Accounting · Full Double-Entry Accounting
QuickBooks Desktop / Enterprise Review
QuickBooks' Windows desktop accounting for larger contractors, with a Construction & Contractors edition
Quick verdict
Who QuickBooks Desktop / Enterprise fits: Established contractors and specialty trades running many jobs at once who want Windows desktop accounting with a contractor edition, billing rate levels and room for up to 40 users. Trade-offs: Intuit stopped selling new Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus in the US (Enterprise still sold); starting prices of $2,210-$5,363 a year; Windows-only; field work needs QuickBooks Time or a separate field-service tool; a lot for small shops.
Pricing
Starting at $2,210/yr for Gold (about $184/mo) and $2,717/yr for Platinum, both annual subscriptions for 1-10 or up to 30 users, and $5,363/yr for Diamond (monthly subscription only, up to 40 users), per Intuit's pricing page; exact pricing comes from its custom pricing tool or Intuit sales (800-450-8469). Gold includes QuickBooks Desktop Enhanced Payroll (plus up to $3 per employee a month), Advanced Reporting and multi-company management; Platinum adds Advanced Inventory, Advanced Pricing, intercompany transactions and bill and PO approval workflows; Diamond adds Assisted Payroll ($2.50 per employee per pay period) and QuickBooks Time Elite (billed per employee). Cloud hosting costs extra. A 30-day free trial needs no credit card, and annual plans carry a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Affiliate disclosure: The link to QuickBooks Desktop / Enterprise on this page goes to its own site and is not an affiliate link.
About QuickBooks Desktop / Enterprise
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is Intuit's Windows-installed accounting software for larger small businesses, sold in industry editions that include Construction & Contractors. Intuit says the contractor edition tracks job costs in real time, takes advance prepayments on estimates and sales orders, and comes with a contractor chart of accounts and customizable contractor reports, and that Enterprise's job cost tracking covers labor, materials, deadlines and change orders. Billing rate levels, available in the Contractor, Professional Services and Accountant editions, fill in the right labor rate on an invoice based on who did the work.
Product direction matters here. Intuit stopped selling new QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus subscriptions, and Desktop Enhanced Payroll, to US customers after September 30, 2024. Existing subscribers can keep renewing, and Intuit says Enterprise is not affected: new and existing customers can still buy or renew it.
Enterprise runs on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), on your own machines or on Intuit's cloud hosting for an extra fee, with up to 30 users on Gold and Platinum and up to 40 on Diamond; there is no Mac version. For field work, Diamond includes QuickBooks Time Elite for mobile time tracking, and contractors can connect a field-service or construction tool; Knowify, for example, syncs both ways with QuickBooks Desktop on its Enterprise plan.
The trade-off: Enterprise brings a contractor edition, billing rate levels, payroll built into the plan and room for up to 40 users, but it is Windows-only and starts at $2,210 a year, with the exact price set by a custom quote. Small crews can compare QuickBooks Online, which offers project profitability tracking from its Plus plan.
How it works
Enterprise installs on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) PCs, with a Windows Server option for multi-user setups, or runs on Intuit's cloud hosting for an extra fee. Users share one company file (up to 30 on Gold and Platinum, up to 40 on Diamond). In the contractor edition you assign costs to jobs, take prepayments on estimates and sales orders, set billing rate levels by worker, and run contractor and job reports, with Advanced Reporting on every plan. Payroll is part of the plan (Enhanced Payroll on Gold and Platinum, Assisted Payroll on Diamond). You get a custom quote online or from Intuit sales (800-450-8469); a 30-day free trial needs no credit card, and annual plans have a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Pros & cons
What works
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Contractor edition with job costing
Intuit's Construction & Contractors edition tracks job costs in real time, takes prepayments on estimates and sales orders, and includes a contractor chart of accounts and contractor reports.
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Billing rate levels
Set different service rates by employee or vendor; QuickBooks fills in the right rate on invoices with billable time based on who did the work (Contractor, Professional Services and Accountant editions).
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Room for up to 40 users
Gold and Platinum allow up to 30 users and Diamond up to 40, and Platinum adds Advanced Inventory, Advanced Pricing and bill and PO approval workflows for shops carrying materials.
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Payroll included in the plan
Gold and Platinum include Enhanced Payroll (plus up to $3 per employee a month) and Diamond includes Assisted Payroll ($2.50 per employee per pay period), so payroll is not a separate subscription.
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Try before you buy
A 30-day free trial needs no credit card, and annual plans carry a 60-day money-back guarantee.
What doesn't
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Desktop line is shrinking
Intuit stopped selling new Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus subscriptions to US customers after September 30, 2024. Enterprise is not affected, but weigh the long-term direction of desktop software.
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Annual cost runs into the thousands
Intuit lists starting prices of $2,210/yr for Gold, $2,717/yr for Platinum and $5,363/yr for Diamond, which is sold only as a monthly subscription; your exact price comes from its custom pricing tool or sales.
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Windows only
Enterprise needs Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and has no Mac version; working remotely means Intuit's cloud hosting at extra cost.
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Field work needs add-ons
Mobile time tracking comes through QuickBooks Time Elite (included with Diamond), and scheduling and dispatch need a separate field-service tool connected to QuickBooks.
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More than small shops need
For a solo or one- to three-person operation, a desktop system sized for up to 40 users and starting at $2,210 a year is a lot to take on; QuickBooks Online is simpler to start with.
Features & integrations
Key features
Integrations
Frequently asked
Is QuickBooks Desktop being discontinued?
Not entirely. Intuit stopped selling new QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus and Desktop Enhanced Payroll subscriptions to US customers after September 30, 2024. Existing subscribers can keep renewing, and Intuit says Enterprise is not affected: new and existing customers can still buy or renew it.
What does QuickBooks Enterprise offer contractors over QuickBooks Online?
The Construction & Contractors edition: real-time job costing, prepayments on estimates and sales orders, billing rate levels by worker, a contractor chart of accounts and contractor reports, plus room for up to 40 users and Advanced Inventory on Platinum. Smaller shops can compare QuickBooks Online, which offers project profitability tracking from its Plus plan.
How much does QuickBooks Enterprise cost in 2026?
Intuit's pricing page lists starting prices of $2,210 a year for Gold and $2,717 a year for Platinum (annual subscriptions) and $5,363 a year for Diamond (monthly subscription only), with exact pricing from its custom pricing tool or Intuit sales at 800-450-8469. The per-employee payroll costs are listed: Enhanced Payroll up to $3 per employee a month on Gold and Platinum, and Assisted Payroll $2.50 per employee per pay period on Diamond. Annual plans have a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Does QuickBooks Enterprise have a field/mobile app for techs?
Enterprise itself is Windows software. Diamond includes QuickBooks Time Elite for mobile time tracking that syncs with QuickBooks, and Intuit's contractor page points to field-service management integrations for crews in the field. Knowify, a construction tool, syncs both ways with QuickBooks Desktop on its Enterprise plan.
Other accounting software
QuickBooks Online
Intuit's cloud accounting, from a free plan to Advanced, with job costing and inventory from the Plus plan up
Xero
Cloud accounting with no per-user license fees and three simple US plans
FreshBooks
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Wave
Free accounting and invoicing for very small and new businesses
Sage 50
Sage 50: installed accounting software with job, phase and cost code tracking, inventory and purchase orders
Zoho Books
Low-cost online accounting with a free plan for small revenue and job profitability from the Professional plan