QuickBooks Online

QB still remains the Boss of Accounting Software Systems!

Comments: I am enjoying using the online version and look forward to all the incentives for bringing and setting up clients, like revenue share and affiliate commissions. QB still remains the easiest and most valued bookkeeping software that I will recommend. There are video tutorials for literally everything.

Pros:

I love how everything updates automatically for the client when entering as the accountant. Bank reconciliations are an absolute breeze as well when you link bank accounts.

Cons:

I miss being able to use the standard shortcuts that are available with the desktop version making things easier to keep your hands on the keyboard for faster entry. I am learning a few alternatives though as I go.

Alternatives Considered: Zoho CRM and FreshBooks

Reasons for Choosing QuickBooks Online: Expanding my clients and needed to upgrade my desktop software anyways. Plus QB Accountant is free for what I need currently and I receive revenue shares and affiliate commissions.

Switched From: QuickBooks Desktop

Reasons for Switching to QuickBooks Online: QB is the most trusted product and customer service is always available. For the price it is the best option.

Quickbooks is good for the price

Comments: Overall my experience has been very good. Their support has helped me a couple of times and did an ok job.

Pros:

Signing up and initial configuration were simple and easy. The self help menu works well and has lots of information.

Cons:

The limited features of the lowest plan can sometimes be a hinderance but it's not too bad for the price.

Alternatives Considered: Sage Accounting, Odoo, Wave and Xero

Reasons for Switching to QuickBooks Online: Quickbooks had the best price and had really good reviews.

If you want QuickBooks, QBO is about the only option but it's not a great one

Comments: The product does what it is asked to do but conversions are far from streamlined and the end user experience overall is not as good as it was with their desktop products. It's awesome as an accountant to be able to work on a live file at pretty much any time but you pay dearly for that convenience. Intuit's official stance is that they are phasing out their desktop products besides Enterprises (which is 200-300% more than Desktop Premier before) so if you are a new user you might never know that QBO is an inferior product. But it is compared to desktop and they have lost a lot of market share with their forced migration last year.

Pros:

QuickBooks Online's main strength is ease of use. It's built around the checkbook and it is designed to automate tasks like payroll, bill paying, and even invoicing. It is a browser based cloud software so you do not need to download software and that means it can be used anywhere in the world. Your accountant can work with you in real time without sending a copy of your information via email so it's more efficient when collaborating because it can even be opened on your mobile device.

Cons:

The cost of QBO is not competitive and the product is vastly inferior to their desktop products. If you want automated payroll it better fit neatly into their one size fits all packages. Want quarterly payroll? Not an option unless you want to handle it manually each quarter - and you better do it by the last day because there is no such thing as after the fact with automated payroll. I would estimate desktop users who switch will pay 100% more (at least) for an inferior cloud based product that is much less dynamic than desktop. Support folks are not accountants and most clearly do not use the software but rather work off a script to get you off the phone so if you need help, google is a better option that Intuit support.

I Do Not Recommend

Comments: Horrible. Seems like yet another company interested only in their bottom line. Not their customers, not their products, not their employees.

Pros:

Once you get the hang of it, it's an acceptable solution.

Cons:

The link between my bank and my QBO instance breaks every single day. Why I'm forced to click an 'Update' button instead of it automatically updating something like once an hour is crazy, too. Not intuitive. If you think you're going to be able to manage your books using QBO without any finance or business background, think again. If you are starting off with relatively little experience, expect to watch hours upon hours of tutorial videos and essentially train yourself to do the job of a finance manager, bookkeeper, or accountant. Customer service/support is beyond horrible. I scheduled to have someone call me several weeks ago. At the time that I was expecting a call, I received an email indicating that my appointment had been changed to a week later. I emailed the representative, but received no reply. At the time of that appointment, no one called me. This is after numerous emails and texts to remind me of the appointment. So, I called the main number myself and was passed around from one person to another, often ending up with the "Payments Team" who after some discussion said, "I don't know why they would've transferred you to me." I asked to speak to manager/supervisor. I was informed that I'd be on hold for a while. I asked if they could just call me at a later time and was told, "that's not how the process works." I plan to close my QuickBooks accounts and will be sure not to use any of Intuit's services moving forward.

Alternatives Considered: NetSuite and Xero

Reasons for Switching to QuickBooks Online: Brand name, feature availability, supposed integration availability.

Quick Books is Great

Comments: It's been a great experience working with QuickBooks, will be using for quite some time.

Pros:

I love that its so easy to use and has a lot of options for small businesses, I also like that I can access my account from anywhere.

Cons:

Sometimes it loses my data, so I have to backup every time I use it.

Alternatives Considered: Sage 50cloud Accounting

Reasons for Switching to QuickBooks Online: Quick Books was cheaper and had more options for the money.