QuickBooks has been around for over four decades and is well-known in the accounting and financial industry. In the dynamic landscape of accounting software, businesses face a critical decision when choosing between Hosted QuickBooks Enterprise and the traditional QuickBooks Enterprise installed on-premises.
You can differentiate the two Hosted QuickBooks Enterprise and QuickBooks Enterprise by features such as pricing, number of users, inventory, security, and many more. This may help you choose the best option for your firm.
In this blog, we will explore the distinctions between Hosted QuickBooks Enterprise and QuickBooks Enterprise to help businesses make informed decisions based on their unique needs and preferences.
What is QuickBooks Enterprise?
QuickBooks is an accounting software solution developed by Intuit. It is a one-stop desktop-based software solution for complex accounting operations for firms, such as tracking inventory at multiple locations, payment processing, payroll handling, invoices, and purchase orders, among others.
This software delivers a spectrum of customized solutions for accounting firms. With this, up to 40 accounting professionals can work on company files that are usually heavier than 1 GB. It provides industry-specific reports for manufacturers, wholesalers, contractors, and others.
It helps streamline the accounting process, manage finances, and track business performance effectively.
What is Hosted QuickBooks Enterprise?
Hosted QuickBooks Enterprise is a cloud-based solution provided by third-party service providers for large firms with up to 5-40 users. It can help firms manage their finances efficiently anytime, anywhere.
It refers to a deployment model where the QuickBooks Enterprise software is hosted on remote servers and can be accessed using a browser and stable internet connection.
Hosted QuickBooks Enterprise Offers all the features of the QuickBooks Enterprise version plus some added functionalities like:
- Cost Effective: Since the hosting service is a managed solution, you get a dedicated team of IT professionals that reduces the need to hire and maintain a team, saving a lot on setting up an in-house IT infrastructure and allowing you to focus more on your business.
- Time-Saving: Using managed hosting solutions saves you time setting up and configuring servers and databases; they offer continuous monitoring and maintenance of systems, and you get technical support to assist you with any concerns.
- Anytime Anywhere: Managed hosting solutions are built on cloud infrastructure, which enables users to access data from anywhere with just an internet connection. This makes working flexible, allowing users to work anytime, regardless of the physical location.
- Security: Cloud-based hosting solutions offer end-to-end security such as data encryption, multi-factor authentication, backups, immutability, dedicated servers, and 24/7 customer support.
- Scalability: Managed service hosting offers scalability by providing resources such as CPU, memory, storage, and support based on the required needs. Scalability allows users to adapt to the hosting infrastructure to meet the requirements and demands for better performance.
This Cloud-based solution helps keep the work up to date, ensuring automatic data backups, security, and seamless updates, making it convenient and reliable.
Here’s a comparison table to help you understand the difference between the two products more clearly:
| Feature | Hosted QuickBooks Enterprise | QuickBooks Enterprise |
| Deployment | Cloud-based (Shared / Dedicated) | Desktop |
| Accessibility | Any device with internet | Authorized computers |
| User limit | Up to 40 users | Up to 40 (additional licenses available) |
| Pricing | Subscription-based, Pay per use | One-time purchase + annual subscription, starting at $114/month |
| Updates and Maintenance | Managed by hosting provider, automatic updates | Manual installation of updates, maintenance required |
| Scalability | Suitable for all sizes of businesses | Suitable for large businesses |
| Integrations | Large app ecosystem | Limited integrations |
| Customization | Unlimited | More customizable features & reports |
| Data backup | Automatic online backups | Requires manual backups or cloud storage |
| Security | End-to-End protection | Local security |
Which QuickBooks is Right for you?
Here is our take:
Choosing between QuickBooks Enterprise or Hosted QuickBooks Enterprise is a challenging task. It’s more than choosing between clear-cut options.
Hosting Enterprise QuickBooks can significantly impact businesses, providing several benefits that enhance efficiency, flexibility, and collaboration. It is highly scalable and can fulfill the needs of a growing firm. You have remote access to your client’s financial data and dedicated support from the third-party solution provider.
You also get advanced security measures like firewalls, data encryption, and regular security audits. The pricing model of the Hosted version is a subscription-based model allowing firms to pay based on their monthly or annual usage.
Although QuickBooks enterprise supports all the functionalities of an enterprise, it is better to use it with the hosted environment because you can access financial data from anywhere with an internet connection.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the right choice of QuickBooks version depends on your business factors such as size, growth, industry, technical expertise, and budget. With QuickBooks, it is easy to streamline financial management, saves time, and gives a detailed report so businesses can get insights into their performances. QuickBooks helps prepare for tax season, has a user-friendly interface, and provides security and support.
As an Intuit-authorized solution provider, we offer robust and secure cloud solutions required for your firms. With Ace Cloud, you get 99.99% uptime, assisted by our 24*7 customer support experts, and a seamless and consistent accounting environment with an SSD server and a 45-day data backup.
Get a 7-day free trial for cloud-hosted solutions with Ace to enhance your accounting experience.
