“Let them win the QuickBooks Desktop open windows argument, mostly cause it doesn’t matter. Even they know that.”
-Clayton Adams III
Less and less do I hear this refrain, because I am somewhat removed from the phones; yet I know the argument still rages on in sales calls. “QuickBooks Desktop just is better at workflow…QuickBooks Online takes me 15 minutes longer to do the same task…I cannot have multiple windows open like I can in QuickBooks Desktop…Reporting sucks vs. QuickBooks Desktop”…and such. The last complaint is mostly in relation to open windows, “…like in QuickBooks Desktop”.
Core reporting is essentially the same between the two platforms, I mean the main 3 reports accountants run: namely the Balance Sheet, P&L and Trial Balance. I know there are a few gaps remaining in terms of extra header lines, footer on every report page, and date range formation flexibility, etc… but mostly, QuickBooks Online is on par with QuickBooks Desktop where it matters. Even feature set-wise, QuickBooks Online is practically a price-level away from QuickBooks Pro.
What really is the continuing negative noise about?
Tis more of a tired, dwindling tune…
Bank feeds in QuickBooks Online are superior to QuickBooks Desktop.
Bank rule function, direct connection, batch accept to register, batch modify, batch undo and delete – these are all online banking features that QuickBooks Desktop either does not have or does in a way that just cannot compare to QuickBooks Online feeds. Add to this the fact that with QuickBooks Online, it can all be done on mobile. Bank feeds in QuickBooks Online are superior to QuickBooks Desktop.
This is what the bank feed feature looks like in QuickBooks Desktop:
This is what the bank feed feature looks like in QuickBooks Online:
If automation of data entry is at the doorstep, then QuickBooks Desktop is a-slipping out through the back. Yet, there are many desktop champions still clinging to this old solution, and it is not because QuickBooks Premier supports sales orders. Heavy inventory and job costing requirements are seldom needed across a firm’s client base – at least not the firms with whom I’m talking to. If this were not the case, then why do so many of their clients use Pro?
Exactly… robust feature set is not the reason for the QuickBooks Online criticism or pushback on sales calls. These diehards just like the way the windows open in QuickBooks Desktop vs QuickBooks Online. It’s ok. It is cool how open windows work in QuickBooks Desktop. Genius. A genius whose impact and effectiveness is waning against a more important story: Automation of data entry and real time results. Who cares about open windows if you no longer need to enter data, or can set up the data to enter with minimal involvement? Uh, that question was rhetorical. Have I mentioned yet that bank feeds in QuickBooks Online are superior to QuickBooks Desktop?
Check out Part 2: Open Windows List