Guide · QuickBooks
QuickBooks Desktop or Online for a landscaping company?
Short answer
If your company already runs on QuickBooks Desktop and it works, you don't have to move: Intuit says Desktop 2024 has no sunset date. If you're starting fresh, QuickBooks Online is the usual choice, because new US customers can no longer buy Desktop Pro Plus or Premier Plus; only Desktop Enterprise is still sold. Either way, check that your landscaping software connects to the version you use. Several popular tools work only with Online.
What changed for QuickBooks Desktop
- No new Pro Plus or Premier Plus subscriptions since September 30, 2024. Intuit stopped selling QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus to new US customers. Existing subscribers can keep renewing.
- Desktop Enterprise is still sold to new and existing customers, in several editions with different user limits.
- Desktop 2023 was retired after May 31, 2026. Support, payroll, payments and bank feeds stopped for it. Subscribers could move to 2024 at no extra cost.
- Desktop 2024 has no sunset date. In 2026 Intuit said it is moving away from retiring each Desktop version after three years, and that the 2024 release will keep getting updates. Articles that say Desktop ends in 2027 are out of date.
What QuickBooks Online costs now
Intuit's list prices on its US pricing page in November 2026, before promotions:
| Plan | Per month | Users | Project features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Start | $38 | 1 | No |
| Essentials | $85 | 3 | No |
| Plus | $140 | 5 | Project profitability |
| Advanced | $340 | 25 | Advanced project financials |
Intuit raised prices for renewals from August 1, 2026. Your own price can differ with promotions or an older plan, so check your bill.
Desktop and Online side by side
| QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Can a new company buy it? | Enterprise only | Yes |
| Where it runs | A Windows PC or server in your office (or a hosting service) | In the browser, from anywhere |
| How job software connects | Intuit's Web Connector, a small program on the office PC that syncs while the PC is on | Online sign-in through Intuit; syncs as changes happen |
| Mac | Mac Desktop doesn't connect to third-party sync tools | Works in any browser |
| Pays to stay if… | Your accountant, reports and history are set up there and working | You're starting fresh or want the books reachable away from the office |
What matters most for a landscaping company
- Where your accountant works. Your bookkeeper or accountant may be set up around one version. Ask yours before you move anything.
- Job costing lives in your job software, not QuickBooks. Online Plus and Advanced show project profitability, but crew hours against an estimate's budget, day by day, is a field-software job. Send QuickBooks the invoices and payments, and keep the job detail where the crews clock in.
- Sales tax. In states like Pennsylvania, mowing is taxable and a new lawn installation generally isn't, so one invoice can carry both. Whatever you choose, the tax on each invoice should match between your job software and QuickBooks. See our Pennsylvania sales tax guide.
- The office PC. With Desktop, the sync runs while the PC with QuickBooks is on. Nothing is lost when it's off; changes go across the next time it checks in.
- Moving is a project. History, payroll and reports all have to come across. Don't move in March.
Which landscaping software works with which QuickBooks
From each company's own help pages, checked November 2026:
| Software | QuickBooks Desktop | QuickBooks Online |
|---|---|---|
| Jobber | No (its help page says there's no active Desktop sync) | Yes |
| LMN | Yes, Pro and above on Windows | Yes |
| Aspire | Yes, through the Web Connector | Yes |
| Level Yard | Yes: Pro, Premier and Enterprise | Built and tested; opens to real company files once Intuit approves it |
Products change. Check the vendor's current page before you decide.
How Level Yard handles it
Level Yard was built for both versions from the start. Customers come in from QuickBooks, and invoices, payments and sales tax go back on their own, with QuickBooks' total checked against Level Yard's after every invoice. See how the QuickBooks sync works.
Sources
- Intuit: QuickBooks Desktop sold after July 2024
- Intuit: What's new in QuickBooks Desktop 2024
- Intuit: QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation policy
- Intuit: QuickBooks Online pricing
- Intuit: QuickBooks price changes
- Jobber: QuickBooks integration FAQs
- LMN: QuickBooks FAQ
- Aspire: Desktop and Online integration differences
Questions about QuickBooks versions.
Can I still buy QuickBooks Desktop?
New US customers can buy QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus haven't been sold to new subscribers since September 30, 2024; existing subscribers can keep renewing.
Is QuickBooks Desktop going away in 2027?
Not according to Intuit's latest notice. In 2026 Intuit said Desktop 2024 won't be discontinued in May 2027 and has no sunset date.
Does Jobber work with QuickBooks Desktop?
Jobber's help page says it syncs only with QuickBooks Online and has no active sync with Desktop.
Should a landscaping company switch from Desktop to Online?
Only if you have a reason to: remote access, a new accountant, or software that needs Online. If Desktop is working and your job software connects to it, there's no deadline forcing a move.
Early access
Keep the QuickBooks you have.
Level Yard syncs with QuickBooks Desktop today, and with Online once Intuit approves it. We're setting up a limited number of Pennsylvania landscaping companies before spring.
- Free during early access
- Desktop Pro, Premier and Enterprise
- Customers, invoices, payments and sales tax