QuickBooks Desktop 2021: How Subscription & Perpetual Versions Vary

Perpetual Versions: Pro vs. Premier

The 2021 edition of Quickbooks Desktop is available in two perpetual versions: Pro & Premier.

Desktop Pro 2021 is best-suited for small & medium-sized businesses. Ideal for simpler bookkeeping without sales and expense forecasting, it gives 3 or fewer users concurrent access to single company files. In addition, Pro 2021 includes the following:

• Maximal tax deduction capability.
• Performance tracking and reporting.
• Data imports from Excel, Quicken, etc.
• International sales (tax) tracking in multiple currencies.

Desktop Premier 2021 is best-suited for small businesses. Ideal for extensive bookkeeping, forecasting, and planning; it provides 5 or fewer users industry-specific features for competitive advantage. Premier 2021 includes all Pro 2021 features AND the following:

• Sales order creation and expense forecasting.
• Product and service pricing by customer type.
• Cost tracking for products/inventory with custom reports.
• Industry-specific reporting (i.e., retail, nonprofit, general business, general contractor, professional services, manufacturing & wholesale).

NOTE: Pro & Premier both have optional Payroll and Unlimited support add-ons.

Subscription Versions: Pro Plus vs. Premier Plus

Quickbooks Desktop 2021 is also available in two subscription versions: Pro Plus & Premier Plus.

Pro Plus 2021 and Premier Plus 2021 include all the features from their perpetual counterparts (Pro 2021 and Premier 2021). What primarily differentiates them, however, is that the Plus versions include:

• Unlimited (free) customer support.
• Unlimited (automatic) data backup & recovery.
• Unlimited upgrades (i.e., features, security patches, updates).
• QuickBooks Desktop mobile app-based receipt management.