QuickBooks Desktop 2021: Everything You Need To Know About Intuit’s Latest Release
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Expert Analyst & Reviewer
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We can all agree that 2020 has been quite a year. Many of us are ready to put it behind us and are looking forward to the year ahead. Intuit has gotten a jump on the new year with the release of QuickBooks Desktop 2021, the latest version of its best-selling accounting software.
But before you jump headfirst into an upgrade, take a few minutes to understand what’s new about QuickBooks Desktop 2021. In this post, we’ll explore the new features and new pricing to help you determine if this latest version is right for your business.
Table of Contents
What’s New With QuickBooks Desktop 2021?
QuickBooks 2021 has introduced a handful of new features that make it easier for small businesses to balance their books. These features include improvements to bank feeds, automated statements, categorized receipt entries, and receipt customization.
QuickBooks 2021 Features
Let’s take a look at each of the new features offered by QuickBooks Desktop 2021 so you can see how these changes affect your business.
- Automated Statements
- Bank Feed Improvements
- Receipt Management Tools
- Customer Groups
- Customized Receipts
Of course, you’ll also still have access to the same great features offered in the previous version of QuickBooks Desktop, including cash or accrual-based accounting, expense tracking, invoicing, estimates and quotes, contact management, inventory, and more.
If you’re a Mac user, QuickBooks for Mac offers a number of new features in its latest software. These features include:
- Automated Payment Reminders
- Statement e-Payments: Add a payment portal link directly within your statements, making it easier and more convenient for you and your customers.
- Combined Invoices: Combine multiple invoices into one simple email.
- Sales Tax Codes: Now you can record sales tax for out-of-state orders, non-profits, and multiple districts.
- 1099 e-Filing: You can now e-file 1099s through QuickBooks for Mac.
QuickBooks Desktop 2021 Pricing Changes
QuickBooks Desktop 2021 also brings increased pricing. There are several different pricing options available to you. Let’s break down the costs of each option to help you determine which is right for you.
| 2020 Pricing | 2021 Pricing | |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Pro | $199.95/year $299.95 one-time license |
$299.99/year $399.99 one-time license |
| QuickBooks Premier | $299.95/year $499.95 one-time license |
$499.99/year $649.99 one-time license |
| QuickBooks Enterprise | Starting at $924/year | $1,213/year |
| QuickBooks Mac | $399.99 one-time license | $399.99 one-time license |
QuickBooks Pro 2021
Your first option is to purchase an annual subscription. QuickBooks Pro Plus 2021 is priced at $299.99/year, although you may qualify for discounts when purchasing directly through Intuit. With this subscription plan, you’ll have full access to QuickBooks Desktop, as well as unlimited customer support, automatic backup and recovery, and automatic updates and patches. You also have the option to add on payroll and hosting services. Additional users can also be added for a fee.
You may also opt to purchase a QuickBooks Pro 2021 license for a one-time fee of $399.99. While this may seem like the less expensive option, there are a few things to consider. Automatic updates, data recovery, and backups are not included. You will also pay an additional $299.95/year for a Care Plan that offers unlimited support. These are all included for no additional fee when you subscribe to QuickBooks Pro Plus 2021. Payroll, hosting services, and additional users can be added for an additional fee.
QuickBooks Pro Plus 2021 + Payroll
If you have employees and plan to use QuickBooks for payroll, QuickBooks Pro Plus 2021 + Payroll has what you’re looking for. This plan costs $749.99/year. It includes everything from the QuickBooks Pro Plus 2021 subscription, as well as QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll. Hosting services and additional users can be added for a fee.
QuickBooks Premier 2021
If you want everything offered by QuickBooks Pro but want industry-specific software, QuickBooks Premier 2021 is a good choice. QuickBooks Premier 2021 can be purchased for a one-time fee of $649.99. Payroll and the QuickBooks Care Plan can be added on for an additional cost.
If you prefer an annual subscription that includes unlimited customer support, updates, and automatic data backups, you can sign up for Premier Plus 2021 at a cost of $499.99/year.
QuickBooks Premier Plus 2021 + Payroll
You can sign on for Premier Plus 2021 with the addition of Enhanced Payroll for a cost of $949.99/year.
QuickBooks Enterprise 21.0
Businesses looking for a more scalable solution may want to give QuickBooks Enterprise 21.0 a try. With this plan, you can have up to 40 users and get access to additional features including advanced inventory, priority support, and industry-specific software versions. QuickBooks Enterprise costs $1,213/year.
QuickBooks For Mac 2021
There are no complicated pricing tiers for QuickBooks for Mac. This software is available for a one-time cost of $399.99.
QuickBooks Desktop 2020 VS QuickBooks Desktop 2021
| Features | QuickBooks Desktop 2020 | QuickBooks Desktop 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic Statements | ✓ | |
| Receipt Management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Customer Groups | ✓ | |
| Live Bank Feeds | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom Payment Receipts | ✓ |
Intuit has always added new features to further simplify its accounting software and the release of QuickBooks Desktop 2021 is no exception.
One of the biggest additions is automated statements. This feature lets you automatically send scheduled statements or payment reminders to your customers. With automated reminders, you can get paid faster without having to manually set up statements.
Another feature added to automate processes is improved receipt management. Users can be given access to upload expense receipts from a computer or mobile device, making it quick and easy to track expenses. You can also automatically categorize and record multiple transactions at the same time, helping cut down on the time spent importing receipt data.
QuickBooks Desktop 2021 now offers customer groups. With this feature, you can group customers based on set criteria such as location, customer status, or customer type. Once your groups are created, you can send automated statements, payment reminders, or create custom mailing lists.
QuickBooks Desktop 2021 also brings improvements to bank feeds, making it faster than ever to review, add, or match bank transactions. The latest improvements to bank feeds save time by automatically categorizing bank transactions by accounts, payees, and classes. You can take advantage of batch editing and enhanced rules to cut down on data entry, while also making it easier and faster to find and resolve discrepancies.
Finally, the latest version of the software allows you to customize your payment receipts with a logo or custom fields to give your receipts a more polished and professional look.
Should You Upgrade To QuickBooks 2021?
The first factor you should consider before upgrading to QuickBooks 2021 is what version your business is currently using. If you’re using QuickBooks 2018 or an earlier version, support for your software may have already expired (or is set to expire soon). While you can still use your software, you lose technical support, as well as important features like security updates and access to QuickBooks Payroll. So, if it’s been a while since you’ve updated your software, it may be a good idea to upgrade to the latest version.
On the other hand, if you’re using a more recent version of QuickBooks Desktop, an upgrade may not be necessary. While there are a handful of new features, these features may not be worth the increased pricing that comes with upgrading to QuickBooks 2021.
If you’re an annual subscriber, you’ll automatically be updated to the latest version and will be able to use all of the new features. But if you made a one-time purchase, you will need to evaluate if the new features will be beneficial for your business and worth the additional cost of upgrading to QuickBooks Desktop 2021.
Erica Seppala
Expert Analyst & Reviewer at Merchant Maverick
An expert in accounting, finance, and point of sale, Erica has been researching and writing about all things small-business since 2018. Erica's insights into personal and business finance have been cited in numerous publications, including MSN, Real Simple, and Reader's Digest. She is a graduate of Limestone College.
View Erica Seppala's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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I have QB Desktop 2018 and the identical thing that happened to Paul in the comments also happened to me. This software version was supposed to work until May 2021 and a recent update broke some of the functionality earlier than it should have. I can no longer download transactions from my bank. Most of the trouble shooting I have done, indicates I must now upgrade to a newer version of QB in order to fix this issue. How lame is that. So yes, you can buy the individual license, which avoids the crazy subscription prices, however, it will only las for 2+ years before Intuit sends out an update to “break” the license. And yes, I could restore a back up copy prior to the update but not sure how many backups ago that was as I don’t use the download feature but once a month or so. I have determined, its easier to upgrade at this point. Unfortunately, QB online doesn’t have some of the features that are important to my business.
My customers have had desktop versions that they have used for years and years – until they decided that they wanted to upgrade or needed new features. If I have one of them upgrade to the 2021 version it looks like that is a subscription model – which seems idiotic. But I’m worried that if we buy that, does it automatically have some kind of switch that it no longer works after “x” date ? or can they buy 2021, and then use it for 10 years- even though Intuit won’t support it after 3 years ? How about the 2020 version ?
Hi Stephen,
For QB 2021, there are two options: the annual subscription or the one-time software purchase. If they opt to make the one-time purchase of QB 2020 or 2021, they will not receive automatic updates, data recovery, and backups. The Care Plan for support is also not included and will need to be purchased separately if they so choose. After three years, the software won’t just stop working. However, QB will no longer offer support for that software — patches, updates, etc. But, yes, they can purchase either version of the software and use it for however many years they want. It will still continue to work — just no updates and things like that after three years.
My QuickBooks 2018 was supposed to have support until May 2021. I received an automatic update last week, and it rendered the program unusable. I re-installed the program, but it still will not work. I use a couple of the on-line features, like having an invoice that can be paid on line, on line download of bank deposits made by Intuit, and being able to accept credit cards. I don’t use bank feeds. I need the desktop version as opposed to an on line version because I don’t always have internet and cannot afford to be without my accounting. Unfortunately, this program has left me high and dry for 3 days so far. I can’t invoice my customers automatically by email, can’t do the proposals, and can’t reconcile bank and credit card accounts. I’m just about fed up with this “technology” that they keep “upgrading’ and :”up pricing” but now fails. I need a stand-alone product that can export data to any spreadsheed–not just excel; that can send invoices to be paid on line with any service–not just Intuit’s service. When these companies keep adding bells and whistles that we don’t really need, and they keep jacking the prices up, wanting you to “subscribe” to a service rather than just buy a product that I, the customer, can own, then I’m ready to go shopping for another accounting solution.
Paul – Let us know if you find a good replacement. I am fed up with Quickbooks. This steep price increase for 2021 is pure greed. No additional useful features.
The increase in features for 2021 for most of us do not justify the big increase in price. Just greed!