Which QuickBooks Do I Need? A Simple Way to Choose
With so many versions, picking the right QuickBooks can feel harder than doing the bookkeeping itself. Answer these five questions and the choice usually becomes obvious.
1. Are You a One-Person Business?
If you're a freelancer or sole trader who mainly needs to track income, expenses and mileage for taxes, start with QuickBooks Solopreneur. It's the simplest and cheapest option. If you send a lot of invoices or plan to hire, skip ahead to QuickBooks Online Simple Start.
2. Do You Want Cloud or Installed Software?
Choose QuickBooks Online if you want to work from any device, share access easily with your accountant and never install updates. Choose QuickBooks Desktop if you prefer your data on your own computer, work offline, or rely on Desktop-only features such as advanced job costing and industry reports.
3. How Many People Will Use It?
- 1 user — QuickBooks Online Simple Start or Desktop Pro Plus
- Up to 3 users — QuickBooks Online Essentials or Desktop Pro Plus
- Up to 5 users — QuickBooks Online Plus or Desktop Premier Plus
- Up to 25 users — QuickBooks Online Advanced
- Up to 40 users — QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
4. Do You Need Inventory or Industry Features?
If you sell physical products, you need at least QuickBooks Online Plus or Desktop Pro Plus. Contractors, manufacturers, wholesalers and nonprofits often get the most from Desktop Premier Plus, which has industry-specific reports and tools. If you have a warehouse, several locations or complex inventory, Enterprise is built for that.
5. Do You Use a Mac?
QuickBooks Online works in any browser on a Mac. The Windows Desktop editions don't run natively on macOS; the Mac-specific Desktop edition is QuickBooks Mac Plus. See our guide "Is QuickBooks Compatible With Mac?" for details.
Quick Recommendations
- Freelancer tracking expenses for taxes → QuickBooks Solopreneur
- Small service business that wants cloud access → QuickBooks Online Simple Start or Essentials
- Small business that wants software on its own PC → QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus
- Contractor, manufacturer or nonprofit → QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus
- Growing business with heavy inventory or many users → QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise or Online Advanced
Still unsure? Ask your accountant which version they work with. Using the same QuickBooks as your accountant makes sharing your books much easier.
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