QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus vs Premier Plus: What's the Difference?

Pro Plus and Premier Plus share the same interface, the same company file format and the same core accounting. The differences are in capacity, reporting and industry tools. If you already have one and are wondering whether the other is worth it, this is the list.

Quick comparison

	Pro Plus	Premier Plus
Simultaneous users	Up to 3	Up to 5
Industry editions	No	Yes: Contractor, Manufacturing & Wholesale, Nonprofit, Retail, Professional Services, Accountant
Reports	100+	150+, plus industry-specific reports
Inventory	Basic tracking	Basic tracking + assemblies (bill of materials)
Sales orders	No	Yes
Forecasting and business plans	No	Yes
Job costing	Basic	Full, with estimates vs actuals by job phase
Price	Lower	Higher

What Pro Plus does well

Pro Plus is the general-purpose edition. It handles invoicing, bills, bank feeds, basic inventory, sales tax, payroll (as an add-on) and standard financial reports. For a service business or a small shop with simple stock, it is complete.

What Premier Plus adds

Sales orders. Take an order, reserve stock, invoice later. Essential for anyone who ships after ordering.

Inventory assemblies. Build finished goods from components with a bill of materials. If you make anything, this alone justifies Premier.

Industry editions. Each edition ships with its own chart of accounts, item lists, reports and workflows:

• Contractor: job costing by phase, change orders, cost-to-complete reports
• Manufacturing & Wholesale: assemblies, backorders, sales rep reports, available-to-promise
• Nonprofit: donors, pledges, statement of functional expenses, Form 990 support
• Retail: sales summary by register, department reporting
• Professional Services: unbilled time by project, project profitability
• Accountant: toggle between all editions, client data review tools

More users. Five instead of three. That matters the day the fourth person needs in.

Forecasting. Build a budget from prior years and compare against actuals.

The 2024 situation you need to know

Intuit stopped selling new Pro Plus and Premier Plus subscriptions in the US at the end of September 2024. Existing subscribers can renew. New buyers are pointed to QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, whose Silver tier includes every Premier industry edition and supports up to 40 users. If you are deciding today, read our Enterprise tiers guide first.

So which one?

• Service business, up to three users, no manufacturing: Pro Plus is enough.
• Contractor, manufacturer, nonprofit, or anyone who needs sales orders and assemblies: Premier Plus.
• Growing past five users, or starting fresh in 2026: Enterprise Silver, which is Premier’s feature set with room to grow.

Compare the Pro Plus and Premier Plus editions in our shop, or ask us on WhatsApp which one matches your workflow.