QuickBooks Desktop Q&A

Answering a few common QuickBooks Desktop questions …

Do you need to renew Intuit QuickBooks Desktop annually?

Yes.

In 2022 Intuit transitioned all remaining QuickBooks Desktop products (Pro/Premier/Mac) from a perpetual license model (buy once and use "forever") to a subscription-based model. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise (QuickBooks Enterprise) transitioned to a subscription-based model some years earlier.

QuickBooks Desktop subscriptions generally require an annual commitment and renewal to continue to use the software regardless of whether you are billed monthly or annually.

Is QuickBooks Desktop going away?

QuickBooks Desktop is not going away entirely; however, Intuit has announced plans to stop selling NEW subscriptions of some QuickBooks Desktop products in the US after July 31, 2024. These products include QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus, QuickBooks Desktop Mac Plus, and QuickBooks Desktop Enhanced Payroll.

Existing US customers with active subscriptions to the affected QuickBooks Desktop products will still be able to receive product support, updates, and upgrades after July 31, 2024.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise (QuickBooks Enterprise) is not affected by this change.

Can US customers still purchase a NEW subscription to QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus or Premier Plus?

Yes, US customers can still purchase NEW subscriptions to QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus or Premier Plus until July 31, 2024, through Intuit Sales or a QuickBooks Solutions Provider (QSP).

QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus and QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus subscriptions are not available for purchase through the Intuit website.

Is QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online the same?

While QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online are both business accounting/finance solutions from Intuit, they are not identical products.

QuickBooks Desktop is Intuit’s longstanding business accounting/finance solution. It can be installed locally, on a server in a client/server environment, or accessed through an Intuit Authorized Hosting Provider.

QuickBooks Online is Intuit’s cloud-based business accounting/finance solution first released in 2001.

While there are similarities in how the two solutions work, the two products are not an apples-to-apples match.

Customers should carefully evaluate the products against their business needs before choosing one or the other.

Do you need to back up QuickBooks Desktop company files?

You should always run and have current backups of your QuickBooks Desktop company files regardless of whether QuickBooks Desktop is installed locally, on a server in a client/server environment, or accessed through an Intuit Authorized Hosting Provider.

If possible, set up / run a combination of automated + manual backups being sure to also perform frequent backups of the native company files + images folder.

Your business accounting/financial information is crucial so take the proper steps to proactively safeguard that information.

Should you upgrade QuickBooks Desktop annually to the latest major product release?

Intuit recommends upgrading QuickBooks Desktop to the latest major product release when available.

However, many businesses may not be immediately ready to upgrade their users to the latest major product release due to concerns over compatibility with third-party and custom integrations as well as custom reporting.

Those businesses should plan their upgrade strategy accordingly to ensure compatibility concerns are properly addressed, avoid unnecessary downtime, and impacts to productivity.