Everybody's using it, and so are you, but c'mon, admit it, don't you hate QuickBooks? Well, maybe not QuickBooks, but Intuit? Every year, Intuit forces us CPAs to buy a new version of QuickBooks for ~$500, if we want payroll included. And much more, for additional users!!!! How? Because for us to be compatible with our clients’ QuickBooks’ files, we need the same year’s version. And if you are just starting up a CPA practice, you may have to acquire prior years’s versions to service clients using them. I’ve got one client still using QuickBooks 2002! That’s an oldie but goodie. I hate that marketing ploy, being forced to buy something every year. And now being forced to buy a separate payroll module, since Intuit will not update the tax tables for free every year in the program. And every year it seems that Intuit comes up with another feature to pay for. This year it’s the Intuit Statement Writer. No, it’s not included with the Premier Accountants Edition, as I expected it to be. There’s a fee with that edition, unlike the now defunct FSD, Financial Statement Designer, which was not all that convenient and easy to work in. Oh, by the way, the QuickBooks gurus refer to the Intuit Statement Writer as ISW, in the event that you do not want to appear like a deer-in-the-headlights when you hear the lingo in accounting circles.
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I hate Quickbooks
Quickbooks is a nightmare for me. Years ago I was a fairly happy Quicken Home and Business user but had to upgrade when I started a corporation with product inventory over five years ago.
The Quickbooks product has bugs and usability issues. The level 1 support is all in India, and it appears their job is primarily to convince you that your problem does not exist and to get you off the phone as quickly as possible.
Quickbooks is designed for accountants, not for end users. It’s user interface does not take into consideration even the simplest end user tasks. I can give many examples, here are a few.
1)The most important section for this business user is the Customer Center where sales orders and invoices are tracked. As most wholesalers know, the key number for tracking is the PO number that originates with the customer. So… try to list transactions by PO# in the customer center. It can’t be done. Can’t search on PO # either — at least not through version 2009. You have to dig through each transaction to find a specific PO number. Rediculous!
2) Create a Sales Order. If you have established payment terms for the customer (such as Net 30), QB assigns a due date that is 30 days out. So if I create a Sales Order on Nov 3, the due date is automatically filled in as Dec. 3 if the established terms are Net 30. That makes sense if I am creating an invoice. But not a sales order. We have had many customers receive merchandise late because each sales order has to be manually changed to reflect a realistic due date before being exported to our warehouse system. Sometimes we forget and these get exported unchanged to the warehouse system. I have been reporting this for 5 YEARS!!! Nobody ever responds or fixes it. (Note: this is not an issue for EDI PO’s that are imported to QB with a due date.)
3) Every item that leaves our warehouse goes through Quickbooks. But the inventory in QB never matches what is reported by our warehouse which shows the correct amount. And I mean by A LOT. We only have five products, no builds, but I cannot trust QB for inventory levels at all. I have no idea why.
4) The last version I upgraded to, 2009 hit me with advertising for every task I performed. It was unbelieveable!! Turning these ads and nag screens off was not intuitive. I had to research it and then resort to several tips and tricks to put an end to nag screens and ads — for a product that cost me over $300!!! Not one of the services being advertised was even relevant to me. It was just plain intrusive and RUDE.
5) The version of QB that I use (Premeire for manufacturing and wholesale)has no online version which would at least do away with having to install, upgrade and back up on my own computer. Of course, after the two day outtage that Quickbooks Online suffered recently, I can’t see how anywould could trust using the Online service.
6) I have upgraded from 2005, 2006, 2008 and finally to 2009 always hoping to see some improvement in the programs usability. But the product remains largely the same except for all the PAID add-on services that they advertise. In effect, I have gotten NOTHING for all the upgrades.
Finally, I have to say that Quickbooks is basically a bare bones back end accounting system for accountants. It is no way to run a business. What is needed is a cost effective ERP type system that sits on top of Quickbooks, maybe with a database in between operating in parallel. I have been looking for such a product, but nothing has really jumped out at me. It appears that small businesses are stuck with this crappy solution and support.