<\/p>\n
Blog post by Lisa London, author of QuickBooks Online for Nonprofits and other “Accountant Beside You” books<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What’s Changing?<\/h3>\n
Intuit, the company that makes QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop software, made a big
\nannouncement late last year.\u00a0 QuickBooks
\nwill no longer be selling their desktop versions of Pro, Premier Mac or
\nEnhanced Payroll to new customers after July 31, 2024. The only desktop version
\nthat will continue to be sold is the Enterprise version for large
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
This does NOT mean that you can no longer use or renew your
\ndesktop subscriptions, only that new customers will not be able to purchase it.
\nPer Intuit\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We will continue to provide security updates, product updates, and support for existing subscribers.<\/h3>\n\n![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.freechurchaccounting.com\/images\/xLondon_Lisa_publicity_large.webp.pagespeed.ic.qKcNg0Tcrb.webp\" "\\"Lisa")
<\/a><\/div>\nIf you have read my previous blogs and books, you may
\nnote that I have liked the desktop better than the online version for several
\nreasons-not reliant on internet strength and reliability, especially if you are
\nin a rural or storm-ridden area; reporting is stronger, and screens seem to be
\nmore intuitive.<\/p>\n
With Intuit\u2019s announcement and their encouragement of
\naccountants to move their clients to QuickBooks Online (QBO), I assume that
\nfuture improvements will only be on the online side. And they have added many
\nfeatures over the last couple of years that bring QBO closer to the desktop
\nversion in many ways and others that desktop could never do that save tons of
\ntime.<\/p>\n
Some things QBO can do that desktop can\u2019t (or is
\nchallenging to do) are:<\/p>\n
\n- \ufeffEasily
\nallows multiple users to access the data from almost anywhere. This
\nmeans you need to be extra careful setting up your USER roles so you don\u2019t have
\npeople accessing transactions that should only be seeing reports. If
\nyour employees are tracking time, you can set up users that only access time
\nsheets.<\/li>\n - Bank
\nfeeds (called Bank transactions) in QBO sync much easier and rules allow you to
\nsplit between programs.<\/li>\n - At
\nyear-end, QBO will eFile your 1099s with a few clicks.\u00a0 This is so much easier than the old print and
\nmail approach.<\/li>\n - If
\nyou are using an outside accountant, using QBO is much easier to share data.<\/li>\n - The
\nability to use some of the 1000s of apps that work with QBO is a huge time
\nsaver, especially if you have an outside donor management system or accept
\nonline payments through PayPal or other sites.<\/li>\n - Budget
\nentry is much easier in QBO.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThere are lots of other things QBO does well.\u00a0 The area that frustrates me the most is the
\nReporting.\u00a0 They still are not offering a
\nreport that allows you to see month and year to day on the P & L compared
\nto budget, which I personally think is the most important report you can look
\nat monthly. But it does allow you to easily export to Excel, so you can set it
\nup that way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Do I need to do anything?<\/h3>\n
If you are currently using any of the desktop versions, you can continue to use them. If you are using a 2020 or previous version, realize that Intuit does not update or support them if you have issues.\u00a0 So PLEASE back up your data frequently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Per TechSoup, you can still request QuickBooks Premier 2021 and QuickBooks for Mac, but they assume Intuit will end support sometime in 2024 or 2025.<\/p>\n
For those with a desktop subscription, nothing will change, but do not expect any improvements.<\/p>\n
If you want to move to QBO, the conversion is quite simple. You can purchase a subscription for QBO at\u00a0Techsoup.org<\/a>\u00a0for only $75 per year if you qualify. If not, check with your outside accountant or email me at questions@acountantbesideyou.com and I\u2019ll let you know if Intuit is running any specials that can be offered to new users.<\/p>\nNOTE: check with your accountant or me before signing up for Intuit\u2019s three month free trial. They sometimes don\u2019t like to offer the discounts to people they already have in the system.<\/p>\n
How do I learn how to use\u00a0QuickBooks Online for Nonprofits?<\/h2>\n\n![\"LL](\"https:\/\/www.freechurchaccounting.com\/images\/Multi-Paperback-Stack-Presentation-With-Tablet.jpg\" "\\"LL")
<\/a><\/div>\nHere\u2019s where\u00a0The Accountant Beside You\u00a0can help. I\u2019ve just released an updated and expanded edition of\u00a0QuickBooks Online for Nonprofits and Churches-A Step-by-Step Guide<\/a>\u00a0available at AccountantBesideYou.com. It will walk you through how to set up a small nonprofit or church and how to convert the desktop information efficiently.<\/p>\nUse the\u00a0FreeChurchAccounting\u00a0discount code\u00a0FCA10\u00a0and receive 10% off.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\nIf you have read my previous blogs and books, you may
\nnote that I have liked the desktop better than the online version for several
\nreasons-not reliant on internet strength and reliability, especially if you are
\nin a rural or storm-ridden area; reporting is stronger, and screens seem to be
\nmore intuitive.<\/p>\n
With Intuit\u2019s announcement and their encouragement of
\naccountants to move their clients to QuickBooks Online (QBO), I assume that
\nfuture improvements will only be on the online side. And they have added many
\nfeatures over the last couple of years that bring QBO closer to the desktop
\nversion in many ways and others that desktop could never do that save tons of
\ntime.<\/p>\n
Some things QBO can do that desktop can\u2019t (or is
\nchallenging to do) are:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \ufeffEasily
\nallows multiple users to access the data from almost anywhere. This
\nmeans you need to be extra careful setting up your USER roles so you don\u2019t have
\npeople accessing transactions that should only be seeing reports. If
\nyour employees are tracking time, you can set up users that only access time
\nsheets.<\/li>\n - Bank
\nfeeds (called Bank transactions) in QBO sync much easier and rules allow you to
\nsplit between programs.<\/li>\n - At
\nyear-end, QBO will eFile your 1099s with a few clicks.\u00a0 This is so much easier than the old print and
\nmail approach.<\/li>\n - If
\nyou are using an outside accountant, using QBO is much easier to share data.<\/li>\n - The
\nability to use some of the 1000s of apps that work with QBO is a huge time
\nsaver, especially if you have an outside donor management system or accept
\nonline payments through PayPal or other sites.<\/li>\n - Budget
\nentry is much easier in QBO.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThere are lots of other things QBO does well.\u00a0 The area that frustrates me the most is the
\nReporting.\u00a0 They still are not offering a
\nreport that allows you to see month and year to day on the P & L compared
\nto budget, which I personally think is the most important report you can look
\nat monthly. But it does allow you to easily export to Excel, so you can set it
\nup that way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nDo I need to do anything?<\/h3>\n
If you are currently using any of the desktop versions, you can continue to use them. If you are using a 2020 or previous version, realize that Intuit does not update or support them if you have issues.\u00a0 So PLEASE back up your data frequently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Per TechSoup, you can still request QuickBooks Premier 2021 and QuickBooks for Mac, but they assume Intuit will end support sometime in 2024 or 2025.<\/p>\n
For those with a desktop subscription, nothing will change, but do not expect any improvements.<\/p>\n
If you want to move to QBO, the conversion is quite simple. You can purchase a subscription for QBO at\u00a0Techsoup.org<\/a>\u00a0for only $75 per year if you qualify. If not, check with your outside accountant or email me at questions@acountantbesideyou.com and I\u2019ll let you know if Intuit is running any specials that can be offered to new users.<\/p>\n
NOTE: check with your accountant or me before signing up for Intuit\u2019s three month free trial. They sometimes don\u2019t like to offer the discounts to people they already have in the system.<\/p>\n
How do I learn how to use\u00a0QuickBooks Online for Nonprofits?<\/h2>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\nHere\u2019s where\u00a0The Accountant Beside You\u00a0can help. I\u2019ve just released an updated and expanded edition of\u00a0QuickBooks Online for Nonprofits and Churches-A Step-by-Step Guide<\/a>\u00a0available at AccountantBesideYou.com. It will walk you through how to set up a small nonprofit or church and how to convert the desktop information efficiently.<\/p>\n
Use the\u00a0FreeChurchAccounting\u00a0discount code\u00a0FCA10\u00a0and receive 10% off.<\/p>\n