QuickBooks Online

Avantages

The ability to assign classes in creating rules for the electronic bank transaction imports. The desktop version does not offer that function. It's sad because I know that if the QuickBooks Online software code writers can create that functionality in the online version, then they certainly should be able to create that functionality for the desktop versions which most subscribers have been using for decades now.

Inconvénients

The unexpected price hikes on your account without formal notification or fair warning. Quickbooks has probably been the worst software vendor in that they always find a way to raise your rates by using creative and deceptive means such as switching online account holders and their client accounts to the Advanced Online version as a trial run without the account holders authorization. They leave the burden on the account holder to cancel the Advanced version trail for each of their online client accounts, which most account holders are not even aware that their clients have been switched. Terrrrrible! I'm sure there are laws that prohibit this type of deceptive behavior. Currently I am switching most of my clients back to the desktop versions until I can find an alternative Accounting software that my clients and I can appreciate.

Avantages

Quickbooks is easy to "plug in" and go... You can use their templates and basic accounts and set up your own accounting system in no time. I had no bookkeeping or accounting experience before using QuickBooks Online, and I was proficient after about 6 months of part-time use.

Having an accountant log-in is so helpful in today's world so many people are working from home/ traveling/ etc. It is indispensable for my organization to have an online accounting platform that I, my organization's volunteer treasurer, and our hired accountant can all access from our home computers.

As a non-profit organization that only pays a tiny amount of sales tax, that portion of the software is very functional and is one fewer thing I have to deal with.

I do not use payroll through this system, so I cannot comment on the functionality of that portion.

Inconvénients

The bugs in the software (accounts that won't delete, messing up check numbers, etc) are the most annoying part of using QuickBooks Online for me. If you are a small team, you can just work around them and you eventually learn what they are, but it is repeatedly annoying. Their customer service is weak, but there are lots of affordable training courses that can fill in those gaps as you use the program.

I sometimes wish that Quickbooks Online were MORE customizable (i.e. allow you to delete certain generic accounts), and I sometimes wish it were LESS customizable (journal entries can be numbered ANYTHING which confuses me). Overall, I think it allows me to do most of what I need to do in bookkeeping for my non-profit.

Avantages

I am not an accounting professional but with a basic understanding of accounting principal, I have been able to use this software to organize my company for the last 10 years. I have made the switch in 2014 to the online version of it. It lets me to use the software anywhere including mobile device and I have been very happy with all the updates Intuit has been making last 3-4 years.

Inconvénients

Everything about customer service. As a long time user, I know the infamous reputation of Intuit at every level. This is one of the SO MANY experiences I had: I had one issue that persisted since 2014. It was a simple issue, but it also caused me some great inconvenience. So I had been contacting them every now and then and the issue was not resolved until recently in 2018. It turned out to be it was as simple as clearing cache. However, every time I called, I had to explain the situation as if it's never been recorded, follow their instruction to do the troubleshooting, then they were puzzled how that happened, and then say that 'someone' will follow up. And THAT NEVER HAPPENED. I got so fed up and had to be on the phone more than 4 hours to a point that the issue was escalated to the presidents' office. I was told that there was a glitch in the system that I had to move to a new account. As they moved my data to a new account, I found out that it won't move credit card or social security info. As I was preparing for the final move, I realized that they have been charging me double. I requested to refund or extend the membership, but they did it again - made me wait for 1-2 hours, told me that I'll speak to a floor manager, then just transfer to another dpt- ALL THE TACTICS TO DISCOURAGE TO find the solution for the issue. Finally, they 'concluded' not to extend the membership with an excused made up they cannot provide in written permission. NEVER HAD SUCH BAD EXPERIENCE.

Avantages

I converted from QB Desktop Pro to QBO about a year ago, and it has been a game changer for me. Some pros:

1. The design is much more aesthetically pleasing and intuitive than QB Desktop. I now feel comfortable doing my own reconciliations rather than paying a bookkeeper, as it is much more natural than the steps required before.

2. I can easily add users and therefore don't need to pass the file back and forth. Before, I'd forget that my bookkeeper is working on my file and would make changes, which caused big problems. This is no longer an issue.

3. I can login anywhere.

4. The apps are a big deal for me. For example, I have an app called "Importer Pro" which allows me to import the schedule from my scheduling software. It then automatically generates and invoice for my clients, and it could also automatically generate an invoice for my independent contractors based on the work they do. This saves me about 25 hours per week. I could not have done this with QB Desktop.

Inconvénients

There are two main (and large) problems I've found:

1. You cannot revert your company. So if you make a big error, or a disgruntled employee with QBO access logs in and messes everything up, there is no going back. That's a big issue. Luckily, it has not been a problem for us yet.

2. If you need to edit a past invoice, it deletes the description and changes the hour to 1. This became a problem for me when I realized that the line items were not mapped to the client, and I needed to change the "product/service" to something that is mapped to the client. Previously, I was using a generic term in "product/service" for all clients, not realizing it was an issue. However, I cannot go back through my past invoices and change the product/service because it will delete the description and edit the hours, which is way too time consuming to deal with. I have thousands of line items that are not mapped to the client.

I reported both of these issues to QBO. Asked to talk to a supervisor after the first person was very unhelpful and clearly not trained well. The supervisor said he would talk to the development team and call me back within 48 hours. That was months ago and of course, no call. Disappointing.

Avantages

Quickbooks Online (for Australia) has great features. It has been around for a long time and has developed a really good platform. Features, such as inventory and payroll are well developed. The reporting available with QBO is excellent - very detailed and flexible.

Inconvénients

When things go wrong...the service is very poor. I've had overseas staff who did not know the system, or how things work in Australia. I have had customer support staff not get back to me. And I've had them flat out tell me that they can't help.
Quickbooks is trying to buy market share in Australia, so they are offering significant discounts. This makes the software really affordable...but there is no telling how long these discounts will last. The expiration of a 50% discount may be a nasty surprise for a small business when it does go away. Which it will...at some point.
Don't get caught with the Self-Employed Sole Trader version of Quickbooks online. Your Accountant can't view your data, the reporting is poor and you can't migrate your data to other software. It is a very very basic accounting package...that is not very functional and provides no future proofing.