Part 1: Signs You’re Ready to Upgrade
By now you’ve heard of QuickBooks Online Advanced, the newest addition to the QBO family, and you may have already worked with clients who have made the leap. But it’s still somewhat new, and the relatively high price tag occasionally gives ProAdvisors pause.
But look at it this way: over the years you’ve helped your clients grow and succeed, and eventually they may outgrow QuickBooks Online Plus. QBO Advanced is QBO on steroids. Let’s take a look at some of the signs that your client is ready to upgrade, and why this high-end software solution is well worth it.
To learn more on this topic, make sure to join Alicia Katz Pollock's webinar, "QuickBooks Online Advanced" on October 6 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can register here.
The Chart of Accounts:
QBO Plus has a limit of 250 custom Chart of Accounts (COA) categories. This number refers to accounts you created yourself, not default categories (although if you converted from QuickBooks Desktop, you’re off the hook – imported categories don’t count!). While you can inactivate, and merge unnecessary accounts to stay under your limit, it becomes a constant preoccupation.
QBO Advanced removes this cap! When you have a complex General Ledger, you don’t have to concern yourself with this limitation, and you can create subaccounts to your heart’s content.
Classes and Locations:
QBO Plus has a limit of 40 Classes and Locations, combined. If you were using Classes to track customer jobs or events, that’s not necessarily a concern because the new Project Center is an elegant alternative with slick job costing. But for many nonprofits, event planners, and companies with intricate financial tracking, inactivating past Classes isn’t an option.
QBO Advanced removes this cap! Unlimited Classes and Locations allow you to keep growing and adding new tracking.
User Permissions:
QBO Plus has five standard User accounts, and two additional Accountant logins.
QBO Advanced has 25 standard User seats, with three Accountant logins. For companies with a bookkeeper, a CPA, and a consulting ProAdvisor, this is a dream come true. It’s also ideal when an employee really does need Accountant Tools like Reclassify, Undo Reconciliations, Adjusting Journal Entries, or Write Off Invoices.
In addition, the standard user permissions are far more granular than QBO Plus. You can set mix-and-match access to specific features and functions for each custom user.
Custom Fields:
QBO Plus has three Custom Fields to enter your own specifics on forms.
QBO Advanced has 48 Custom Fields! You can create up to 12 each for Customers, Vendors, Sales forms, and Expense forms. You can even specify the field types to be Text, Numbers, Dates, or a Drop-down list. Use this extra data on for external documents, internal tracking, and all your reports.
Conclusion
As you can see, growing companies who have reached the limits of QuickBooks Online Plus can now go to infinity…and beyond!
In our next article, we’ll explore new features and streamlined workflows that are only found in QuickBooks Online Advanced.
On October 6, Alicia Katz Pollock will be giving a webinar about QBO Advanced, and all its benefits. With Divvy as a sponsor, you’ll stay cutting edge on your client solutions. Register now!