QuickBooks Accountant Desktop: Review for Accounting Firms 2022
Tim is a Certified QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) Pro, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and CPA with 25 years of experience. He brings his expertise to Fit Small Business’s accounting content.
Mark has researched and reviewed accounting software at Fit Small Business since 2019 and has developed an extensive knowledge of accounting software features and how unique business needs determine the best accounting software.
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
Visit QuickBooks Accountant Desktop
What We Recommend QuickBooks Accountant Desktop For
We ranked QuickBooks Accountant Desktop as the best multicompany accounting software for independent full-service bookkeepers because of its powerful tools designed to assist with providing full-service bookkeeping to an unlimited number of clients for $499 per year. QuickBooks Accountant Desktop requires an active QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor membership, but the cost of the ProAdvisor program is included with the purchase of Accountant. QuickBooks Accountant Desktop is one of our choices for best accounting practice management software, particularly for firms serving QuickBooks Desktop clients.
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Is Especially Good For
- Accountants that provide payroll services: With Intuit Enhanced Payroll for Accountants, you have the option to provide full-service payroll for up to 50 clients for only $700 per year plus $1.75 per direct deposit. This is a cost-effective way to offer an additional service to your clients.
- Accountants wanting access to industry-specific reports: You can toggle to any industry-specific edition of QuickBooks Premier to provide clients with reports they may not have access to in their version of QuickBooks.
- Accountants that provide on-site assistance: The software lets you log in through your client’s QuickBooks Desktop program to gain immediate access to the special tools included in your QuickBooks Accountant Desktop subscription.
- Accountants that pay bills for their clients: The QuickBooks Accountant Desktop 2022 version lets you schedule vendor payments within the system. You can assign a specific day for the payment to be sent.
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Is Not a Good Fit For
- Accountants with QuickBooks Online clients: Since QuickBooks Accountant Desktop is only compatible with clients who have a desktop version of QuickBooks, firms with QuickBooks Online clients require QuickBooks Online Accountant.
- Accounting firms with remote employees: Because client files are stored locally, remote employees are unable to share client files with each other. The best option for this is QuickBooks Online Accountant.
- Accountants who need project management features: Accountants who are looking for help with team management tasks, such as tracking projects that the team is working on, will have more success with Jetpack Workflow, which offers a great mix of features at a fair price.
- Accountants serving Xero clients: If your clients are using Xero accounting software, you need to have Xero Practice Manager.
Are you looking for more accounting software options? Explore our list of the best accounting software for small businesses.
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Pros and Cons
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Accountant Copy allows easy file sharing from clients | More difficult to access client books than in QuickBooks Online Accountant |
| Accountant Toolbox helps find client errors and make year-end adjustments | Only one user at a time is allowed to access the company file |
| Open client files from the previous year’s edition of QuickBooks Pro or Premier | Cannot access the program remotely without third-party hosting |
| Ability to toggle between all QuickBooks desktop editions | No real-time update of financial data |
| Includes QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor membership | Limited app integrations available |
Visit QuickBooks Accountant Desktop
Tip: You can also use QuickBooks Accountant Desktop to manage your own firm’s books. It has all of the same features as QuickBooks Desktop Premier. To learn more about these features, check out our review of QuickBooks Desktop Premier.
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Pricing
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop is available with the purchase of a QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor membership. There are currently two membership levels available: ProAdvisor Premier Software Bundle ($499 per year per ProAdvisor) and ProAdvisor Enterprise Software Bundle ($849 per year per ProAdvisor). Both packages include QuickBooks Accountant Desktop and other features, but The ProAdvisor Enterprise Software Bundle has more inclusions, like QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Accountant, QuickBooks Mac Desktop, and QuickBooks POS Desktop.
ProAdvisor Premier Software Bundle | ProAdvisor Enterprise Software Bundle | |
|---|---|---|
Price ($/Year) | $449 | $849 |
Maximum Users Allowed | 1 | 1 |
QuickBooks Desktop Training & Certifications | ✔ | ✔ |
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Plus | ✔ | ✔ |
Unlimited Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ |
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Accountant | N/A | ✔ |
QuickBooks Mac Desktop | N/A | ✔ |
QuickBooks POS Desktop | N/A | ✔ |
Intuit Enhanced Payroll for Accountants | $700 per year for 50 clients | $700 per year for 50 clients |
Intuit Enhanced Payroll for Accountants Pricing
You can process payroll, enter after-the-fact payroll, make tax deposits, and file payroll tax returns for up to 50 clients with one subscription to Intuit Enhanced Payroll for Accountants. You’ll pay $70 per month or the discounted price of $700 per year if you pay in advance, plus $1.75 per direct deposit. This is far less expensive than other options like Intuit Online Payroll for Accountants, which costs between $11.50 and $45 per month per client, plus an additional 75 cents to $4 per employee.
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Features
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop offers the same features as QuickBooks Desktop Premier plus additional tools for accountants and bookkeepers.
New Features for 2022
QuickBooks Desktop has added new features in 2022 to help automate everyday tasks:
- Complete accounting tasks faster: QuickBooks Desktop now runs in 64-bit operating systems, resulting in improved stability and performance. This means that it can open company files and run reports more quickly than the older version.
Tip: If you want to uninstall the older version, you’ll be asked to repair QuickBooks. Click on the Continue button to repair QuickBooks and proceed to install the 2022 version. If you have the 32-bit version and wish to install QuickBooks 2022, you’ll need to repair the older version.
- Pay vendor bills online: You can now pay your bills within QuickBooks using Melio. You can schedule a specific day to send the payment, and you can choose from various payment options, including automated clearing house (ACH) and debit or credit card. Once the payment is sent, QuickBooks Desktop will mark the bill as paid automatically.
- Attach documents using the QuickBooks Desktop Mobile App: Snap pictures of your documents, such as bills, credit memos, and journal entries, using the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app and attach them to your transactions. When your transactions are entered into QuickBooks, you can access the documents easily and attach them if needed.
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Additional Features
- Categorize transactions with improved bank feeds: Categorize bank transactions automatically with more detail by using enhanced rules, batch editing, and improved matching.
- Send statements automatically: Automate regularly sent statement emails tailored to different customer needs.
- Customize payment receipts: Customize payment receipt formatting, including logos, for a professional and consistent look across your customer communications.
- Create customer groups: Create rule-based customer groups based on fields like customer type, status, location, and balance so that you can manage and communicate with customers easily.
- QuickBooks Desktop Manager: Use one management tool to find and install all of your QuickBooks products.
- QuickBooks Tool Hub: Fix common problems and errors with a hub containing easy-to-use troubleshooting tools.
The Accountant Toolbox included in QuickBooks Accountant Desktop provides great features for reviewing and adjusting clients’ QuickBooks files. The Toolbox enables users to:
- Access the Accountant Center: Your Accountant Center gives quick access to many of the features included in your toolbox:
Accountant Center in QuickBooks Accountant Desktop
- Troubleshoot prior account balances: Users can compare the prior-year balances in a client’s QuickBooks file to what they should be, based on the actual prior-year numbers that you input. The system will then prepare a proposed adjusting entry that you can accept.
- Bulk reclassify transactions: Instead of making a journal entry when a client repeatedly makes a classification error, you can specify criteria to locate the suspect transactions. You can then select the individual transactions to reclassify and perform the bulk reclassification with one click.
- Bulk write-off invoices: You can specify criteria to generate a list of invoices to review. After reviewing, perform a bulk write-off by indicating the appropriate invoices and clicking one button.
- Fix incorrectly recorded sales and payroll taxes: Use this feature to find and correct instances where your client recorded tax payments incorrectly.
- Merge vendors: If clients accidentally create duplicate vendor accounts, you can merge all of their transactions into a single vendor.
- Batch enter transactions: You can input a large number of transactions very quickly using a spreadsheet-like interface. This is much quicker than entering checks or other transactions through the regular screens.
For a better understanding of the differences between the various versions of QuickBooks, you can read our comparison of QuickBooks Pro vs Premier vs Enterprise vs Accountant.
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Ease of Use
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop is fairly intuitive and contains several features that make it easier to transfer and access your clients’ QuickBooks company files:
- Open Pro & Premier files: The program can open your client’s company files from either Desktop Pro or Premier without changing the format of the file.
- Open prior-year files: QuickBooks Accountant Desktop can open client files from the immediately preceding two years without updating the file. This enables your client to still access the file with their older version of QuickBooks.
- Toggle editions: You can also toggle between the following versions of QuickBooks Desktop: Pro, Premier General Business Edition, Premier Retail Edition, Premier Contractor Edition, Premier Nonprofit Edition, Premier Manufacturing and Wholesale Edition, and Premier Professional Services Edition.
- Open Accountant’s Copy: Clients create an Accountant’s Copy to share their QuickBooks data. They specify a dividing date, usually the end of the most recent period. Only the client can work on transactions after the dividing date, and only the accountant can work on transactions prior to the dividing date. Using QuickBooks Accountant Desktop, you can import their Accountant’s Copy, make the necessary changes, and then export your changes. When the client imports your changes, the dividing date they set will be unlocked.
- Access Accountant’s Toolbox onsite: Instead of a client sending their QuickBooks information, you can visit them at their site and activate the Accountant’s Toolbox from within your client’s QuickBooks program using your Intuit username and password.
QuickBooks Accountant Desktop Alternatives
Best for: Accountants who manage QuickBooks Online clients or work remotely | Best for: Accountants who need project management features | Best for: Accountants with clients using Xero accounting software. |
Cost: Free with enrollment in QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor program, which is also free | Cost: Starting at $45 per user, per month | Cost: $149 per month for 10 users—free when you become a Silver Partner |
Bottom Line
If you have clients that use Pro or Premier versions of QuickBooks Desktop, then you need QuickBooks Accountant Desktop. It includes comprehensive tools to import your client’s data file, review the file for errors, and make adjustments. The 2022 version includes new features to expand your QuickBooks Desktop practice, including the ability to pay vendors directly from QuickBooks and attach documents to transactions using the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app.
