So moving to "online" and we'll need "payroll" have questions...

Glad to have you here, cow-lumbus. Let me address your questions about migrating from QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) to QuickBooks Online (QBO).

When transitioning from QBDT to QBO, your financial records may appear different as QBDT uses distinct terminology compared to QBO. Some features also do not transfer to QBO. For further information, please refer to this article: Learn how features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.

To answer your first question, yes, you need two separate subscriptions for each account/business, but you can access them with the same sign-in info. This approach helps ensure accurate financial tracking and reporting for each firm separately.

Then, for the second question, yes, you can use Payroll Core for each company file as long as it satisfies the features you need for both.

Hope I have addressed your questions about moving to QBO, cow-lumbus. If you have more, feel free to ask below, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I'm dedicated to ensuring your experience with our platform is productive.

Thank you for the quick response. This is very helpful and we are reviewing the differences from DT to O as the sale side didn't seem to elude to the differences very much. 

So from your answer to my questions is appears we'll need two unique QBO subscriptions but only one payroll module/upgrade for both needs. Correct? 

I appreciate you for coming back, cow-lumbus. Allow me to chime into this thread.

Payroll is an add-on service in QuickBooks Online (QBO). Take note that it can't be shared between two companies. Each QBO account should have its payroll subscription. If you want to purchase one, you can follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Payroll menu.
2. Select the Employees tab.
3. Choose the type of service that you want to use.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete setting up your payroll account.

In addition, you can check out this article to learn how to set up your new QBO Payroll Core, Premium, or Elite payroll service: Get started with QBO Payroll.

If you have further questions besides payroll, feel free to include them in the comments. We're here to assist you 24/7.

@cow-lumbus 

One QBO account for one company file. This means you have to subscribe to 2 QBO accounts + 2 Online Payroll accounts.