QuickBooks: Compare Your Options
/QuickBooks comes in a variety of flavors: There are desktop versions for Windows (Pro, Premier & Enterprise) and Mac, and QuickBooks Online with three tiers of service.
How do you figure out which QuickBooks option is right for your business?
QuickBooks Desktop for Windows has always been Intuit’s leading product line for robust business accounting. Any accountant using QuickBooks is using Desktop for Windows. In the basic Pro version, you get a very powerful off-the-shelf tool that will take your small business a long way before you feel the need to move up to the second tier, “Premier.”
Like any smart business Intuit is in business to make money. The maker of the unsurpassed Desktop for Windows application has gone in a different direction and staked its entire future on QuickBooks Online (QBO), following the Software As A Service subscription model of pricing. QBO is accessed through a web browser or, there are apps for Windows, Mac, and Android operating systems and can be used across desktop and mobile devices. Business owners choose QBO for its access-from-anywhere feature and the ease of adding multiple users. However: QBO is not an online version of the much-loved, proven QuickBooks Desktop.
"I don’t like QuickBooks Online."
There, I've said it. Go ahead, call me a grumpy old man, a Luddite. But you can’t run an efficient business accounting function with something so clunky, so...un-Intuit-ive. Fortunately, there is a much better option for serious businesses with serious business accounting needs.
Have you heard of the Cloud? All your favorite desktop apps can be hosted on a remote server, accessed from anywhere, by multiple users, without enormous investment in IT infrastructure. Yes, you (Windows, Mac, or mobile device user) can use QuickBooks Desktop for Windows without having the software or the company file installed on any of your devices. With our Cloud-hosted solution for QuickBooks Desktop for Windows, the software and company data resides in a data center which you access through an app provided by the hosting company.
In addition to superior functionality, the Cloud-hosted option for QuickBooks Desktop for Windows is the best choice from a security perspective. Local desktops and networks are extremely vulnerable to hardware failures, hackers, and natural disasters. With the Cloud, you can choose a host that has the highest standards of security from all threats.
Secure. Robust. High performance.
After carefully researching and comparing all the latest QuickBooks options, the choice was easy for me: Bookkeepers Plus runs on a Cloud-hosted QuickBooks Desktop for Windows platform. We can help make the choice easy for you too and set you up to work smarter, not harder, for your business success – start here!
Q&A: What's Happening with QuickBooks Desktop for Mac?
The world of business operates on a Windows platform. QB Desktop for Mac OS always lagged far behind in development, so it was no surprise when Intuit announced on March 1, 2017, that QuickBooks Desktop for Mac 2016 would be the final version produced for that operating system. It will continue to be supported with updates and connected services until May 31, 2019. After that, for practical purposes, it is gone. But never fear, Mac users can get the same robust functionality and performance of QuickBooks Desktop for Mac with our Cloud-hosted option for QuickBooks Desktop for Windows platform solution.
Do you have a question about your small business bookkeeping and accounting?
Ask Tony!
Tony Solgard, a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor, is president of Bookkeepers Plus, located in Cape Coral and Bonita Springs, Florida, and providing bookkeeping services to businesses nationwide. His blog helps business owners understand why accounting details are important and to educate them (or whoever they assign to the bookkeeping function) on how to do it right. The blog offers accounting, bookkeeping, and financial management tips, points you toward small business financial resources, and gives a shout out to small businesses with financial success stories. It discusses the pros and cons of using QuickBooks as well as provides tips to maximize your use of QuickBooks.
