An Overview of QuickBooks Desktop

August 24, 2017 by Ed Becker

As a small business owner, your first step is to determine if QuickBooks is right for you, based on the size and needs of your business. Then you must decide which specific product and edition best solves those needs.

When QuickBooks may not be the right Accounting Software for your Small or Mid-Sized Business

QuickBooks can handle as many as thirty individual users, so you must be sure that you can work within that limit. Similarly, QuickBooks might also not be quite right for you if you are involved in heavy manufacturing, because of the complexities of inventory costing that such businesses need to employ.

QuickBooks has limits as to the size of certain lists that it can accommodate. The following chart enumerates some of those lists for the variations of QuickBooks products.

Which QuickBooks Product will Best Serve Your Business?

There are six separate QuickBooks desktop products available for you and your small business. They are:

• QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus
• QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus
• QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
• QuickBooks Mac Desktop
• QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Plus
• Quick Desktop Enterprise Accountant

QuickBooks also offers online versions – QuickBooks Online. These products offer the advantage of being completely cloud-based. They are not extensively reviewed in this module. Membership is by subscription, and then you can access your books from anywhere in the world – all that’s needed is a computer with an internet connection. The versions are:

• Self-Employed
• Simple Start
• Online Essentials
• Online Plus
• QuickBooks Online Accountant

QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus

This product can handle as many as three users, and is sufficient for many small businesses. It can handle AP, AR and estimates. Inventory is handled by the Average Cost method, and while it doesn’t itself include payroll processing, it can be seamlessly integrated for an extra fee. Forms can be customized and the program can readily communicate with Microsoft Word and Excel.

For more information visit: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pro/

QuickBooks Mac Desktop

This product is in many ways quite similar to QuickBooks Pro. Perhaps the main difference is that it does not integrate as well into the Apple software universe as well as other QuickBooks products do with the Microsoft universe.

QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus

Similar to QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier Plus should be considered for companies with sales of up to $1,000,000 per year and with up to twenty employees. It can handle up to five simultaneous users. Additionally, it can be used to create Bills of Material.

Additionally, this version comes in separate Industry Editions for specific types of companies.

• Contractor
• Professional Services
• Retail
• General Business
• Nonprofit

Manufacturing and Wholesale
For more information visit: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/premier/

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

If your company garners sales of over $1,000,000 per year and employs up to 250 individuals, this product might be the right choice for you. It can support up to thirty concurrent users, and it comes in the same six Industry Editions as offered by QuickBooks Premier Plus.

Users of QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise can choose from the Silver, Gold, and Platinum subscription plans. Features include a service plan, advanced reporting, and enhanced payroll inventory and pricing.

QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Plus

This product includes all the features of QuickBooks Pro Plus and QuickBooks Premier Plus, as well as many new features, and is geared more towards accounting professionals than it is towards non-financial small and mid-sized businesses. It allows the reading and modification of QuickBooks Pro Plus or QuickBooks Premier Plus files from the current product year and one year earlier. Afterwards, those files are still completely useable under the Pro Plus or Premier Plus.

Quick Desktop Enterprise Accountant

Like QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Plus, this product is specifically aimed at accountants and bookkeepers that support multiple clients. Users of QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Accountant can also support QuickBooks Enterprise clients, and the product duplicates all the advanced features supported by each of the separate QuickBooks Enterprise editions. It also includes all the tools supported by QuickBooks Accountant.

There’s More to the QuickBooks Story

In a subsequent blog, we will discuss QuickBooks online, how to keep QuickBooks up to date, and important compatibility issues between the various QuickBooks products. In any case, making the right decision on which QuickBooks product to use can be a thorny issue, and as an owner of a small or medium sized business, you would be well served by seeking the assistance of a QuickBooks Pro Advisor in making that choice.