QuickBooks Desktop is Intuit’s installed accounting software for Windows and Mac. Versions are named by year, such as QuickBooks Desktop 2024, and are sold in several editions. Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus serve small businesses, Accountant serves accounting professionals, and Desktop Enterprise (Gold, Platinum and Diamond) serves larger businesses.[1][5] Since version 2024 the US licence is a subscription licence. The EULA defines a Subscription as “the payment of fees on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis for a license to access and use the Software”. Version 2024 and later “will be delivered only electronically”.[1] Intuit states that it no longer offers “Non-subscription versions (Lifetime or Perpetual licenses) of QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, and Mac”.[4]
Editions
| Edition | Maximum simultaneous licensed users (2024 EULA s.4.1) | Sales status on 2026-10-02 | Catalog SKU |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus | up to 3 | Renewal only | QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus |
| QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus | up to 5 | Renewal only | QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus |
| QuickBooks Accountant Desktop (Subscription) | up to 5 | Subscription | QuickBooks Accountant Desktop (Subscription) |
| QuickBooks Accountant Enterprise | up to 30 | Subscription | none |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Gold, Platinum | up to 30 | Subscription | QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Gold, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Platinum |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Diamond | up to 40 | Subscription | QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Diamond |
The EULA lists the user maxima.[1] The Enterprise product page splits the Enterprise figure by tier. Gold and Platinum allow up to 30 users, and Diamond adds 10 more “with a maximum of 40 users total”.[3] Intuit “no longer offers … New subscriptions of QuickBooks Desktop Plus or QuickBooks Desktop Enhanced Payroll”. Existing Desktop Plus and Desktop Payroll subscribers can still renew. Intuit describes listings of Desktop Plus or of perpetual Pro, Premier or Mac for sale online as “fake and not authorized by Intuit”.[4] Catalog proof: Intuit no longer sells new Desktop Plus subscriptions or perpetual Pro, Premier and Mac licences; QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Gold and Platinum allow up to 30 users, Diamond up to 40.
Each edition is a separate licence. When a customer converts from one edition to another through the in-product unlock purchase, “you may no longer use the original version of the Software on any computer”.[1] Catalog proof: After unlocking another QuickBooks Desktop edition the original may no longer be used.
Metrics
The single metric is the QuickBooks Desktop user license, a named-person licence with an installation allowance. It is not a concurrent licence. The EULA ties multi-user access “solely for the number of specific persons corresponding to the number of user Subscription licenses you purchased, with no substitution of such users except as expressly permitted”.[1] The edition maximum in s.4.1 is a separate cap on simultaneous use. For the general distinction see named-user licensing and concurrent and device licensing.
Counting / floors
Single user licence
A single user Subscription licence allows installation “for access and use solely by one specific person on (i) one primary computer, and (ii) one additional computer (e.g., a laptop or a home computer)”. The QuickBooks Desktop mobile app may also be used on that person’s mobile devices. Both computers must be owned and used in the customer’s business, and the right lasts for the paid Subscription term.[1] Catalog proof: A single QuickBooks Desktop user licence covers one person on a primary and one additional computer.
Multi-user licences
With a multi-user licence or add-on pack, the customer “may install the Software on the number of computers equal to the number of user licenses”. The EULA gives an example: a company with 10 employees that has paid for 3 user licences may install on up to 3 company computers and let up to 3 individuals use the Software.[1] Three further rules apply.
- Data file server. The company file may sit on a network, and the Software may be installed “on one additional computer above the number of the license(s) you purchased, solely to accompany your Software’s shared data file, and not for direct use of the Software by another user”.[1]
- Reassignment. If a licensed user leaves the company, the licence may be reassigned to another employee.[1]
- Same version year. “All users in a multi-user environment must be using licensed copies of the same version year of the Software.”[1]
Catalog proof: QuickBooks Desktop multi-user installs equal the user licences, plus one data-file computer; All QuickBooks Desktop multi-user users must run the same version year.
Edition caps and breach
Simultaneous access by more licensed users than the edition allows, “or otherwise exceeding your paid license(s)”, may cause failures or data loss and “will be considered a material breach of this Agreement”.[1] Intuit’s help article describes the same caps from the product side. Premier “lets 5 users work in the same company file” and Pro lets 3. If the Buy Additional User License option is not available, “your QuickBooks already has the maximum users”.[2] Catalog proof: QuickBooks Desktop editions cap simultaneous licensed users (3, 5, 30 or 40).
Licence numbers and activation
QuickBooks Desktop must be activated and registered with “a valid Software product and/or license number or key”. The customer must keep this information secure. “Allowing or enabling others to use your license number(s), product number(s), and validation number(s)” is a violation of the Agreement and grounds for immediate termination.[1] The customer must also sign in with an Intuit account within the time the Software specifies.[1] Catalog proof: QuickBooks Desktop licence, product and validation numbers may not be shared.
For inventory work, Intuit’s help article gives the method. Pressing F2 in QuickBooks opens Product Information, which shows the number of User Licenses, and the check is repeated “for each workstation”. Additional user licences are bought in the product under Help, Manage My License. The extra computers are installed “based on the number of licenses you have” with “the same license and product numbers”, activated, and the licence data is then synced online or by entering the validation code.[2] For Desktop Enterprise, “you’ll need to purchase a license for each new user”.[3] Catalog proof: Additional QuickBooks Desktop user licences use the same licence and product numbers.
The following is commentary. One licence number covers all seats bought under it, so a seat count cannot be read from the number of distinct licence numbers. The User Licenses value shown by F2 on each workstation, compared with the number of installations and named users, is the effective licence position input.
Virtualization & partitioning
The EULA counts computers and specific persons and has no processor, core or virtual machine metric. Section A of the Intuit platform terms, which forms part of the Desktop agreement, prohibits making the Platform available “on any file-sharing, virtual desktop or application hosting service”.[6] The Desktop Enterprise product page markets an Intuit cloud hosting add-on.[3] Catalog proof: No file-sharing, virtual desktop or application hosting of the Intuit Platform.
The following is commentary. A customer that runs QuickBooks Desktop on its own terminal server or virtual desktop pool should still count one user licence per named person and stay within the edition cap. Any third-party hosting arrangement should be checked against the Section A restriction.
Cloud / BYOL
QuickBooks Desktop is installed software, and the retrieved documents publish no bring-your-own-licence terms for public clouds. The EULA allows “a limited transfer of data files from select versions of the Software to select versions of QBO”. The QuickBooks Online terms then apply to that use.[1]
Programs
- QuickBooks Desktop Subscription. During an active subscription the customer is entitled to the Software, Updates and any Upgrades. “When your Subscription terminates or lapses, you will lose your license to use the QuickBooks Desktop Software.” The company file stays on the device in a view-only format, provided the latest version was installed before cancelling.[1] The help article gives a 12-month window: “You’ll have view-only access to your data for 12 months”, and data can be exported during it. The window applies to Desktop Plus for Windows 2023 R3 or newer and Mac Plus 2024 or newer. Customers who move from Desktop Plus to Desktop Enterprise can get a prorated refund of the Desktop Plus subscription.[4] Catalog proof: When a QuickBooks Desktop Subscription lapses the licence ends and data becomes view-only; After a QuickBooks Desktop Plus cancellation data is view-only for 12 months.
- ProAdvisor Premier and Enterprise subscriptions. These are Desktop subscriptions for accountants who are ProAdvisor members. They carry the same rule: when the subscription lapses, Updates, Upgrades and connected services stop.[1] See QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program.
- Payroll for Desktop. Payroll is a separate subscription that licenses tax tables and forms “only on the computer(s), and only for access and use by the individual(s) or entity, for which the Software license was purchased”. It may not be used to process payroll for another company without an accountant payroll licence. If the payroll subscription lapses, the Desktop licence continues until the end of the Desktop subscription.[1]
Updates, support and discontinuation
Updates are compulsory. Intuit’s obligations depend on the customer “installing all Updates within 30 days after release or upon being notified”. If a required Update or Upgrade is not installed after a final notice, Intuit may terminate the subscription and remotely disable the Software.[1] Catalog proof: QuickBooks Desktop Updates must be installed within 30 days.
Support for version 2024 runs until the earliest of three dates: the end of the current-term subscription, the date a required Subscription Update or Upgrade must be installed, or the date Intuit discontinues the Software. Once a version is discontinued, “no Services, replacement download copies of the Software or future support, Upgrades or Updates, will be provided”.[1] Intuit applies this through yearly discontinuation notices. QuickBooks Desktop 2023, including Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, Accountant Desktop Plus and Enterprise Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Accountant, “will stop getting support after May 31, 2026”. Intuit directs those customers to Desktop Plus 2024 or Enterprise 24.0.[5] Catalog proof: QuickBooks Desktop 2024 support ends at subscription expiry, a required upgrade or discontinuation; QuickBooks Desktop 2023 lost support after 2026-05-31.
Transfer and copies
The Software is “licensed, not sold”. The customer may make a single backup copy and may not assign the Agreement without Intuit’s consent.[6] The Desktop EULA limits the backup copy to reinstalling the Software for the customer’s own use on the licensed computers.[1] Catalog proof: Intuit Software is licensed, not sold, for the period in the ordering and activation terms; One backup copy of Intuit Software is allowed; Intuit agreements cannot be assigned without consent.
Out of scope
- Perpetual QuickBooks Desktop licences for 2022 and earlier, whose EULAs were not retrieved.
- QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale and QuickBooks Desktop in Canada and other countries, which have their own agreements.
- Prices for Desktop Enterprise tiers and add-on users. The retrieved pages direct buyers to Intuit sales for pricing.
- Third-party hosting providers’ own terms.