New Features in QuickBooks Desktop 2024
Allen Smith
The 2024 release focuses heavily on security, inventory management, and background efficiency, with the biggest tools reserved for Enterprise users.
1. Security & Infrastructure (All Editions)AES 256-Bit Encryption: A major upgrade from 128-bit encryption. All financial data is now protected by industry-leading security standards, crucial for compliance.
Seamless Background Updates: Updates now download silently in the background. You are notified via a toolbar icon rather than being interrupted by pop-ups during work.
Customer Prepayments: You can now track customer deposits (prepayments) directly on Sales Orders. The system correctly records this as a liability until the final invoice is issued, fixing a long-standing accounting headache.
Item Categories: A new hierarchical way to organize inventory. You can group items into categories (e.g., "Clothing" > "Shirts" > "Mens") and run reports based on these groups instead of just individual items.
Inventory Reports by Lot Number: Enhanced reporting allows you to see exactly which batch (lot) of inventory was sold or is still in stock, which is vital for manufacturing and expiry tracking.
Enhanced List Search: A search bar has finally been added to the Fixed Asset Item List, Memorized Transaction List, and Payroll Item List. You no longer have to scroll manually to find specific entries.
Cash Flow Hub: A central dashboard to monitor cash-in vs. cash-out trends in real-time, helping you visualize your financial runway.
Important Note on Pricing & Access
QuickBooks Desktop 2024 is sold only as an annual subscription ("Plus" or "Enterprise"). The old "one-time purchase" license model has been completely discontinued. If you stop paying the annual fee, you lose access to the software.