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For many small and mid-sized businesses, Intuit QuickBooks is usually the first choice for financial software in the organization\u2019s early days \u2013 and for good reasons. QuickBooks is well-known and very easy to use, and it offers the basic functionality that almost any business can use to get off the ground. Unfortunately, virtually every growing business also soon realizes that the early value of the software is soon overtaken by the limitations and compromises. Here are the five limitations that cause CFOs to look for an alternative.<\/p>\n
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1.Over-Reliance of Spreadsheets to Support Financial Processes and Reporting <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAfter spending over one week sifting through massive spreadsheets, we discovered that we have a calculation error in how we had been recognizing revenue for the past three years.\u201d Sound familiar? Hopefully not \u2013 but many organizations naturally and gradually develop sophisticated accounting requirements (such as revenue recognition and multi-entity consolidation). And if QuickBooks is the financial foundation, that often means cumbersome workarounds because QuickBooks doesn\u2019t provide the built-in capabilities for these complex processes. \u2022Are you exporting data to multiple spreadsheets? \u2022Are you creating additional journal entries each month? \u2022Have you created home-grown applications for recording revenue or expenses outside of QuickBooks? These workarounds lead to entry errors, incorrect or outdated data, process inefficiencies, wasted time and resources, and a lack of control and compliance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 2.Excess Manual Data Entry and Re-Entry <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHow do I import customer order data into QuickBooks? I currently spend many hours manually creating invoices in QuickBooks, and there should be a better way.\u201d Most companies don\u2019t integrate QuickBooks with other key business applications, opting instead to just manually integrate the systems (think: flat files, CSV dumps, and rekeying). That might suffice when volumes are small. But ask anyone who\u2019s endured these workarounds and you\u2019ll see it\u2019s a real productivity killer as the business grows. Who has time to manually research, re-enter, and verify data that\u2019s already captured elsewhere? Instead of automating your business, these manual integrations are invitations to errors and wasted time.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 3.Limited Access to Reports and Information to Drive Decision-Making <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cRather than constantly struggling to keep up with incoming requests for data and specific reports, Sage Intacct lets us consistently report financials in a timely manner and feel confident that we can easily respond to any new request. Real-time visibility into business metrics is essential for timely decisions that boost performance. QuickBooks offers canned reports \u2013 and no dashboards \u2013so your visibility is limited and you\u2019re often forced to make decisions based on outdated data. By leveraging a financial system that incorporates both a multi-dimensional general ledger and report writer, you can transform your analysis and become a strategic partner who generates insights that answer the bigger questions facing management.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 4.Difficulty in Adapting to New Business Requirements <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cQuickBooks continues to crash, and I lose all our payroll data. I don\u2019t have time to re-enter data for 350 hourly employees\u2026\u201d Maybe you\u2019ve seen a couple of the classic signs that you\u2019ve outgrown QuickBooks. Those menus and screens \u2013 that used to be so quick and responsive \u2013 now have lengthy delays as the system struggles to keep up with data volume and calculations intensity. Report-printing takes forever. And queries seem to dim the lights. This critical limitation is risky at best. It can force you to periodically shut down QuickBooks \u2013 just to maintain data files. In a worst-case scenario, you\u2019re looking at potentially disastrous results: system crashes and the loss of crucial data. That\u2019s no way to run a business.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 5.Inadequate Controls Around Financial Processes <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cErrors caused by manual processes and a lack of control resulted in $180,000 of improper expense reimbursements within a six-month period.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Manual process are a fact of life with QuickBooks. Unfortunately, they increase the probability of data duplication and data entry errors, making it difficult to gain an integrated, real-time financial view of a company\u2019s end-to-end operations. Despite its popularity as a business applications for small business, QuickBooks simply wasn\u2019t designed for growing organizations that need advanced functionality for manage sophisticated processes. The Next Wave of Financial Management Technology We\u2019ve helped many businesses make the move from QuickBooks to Sage Intacct. The companies now enjoy real-time data and processes, flexible reporting, and role-based dashboards. We\u2019ve helped organizations increase productivity through accounting automation, extensive integration and user-defined workflows. And, these companies can scale with Sage Intacct \u2013 as the business grows they can increase transaction volume and easily add new entities. Give us a call or shoot us an email if you\u2019d like to explore Sage Intacct as your future financial accounting solution.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n