QuickBooks Desktop in Canada
QuickBooks Desktop without a subscription in Canada
What Intuit sells Canadian businesses now, what happens to payroll and GST/HST on an old copy, and a Canadian desktop program you can still buy once. Checked against Intuit Canada's own pages, October 2026.
The short answer
No. Intuit has stopped selling Desktop Pro and Premier in Canada.
No one-time QuickBooks Desktop.
Intuit no longer sells QuickBooks Desktop as a one-time purchase. The only Desktop edition it still sells to new Canadian customers, Enterprise, is a yearly subscription.
No new Desktop Pro or Premier subscriptions either.
From April 15, 2025, Intuit stopped selling Desktop Pro, Premier and Desktop Payroll to new Canadian subscribers. Enterprise is still sold.
Existing subscribers renew or lose editing.
If a Desktop Plus subscription lapses, Intuit says the file becomes view-only for 12 months, and you cannot buy back in.
The desktop program you still buy once
AcboBooks is a Windows accounting program with a Canadian edition in the same licence: GST/HST, PST and QST, CPP, EI and T4s, for $399.99 once. Your encrypted company file stays on your PC.
No card, no account for the trial. Windows 10 and 11.
What Intuit offers Canadian Desktop users now
Intuit's Canadian FAQ says it stopped selling QuickBooks Desktop Pro, QuickBooks Desktop Premier and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll to new Canadian subscribers from April 15, 2025. Existing subscribers can keep working while their subscription stays active. Intuit says QuickBooks Enterprise is not affected, and it points everyone else to QuickBooks Online.
So a Canadian business that wants QuickBooks today has two choices, both subscriptions: QuickBooks Online, monthly, in a browser; or Desktop Enterprise, yearly, priced by quote. The US stop-sell came earlier, after September 30, 2024. The full timeline is on is QuickBooks Desktop discontinued?
The CRA side: payroll and GST/HST on an old copy
An old QuickBooks Desktop copy may still open, but once its version is discontinued Intuit stops the payroll tax updates, online banking, support and security updates. For a Canadian employer that matters every January, when CPP, EI and income tax rates change. Without current tables, each paycheque and your PD7A remittance are worked out with last year's rates.
GST/HST is less time-sensitive, but your records still have to last: the CRA generally expects you to keep books and records for six years. A file that only an unsupported or lapsed program can open is a weak place to keep them. Export your reports while QuickBooks still opens the file, following how to export everything from QuickBooks Desktop.
The 2021 and later versions are covered in QuickBooks Desktop 2021, 2022 and 2023 without a subscription.
AcboBooks, Canadian edition
When you create a company in AcboBooks you choose Canada, and the file works in Canadian dollars with:
- GST/HST with input tax credits on purchases and a return by period. See file a GST/HST return.
- PST and QST, with tax groups for provinces that charge two taxes.
- Payroll with CPP and CPP2, EI, federal and provincial income tax, QPP and QPIP for Quebec employees, vacation hours and Canadian direct deposit files. See Canadian payroll.
- A PD7A remittance report, to see what you owe the CRA each period. See remit source deductions.
- T4 slips and summary, and a Record of Employment worksheet when someone leaves. See T4 slips and summary and Record of Employment.
- An encrypted company file on your own computer, with no online account.
The limits, plainly: it runs on Windows 10 and 11 only, with no phone app. It imports your bank's statement files rather than connecting live to most banks. It prints T4 slips and gives you the summary figures, which you enter in CRA's web forms; it is not a certified electronic filer, and Revenu Québec electronic filing is not built in.
The price is $399.99 in US dollars, once, for one business on two computers. Your card issuer converts it to Canadian dollars. The version you buy never expires; it includes 12 months of updates, and renewing them is optional, though if you run payroll you will want each year's new tax tables.
What it looks like
The desktop way of working, with Canadian books built in
A Windows program: menu bar, sidebar, your company file.
Print to your own printer or save as PDF.
Payroll included, with no per-employee charge.
Every figure opens the register behind it.
Moving from QuickBooks Desktop
AcboBooks imports QuickBooks Desktop lists and open balances, and never writes to your QuickBooks file. Move at a clean break, such as the end of a quarter or your GST/HST reporting period, so returns and remittances start fresh. Then compare the trial balance, ageing and bank balances in both programs at the same date. See Move from QuickBooks and the Academy lesson migrate from QuickBooks Desktop.
Useful while you plan: the Canada payroll calculator, the GST/HST calculator, CRA payroll remittance schedules and QuickBooks Desktop alternatives for Canada.
Questions
Can you buy QuickBooks Desktop in Canada without a subscription?
No. Intuit no longer sells QuickBooks Desktop as a one-time purchase, and since April 15, 2025 it has not sold Desktop Pro, Premier or Desktop Payroll to new Canadian subscribers at all. Enterprise is still sold, by yearly subscription. AcboBooks is a Canadian-ready desktop program you buy once for $399.99.
Is QuickBooks Desktop Pro still available in Canada?
Not to new customers. Intuit stopped selling Desktop Pro, Premier and Desktop Payroll to new Canadian subscribers from April 15, 2025. Existing subscribers can keep using their version while their subscription stays active.
What does Intuit offer Canadian Desktop users now?
Intuit points Canadian businesses to QuickBooks Online, a monthly subscription in a browser. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise remains on sale as a yearly subscription.
Does AcboBooks do Canadian payroll?
Yes. It calculates CPP and CPP2, EI, federal and provincial income tax, and QPP and QPIP for Quebec employees, with vacation hours tracked and Canadian direct deposit files. It produces a PD7A remittance report, T4 slips and summary, and a Record of Employment worksheet. It is not a certified electronic filer: you enter the summary figures in CRA's web forms.
Is AcboBooks priced in Canadian dollars?
No. The price is $399.99 in US dollars, charged once. Your card issuer converts it to Canadian dollars.
Can I move my Canadian QuickBooks Desktop file to AcboBooks?
AcboBooks imports QuickBooks Desktop lists and open balances. Move at a clean break, such as the end of a quarter, so GST/HST returns and payroll remittances start fresh, and compare the trial balance in both programs.
Related
- Can you buy QuickBooks Desktop without a subscription?
- QuickBooks Desktop 2021, 2022 and 2023 without a subscription
QuickBooks® and QuickBooks Desktop® are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. AcboBooks is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Intuit. Dates and services are quoted from Intuit's published help pages and community answers as of October 27, 2026 and may change.
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Canadian books, bought once.
GST/HST, CPP, EI and T4s on your own PC, for $399.99 once. Try AcboBooks free for 15 days.
No card. No account. Nothing to cancel.