QuickBooks Desktop Premier vs. QuickBooks Online Advanced

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Desktop Premier is an installed version of QuickBooks for general business, contractors, manufacturing and warehouse accounting, as well as nonprofits, professional services, and retail.N/A
QuickBooks Online Advanced
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Online Advanced is a SaaS-based accounting software designed to scale with growing businesses. It includes the functionalities of QuickBooks Online, as well as more robust business analytics, customization, and resource management.N/A
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop PremierQuickBooks Online Advanced
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop PremierQuickBooks Online Advanced
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop PremierQuickBooks Online Advanced
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop Premier

No answer on this topic

QuickBooks Online Advanced
Chose QuickBooks Online Advanced
I only use QuickBooks with my clients - both online and desktop. Some clients are moving in from Excel - it is incredible how much better they are to manage their businesses when entering data consistently!
Chose QuickBooks Online Advanced
QBO is easier to use than QBs Desktop.
Chose QuickBooks Online Advanced
QuickBooks Online is a no brainer; everything is going cloud so your accounting should too. That trumps the desktop versions of this software hands down. Price is a factor as desktop versions are bought outright and supported for about 5 years, so they are a little bit cheaper. …
Features
QuickBooks Desktop PremierQuickBooks Online Advanced
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.5
54 Ratings
12% above category average
QuickBooks Online Advanced
-
Ratings
Pay calculation9.252 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.425 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.242 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.433 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management8.536 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.5
24 Ratings
3% below category average
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.0
96 Ratings
4% above category average
API for custom integration8.017 Ratings7.779 Ratings
Plug-ins7.024 Ratings8.384 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.5
58 Ratings
3% above category average
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.0
170 Ratings
3% below category average
Single sign-on capability8.650 Ratings8.1149 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.449 Ratings8.0166 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.3
69 Ratings
6% above category average
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.1
183 Ratings
3% above category average
Dashboards8.858 Ratings8.7172 Ratings
Standard reports8.468 Ratings8.4182 Ratings
Custom reports7.766 Ratings7.2174 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.9
72 Ratings
4% above category average
QuickBooks Online Advanced
8.2
187 Ratings
7% above category average
Accounts payable8.470 Ratings8.3181 Ratings
Accounts receivable8.671 Ratings8.4176 Ratings
Cash management8.865 Ratings8.2157 Ratings
Bank reconciliation8.869 Ratings8.7179 Ratings
Expense management8.868 Ratings8.2166 Ratings
Time tracking7.535 Ratings7.392 Ratings
Fixed asset management6.249 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.623 Ratings8.446 Ratings
Multi-division support8.239 Ratings7.681 Ratings
Regulations compliance8.224 Ratings8.185 Ratings
Electronic tax filing7.936 Ratings9.3103 Ratings
Self-service portal5.823 Ratings7.9101 Ratings
Global Financial Support6.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers7.014 Ratings8.978 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting8.117 Ratings8.178 Ratings
Localizations7.86 Ratings00 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations8.825 Ratings8.0162 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting8.513 Ratings7.969 Ratings
Configurable Accounting8.115 Ratings8.489 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework7.510 Ratings8.667 Ratings
Standardized Processes8.515 Ratings8.1125 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.1
43 Ratings
7% above category average
QuickBooks Online Advanced
7.9
74 Ratings
5% above category average
Inventory tracking8.342 Ratings7.974 Ratings
Automatic reordering7.321 Ratings00 Ratings
Location management8.825 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing module7.722 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.2
47 Ratings
8% above category average
QuickBooks Online Advanced
7.6
126 Ratings
0% below category average
Pricing8.037 Ratings7.691 Ratings
Order entry7.838 Ratings6.985 Ratings
Credit card processing9.234 Ratings8.2110 Ratings
Cost of goods sold9.043 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Orchestration7.58 Ratings00 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility8.59 Ratings00 Ratings
Order exception Resolution7.56 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop PremierQuickBooks Online Advanced
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 7.2 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 7.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop PremierQuickBooks Online Advanced
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(75 ratings)
8.5
(188 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.5
(14 ratings)
8.4
(14 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(26 ratings)
7.0
(7 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(6 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(5 ratings)
9.6
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
4.0
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
1.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.2
(7 ratings)
4.3
(5 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(2 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.0
(1 ratings)
9.6
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(5 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
6.0
(1 ratings)
9.6
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.0
(2 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop PremierQuickBooks Online Advanced
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
We really think that ANY typical business would be a reasonable fit for QuickBooks Desktop Premier. While not necessary, even a comparatively unexperienced accounting person could look at the "Home" screen and follow their nose thru typical daily accounting processes without much detailed knowledge. Reporting is simple, looking up customer info and prior transactions is simple, looking up vendors and prior payments is simple... all in all, quite straightforward. I really can't think of an instance where it would be 'less appropriate'.
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Intuit
Smaller businesses that need affordable accounting software that many people are used to should look at Quickbooks. QuickBooks makes it easier for people to access your books from multiple locations. If cost is an issue, QuickBooks is very affordable, given you do not need to install and maintain a server.
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Pros
Intuit
  • Employment - it makes creating paychecks a snap and tracks taxes.
  • Invoicing - they have a straightforward approach to creating invoices and you can even email them to your customers.
  • Customers - the program makes tracking customer information and balances easy.
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Intuit
  • It allows us to link to bank accounts in order to get up-to-date, real-time information, which is so important in today's lightning speed work world.
  • The "canned" reports are excellent and allow for extreme customization also. This makes them very helpful to both me and my clients.
  • The user interface for QuickBooks Online Advanced is easy to navigate and is intuitive for novices. The screens are well laid out and have cohesiveness on each screen to match tasks with others that match up well.
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Cons
Intuit
  • Support for older versions of QuickBooks ends after three years, then users must purchase the newest version at full price. Renewals should be deeply discounted for existing users.
  • I would like to see better in-product inventory tracking, so we can choose LIFO or FIFO rather than the ambiguous "average cost" method.
  • I would like to be able to assign payroll taxes to jobs for better job costing.
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Intuit
  • Proper advice in QuickBooks Online Pro for the usage if QuickBooks Online Advanced will be more efficient.
  • More features and space in the app for organization of the self-created workflows.
  • The stability of QuickBooks Online Advanced can still be better.
  • There are still file-size issues and limitations on transactions and attributes of transactions.
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Likelihood to Renew
Intuit
Because we have been extremely happy with the product and our organization tends to be creatures of habit. We rarely leave a product that works this well for the latest and greatest. Typically we follow the "if it's not broken, don't fix it rule". While QB does make changes we typically just roll with it. If we do find something we don't like we work through it until we fully understand its functionality.
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Intuit
QuickBooks Online Advanced is very easy to use and the data is very transparent. The reporting shortfalls (not being able to report the current month and YTD results on the same report) as well as the issues with the limitations with the management reports.
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Usability
Intuit
We switched to a more "robust" software program with the hiring of a new CFO. The migration of historical data and ancillary information has been cumbersome and riddle with errors and issues. In hindsight much of what the new software program was touted to accomplish is not come to fruition. QB Desktop Premier was sufficient for the organization needs
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Intuit
QuickBooks Online Advanced is great and effective. I use it for almost three months and it definitely does their job
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Reliability and Availability
Intuit
This is very reliable software, the desktop version is fast. If there is a problem, it is most likely on your own hardware!
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Intuit
No issue at any time with Availability
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Performance
Intuit
It takes forever to load.
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Intuit
It can be access at any time and reports is generate in less than a minute
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Support Rating
Intuit
This is where QuickBooks falls short. Many times my staff has had questions that have not been able to get resolved easily with a chat or call. I personally have had more general questions that have not been answered easily as well. I think QuickBooks needs to provide the resources of having readily accessible help in order to make it simpler to get solutions.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Intuit
No answers on this topic
Intuit
Training was simple
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Implementation Rating
Intuit
It is important to do your research. There are tutorial videos online that could help new user of this accounting system. These tutorials are straightforward and easily understandable.
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Intuit
Need to make an option for non-profit organizations
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Alternatives Considered
Intuit
QuickBooks Premier handles most of my business functions efficiently in one package. It is not my "everything." I use Replicon for time rather than QuickBooks. I don't want my WIP data interfering with my accounting. I use PaySimple for it's web interface and back office processing. I don't have security issues since I don't have any credit card data in my possession. With today's identity theft environment, I have to protect myself as much as I can. Not having credit card data in my accounting software lets me sleep much better at night. Quicken will do basic accounting but does not have all the double entry accounting systems contained in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online does much of the basic business functions but I don't like the pricing structure. As a professional accountant, that is very important to me. Bill.com provided a good service but the ability of QuickBooks to add bills and receipts to transactions makes it redundant.
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Intuit
QuickBooks Online Advanced isn’t as robust as Netsuite or Sage, but it is generally a great choice for most businesses. This software will meet or exceed the needs of most companies, and should be the first part of your accounting software decision. I would even reach out to a QuickBooks Online Advanced expert to ensure you need to step up to Sage or Netsuite before doing so on your own.
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Scalability
Intuit
They're getting better. Still room for improvement.
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Intuit
Software is very flexible
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Return on Investment
Intuit
  • Most of our business clients use QuickBooks which makes it efficient for us to work on clients that use the program. We can import QuickBooks data into our software which adds efficiencies to our tax practice.
  • Having staff that are familiar with the software enables our firm to provide quality service to the clients that use QuickBooks.
  • We receive referrals from satisfied QuickBooks clients.
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Intuit
  • QBOA has shown my clients the increase and decrease of my monthly income activity
  • I am able to project my income and spending more easily
  • The P&L reports has shown me a lot and by customizing to focus on my income and expenses has allowed me to better budget
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