I have used QuickBooks desktop versions for years and change is hard. I started using it on computers with big floppy disks – anyone remember those?
I know that there are advantages to QBO but I was reluctant to change. After attending QB Connect, and talking with vendors, and support personnel, I decided that maybe it was time to 'make the change.'
As an Advanced Certified QuickBooks and QBO Proadvisor I already had a QBO account that had some data in it. Fortunately, accountant users get extra time to overwrite their data so I was able to upload my QuickBooks Desktop data file.
There were some differences, but overall the numbers tied-out. I did have some extra accounts and experienced a few issues trying to merge them. I discovered that you can’t merge a sub-account. You have to break the sub-account and confirm the account types and then you can merge.
I also had an additional sale tax account that seemed unusual. I realized this was caused by the sales tax rules in Connecticut. Sometimes I have to charge two different sales taxes on the same invoice or sales receipt. The way I had always handled this in QuickBooks Desktop led to the creation of an extra account in QBO, but the combined total of the two QBO accounts was correct.
I then discovered that two reports that I use in desktop aren’t easily recreated in QBO. The first is a Profit & Loss by Class. I use this to help fill in the State of Connecticut Sales Tax report. I can get close in QBO but not exactly the same, the report in QBO includes a lot of extra columns which makes it more difficult to use.
The other “missing” report for me is what I call Available Cash. This is a report that looks at my bank accounts and several other asset and liability accounts and gives me a total. I can recreate it from the chart of accounts in QBO, but I can't get a total unless I export it to Excel. Hopefully both of these reports will be available soon in QBO.
I spent a couple of weeks comparing my files and deciding if I was really going to switch. When I finally decided to move forward I wanted to reconvert. Unfortunately, I could not get my dated uploaded again.
I worked with support and still couldn’t get the data to come through. Support offered some options that weren’t ideal, so I just went back and manually entered the intervening data in QBO from Desktop. It wasn’t a lot so it was manageable. If it had been more data, I might have looked at using Transaction Pro Importer to bring-in those additional transactions.
Right now, I am doing double entry in both QBO and Desktop since I want to have complete records for year end in desktop. My plan is finally transition as of January 1 to QBO and also to start using the location feature in QBO to help with my sales tax reporting. It's looking like I will give-up QuickBooks Desktop after all these years.
My likes and dislikes:
- Like the Bankfeeds download of my bank transactions for matching. I use Chase bank and have had some problems recently with the downloads into desktop. Even without the issues, it was a manual process unless I paid a monthly fee. The downloads in QBO work well and have made it easier to make sure I don’t miss any transactions.
- Like the entry of bills and checks where I can see items and expenses on the same screen as opposed to switching tabs.
- Like the way the customer and vendor addresses break out to specific boxes for street, city and state. This may seem trivial, but I like it.
- Like the Windows desktop application which makes it really easy to get into QBO
- Looking forward to just giving my accountant access and not sending backups
- Like being able to open multiple windows and pop backup and forth
- Dislike some of the data entry on sales receipts. Haven’t quite figured out what process I am using incorrectly but I have found that I frequently enter information, add a class to a line and change the sales tax and find that my items and/or amounts have been cleared and I have to put them in again.
- Dislike the fact that I can’t get the reports I listed or a summary report of amounts in my retainer totaled by customer. Get the detailed version, but I want my summary version.
- Haven’t figured out how to print a check register for just a short period of time.
- Haven’t figured out how to create a sales receipt or invoice with two different sales tax rates tied to the items. I could do this in desktop and there’s probably a way to do it in QBO but I haven’t figured it out yet.
Over the next month or so, I will probably add to my likes and dislike list. Hopefully, QBO will have some updates that reduce my dislike list but for now this is my list.
Teaching an old dog new tricks is not easy, but I am slowly moving forward into a 'cloud future'. They say, "every cloud has a silver lining", I'm hopeful that will be true with this transition.
And by the way – if you have a solution to any of my report issues, or dislikes, I can’t wait to hear them. You might even get a reward.
Editor's Note: If you have an interesting 'transition to the cloud' story you would like to share, I encourage you to send it to us here at Insightful Accountant.