QuickBooks Desktop isn’t being switched off on one day. Intuit has retired one version year at a time under its service discontinuation policy. After a cutoff, your company file is still on your computer, but connected services, live support and security updates stop. The most recent cutoff was May 31, 2026, for the 2023 versions. Intuit calls Plus 2024 and Enterprise 24.0 its final annual platform releases and, as of October 2026, has published no QuickBooks Desktop 2024 end of life date.
To check if you’re affected, open QuickBooks and press F2 (or Ctrl+1; Command+1 on a Mac) to open the Product Information window, which shows your version year and release. If it says 2023 or earlier, you’re on a discontinued version now.
The dates below come from Intuit’s own pages as we checked them in October 2026. Intuit changes these pages, so recheck before you buy anything. GoPro IT is an independent IT support company, not affiliated with or endorsed by Intuit.
Check these first
- Press F2 in QuickBooks (Command+1 on a Mac) and note the version year and release (for example, 2024 R21).
- Compare it with Intuit’s QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation policy page, which lists QuickBooks Desktop 2023 discontinued after May 31, 2026.
- Make a fresh local backup with File > Back Up Company > Create Local Backup before you change anything.
- List the online features you rely on: payroll, bank downloads, card payments, emailing invoices, accountant copies.
- Ask your accountant which QuickBooks product and version they work in.
Which versions are discontinued (as of October 2026)
Intuit’s policy page currently covers only the 2023 products and points those users to Plus 2024 or Enterprise 24.0.
| Version year | Products | Status in October 2026 | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Pro Plus 2023, Premier Plus 2023 (including Accountant Edition), Enterprise Solutions 23.0 and Enterprise Accountant 23.0, Mac Plus 2023 | Discontinued after May 31, 2026 | Upgrade or move your data now; connected services have already stopped |
| 2022 and earlier | All editions, including Pro, Premier, Enterprise 22.0 and earlier, and Mac | Discontinued: 2022 after May 31, 2025, 2021 after May 31, 2024, older years at earlier yearly cutoffs | Same as 2023; treat the install as unsupported |
| 2024 | Pro Plus 2024, Premier Plus 2024 (including Accountant Edition), Enterprise 24.0, Mac Plus 2024 | Supported; no end date is published | Keep your subscription active and install every update |
There is no QuickBooks Desktop 2025 or 2026 to upgrade to. Intuit’s release-process article, updated October 16, 2026, says Plus 2024 and Enterprise 24.0 were its final annual platform releases; subscribers now get new features through the year instead of a new version. Its policy page lists no end date for 2024. In July 2026, a QuickBooks Team reply in Intuit’s community said 2024 won’t be discontinued in May 2027 and has no sunset date.
End dates for 2024 on other websites don’t come from Intuit, and Intuit hasn’t promised support forever, so recheck its policy page each spring.
Recheck date: this table reflects Intuit’s pages as of October 19, 2026.
What stops working after the cutoff
For the 2023 versions, Intuit says all of this ended after May 31, 2026:
| Area | What Intuit says happens |
|---|---|
| Support and security | No live technical support and no critical security updates |
| Payroll | Assisted, Basic and Enhanced Payroll stop calculating payroll taxes and providing forms, so Basic and Enhanced paychecks may be inaccurate; subscriptions are deactivated, Assisted Payroll no longer files forms for you, and you and your employees lose access to QuickBooks Workforce |
| Payments | Credit card and check processing, merchant deposit downloads and eInvoice stop; recurring payments are managed at Intuit’s merchant center instead |
| Online banking | No downloaded transactions, online payments or online transfers |
| Other services | Accountant Copy Transfer Service, Contributed Reports, the multi-currency feature, emailing forms and reports, and the new shipping experience |
The policy page doesn’t say the program itself shuts off. That doesn’t mean it will keep opening: Plus and Enterprise are subscriptions that sync license data with Intuit, and Intuit has a help article for the message Your QuickBooks subscription has lapsed. If you see a subscription message at startup, our guide to QuickBooks not opening explains which startup problems you can fix and which are licensing.
The missing security updates matter most: a discontinued version still holds bank, payroll and customer data but gets no fixes for newly found flaws.
The 2024 change: Plus editions no longer sold to new US customers
Separate from the yearly cutoffs, Intuit stopped selling new subscriptions of QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus and Enhanced Payroll to new US customers after September 30, 2024. The original deadline of July 31, 2024 was extended, and the change applies to the United States only. So the line you’ll see online, QuickBooks Desktop no longer sold to new customers, really means these US Plus editions; Enterprise is still sold.
- Existing Plus subscribers can keep renewing. Intuit says it continues updates and support for them, and that Plus and Enterprise subscribers get version 2024 at no extra cost.
- New businesses can’t start a Plus subscription. Desktop Enterprise is still sold. Intuit’s Desktop page also promotes QuickBooks Online Advanced, which it suggests for businesses moving from Pro or Premier, and Intuit Enterprise Suite.
- Payroll users who need a new payroll subscription are pointed to QuickBooks Online Payroll, which Intuit says is available to all QuickBooks Desktop customers, or to Enterprise packages that include payroll.
Before you let a Plus subscription end, know what Intuit says happens:
- Suspended for a billing problem: a suspended Plus subscription can still be renewed. Intuit emails you and allows 30 days after its final notice.
- Cancelled: it takes effect on your next billing date. You then keep view-only access to your data for 12 months, but can’t edit it, and Intuit support and any attached Desktop Payroll or Payments stop working unless you have another active Desktop subscription. Cancelling Desktop doesn’t cancel those Payroll or Payments subscriptions, so cancel them separately in Intuit’s Account Management Portal. Because Intuit no longer sells new Plus subscriptions, you can’t start one again later.
- Moving up to Enterprise: Intuit says you’re eligible for a prorated refund on your Plus subscription when you upgrade.
If you’re moving to QuickBooks Online, keep Desktop active until your accountant has checked the move, and save the reports that don’t migrate, such as past reconciliation reports and the audit trail, before you cancel.
Your options compared
| Option | Fits | What changes | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renew Plus and update to 2024 | Current Plus subscribers happy with Desktop | Little: update the host and every workstation together to the latest 2024 release | No published end date for 2024; Intuit’s 2024 requirements call for natively installed 64-bit Windows 11 |
| Move to Desktop Enterprise | Larger files, more users, inventory, offices that want to stay on Desktop | Intuit says Enterprise allows more users, list items and data than Pro or Premier; Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond tiers; optional cloud hosting | Higher cost; every copy in a multi-user office must be the same version year |
| Move to QuickBooks Online | Browser access, no server to look after, remote staff | Intuit’s migration tool copies your data into a QuickBooks Online company | Some data doesn’t move (next section); the move has deadlines and replaces data in the target company |
| Keep a discontinued version | Only as a read-only archive of past years | Nothing to buy | No security updates, support, payroll, bank downloads or payments, and it may stop opening |
Bought QuickBooks outright? A one-time-purchase license of Pro, Premier or Mac (the standalone 2021 and older versions) has nothing to renew, and Intuit no longer offers lifetime or perpetual licenses. Your supported options are Desktop Enterprise or QuickBooks Online, and Intuit points standalone 2021-and-older users to QuickBooks Online.
If you keep an old version as an archive, keep it on a fully updated Windows PC, back the file up somewhere else, and don’t run payroll or connect bank feeds through it.
Rather have a technician sort it out?
With your approval, a technician can check which QuickBooks version a computer runs, back up your company file to a location you choose and test that it restores, then update QuickBooks on that computer using your own Intuit subscription. A GoProIT technician can connect remotely, with your permission, and fix it while you watch. $59 per fix, Mon–Fri 8am–8pm ET.
Moving to QuickBooks Online: what carries over
Intuit’s in-product tool moves a Desktop file into QuickBooks Online. Before you start, Intuit says to:
- Update Desktop to the latest release, then run Verify and, if needed, Rebuild on the file.
- Keep the file saved locally, not only in a hosted or cloud environment, and have admin access to both the Desktop file and the QuickBooks Online company.
- Check the Total Targets count in the F2 window. It must be under 4,000,000, or you condense the file first.
- Move within 90 days of creating the QuickBooks Online subscription, or 180 days if your accountant signed you up.
In Pro or Premier, go to Company > Migrate this company file to QuickBooks Online > Export Your Company File to QuickBooks Online. In Enterprise, press Ctrl+1, then Ctrl+B+Q. You can bring all company data, or only lists and balances. If the target QuickBooks Online company already holds data, the move replaces it and can’t be undone, so use a new, empty one.
Intuit’s online migration tool is the other route. It takes a .QBW, .QBB or .QBM file from Desktop 2011 or later; older files need File Doctor first.
Pick the QuickBooks Online plan first: Intuit says multi-currency is only in Plus and Advanced, and inventory comes with those two plans but costs extra on Simple Start and Essentials.
What Intuit says does and doesn’t move
- Moves: current-year paychecks as lump sums, memorized transactions as recurring transactions, attachments of 30 MB or smaller, customer and vendor custom fields, inventory items, credit card info saved on customer records and invoices, and the closing date password.
- Doesn’t move: memorized reports, the audit trail, past reconciliation reports, your bank connection setup, units of measure, price levels, progress invoices, custom fields on items and employees, budgets (which aren’t recreated), the payment permission setting for saved credit card info, and users, who need to be invited again.
- Needs checking after the move: sales tax, because some of it moves only as journal entries and past payments can land on the wrong filings (Intuit says to recreate those payments in the sales tax center); classes, which map to Classes and Locations; and inventory value, which QuickBooks Online recalculates.
If you run payroll, Intuit says to wait 2 to 3 business days after your last payroll run for it to sync before you start, and to finish the move at least 7 business days before your next scheduled payroll. Keep the Desktop backup you made before the move; it’s your record of anything that didn’t carry over.
Small-office checklist before you switch or upgrade
- Back up and test the restore. Make a local backup (.qbb) in single-user mode, copy it off the computer, and restore it once into a separate test folder under a different file name to prove it works. Never restore over the live company file, because that replaces everyone’s current data with the backup, and delete the test copy afterward so nobody enters work in it.
- Time payroll. Change between pay runs, after your last payroll on the old version. Switching at the start of a quarter keeps that quarter’s payroll in one system; agree the date with your accountant.
- Confirm accountant access. Discontinued versions lose the Accountant Copy Transfer Service. Ask your accountant which version or product they’ll use to open your books.
- Upgrade the multi-user host first. Install the new version and its Database Server Manager on the computer that holds the file, then the workstations. Every copy that opens the file must be the same version year. Opening it in the new version updates it, and Intuit says you can’t use the upgraded file in the older version, so upgrade every workstation in the same session and keep the pre-upgrade backup. If workstations then can’t connect, follow our QuickBooks error H202 guide.
- Check the PCs. As of October 2026, Intuit’s QuickBooks Desktop 2024 system requirements call for natively installed 64-bit Windows 11 or Windows Server 2016, 2019 or 2022, with no support for ARM processors, S mode, emulators or virtual environments. Version 2024 still installs on Windows 10, but Intuit recommends upgrading, and Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 10 after October 14, 2025; see Windows 10 end of support for small businesses.
- List add-ons. Apps that connect to QuickBooks, such as time tracking, inventory or point of sale, need checking against the new version or QuickBooks Online.
When to get help, and who to ask
Some of this belongs to Intuit, not to IT support. Subscriptions, renewals, billing, payroll tax calculations, the migration tool and anything inside QuickBooks Online are Intuit’s to support. Your accountant should decide the switch date and check the opening balances after a move.
The computer side is where offices usually get stuck: PCs too old for Windows 11, a company file sitting on a NAS or a synced folder (see QuickBooks running slow for where it belongs), a host that needs the new Database Server Manager, or backups nobody has tested. Stop and contact Intuit before you move if Verify Data keeps reporting damage after a rebuild, because migrating a damaged file carries the damage across, and repairing the data inside it is Intuit’s job.
Replacement hardware and software licenses, including the QuickBooks subscription you buy from Intuit, aren’t included in any of our fixes or plans. If you’d rather not do the version check, backup and install yourself, updating QuickBooks on one computer is a typical $59 remote fix. Offices with several computers to look after can see the Business Support Plan, and accounting practices can see IT support for accounting firms.
Common questions
Is QuickBooks Desktop going away completely?
Not on a single date. Intuit still sells QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, lets existing Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus subscribers keep renewing, and, as of October 2026, hasn’t published an end date for 2024, which it calls its final annual platform release. What ended is the sale of new Plus subscriptions to new US customers, after September 30, 2024. Version years up to 2023 have already lost connected services and security updates.
When will QuickBooks Desktop 2024 be discontinued?
As of October 2026, Intuit has published no end date for 2024 and calls Plus 2024 and Enterprise 24.0 its final annual platform releases. Intuit staff have also said in its community that 2024 has no sunset date, but that isn’t a promise of support forever. Keep the subscription active, leave automatic updates on, and recheck Intuit’s service discontinuation policy page each spring before you renew or buy new hardware.
Can I still buy QuickBooks Desktop Pro or Premier?
Not as a new customer in the United States. Intuit stopped selling new Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus and Enhanced Payroll subscriptions to new US customers after September 30, 2024, and it no longer offers one-time-purchase (lifetime or perpetual) licenses of Pro, Premier or Mac. Existing Plus subscribers can renew. A business that wants Desktop now buys Enterprise; otherwise Intuit points you to QuickBooks Online.
Can I keep using QuickBooks Desktop 2023 without an internet connection?
Intuit doesn’t promise it. After May 31, 2026, the 2023 versions lost live support, security updates, payroll, online banking and payment processing, and Plus and Enterprise are subscriptions that sync license data with Intuit, so subscription messages can block it. If it still opens, use it only to look up past records, keep a separate backup, and do current bookkeeping and payroll in a supported product.
Does the discontinuation affect QuickBooks Desktop for Mac?
Yes. Mac Plus 2023 was discontinued after May 31, 2026, along with the Windows 2023 editions, and Intuit stopped selling new Mac Plus subscriptions to new US customers after September 30, 2024. To move to QuickBooks Online, Intuit’s Mac article says QuickBooks Desktop for Mac 2020 and newer can export a local company file directly from File > Export. Intuit’s general migration article still says Mac users should save a backup copy for Windows first, so use that route if the export option isn’t there.
Is there a QuickBooks Desktop 2025 or 2026?
No. Intuit calls Plus 2024 and Enterprise 24.0 its final annual platform releases, so improvements now arrive as updates to 2024 instead of a new version year. To get them on Windows, keep your subscription active and go to Help > Update QuickBooks Desktop > Update Now > Get Updates, or turn on automatic updates on the Options tab. On a Mac, use QuickBooks > Check for QuickBooks Updates. Be wary of any site offering a 2025 or 2026 download; get QuickBooks only from Intuit.