The Best QuickBooks Version for Your Business Part 1: Overview

Help Choosing the Right QuickBooks Version

Welcome to the first in this series of posts about choosing the best QuickBooks software for your small business. This series will:

  • Outline each versions unique feature
  • Go into detail on each of the main QuickBooks versions, including:
    • QuickBooks Online
    • QuickBooks for Mac
    • QuickBooks Pro
    • QuickBooks Premier
    • QuickBooks Enterprise
  • Highlight the features, benefits, and drawbacks of each version
  • Weigh the pros and cons relative to each versions cost
  • Describe the situations when QuickBooks may not be the best fit

This post is an overview of the different QuickBooks options available from Intuit. business woman graph

Why You Should Set up a Financial System

Very few people enjoy doing accounting and bookkeeping tasks like I do! However these tasks are a necessary part of running your small business efficiently. Setting up your accounting correctly from the start and keeping it regularly updated will end up saving you a tremendous amount of time and effort.

No one want to be stuck in April trying to piece together a year’s worth of financial data in a rush, and worse, for no other purpose than to get your taxes done! Tax preparation is only the most basic reason to set up an accounting system. There are so many other purposes, such as:

  • Tax preparation
    • 1099 preparation
    • Reduce tax bill
  • Accounts Payable/Bills
  • Accounts Receivable
    • Invoicing
    • Statements
    • Collections
    • Create effective credit policies
  • Budgeting
  • Inventory control and tracking
  • Investment opportunities
  • Marketing research
  • Payroll requirements
  • Reduce costs and improve profits
  • Theft control and shrinkage reduction
  • Reporting
    • Cash flow projections
    • Financial statements, such as Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss
    • Track how your business is growing from any angle

Your QuickBooks Options

Aware of all the great reasons above, you may settle on giving Intuit QuickBooks a try. This is a great choice but deciding which version to try can be difficult – there are at least 6 basic options to choose from and the differences may seem small.

QuickBooks Product Comparison Chart

Let me help break down your different options so you can make the best selection for your specific needs. Here are the basics:

QB OnlineQB MacQB ProQB PremierQB Enterprise
$15-$80/mo$229.95$229.95$399.95$3,000.00
Basics
Data Import/ExportData Import/ExportData Import/ExportData Import/ExportData Import/Export
3-5 Users5 Users3 Users5 Users30 Users
QB SearchQB SearchQB SearchQB Search
Multiple CurrenciesMultiple CurrenciesMultiple CurrenciesMultiple Currencies
Recommended

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Each edition of QuickBooks has it’s own special considerations, with unique features and different advantages and disadvantages:

Options & Features

QB
Online

QB
Mac

QB
Pro

QB
Premier

QB
Enterprise

Accounting
Accept credit cards
Batch Invoicing
Change Orders
Purchase Orders
Partial Purchase Order Receiving
Progress Invoicing
Inventory
Advanced Inventory (FIFO, location, etc.)FIFO
Track time
Forms
Customizable Forms
Email forms (invoices, etc.)
Reporting
Class Tracking (Balance Sheet)
Class Tracking (P&L)
Collections Center
Industry Specific Reports
Job Costing • •
Reports20-80+100+100+150+150+

 

Intuit Product Comparison Charts

Here are a couple more detailed charts if the feature or option you are researching happens not to be listed above:

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About Arden Lux Lane

My name is Arden Lux Lane and I run The QuickBooks Resource. I am also the owner of Lux Bookkeeping and have been using QuickBooks since 2001 and helping small businesses since 2006.

Lux BookkeepingBizarre as it may sound, I actually enjoy accounting and helping small business owners get the most out of QuickBooks.

Learn more about Arden Lux Lane.