QuickBooks Mac Desktop 2023

QuickBooks For Mac Review 2023: Pricing, Pros & Cons

QuickBooks for Mac is a widely-used accounting software that is tailored to work on Apple's Mac platform. The software offers users two options: an online version or a desktop version that runs directly on the Mac computer. QuickBooks for Mac is an intuitive accounting solution that offers users a smooth and familiar experience with Mac's operating system. Whether you are a seasoned Mac user or new to the platform, QuickBooks for Mac offers a comprehensive set of features for managing your finances and invoicing needs. Check out our detailed QuickBooks for Mac review to determine whether this popular accounting and invoicing software is the best fit for your specific requirements and budget.

Pros	Cons
Most accountants and bookkeepers accept it	Support is limited
Implementation is easy	Dashboard advertisements
A large number of users	Duplicate entries can be a problem

QuickBooks for Mac Basics

QuickBooks for Mac can be purchased through two options: the desktop version, which costs $349.99 per year with annual licensing fees, or the online cloud version, which starts at $15 per month for the first three months and increases to $30 per month thereafter.

The desktop version provides access to new features and security patches through downloaded updates, but this may make it less secure than the online version. This version allows you to customize invoices, sales receipts, estimates, and statements, and organize expenses for tax season with the help of proper categorization for your accountant. Additionally, you can add payroll to the online subscription plan for an extra fee.

On the other hand, the online version offers a mobile app that helps save time and keep everything up-to-date more frequently. The information is automatically backed up to the cloud, eliminating the need to worry about data recovery in case of a system hack or problem. QuickBooks for Mac Online also automatically syncs bank transactions, categorizing them to save you time.

When To Use QuickBooks for Mac

• Mac users who prefer desktop-based accounting software: This is a good option if you want to manage your accounting on your Mac computer without an internet connection.
• Self-employed individuals: Using QuickBooks for Mac, you can track time, send invoices, and collect payments for your clients.
• Experienced bookkeepers: QuickBooks Desktop is preferred by many experienced bookkeepers over QuickBooks Online because it is more convenient to navigate and enter data.
• Project-based businesses: In addition to the ability to send progress invoices and track time, mileage, and expenses by customer and project, QuickBooks for Mac includes useful features for managing and tracking project costs.

QuickBooks for Mac New Features for 2023

• Pay bills online: With QuickBooks Mac Plus 2023's Pay Bills Online feature, you can schedule and pay bills online without leaving QuickBooks.
• Upload bills: When you upload a new bill, QuickBooks matches the data to an existing transaction or creates a new one automatically.
• Customer group reporting: Customers can now be grouped based on certain criteria, such as high-balance customers, and run reports on them.
• Additional reports: There are four new reports included in QuickBooks Mac Plus 2023: adjusting journal entries, profit and loss (P&L) unclassified, P&L budget performance, and unpaid bills by job.
• Expanded Photo Sync: Bills and attachments can now be added with the Photo Sync feature. Simply place them in a shared Photos album on your computer, and then import them to QuickBooks for Mac.
• Improved item management: Existing items can now be duplicated with the ability to update information.
• Improved condense facility: In QuickBooks for Mac 2023, you now have more options to condense your company file, allowing you to select the data that you want to condense, such as removing audit trail information to date, or removing transactions based on a chosen date range.

Release notes for QuickBooks Mac Plus 2023

Discover the latest enhancements and features in the most recent updates to QuickBooks Mac Plus 2023.

Intuit regularly updates QuickBooks to provide a smoother user experience and address any known issues. The following release notes highlight the improvements and new features included in the latest updates.

Please note that this notice is provided for informational purposes only and does not alter, amend, or extend any software license agreement between Intuit and its customers for any Intuit product or service.

Release 5 (R5) 2/22/23

Export	Improved export to QuickBooks Online
Online Banking	Add support for American Express IDX connections
Calendar	Calendar and Reminder support for macOS version 12 (Monterey) and macOS version 13 (Ventura).
Pay Bills	In the Pay Bills window, a crash could sometimes occur when you clicked on radio buttons.
Melio	A crash could occasionally occur when Melio was used to process online bill payments.
Download Transactions	The modification of Payee in Download Transactions sometimes did not work correctly.
Account Register	In a register, keyboard input was not correctly accepted when typing in the search field.
Discounts	Changes to discount applied in Receive Payments would sometimes not be saved correctly.

Release 4.1 (R4.1) 1/15/23

Reports: Reports were not showing all names when the Name filter was used.

Release 4 (R4) 12/10/22

1099/1096 tax forms	Updated tax layouts for 1099s and 1096s for 2022.
Data entry	Following a specific sequence of steps, the due date on an invoice could change to "1/1/01".

Release 3.4 (R3.4) 11/21/22

Auto-fill	The auto-fill behavior of combo boxes was not working correctly.
My Time	QuickBooks did not import time activities created with My Time into the correct year.

Release 3.3 (R3.3) 11/9/22

Upgraded files: Company files upgraded from QuickBooks Mac 2022 would not open in QuickBooks Mac Plus 2023 R3.2.

Release 3.2 (R3.2) 11/3/22

Upgraded files: It was sometimes impossible to reopen upgraded files after saving them.

Release 3.1 (R3.1) 10/31/22

Merchant Services	Fixed an issue with a Merchant Services alert that appeared after opening the Sample Product file.
File sharing	Fixed an issue where the Server app would unexpectedly quit when a client app tried to connect to an older shared file.

Release 3 (R3) 10/25/22

System Requirements	Support for Mac OS 13 Ventura has been added
Bank Feeds	Bank of America customers will no longer see the error "One or more of your accounts had a problem downloading your transactions" when setting up Bank Feeds.
Tax1099.com	The login sheet for tax1099.com now refers to an email/password combination rather than a user ID.

QuickBooks Desktop Review 2023

QuickBooks Desktop is a popular accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses. It is a robust and comprehensive accounting solution that helps businesses manage their financial activities with ease. QuickBooks Desktop is available in three versions: Pro, Premier, and Enterprise, each with different features and pricing.

QuickBooks Desktop has been a popular accounting software for many years, but its technical interface may not be the best fit for small-business owners with limited financial backgrounds. Instead, the software is geared more towards accountants and bookkeepers who require in-depth industry-specific reports.

One of the downsides of QuickBooks Desktop is its cost, as its plans are more expensive than comparable QuickBooks Online plans, which already have higher entry-level prices compared to competitors like Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho Books. For this reason, unless you need desktop-based software or require specialized industry reports, it may be more beneficial to stick with QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks Desktop pros	QuickBooks Desktop cons
Accounting and bookkeeping features that are comprehensive	There is only one Mac-friendly software version with limited functionality
Integration with QuickBooks Payroll is simple	Integration with non-QuickBooks applications is limited
Software versions tailored to nonprofits, general contractors, and more	Additional user fees are expensive

QuickBooks Desktop’s key features

QuickBooks is owned by Intuit, which has been in the accounting and bookkeeping software market for decades—practically since software's inception. In addition to being exceptionally user-friendly, their accounting products include all the financial features small business owners, accountants, and large enterprises need to keep track of their finances.

QuickBooks Premier Plus

The QuickBooks Premier Plus desktop solution is designed for midsize businesses. It comes in six versions based on industry sector:

• General contractors
• Nonprofits
• Retail
• Manufacturing and wholesale
• Professional services
• General business

Software versions of all six are equipped with industry-specific reports. For example, nonprofit software generates tax forms 990, donor contributions summaries, and end-of-year donation statements. Although the general business and professional services software has fewer industry specifics, it can help you create financial documents tailored to your industry with its easily customizable reports.

QuickBooks Enterprise

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is a robust and feature-rich accounting software that takes the capabilities of QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier to the next level

• Access for up to 40 simultaneous users (additional fee)
• 200+ in-depth, customizable industry reports
• Data storage capacity for up to 1 million inventory items, customers, and vendors
• Microsoft Office Suite integration, plus access to 200+ business apps (additional fee)

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise offers a comprehensive set of features that take the capabilities of QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier to the next level. One of the standout features is the ability to access the program through the cloud, although this does come with an additional fee. This allows users to enjoy the flexibility of cloud-based software while also benefiting from the reliability of locally hosted data.

It's worth noting that some of the most advanced features in Desktop Enterprise require internet access, such as the advanced reporting functions. Therefore, if you want to fully utilize all of the benefits of QuickBooks Enterprise, it's important to have a stable, reliable internet connection at all times.

QuickBooks Desktop Drawbacks

Extra per-user fees

QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online have different approaches when it comes to user limits and pricing. Every QuickBooks Desktop plan provides access to only one user, and additional users are charged with an annual per-user fee. The number of users allowed is limited by plan, with QuickBooks Premier Plus allowing up to five users and QuickBooks Enterprise offering access to up to 40 users.

On the other hand, QuickBooks Online sets user limits for each plan, and you won't be charged extra for plan-limited users. QuickBooks Online Advanced, for example, allows up to 25 users for a flat rate of $200 per month. Regardless of whether you have 10 or 25 users accessing your QuickBooks Online Advanced subscription, you'll pay a total of $2,400 for the year. QuickBooks Online also typically offers a 50% discount for the first three months.

Overall, if collaboration is a key factor for your business, a cloud-based accounting software like QuickBooks Online can be more cost-effective than a desktop-based program.

Advanced features that are dependent on the Internet

It is true that some business owners prefer desktop-based software to ensure they can access their financial data without an internet connection. However, it's important to note that many locally hosted programs, including accounting software like QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, require internet access for certain features.

For example, some of the most advanced features of Desktop Enterprise, such as its advanced reporting functions, require internet access. Online data backups are also only possible with an internet connection. To access these features offline, users can add cloud hosting and online data backups to their desktop subscription for an additional fee.

Despite these options, cloud-based accounting software remains a more flexible and cost-effective option for many businesses. Cloud-based programs typically have fewer user limits, or at least cheaper additional user fees, and offer the added benefit of not requiring on-premises hardware maintenance. Additionally, true cloud-based software ensures that users can access their financial data from any location with an internet connection.

Additional QuickBooks Desktop features

QuickBooks ProAdvisors

QuickBooks ProAdvisors are certified accountants who are trained specifically in how to use QuickBooks accounting software. Whether you are using QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online, you can find a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to help you set up and manage your accounting needs.

In addition to helping you with day-to-day accounting tasks, QuickBooks ProAdvisors can also assist you with closing your books at the end of the year and filing your business taxes. Like QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop also syncs with TurboTax tax software, allowing you to import your desktop accounting data to TurboTax and take advantage of Intuit tax perks like interactive tax advice and e-filing.

However, syncing TurboTax with QuickBooks Desktop can be more complicated than syncing with QuickBooks Online. You may need to contact customer service or seek help from existing customer service forums to complete the process.

QuickBooks Desktop mobile app

Despite being a desktop-based program, QuickBooks Desktop does have a mobile app. However, the app's features are limited compared to the QuickBooks Online app. While the QuickBooks Online app allows you to send invoices, scan receipts, and track mileage, among other things, the desktop accounting app only allows you to scan receipts and access basic financial information.

Furthermore, QuickBooks Desktop's mobile app has received few reviews compared to QuickBooks Online, and the reviews it has received are not particularly positive. On Google Play, the app has an average rating of just 3.2 stars out of 5 from fewer than 100 users. Meanwhile, on Apple's App Store, it has received fewer than 50 reviews, with an overall rating of only 1.9 stars.

QuickBooks Payroll add-on

QuickBooks Desktop users can also subscribe to QuickBooks Payroll to manage their payroll needs, similar to QuickBooks Online. The cheapest desktop-based payroll plan is Enhanced Payroll, which starts at $50 per month, plus a $2 fee per employee per month. This starting price is higher than comparable online payroll software, but the per-employee fee is relatively low.

However, it's important to note that QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll doesn't include automatic payroll tax filing. While the software can calculate taxes, you (or your accountant) will need to file the taxes and complete end-of-year tax paperwork manually.

To get automatic payroll tax filing, you'll need to opt for the pricier Assisted Payroll QuickBooks plan, which starts at $109 per month, plus a $2 per-employee fee per month. While the per-employee fee is low, there are cheaper online payroll plans available that include automatic tax filing, such as OnPay's $36 monthly base price and $4 per-employee fee.