going for it too.įor instance, QuickBooks’ cheapest desktop-based payroll plan, Enhanced Payroll, starts at $50 a month with a $2 fee per person paid per month. As with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop users can add a QuickBooks Payroll program to their accounting subscription.

Quickbooks desktop app