QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise vs. QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is a widely-used accounting package designed for small to mid-sized businesses. It is the top of the QuickBooks line. Pricing starts at $3,000 for five users, and goes up depending on the number of additional users. They also offer an Advanced Inventory module for $999 / year.
$1,703
per year per user
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
A now discontinued accounting solution, QuickBooks Self-Employed featured tools to help the self-employed drive growth and financial stability. It is replaced by the more advanced QuickBooks Solopreneur.N/A
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
Diamond
$447
per month per user
Diamond with Remote Access
$513
per month per user
Gold
2,210.00
per year per user
Platinum
2,717.00
per year per user
Gold with Remote Access
3,000.00
per year per user
Platinum with Remote Access
3,504.00
per year per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
I actually use or offer support to all of the QuickBooks versions. It depends on my client's need as to which product I will recommend.
As for QB Enterprise, I choose this product for my clients who need robust inventory, may have more than one company and want to combine …
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)

No answer on this topic

Features
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.5
124 Ratings
12% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
7.8
3 Ratings
3% above category average
Pay calculation9.2118 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.871 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.9102 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.193 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Reimbursement management8.393 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.4
84 Ratings
4% below category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
5 Ratings
26% above category average
API for custom integration7.767 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Plug-ins7.177 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.6
177 Ratings
5% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
8 Ratings
20% above category average
Single sign-on capability9.0138 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.3175 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.2
195 Ratings
5% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
14 Ratings
24% above category average
Dashboards8.2166 Ratings10.012 Ratings
Standard reports8.8193 Ratings10.014 Ratings
Custom reports7.6186 Ratings10.08 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.9
199 Ratings
4% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
15 Ratings
27% above category average
Accounts payable8.6192 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Accounts receivable8.5192 Ratings10.010 Ratings
Cash management8.8175 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.4188 Ratings10.010 Ratings
Expense management8.0176 Ratings10.014 Ratings
Time tracking6.791 Ratings10.07 Ratings
Fixed asset management7.2134 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Multi-currency support6.965 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Multi-division support7.4106 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Regulations compliance7.577 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Electronic tax filing7.4100 Ratings10.013 Ratings
Self-service portal6.978 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Global Financial Support6.138 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.472 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting7.694 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Localizations8.053 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations9.3148 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting8.699 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Configurable Accounting8.697 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework8.460 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Standardized Processes8.3110 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.6
117 Ratings
1% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
3 Ratings
28% above category average
Inventory tracking8.0113 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Automatic reordering7.760 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Location management7.675 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Manufacturing module7.259 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.1
145 Ratings
6% above category average
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
10.0
5 Ratings
27% above category average
Pricing8.1108 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Order entry8.4114 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Credit card processing7.7103 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Cost of goods sold8.8130 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Order Orchestration7.864 Ratings10.02 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility8.163 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Order exception Resolution8.149 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 8.9 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(210 ratings)
10.0
(15 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(26 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.9
(13 ratings)
9.4
(2 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.0
(5 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.9
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
1.4
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseQuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is a suitable option for companies with 1 to 100 employees. It is an efficient way to keep track of your books for managerial reasons and tax purposes. It is generally the go-to software for accounting. It does take some skill to get things set up and to know what to do for specific accounting transactions. You will most likely need an accountant who knows what they are doing to keep track of your books. Preferably someone or an honest team. For large companies, they will want to consider a comprehensive ERP system that integrates departmental systems.
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Intuit
QuickBooks is a great tool for new SoleTraders that need basic accounting software and require digital invoicing for their clients to send via email and access key features via a mobile app on the go. QuickBooks is a straightforward tool to use with a simple design and learning curve for business owners that are not very tech-savvy. For businesses that operate on a larger scale and need to provide access to other users on their team, QuickBooks is limited. This type of business may also require more insights into the business outside of accounting, and QuickBooks won't be able to supply insights outside of that.
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Pros
Intuit
  • Generally, a mouse is not needed!
  • Updating as each transaction is posted means, in the event of a crash, power failure, whatever; all the posted transactions are securely in the data file and can be pulled up on another computer, if the computer being used crashes.
  • Reporting is generally user friendly, in that one can see the desired results by setting a few parameters for the report.
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Intuit
  • QuickBooks Self-Employed does keep a running total of your income and estimated taxes. Of course, this requires that your entries are accurate.
  • The mileage feature is particularly helpful. One just needs to either use the phone app in conjunction with QuickBooks Self-Employed, or keep a log of all mileage.
  • When tax time comes around, it's easy to use TurboTax software and import your data from QuickBooks.
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Cons
Intuit
  • Wish we had the ability to track gallons. We are a truck stop and need to know how many gallons we buy and sell.
  • Matching up credits in Pay Bills can be challenging, especially if you make a mistake.
  • Wish in some of the reporting that it would automatically total some columns.
  • Downloading from the bank wish it would tell you the last time you downloaded and the dates you put in so you don't download the same information twice.
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Intuit
  • Doesn't integrate with Mint, which I use for my home expenses. I think this would be a nice addition to the program, so I could keep track of my whole financial situation.
  • A Windows 10 app would be a nice addition to the program, so I could access it securely from my desktop.
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Likelihood to Renew
Intuit
While QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise has been an amazing tool for many years, it seems it is getting phased out for QuickBooks Online. Intuit is decreasing the level of support it offers for QuickBooks Desktop in lieu of stronger support for QuickBooks Online. Although the desktop version is robust and helpful, it seems QBO is the way of the future for bookkeeping with QuickBooks.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Usability
Intuit
QuickBooks provides all staff immediate access to the data in whatever form each person wants it. The balancing on entries prevents incorrect data entry on payables/receivables. Reports are easy to customize and save for future use. The records are easy to audit.
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Intuit
I have been using this software for several years now and it has always put out my data in beautiful generated reports that I can use for verification purposes with my financial institute and the IRS. It has all the tools I need to run my business without loosing track of anything
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Reliability and Availability
Intuit
Rating: 7 out of 10
We rate QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise's availability a 7 out of 10. For the most part, the software is dependable and available when we need it. When hosted on a properly managed local server or through a reputable third-party cloud provider, uptime is generally consistent, and routine day-to-day operations run smoothly.
However, availability challenges do arise, particularly when accessing QuickBooks remotely or during periods of high system demand. Because it's a desktop-based solution, availability is highly dependent on our internal IT infrastructure. If our network goes down, a server needs maintenance, or if there’s an issue with a remote desktop connection, access to QuickBooks can be temporarily disrupted. These outages aren’t necessarily caused by QuickBooks itself, but they do impact our experience with availability.
Additionally, we’ve occasionally experienced application errors, especially after updates or when working with large company files. While Intuit support is usually helpful in resolving these issues, they can still lead to frustrating delays—especially during critical periods like month-end closing or grant reporting deadlines.
Planned maintenance, while infrequent, also affects availability, especially when using a hosted environment. Coordination with IT or hosting providers is sometimes needed to minimize downtime.
Overall, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is a reliable tool, but its dependence on local infrastructure introduces more potential points of failure compared to cloud-native solutions. Enhancements in cloud-based access or hybrid models could significantly improve both accessibility and uptime. That said, with strong internal IT support or a reliable cloud hosting provider, the availability can easily rise to an 8 or 9.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Performance
Intuit
I rate QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise's performance a 5 out of 10, mainly because while it’s functional for most routine tasks, it can lag significantly when handling complex operations, large data files, or during multi-user sessions. As our organization has grown, we’ve noticed that report generation—especially for customized or multi-dimensional reports—can be slow, sometimes taking several minutes to load or refresh. This impacts productivity, particularly during key financial cycles like audits, monthly closings, or grant reporting.
Performance degradation is especially noticeable when multiple users are active in the system at the same time. Even with a solid server setup, there’s often a drop in responsiveness when more than a handful of users are generating reports or entering transactions concurrently.
We’ve also experienced some slowdowns in third-party integrations, particularly when syncing with Vena Solutions or exporting data for use in external tools. While the integrations are valuable, they occasionally stall or require workarounds, adding friction to our workflows.
In short, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise delivers the basics well, but its performance limitations become more apparent in high-volume or complex use cases. It would benefit from better optimization for large datasets and faster processing for advanced reporting. Upgrades in system architecture—such as deeper support for cloud hosting or more efficient data handling—could significantly improve the user experience and move this rating closer to an 8.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Intuit
It takes a long time to get through to customer support. And sometimes you have to explain the situation multiple times before the rep actually understands the issue, but that's usually because the issue is complex and out of the ordinary. However, the rep is always patient, and will take as much time and effort as necessary to resolve whatever issue you're having. It's nice that they can "take over" your computer rather than having to talk you through the solution over the phone.
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Intuit
I have never faced any difficulties that required me to contact QuickBooks customer service. QuickBooks has plenty of online tutorials, blog posts, and helpful tips and advice for almost any issues you may face using the desktop or app version of the software. Even if you can not find the right answer on the QuickBooks webpages, there are loads of YouTube videos from experts.
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In-Person Training
Intuit
It is a very easy system to learn, so with the help it was even easier. QB is a good solid system, but it lacks some of the complexity other systems have. with QB you need to get additional modules to get the same functionality that other systems offer standard
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Intuit
easy to learn system, specially with some kind of support. Just like with any other system, things get lot easier if you have guidance to lead you in your search for answers. having said that, QB is very easy to use and very easy to teach. you wont spend much time memorizing where to click.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Intuit
If you're loading QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions onto a computer that you're going to directly log into, you should be able to do it yourself. If you are going to connect to a server through a network or remote connection, you should probably have a professional IT person set it up for you.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Intuit
We have selected this product as it is affordoable in terms of pricing and features too. Our clients is geeting lots of benefits by using this product. By using QuickBooks desktop client also manage the information realted to financials and also get the clear picture for the future by using the accounting information from this product.
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Intuit
FreshBooks limited my ability to categorize transactions, specifically removing duplicates or excluding them. I selected QuickBooks Self-Employed because it allowed me to be in control of items. Sometimes accounting is just making sure things are organized the way YOU think, and FreshBooks wasn't doing that for me.
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Scalability
Intuit
I would rate QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise a 7 out of 10 for overall scalability. The product offers solid scalability features, particularly for small to mid-sized organizations like ours that are growing and need reliable multi-user access, enhanced data capacity, and cross-departmental functionality. It handles increasing transaction volumes and user growth quite well, especially with its support for up to 40 users and the ability to manage large lists (customers, vendors, accounts, etc.)—a significant improvement over QuickBooks Pro or Premier.
Its role-based permissions system also allows us to assign tailored access by department or user level, which is essential for maintaining control and security across teams like finance, HR, and program management. Additionally, features like advanced reporting, inventory management, and class tracking have helped us better manage multiple programs or sites within one system.
That said, the scalability still has some limits. For example, deploying the software across multiple physical locations or for remote teams requires additional IT infrastructure—such as hosting it on a third-party cloud server or setting up a VPN—which introduces cost and complexity. Also, while QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise can technically handle a high volume of data, performance can decline as the file size grows over time unless regular maintenance and optimization are done.
In summary, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise scales well within its designed range, particularly for growing nonprofits and NGOs. However, organizations with distributed teams or very large, complex operations may eventually find the system’s desktop-based architecture less agile compared to cloud-native ERP platforms. With enhancements to cloud integration and remote accessibility, this rating could easily increase.
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Intuit
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Intuit
  • Good value for the price. The initial setup was quick and easy.
  • When properly set up and processes are followed it's decent at managing inventory which is something we had problems with. Have to have a dedicated employee to builds.
  • Rolling up costs in multi-level BOM's is a project each time we have to review costs, it's very time consuming to manually update all assemblies.
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Intuit
  • Overall, tagging expenses and mileage has saved me thousands in taxes, for a relatively low cost of around $8/mo.
  • QuickBooks allows me to get invoices to clients quickly and accept online payments, which helps with cashflow.
  • The app has stopped tracking mileage automatically on my device, so I worry that sometimes I am not tracking business miles effectively, which could end up costing me at the EOY.
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ScreenShots