Here are some questions you need to answer to determine which Quickbooks (QB) program is right for you:
- Do you want access anywhere at anytime? (if yes, use Quickbooks online)
- Do you want to allow employees to access your file?
- How many users will be on your QB file?
- Do you need to track inventory?
- Do you manufacture products? (If you need to keep track of assemblies, use the Quickbooks Premiere Manufacturers edition)
- Do you want to use the payroll function? (Quickbooks Simple Start and Quickbooks Online don’t have payroll functionality)
- Do you want industry specific reports? Example: retail or construction
If you are unsure which product suits you best, please contact a Certified Quickbooks Proadvisor. Some specialize in certain areas, but most of them are well versed in all the versions of Quickbooks listed here.
| Program | Cost | When to use |
| Quickbooks Simple Start | FREE or $99.99 for more functionality | No employees or inventory and very limited reporting capabilities |
| Quickbooks Online | $9.95/month and up | Gives access online, anywhere |
| Quickbooks Pro, or Pro for Mac | Average $150-$200 | All of my clients use this version and this is the one I recommend most of the time |
| Quickbooks Premiere | Average $350-400 | If you want industry specific tools and reports |
| Quickbooks Enterprise Solutions | $3,000 and up | For larger manufacturing operations (can use sales orders, backorder tracking, etc.) |
Note: see http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/accounting-software/small-business-software.jsp
For a more in depth list of what each version includes.
Tags: quickbooks blog, Quickbooks help, Quickbooks Proadvisor
