Does QuickBooks Enterprise include payroll?

captevrix012018-07-13T20:56:29-07:00Older versions of QuickBooks Enterprise (prior to the 2015 version) were sold as a software only option with specific add-on modules that you could purchase to activate features like Advanced Inventory or Advanced Pricing. Intuit payroll was one of those modular features as well and came in two different flavors - a more user involved Enhanced Payroll and the all-inclusive Full Service Payroll. Depending on which one you chose, you would spend an additional $400 to $1,200 per year for the service plus an additional $1.75 for each employee for each payroll period. For the 2015 version, Intuit moved to subscription pricing for Enterprise and created 3 different packages: Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each of these different packages starting with Silver add additional features. All for them include unlimited, free technical support, data backup, training tools, and a free update to the most current version each year on the release date.

QuickBooks Enterprise Silver Subscription

This is the basic level of Enterprise and comes with the standard features plus the Advanced Reporting module which allows you to create custom reports from scratch. This version starts at $800 for 1 user.

QuickBooks Enterprise Gold Subscription

The Gold Edition of Enterprise takes everything in the Silver package and adds Intuit Enhanced Payroll. The advantage to having it bundled into the Enterprise subscription is it only adds about $250 to the annual price and it eliminates the per employee direct deposit charges. This is a huge win if you have a least a couple employees that you are paying once or twice a month.

QuickBooks Enterprise Platinum

The Platinum Edition of Enterprise comes with all the bells and whistles. Not only does it include everything in the Silver and Gold editions, but it also comes with the Advanced Pricing and Advanced Inventory modules. In the old version of Enterprise, these two add-ons would have cost $1,400 per year - in the Platinum edition they are included at no charge The bottom line is that if you are looking for a top level accounting software for a small or mid-size business, QuickBooks Enterprise is hard to beat. If you are looking to have the added payroll option the then Gold or Platinum subscription of Enterprise is your way to go.

Does QuickBooks Enterprise require a server?

captevrix012018-07-13T20:55:23-07:00The answer to weather or not you will need to use a server with QuickBooks Enterprise will come from knowing if you want multiple people to access your Enterprise data file from the same or remote locations. Since QuickBooks Enterprise is a software based platform you can configure it in multiple ways.

Single User QuickBooks Enterprise

If you only have a one user license of Enterprise you can either have the software located “locally” on your computer or can have it set up for remote access. The local install is just a simple download to your computer. When you want to use the software, you just use it on the computer that you installed it on. If you are using a desktop computer (vs. a portable laptop) and want to have access (or give somebody else remote access to your data such as an accountant or bookkeeper), then cloud hosting for Enterprise is probably the best way to go. This would allow your software and company files to be located on a third party server and then give you and others the ability to “log in” to use Enterprise. To find out more about cloud hosting for QuickBooks Enterprise, click here.

Multiple User QuickBooks Enterprise

If you have multiple users of Enterprise and want to have employees access the software at the same time, then you either need to either set up an internal server network or have your QuickBooks Enterprise hosted in the cloud. If you decide to set up a company network, you will most likely want to hire an IT specialist depending on the complexity of what you need. One thing that you will want to do is install and configure the QuickBooks Database Server Manager on the main computer that will be storing your company files. This will allow the data from your main company file to be shared with the other computers on the network. If you are not wanting to set up and manage a company network, then cloud hosting for your QuickBooks Enterprise may again be the best solution. It gives you all the advantages of setting up a network minus the fact of setting it up and having to maintain it. Although there is a monthly cost per user, it is in many cases much less expensive overall than hiring a IT specialist, licensing, and maintaining the network yourself. To learn more about cloud hosting for QuickBooks Enterprise, click here.