Quickbooks Online Edition - Small Business Computing & E-commerce Forums

dryan · #1 07-09-2003, 03:46 PM

Does anyone have any experience with the Quickbooks Online Edition? I'm considering switching from the Quickbooks PC based application to the web based application and I am looking for some user experience.

Thanks

DMuse · #2 07-10-2003, 08:35 AM

I'm actually working on a story right now about QuickBooks Online, which will be on SmallBusinessComputing tomorrow.

I have played around with the online version of QuickBooks a bit and the feature set is now (finally) nearly identical to that of the PC-based product. However, when you import your files to the online version you do lose some reporting capabilities (e.g., you can't drill down from, say, a P&L to individual transactions). Intuit says that this is because the online version is a different code base and software architecture than the PC-based product and that causes some problems when switching between the two versions.

I think the most exciting thing is that Intuit is now actually trying to sell the online product. For the last couple of years, it's been downplayed by the company. Now it sounds confident that it can 1) Offer a solid online version 2)Make money from monthly subscriptions.

I'm talking to a user of two today and will report on the experience in tomorrow's story.

Regards,
Dan Muse
Executive Editor
Small Business Channel
Internet.com

dryan · #3 07-10-2003, 11:05 AM

Thanks for the feedback. I look forward to reading your article.

They seem to have the data integrity issue covered quite well with dialy backups, mirrored hard drives plus a third hard drive. My specific concern is server reliability. If the server is down frequently or for long periods of time this will be of no use to us but I have been unable to get any server stability data out of the customer support group at Intuit.

dryan

yes · #4 07-11-2003, 02:17 AM

I train clients in the use of QuickBooks here in Australia and also write the QuickBooks for Dummies Australian edition. (soon to be released. For years we have been quite a few versions behind the American version but have begun to catch up due to the codes being released quicker, although I think our latest version (12)is based on the Canadian code. I am quite interested in how this online scenario works and look forward to reading your report.

DMuse · #5 07-14-2003, 02:40 PM

I definitely plan to review QuickBooks Online to get a better sense of its functionality. It seems that there are still some limitations that could be either minor or major depending on the business. Overall, the price and convenience look to be compelling.

In talking to Invisible Accountants -- a firm that sets up its customers on QuickBooks Online as well as hosted versions of NetLedger, Intacct and Peachtree -- there are great advantages to the Web-based service, but because of the different software code bases, the two versions aren't quite comparable. For example, they [Invisible Accountants] are still waiting for the online version to offer Intuit's vertical market versions. The online service still isn't compatible with the point of sale product, which Intuit is marketing these days.

I do wonder what the average small business thinks about Web-based products in general.
--Dan

dryan · #6 07-14-2003, 04:50 PM

Dan,

Speaking for our business, we are ready to embrace any web based service that can hold up to the test. Our hot buttons are:

Business stability
Server reliability
Security
User friendliness
Quality customer support

I would think that anything that will help reduce overhead and streamline processes would be attractive to most small businesses. As most small business employees wear many hats, the ability to access web based applications from a home office, or while traveling helps to increase our productivity and save our sanity!