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Learn how terms differ in QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online
by Intuit • 
If you plan to switch from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, there will be some changes to consider. In this article, you’ll learn how terms differ between both platforms.
Note: For information on how to switch to QuickBooks Online, check out Learn about switching from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.
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Transactions
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
Bank Feeds | Online Banking / Bank Transactions |
| Use Register (For Banks/Accounts) | View Register |
Sales Receipts | Sales Receipts |
| Item Receipts | Expenses Bills |
| Credit Memos | Credit Memos |
| Refund Receipts | Delayed Credits |
| Batch Invoices | Batch transactions (QuickBooks Online Advanced) |
| Receipt Management | Receipts |
| Other Charges | N/A |
| Subtotals | Subtotal |
| Discounts | N/A |
| Memorized transactions | Recurring transactions |
| Chart of accounts | Chart of accounts |
| Transfer Funds | Transfer |
| Enter Statement Charges | N/A |
| Statements | Statements |
| Payment Reminders | Reminders / Automatic invoice reminders |
Sales
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
| Estimates | Estimates |
| Invoices | Invoices |
| Checks | Checks |
| Purchase Orders | Purchase Orders |
| Undeposited Funds | Undeposited Funds |
| Make Deposits | Payments to deposit |
| Assemblies | Bank Deposits |
| Groups | Bundles (Products & services) |
| Services | Bundles (Products & services) |
| Jobs | Sub-customers Projects |
| Items | Products and services |
| Sales Orders | N/A |
| Income Tracker | All Sales |
| Customer Groups | N/A |
| Job & Item Estimates vs Actuals | N/A |
Expenses
QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
| Bills | Expenses Bills Vendor Credits |
| Credit Card Charges | Expenses Credit Card Credits |
| Bill Tracker | Vendors window |
| Upload & Review Bills | Receipts |
| Schedule Online Payment | Online Bill Pay |
| Forecast | Budgets |
| Budgets | Budgets |
| Reconcile | Reconcile |
| Payments | Payments |
| Receive Payments | Receive Payments |
| Pay Bills | Pay Bills |
| Purchase Orders | Purchase Orders |
| Vendors | Vendors (for all Vendors) Contractors (for Vendors tracked for 1099) |
| Billing Rate Levels | N/A |
Customers & Leads
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
| Customers | Customers |
| Leads | N/A |
| Other Names | N/A |
| Sales Reps (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) Vendor Types | N/A |
| Vendor Types (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) | N/A |
| Job Types (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) | N/A |
| Customer Messages (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) | N/A |
| Ship Via (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) | N/A |
| Vehicles (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) | Manage vehicles |
| Customer Types (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) | Customer Types |
| Terms (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) | Terms |
| Payment Methods (Customer & Vendor Profile Lists) | Payment Methods |
Reports
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
| Memorized reports | Custom reports |
| Scheduled reports | Custom reports |
| Commented reports | N/A |
| Custom reports | Custom reports (QuickBooks Online Advanced) |
| Company Snapshot | Business Snapshot |
| Payroll Reports: • Payroll Details report • Tax Liability report • Direct Deposit report • Workers Comp report • Sick and Vacation report | Payroll Reports: • Payroll Summary report • Liability Balance report • Employee Direct Deposit Listing • Workers Comp report • Sick and Vacation History report |
Payroll
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
| Scheduled Payroll | Run Payroll |
| Unscheduled Payroll | Run Payroll Bonus Only |
| Payroll Item List | Edit Pay Items |
| Weekly Timesheet | Time Entries (if Time tab is available) Weekly Timesheet (if Time tab isn’t available) |
| Time / Enter Single Activity | Time Entries (if Time tab is available) Single Time Activity (if Time tab isn’t available) |
| Employees | Employees |
Inventory
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
| Inventory Parts | Inventory |
| Non-inventory Parts | Non-inventory |
| Adjust Quantity/Value on Hand | Inventory Quantity Adjustment |
Administrative
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
| Edit, then Preferences | Settings ⚙, then Account and settings Settings ⚙, then Payroll settings |
| Documents / Doc Center | Attachments |
| My Company | Settings ⚙, then Account and settings |
| Calendar | N/A |
| Set Up Users | Manage Users |
| To Do List | Tasks (QuickBooks Online Advanced) |
| Reminders | N/A |
| Letters | N/A |
| Make General Journal Entries | Journal Entries |
Other
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
| Price Levels | N/A |
| Fixed Asset Items | Available in QuickBooks Online Advanced |
| Templates | Custom Form Styles |
| Add/Edit Multiple List Entries | N/A |
| Classes | Classes (and Locations) |
Next steps
For a full list of each platform’s features, check out our QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online comparison chart.
QuickBooks Online AdvancedQuickBooks Online EssentialsQuickBooks Online PlusQuickBooks Online Simple StartQuickBooks Desktop Mac PlusQuickBooks Desktop Premier PlusQuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus
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