Cloud Review: QuickBooks for Desktop vs. QuickBooks Online vs. Xero vs. Method CRM
Everyone keeps talking about the cloud these days, and for the most part, most of my data is in the cloud. I have been hearing a lot about QuickBooks Online (QBO) and Xero, so I thought I would test them out to see how they compare to QuickBooks for Windows (desktop version, which I'll abbreviate as QBs), which I have been using for almost a decade now. I have used QBO and Xero for several months and there are some similarities and some differences. I was going to put together an extensive spreadsheet to compare the features of both, but this has already been done. What is really interesting to me is their comparison to what I have been using for years, QBs; however, that is like comparing apples to oranges. And going through the hundreds of differences really isn't going to tell you which one
is the best,
so I'll just give my
opinion.
It was very easy to setup QBO by exporting from QBs and importing into QBO. Intuit is probably probably wanting to get rid of QBs in favor of QBO, so I suspect they are going to try to make this process as simple as possible to get people to convert. Overall, QBO has come a long way in improving; however, it still doesn't have all the features of QBs (not that it ever will). I won't go into detail, as I really like this product, but would I give up my QBs to change to it? Probably not, at least not yet. There are only a few programs that I must have on my computer and those are Outlook, QuickBooks, and Quicken. I've looked at Outlook.com and even Office 2013, but I hate their interfaces. There is so much that Outlook 2010 can do that I will hold onto it until something
better
comes along. And the same goes true for Quicken and QBs. They can do so much and their mobile "apps" are so limited, that I can't part with them.
Xero is very cool, with a very simple way of doing things. For a business that really only needs to code transactions, Xero works very well. They are from New Zealand so a lot of the verbiage is in the Queen's English. This doesn't bother me, but I could see how this would prevent someone from using it. But the data is stored in US data centers, so no worries there. I had a harder time with the trickier transactions that I am used to doing in QBs and there are some simple features that are still missing, such as being able to calculate (as in a calculator) within a data field. While not huge, this is a feature that I use
all the time
in Quicken and QBs. But of course, this shouldn't be a reason for anyone else not to use it.
And then there is Method CRM. I have been telling my clients about it for years and have nicknamed it, "QuickBooks on steroids." It brings your existing data from QuickBooks (and QBO) into the cloud. And the best thing is that you can fully
customize
how the program works! This includes custom screens with only the buttons, functionality, and accessibility that only you want your users to see. Even better, you can add other types of data that may have nothing to do with accounting but are more related to how you run your business. Of course, for someone techie like me, this is a plus, but may be more challenging for others. But the costs of hiring someone like me for the customization is so much cheaper than customizing and training on a full-fledged mid-market solution such as Oracle or SAP. And Method CRM is the most cost-effective way to do accounting in the cloud
and
act like a mid to high-end market business. So if I am traveling with my Chromebook (all web-based), I may not have my Outlook and QuickBooks (unless I remote into my office computer), but I can still check my e-mail via webmail and still enter QuickBooks data via Method CRM. I am fully aware that eventually in the future there will be no more desktop computers and programs to manage, but until then, I will hang on to my desktop.
Portable Productivity: Smartphones Do Invoices, Expenses, Time Billing
These three web-based apps – accessible via your smartphone -- provide mobile access to QuickBooks data.
Accounting in the cloud
is closer than you might think. In fact, it's here, in some cases.
QuickBooks Online
, of course, is entirely cloud-based, but it
does not yet offer all of the features found in Intuit's top-of-the-line products, Premier and Enterprise.
In the meantime, Intuit itself, as well as third-party developers, have built online apps that fill in some of the gaps. These add-on solutions exist on websites, but they can collect data and synchronize it with desktop QuickBooks. So can that iPhone or Android that's sitting on your desk right now.
Many Mobile Applications
To find these apps, go to the
and click on
All Apps.
There are dozens of them, arranged by category (Billing and Invoicing, Customer Management, Inventory Management, Apps by Intuit, etc.).
Your first stop should be at Intuit's
QuickBooks Connect
(this is the name of the online application that you'd use on a remote PC or laptop; the name of the smartphone app is
QuickBooks Mobile
). This app gives you easy access to your customer and sales data when you're away from your office.
Figure 1: QuickBooks Mobile, shown here on the Android operating system, gives you sales tools when you're away from desktop QuickBooks.
Remote Sales Tools
Whether you're working in web-based QuickBooks Connect or on a smartphone, your data and transaction options are similar. QuickBooks Connect has a few more features, like an Item List and Customer Center, but both let you:
·
Access multiple company files
·
View, add, and edit customers, estimates, invoices, and sales receipts, using QuickBooks' custom templates
·
E-mail these forms to customers
QuickBooks Mobile and QuickBooks Connect use the Intuit Sync Manager – located on the desktop where QuickBooks is installed -- to keep data current everywhere. That computer must be running for syncs to work.
Figure 2: You can create and e-mail invoices from QuickBooks Mobile.
Prices start at $9.95/month for one user; a 30-day free trial is available.
Manage Travel Expenses
grabs the data you need (customers, employees, jobs, etc.) from QuickBooks to record expenses on the road. You can enter charges directly into a form or snap a picture with your phone – it'll be attached to your expense report. These charges are then sent to a report template that thoroughly documents the charge, letting you specify variables like the trip purpose, travel policy type, project and client. The status of your approval and payment are also included here.
You can send travel itineraries from your free
TripIt Pro
account and credit card charges directly to an existing expense report to accelerate the process. And once an expense report is approved, money can be moved automatically from the designated company bank account to an employee's account. $8 per month per user; free 30-day trial.
Figure 3: Concur Breeze provides mobile expense management.
Mobile Time-Tracking
If your company has employees or contractors who work remotely and submit hours for approval, consider
eBillity Time Tracker for Intuit QuickBooks
. After it pulls in customers, service items, and employees from QuickBooks, you can invite workers to track their time on their smartphones by either entering it manually or using the timer, and then sync it with the online application.
Mobile workers can use the application in offline mode; entries are uploaded when they reconnect. Prices start at $10/month for Admin and one user.
Figure 4: eBillity Time Tracker for Intuit QuickBooks is a great companion app for remote workers.
The Cloud = Convenience And Accessibility
Synchronization – especially across three or more devices – is a simple concept whose implementation can be not-so-simple. We can help you determine which apps make sense for you and get them up and running.
Integrated, web-based applications accessed by whatever computing device happens to be nearby are the essence of cloud-based accounting. Intuit and its companion mobile apps offer the convenience and accessibility that the Internet is making possible.
If you need help with any of these applications, or questions about “the cloud”, please email or call us. We are your partner in building a successful business.
QuickBooks 2012: New Paths to Better, Faster Financial Management
As it usually does this time of year, Intuit has introduced new versions of its Pro and Premier products. QuickBooks 2012 promises to help you get better organized, save steps, and acquire more in-depth financial insights.
The new
Express Start
is designed for businesses that want to blast through setup and start entering customers and invoices. You have two other options, though:
Advanced Setup
is the old EasyStep interview that solicits more details. You can also open an existing file or convert data from Quicken or other accounting software.
Express Start requires minimal input: company name, industry, company type, tax ID, and contact information. After you save your company file, it lets you start adding or importing customers/vendors/employees, products/services, and bank accounts.
Figure 1: Express Start simplifies company setup.
An Activity-Driven Calendar
QuickBooks'
Reminders
keep you apprised of each day's tasks, but they don't provide any information about the past or future. QuickBooks 2012 solves this problem with its new
Calendar
. When you enter an appointment, to-do, or key business task (invoices, bills, purchase orders, etc.), it appears in the calendar. You can display a graphical view of the month that tallies activities for each day and lists them below. Daily and weekly views are in list form. And links open the original documents.
Figure 2: The new
Calendar
displays daily, weekly, and monthly views of your financial transactions.
Save Excel Formatting
Once you've formatted a QuickBooks report in Excel, it's frustrating to have to reformat it each time you run it for different time periods and/or with your ever-changing content.
Excel Integration Refresh
simplifies this process. You can now export a report to Excel, make formatting changes and save them, and then reapply them later to the same type of report using different date ranges and your updated QuickBooks data. Acceptable alterations include:
·
Row and column header font formatting
·
New formulas
·
Renamed column and row headers, and report titles
·
Resized columns
·
Inserted columns and rows
·
Inserted formula text
You can do this by opening your report in QuickBooks and clicking
Update an existing worksheet
, or by launching your report in Excel and clicking the
QuickBooks
tab on the toolbar, then the
Update Report
button.
Figure 3: This window opens when you click
Update Report
in Excel.
A New Report Community
There's always room for more report formats. QuickBooks 2012 offers a library of
Contributed Reports
, variations created either by Intuit or your fellow users. You can select one of these, like
Customer Sales By Quantity By Item Detail
and instantly populate it with your own data.
You can sort these templates by industry and rating, and view them as a list, in a grid, or in the Report Center's
Carousel
view.
Centralized Operations
QuickBooks 2012 also saves you time with its new
Centers
. The
Inventory Center
works similarly to those available for customers, vendors, and employees. It's a clearinghouse of item records and transactions that can be viewed and sorted. You can also do inventory housekeeping tasks here, like adding items and launching transactions.
The
Lead Center
helps you carefully track new leads that you either paste in from Excel or enter manually. You can add to-dos and notes to contact records, and convert them into customers.
Upgrading Can Be Tricky
Intuit has included other, smaller time-saving organizational and reporting tools in QuickBooks 2012, like
One-Click Transactions
, which lets you create related transactions from existing ones (i.e., invoice to credit memo) with one click.
There's nothing especially difficult about using most of QuickBooks 2012's new features. But upgrading and setup are sometimes quirky, and the
Excel Integration Refresh
tool has a learning curve. We're happy to help you start your company file on the right foot or get acclimated to this latest version.
Figure 4; Track your leads and convert them into customers in the new
Lead Center
.