Have you been on the fence about making the change over to QuickBooks Online?
There are several advantages for companies who choose to switch from QuickBooks Desktop (QBD) to QuickBooks Online (QBO). Some of the most significant advantages include increased accessibility, automatic bank feed, and lower product cost with QBO.
Probably the biggest advantage of QBO is that you can access it from any computer with internet access. With so many companies offering remote and hybrid work arrangements, QBO makes it easier to work in multiple locations, whether you’re in the office, at home, or at a client. Companies no longer have to worry about installing software on multiple machines, as the software is accessed directly from the cloud. If you have a lot of employees who use QuickBooks, this can save you a lot of money.
Both QBO and QBD are offered on a subscription basis, but QBO is significantly less expensive and those who purchase QBO through BS&P will receive a 30% discount. In addition, those who choose QBD will only receive support from Intuit for 3 years. After that point, users will have to upgrade to the newer, costlier version of QBD, if they want continued support from Intuit. QBO offers four subscription plans to choose from: Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. After the discount, these plans each have a yearly cost of only $252, $462, $714, and $1,680, respectively. QBD also offers several subscription plans depending on the number of users and features required. The QBD Premier Plan with 3 users is comparable to the QBO Essentials Plan. The QBD Premier Plan with 3 users has a yearly cost of $1,399, plus hosting fees, which are roughly $1,800 annually. So, in total, the QBD Premier Plan will cost you $3,199 per year, while the QBO Essentials Plan will only cost you $462 per year. This is quite a difference!
Both QBO and QBD allow users to link QuickBooks to their bank accounts and credit cards, through what is called the “bank feed,” so that bank account and credit card transactions are synched directly into QuickBooks. This process happens automatically for QBO, whereas it must be initiated by the user for QBD every time they use the program. This feature saves the user a lot of time from inputting data manually and reduces the likelihood of human error.
After carefully considering the advantages of QBO for your company, it might make sense for you to make the switch! Please contact our Outsourced Accounting team at OAS@bspcpa.com if you have any questions on why you should switch to QuickBooks Online.
Written by Michael Migliore, Senior Accountant