QuickBooks Desktop for Mac vs. QuickBooks Desktop Premier

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop for Mac is an accounting software designed for Mac users. It is designed to integrate with Apple iCloud. It provides core accounting features in line with the rest of the Quickbooks Desktop product line.N/A
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Desktop Premier is an installed version of QuickBooks for general business, contractors, manufacturing and warehouse accounting, as well as nonprofits, professional services, and retail.N/A
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop for MacQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop for MacQuickBooks Desktop Premier
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 for MacQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Chose QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
QuickBooks for Mac definitely outshines other competitors mainly due to its ability to sync seamlessly with all mac products, which other programs have continual problems with. Although the Mac version isn't quite as powerful as the Microsoft counterpart, it is still one of the …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
I feel that the online (QBO)version is the platform of the future. With third party companies building solid apps and plugins that integrate with QBO seamlessly, the desktop versions are becoming limited.
QuickBooks Desktop Premier

No answer on this topic

Features
QuickBooks Desktop for MacQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
9.0
13 Ratings
18% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.5
54 Ratings
12% above category average
Pay calculation8.511 Ratings9.252 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.08 Ratings8.425 Ratings
Direct deposit files10.010 Ratings8.242 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.57 Ratings8.433 Ratings
Reimbursement management10.09 Ratings8.536 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.5
12 Ratings
2% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.5
24 Ratings
2% below category average
API for custom integration7.08 Ratings8.017 Ratings
Plug-ins8.011 Ratings7.024 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
22 Ratings
20% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.4
58 Ratings
2% above category average
Single sign-on capability10.022 Ratings8.550 Ratings
Role-based user permissions10.019 Ratings8.449 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
6.7
24 Ratings
15% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.3
69 Ratings
6% above category average
Dashboards5.021 Ratings8.858 Ratings
Standard reports8.024 Ratings8.468 Ratings
Custom reports7.024 Ratings7.766 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.6
26 Ratings
0% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
7.9
72 Ratings
4% above category average
Accounts payable8.026 Ratings8.470 Ratings
Accounts receivable7.525 Ratings8.671 Ratings
Cash management5.520 Ratings8.865 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.526 Ratings8.869 Ratings
Expense management8.522 Ratings8.868 Ratings
Time tracking7.514 Ratings7.535 Ratings
Fixed asset management7.016 Ratings6.249 Ratings
Multi-currency support5.011 Ratings7.623 Ratings
Multi-division support6.012 Ratings8.239 Ratings
Regulations compliance10.011 Ratings8.224 Ratings
Electronic tax filing10.017 Ratings7.936 Ratings
Self-service portal7.515 Ratings5.823 Ratings
Global Financial Support5.08 Ratings6.09 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.515 Ratings7.014 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting8.016 Ratings8.117 Ratings
Localizations8.07 Ratings7.86 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations9.519 Ratings8.825 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting8.57 Ratings8.513 Ratings
Configurable Accounting6.511 Ratings8.115 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework6.511 Ratings7.510 Ratings
Standardized Processes7.015 Ratings8.515 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.4
17 Ratings
1% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.1
43 Ratings
8% above category average
Inventory tracking9.516 Ratings8.342 Ratings
Automatic reordering6.512 Ratings7.321 Ratings
Location management7.011 Ratings8.825 Ratings
Manufacturing module6.510 Ratings7.722 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
9.1
20 Ratings
19% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Premier
8.2
47 Ratings
8% above category average
Pricing9.019 Ratings8.037 Ratings
Order entry9.518 Ratings7.838 Ratings
Credit card processing9.019 Ratings9.234 Ratings
Cost of goods sold9.018 Ratings9.043 Ratings
Order Orchestration9.07 Ratings7.58 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility9.09 Ratings8.59 Ratings
Order exception Resolution9.08 Ratings7.56 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop for MacQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 7.0 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 7.0 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 for MacQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(34 ratings)
8.3
(75 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(9 ratings)
7.5
(14 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(8 ratings)
9.0
(26 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(4 ratings)
4.0
(13 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.0
(1 ratings)
7.2
(7 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop for MacQuickBooks Desktop Premier
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
If you're a freelancer or running a very small business where you do your own bookkeeping I think this is a great option, especially if you're familiar with accounting and bookkeeping in general. If you're not so familiar with bookkeeping, I would say that the learning curve is too steep and you might want to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution
Read full review
Intuit
We really think that ANY typical business would be a reasonable fit for QuickBooks Desktop Premier. While not necessary, even a comparatively unexperienced accounting person could look at the "Home" screen and follow their nose thru typical daily accounting processes without much detailed knowledge. Reporting is simple, looking up customer info and prior transactions is simple, looking up vendors and prior payments is simple... all in all, quite straightforward. I really can't think of an instance where it would be 'less appropriate'.
Read full review
Pros
Intuit
  • The program is very easy to learn, the interface is incredibly user-friendly and there are tons of free resources and tutorials available
  • It makes managing payroll really easy for the employee and accountant on staff. No more lost time sheets or late paychecks!
  • Managing bills and paying them has become streamlined and it's great having everything in one place so we don't lose track of things.
Read full review
Intuit
  • Employment - it makes creating paychecks a snap and tracks taxes.
  • Invoicing - they have a straightforward approach to creating invoices and you can even email them to your customers.
  • Customers - the program makes tracking customer information and balances easy.
Read full review
Cons
Intuit
  • The #1 complaint is that setting it up right is a challenge. People waste time trying to figure it out only to realize that they don't know accounting so of course they don't know how an accounting program should be set up. Like any time you are in over your head, reach out to your network and find someone who can log onto your computer and walk you through it.
  • If you need to track the cost of wages to jobs you can't do it with the online payroll, but check for yourself because it's a function that landscaping companies and construction businesses usually need, so maybe they have added it by now. That would really help!
  • It's premise-based software and that means you take on the role of hardware admin, and it's a lot of work for what is increasingly becoming a smaller gap in the functionality between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online.
  • QuickBooks for Mac 2015 has been updated consistently over the last 3 years and continues to provide for the bookkeeping needs of small companies using Macs in their offices. However, it has limited job costing functionality. It is similar in functionality to the 2010 version of QuickBooksPro which runs on Windows.
Read full review
Intuit
  • Support for older versions of QuickBooks ends after three years, then users must purchase the newest version at full price. Renewals should be deeply discounted for existing users.
  • I would like to see better in-product inventory tracking, so we can choose LIFO or FIFO rather than the ambiguous "average cost" method.
  • I would like to be able to assign payroll taxes to jobs for better job costing.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Intuit
I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac
Read full review
Intuit
Because we have been extremely happy with the product and our organization tends to be creatures of habit. We rarely leave a product that works this well for the latest and greatest. Typically we follow the "if it's not broken, don't fix it rule". While QB does make changes we typically just roll with it. If we do find something we don't like we work through it until we fully understand its functionality.
Read full review
Usability
Intuit
The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!
Read full review
Intuit
We switched to a more "robust" software program with the hiring of a new CFO. The migration of historical data and ancillary information has been cumbersome and riddle with errors and issues. In hindsight much of what the new software program was touted to accomplish is not come to fruition. QB Desktop Premier was sufficient for the organization needs
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Intuit
I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.
Read full review
Intuit
This is very reliable software, the desktop version is fast. If there is a problem, it is most likely on your own hardware!
Read full review
Performance
Intuit
No answers on this topic
Intuit
It takes forever to load.
Read full review
Support Rating
Intuit
Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.
Read full review
Intuit
This is where QuickBooks falls short. Many times my staff has had questions that have not been able to get resolved easily with a chat or call. I personally have had more general questions that have not been answered easily as well. I think QuickBooks needs to provide the resources of having readily accessible help in order to make it simpler to get solutions.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Intuit
No answers on this topic
Intuit
It is important to do your research. There are tutorial videos online that could help new user of this accounting system. These tutorials are straightforward and easily understandable.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Intuit
I love using Quickbooks compared to other software we've tried. QuickBooks Online and TSheets interface. Customer service and problem resolution are generally excellent, with well-trained and proficient agents taking calls or on chat. Ease of use and accessibility via the mobile app. Great courses were available to help with learning the basics and some advanced accounting background. I love learning! Online accessibility - it can work anywhere with an internet connection. Linking to bank and credit card accounts is handy.
Read full review
Intuit
QuickBooks Premier handles most of my business functions efficiently in one package. It is not my "everything." I use Replicon for time rather than QuickBooks. I don't want my WIP data interfering with my accounting. I use PaySimple for it's web interface and back office processing. I don't have security issues since I don't have any credit card data in my possession. With today's identity theft environment, I have to protect myself as much as I can. Not having credit card data in my accounting software lets me sleep much better at night. Quicken will do basic accounting but does not have all the double entry accounting systems contained in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online does much of the basic business functions but I don't like the pricing structure. As a professional accountant, that is very important to me. Bill.com provided a good service but the ability of QuickBooks to add bills and receipts to transactions makes it redundant.
Read full review
Scalability
Intuit
No answers on this topic
Intuit
They're getting better. Still room for improvement.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Intuit
  • It has allowed us to offer multiple bookkeeping softwares for clients that do not want to change from what they have been using.
  • Payroll filing has given us ease of mind because we can physically make the filings rather than waiting on payroll software to make them for us.
Read full review
Intuit
  • Most of our business clients use QuickBooks which makes it efficient for us to work on clients that use the program. We can import QuickBooks data into our software which adds efficiencies to our tax practice.
  • Having staff that are familiar with the software enables our firm to provide quality service to the clients that use QuickBooks.
  • We receive referrals from satisfied QuickBooks clients.
Read full review
ScreenShots