Hello heleng3317,

I've read through what you and my colleague have discussed above about electronic signatures, EFT files, and printing cheques. It looks like you're good to go with printing cheques, and I'd be happy clarify the other two points you're concerned about as well as the record keeping in both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.

I know there are certain things a business looks for in a software, and I want to make sure that you and the business you're working with have the best fit for you. When it comes to electronic signatures on cheques, neither QuickBooks Online nor QuickBooks Desktop has this option at this time. Since this is a must have for your manager, something you can consider is adding a third-party app to the software that can facilitate this option while still integrating the information with your books. For QuickBooks Online, the partner apps can be found in the Apps tab. For QuickBooks Desktop, if you do make that switch, our Apps for QuickBooks Desktop page has the details on what apps are available.

Likewise to QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop doesn't produce a file for EFT uploads to your bank. Again, you may be able to consider a third-party app or service for these.

Finally, for QuickBooks Online's data capacity, since the program exists in the cloud, there isn't a limit on how far back the data goes. There are some specific features in the program, such as payroll, that may only allow you to date back to a certain period, but in general, it's possible to add information for past years if needed or to enter information for many years to come in the future. I've dealt with a wide variety of customers who've been using QuickBooks Online for many, many years. Learn more about the size and limits here: QuickBooks Online file size and feature limits

The only instance a time limitation will definitely come into play is if you were to cancel QuickBooks Online. In those cases, our system hangs onto your data for 12 months from the cancellation date before purging it from the system.

QuickBooks Desktop can also save a fairly wide range of data. The one thing you might run into is if the company file gets too large, you may start running into errors. In those instances, we recommend starting a new company file, and keeping your old one for your records. Unlike QuickBooks Online, when you cancel a QuickBooks Desktop subscription, you still keep the company files; it would just mean having a purchased or subscription version of the software to be able to view and read the data.

For details about the options for moving from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop, check out this link: Move lists and balances from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop

I hope this helps with your decision!