This version is great for:

• All small business owners who want a complete bookkeeping software and don't have the need for sales and expense forecasting, grouped tracking by class, or the ability to create a business plan within their bookkeeping software
• Businesses that need inventory tracking and want to be able to set levels of inventory that will alert you to order more of that product
• Companies that need to track international sales in various currencies
• Business owners who want 24/7 customer support, and a secure backup of their files every day on QuickBooks’ remote servers
• (Online access is not available for and Desktop or Desktop Plus Software. If mobility is important, try one of the QuickBooks Online products)

Conclusion:

QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus version is the Desktop Pro software that you pay for annually and includes ongoing upgrades, daily backups, and 24/7 customer support. Unlike the Desktop versions, there are unlimited upgrades as the new versions of QuickBooks Desktop are released. However, because you pay a recurring fee for this version, once you stop paying for the software you are no longer able to access your books.

New QuickBooks Features: QuickBooks Desktop software now lets you see invoices, billing dates, and other scheduled tasks in an integrated calendar view. They have also added the Document Center which will let you scan and attach receipts, estimates, and other documents to invoices and customer files. Another addition is the Lead Center that allows you to manage valuable business leads and, once they become a customer, transfer them easily into the Customer Center with a single click. Also with this new release, all Desktop software comes with Industry-specific report templates created by other QuickBooks users that you can populate with your own financial data in one click of the mouse. Keeping your exported reports in Excel up-to-date has been made easier as well. By connecting these files with your QuickBooks software, all you have to do is refresh the Excel file and your reports are automatically updated every time you need it. A few more additions to the QuickBooks software are covered in our detailed review.

Ease of Use

Desktop Pro Plus received 5 stars for Ease of Use.

Setting Up Your Books: QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus is very easy to set up because it includes an initial setup guide, interface guidance tools, such as a searchable help database and question and answer forum, and unlimited, 24/7 U.S.-based customer support. However, the only way to access Pro Plus is by either downloading the software from the QuickBooks website or installing it off of a CD, which is more time-consuming compared to the Online versions that don’t require the installation of any software. With this Desktop software, you can import your financial and accounting data from Quicken, Peachtree, and Microsoft Office Accounting. Pro Plus also can import customer information and other contact data easily from any QuickBooks for Windows software, Excel, Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail.

Day-to-Day Operations: QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus is easy to use along with your daily business activities. Unlike the strictly-Desktop versions, Pro Plus includes online access that gives users access to essential QuickBooks customer and transaction data online from any computer with Internet access. However, unlike the Online versions, Premier Plus does not give you complete access to your books online which would be necessary if you are outsourcing your bookkeeping duties. This version also allows you to import your bank and credit card transactions into QuickBooks, which is incredibly important because it dramatically reduces the time required to record and categorize these expenses and deposits. Pro Plus’s interface is easy to navigate, as flow charts are categorized into your Vendors, Customers, and Employees. There are arrows representing a general flow of money and time, which give a quick visualization of the state of your business. The interface provides “nodes” that act as quick links to different parts of the software, such as invoices, time entry, estimates, statements, bills, sales orders, and more.  

T  his version of QuickBooks backs up your bookkeeping data every day so that if you lose the local copy your files will be saved on QuickBooks’ remote servers. Typically, QuickBooks comes out with a new Desktop version every year and to get these added features you have to buy a whole new software package. A major advantage the Desktop “Plus” versions have over the strictly-Desktop versions is that upgrades are included with your monthly subscription.

Managerial Features: Customer Invoices, Estimates & Budgeting

The Desktop Pro Plus software has an extensive set of Managerial Features that are essential for a growing business. QuickBooks can create invoices for whatever business you operate, including traditional retailers that need to include sales tax, contractors providing a service that invoice customers based on time and expenses, and anything in between. You can easily create invoices by entering your customer’s name, the products or services you’re invoicing, sales tax, and a personalized message all on one page.  Desktop Pro Plus also allows you to schedule invoices to be sent out automatically and periodically. With this software, you can print and email invoices directly from the interface. This version also allows you to track sales by the quantity of items sold or the total revenue generated by sales of a particular item. Through the software, you can also create an estimate for a customer for work that is going to be done in the future.

Unlike any of the Online versions, Desktop Pro Plus lets you create batch invoices so that you can invoice multiple customers who share regularly scheduled expenses all at once. In addition, this version will give you the ability to track international sales and expenses in multiple currencies. Pro Plus also allows you to create a budget and compare actual income and expense activity with budget projections.

QuickBooks provides an add-on to manage your payroll for an unlimited number of employees for an additional $279.96 per year or $28 per month when paired with the purchase of either QuickBooks Pro Plus or Premier Plus. There are also various other payroll services that can integrate with QuickBooks software. You can accept credit and debit cards through QuickBooks if you apply for a Merchant Account through Intuit Payment Solutions. Your first two months are free, after which a $19.95 monthly fee is charged.

Reporting

QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus provides an extensive collection of more than 100 types of financial, sales, and tax reports. These include accounts receivable aging, profit versus loss, and reconciliation reports. Like the Online Essentials and Online Plus software, Pro Plus includes a Company Snapshot that summarizes profit, expenses, revenue, transactions, previous period information, outstanding bills, outstanding money owed, etc. With any of the QuickBooks software you can create custom reports by adding to or editing the report templates.

Pro Plus also includes inventory reports to help you better plan future purchases, which is not built in to any of the QuickBooks Online versions. In addition, this version gives you access to a Customer Snapshot that allows you to view your customers’ purchase history, average days to pay, and outstanding balances at a glance.

Tracking Payments to Vendors & Inventory

QuickBooks allows you to set up a vendor list where you can easily enter in bills as you receive them and create vendors as you go. In addition, this version gives you the ability to view and pay all current bills. You can set up a schedule to automatically pay bills as they come in or delay bill payment to a different time than when you record them. You can also create customized purchase orders by vendor, itemized goods, and services, as well as add notes and view purchase history. If you use contractors, you will need to send them a 1099 tax form, which you can do with this QuickBooks version.

Unlike the QuickBooks Online versions, Pro Plus includes an inventory management system. This software allows you to designate levels of inventory that will alert you to reorder each product. With the QuickBooks Desktop software you can now batch invoice multiple vendor and employee time sheets for those who share the same work hours. In addition to this, the new software lets you run automatically recurring transactions like bills and invoices, and customize the schedule to fit your needs.

Online Banking

QuickBooks provides bank account reconciliation, which means they go through every transaction in your bank account and make sure the information you have in your software matches. The software also allows you to print checks by letting you fill out the onscreen withdrawal form and select Print. QuickBooks offers in-depth deposit records that provide details, such as who made a deposit, which account a deposit went to, and the payment method used. The software allows you to view histories of credit card expenses, check expenses and cash expenses across all your accounts, as well as view each of these expenses by transaction.

Pricing and Support

QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus normally costs $299.95 per year but is currently available for $199.95 for the first year and includes a 60-day money-back guarantee. Free product upgrades are available with the Desktop Pro Plus version.

Desktop Pro Plus does not charge an extra fee for access to their 24/7 U.S.-based phone and email customer support, like the strictly Desktop versions do. QuickBooks does not currently provide live chat technical support for Desktop Pro Plus, but they do offer sales live chat support. QuickBooks’ searchable FAQ section is helpful, as it provides a list of relevant topics when a user enters a query. Intuit also provides many user forum categories such as QuickBooks Tasks, Intuit Products, Intuit Resources, Intuit Payroll, and more, which we found very helpful.