Unless you have a dedicated accounting staff who sit together in a consistent office space and handle the finances of your business with little or no input from you, the advantages of Quickbooks Online program can be numerous. The ability to outsource your accounting function while maintaining onsite access is every business owner’s dream. However, despite the ease and convenience of Quickbooks Online, there are some limitations to be aware of as well. The following is a quick list of some of the best and worst of Quickbooks Online:
Quickbooks Online Advantages
- Portability is the key benefit of Quickbooks Online. Like other cloud accounting platforms, it allows you to monitor your business and financials from anywhere you have internet access.
- You can grant your accountant access to your books and let him or her review, make corrections, plan, or even handle all of your bookkeeping needs without having to wait or risk losing data in the backup and restore process. You also don’t have the limitations of a regular Quickbooks Accountant’s Copy.
- Quickbooks Online’s Banking Center is easy and convenient. You can keep your accounts up to date with minimal maintenance through automatic and frequent transaction downloads from your banks and credit cards, whether you are in the program or not.
- Quickbooks Online is far simpler than setting up a network and far cheaper than buying multiple user licenses. The cost is a monthly subscription fee.
- You don’t have to patch or update the software—Quickbooks handles that process automatically, as part of your subscription fee.
Quickbooks Online Disadvantages
- Unlike the desktop version of Quickbooks, you can’t upload files from non-Intuit payroll services into your Quickbooks file. If you use a payroll company—like ADP, Paychex, or Paycor—this means you will have to make a payroll journal entry to record your payroll.
- Some banks are not set up to download transactions. This isn’t as much of a con as it is just something to be aware of. Most national banks aren’t a problem, but some local banks don’t offer feeds. Other local banks will face interruptions in the constant transaction download if your login times out or if they need you to answer your bank security questions again.
- Unlike the desktop version of QuickBooks, you will have to pay a subscription cost for each company. That cost covers server space, as well as updates and security.
Overall, we recommend cloud accounting services, including Quickbooks Online in many cases. Especially since older versions of Quickbooks Desktop are being discontinued.
Reporting and functionality continue to improve. Our cloud accounting platform of choice for small businesses, however, is Xero. Xero is user-friendly, gives you valuable insights into your finances, and allows any-time, anywhere access. The available app integrations offer maximum flexibility, allowing you to tailor your tech stack to the features your business really needs.
Are you ready to move your accounting to the cloud? Contact us for assistance with migrating your books, setting up your stack, and creating efficiencies to help you grow your business.