QuickBooks is the most popular accounting software brand not only in the United States but also worldwide. Intuit, the owner and developer of QuickBooks, marketed it primarily as desktop software in the 1990s—but it eventually ventured into cloud accounting in 2001 through QuickBooks Online, which now earns twice the revenues of its desktop counterpart.
Key takeaways
- The Small Business & Self-Employed segment—the segment QuickBooks belongs to—is 56% of Intuit’s total revenues.
- QuickBooks Online has 2.1 times more revenue than QuickBooks Desktop.
- In 2023, QuickBooks Online had 6.5 million customers.
Here are 12 QuickBooks statistics that’ll help you understand why it is the most recognized name in the accounting software market and why Intuit is discontinuing its desktop accounting product for new users in August of 2024.
Intuit’s Major Product Segments Statistics
Intuit has four major segments, and the Small Business & Self-Employed segment is the biggest one. It houses Intuit’s QuickBooks product line, which includes its accounting software, payroll software and services, and bookkeeping assistance. Based on Intuit’s annual filings, the Small Business & Self-Employed segment is Intuit’s main revenue-generating segment when compared to the ProTax, Credit Karma, and Consumer segments.
1. Small Business & Self-Employed is the biggest segment of Intuit
In 2023, Intuit reported $8 billion in revenue for its Small Business & Self-Employed segment, which accounts for approximately 56% of its total revenue. This $8 billion is up 24% from 2022. This segment includes QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop products.
The chart below shows the share of all segments to Intuit’s overall revenue figures:
(Intuit Fiscal 2023 10-K)
2. 72% of Small Business & Self-Employed Segment revenue belongs to the Online Ecosystem
Online ecosystem revenue reached $5.8 billion in 2023 while its desktop ecosystem reached $2.3 billion in segment revenue. The online ecosystem comprises the following:
- QuickBooks Online products
- QuickBooks Online Payroll
- Merchant processing and bill pay services
- Mailchimp
- QuickBooks Checking
- Financing services
QuickBooks Online products alone generated 2.8 billion in 2023—up 26% from 2022—and will continue to grow as the desktop platforms are being phased out. QuickBooks Pro and Premier, the two most popular QuickBooks Desktop accounting programs, will no longer be offered to new users beginning August 1, 2024.
(Intuit Fiscal 2023 10-K)
3. QuickBooks has a market share of 81%
QuickBooks takes the largest share in the accounting software market when compared to Sage 50 and Xero with market shares of 10% and 9%, respectively.
(BusinessDIT)
4. There are 6.5 million QuickBooks Online Subscribers in 2023
QuickBooks Online has 6.5 million subscribers as of 2023 which is roughly 65% of its 10 million customer base.
(Intuit)
QuickBooks Online & Desktop Statistics
After reviewing the statistics, it’s pretty clear why Intuit is excited to steer its new users to QuickBooks Online instead of Quickbooks Desktop. However, QuickBooks Desktop is still seeing positive growth, and it is unclear how the fans of the Desktop product will react to its discontinuance in August of 2024.
5. QuickBooks Online remains the leader in accounting software products as compared to Xero and FreshBooks
QuickBooks Online’s revenue in 2023 reached $8 billion, which is twice Xero’s $4.1 billion revenue and 71 times FreshBooks’ $113 million revenue.
(Intuit Fiscal 2023 10-K, Xero 2023 Financial Results, Growjo)
6. 35% of Small Business & Self-Employed segment revenue comes from QuickBooks Online from 2021 to 2023
From 2021 to 2023, QuickBooks Online takes the largest segment revenue share if compared to all QuickBooks products. On the other hand, QuickBooks Desktop accounts for 14% of aggregate segment revenue.
If compared with 2021 figures, QuickBooks Online’s revenue in 2023 is up by 68%.
(Intuit Fiscal 2023 10-K)
7. Online Services revenue increased by 34% in 2023
In the fiscal year 2023, Online Services revenue increased by 34% due to the following factors that Intuit mentioned in its 10K report:
- Increase in customers and prices
- Increase in revenue from Mailchimp since its acquisition in 2021
- Increase in customers using payroll services and online payments
- Increase in volume of online payments
This increase in online services revenue in 2023 is a big leap from 2021 figures, with a 177% total revenue jump due to more customers using Intuit’s Online Services.
(Intuit Fiscal 2023 10-K)
8. QuickBooks Online has twice the revenues of QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Online has roughly 2.1 times more revenue than QuickBooks Desktop on average from 2019 to 2023 revenue figures. QuickBooks Online revenues in 2023 are now 2.6 times that of QuickBooks Desktop.
(Intuit Fiscal 2023 10-K)
The increase in both QuickBooks Online’s revenue levels over the years and online services is a sign that most customers prefer cloud accounting over desktop accounting.
9. QuickBooks Desktop has still seen consistent revenue growth from 2019 to 2023 amid the popularity of QuickBooks Online
Although QuickBooks Online takes a large slice in revenues, QuickBooks Desktop continued to generate positive revenue growth over the years.
So, while QuickBooks Online is growing much faster, QuickBooks Desktop is still attracting new users and experiencing growth.
Intuit (QuickBooks) Corporate Responsibility Statistics
On top of Intuit’s success in developing the most popular accounting software in the US today, it implemented corporate responsibility initiatives that focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and small businesses. Its hiring practices provided more opportunities for women and for those in underrepresented racial groups. It supports small businesses by including them in the supply chain, which contributes to millions in economic impact.
10. Intuit increased representation of women and underrepresented racial groups in 2023.
In fiscal year 2023, the representation of women and underrepresented racial groups increased to 34.1% and 16.3%, respectively.
(Intuit Corporate Responsibility)
11. Intuit included small businesses in its supply chain to support their growth
Intuit generated $634 million in economic impact to support small businesses through partnerships with small business suppliers. Moreover, it invested $393 million in small businesses through direct and indirect spend.
(Intuit Corporate Responsibility)
12. More than 25,000 students received free QuickBooks certifications in 2023
As part of Intuit’s goals for job readiness and creation, it offered free QuickBooks certifications for students to equip them with the right skills in future job applications.
(Intuit Corporate Responsibility)
Bottom Line
Intuit and QuickBooks have enabled many small businesses to make data-driven decisions through accounting and tax preparation software products. Overall, QuickBooks remains the top power player in the US accounting software market today.
References: Intuit QuickBooks Small Business 2023 Index, Intuit Annual Report on Form 10-K, BusinessDIT, Intuit, Xero’s 2023 Financial Results, Growjo, Intuit Corporate Responsibility
