QuickBooks Desktop 2021 -- Buy NOW - Sunset Later

Intuit Corp is moving from their current policy of allowing people who purchase their software to receive support and active linked in accounts for 3 years (all of which is necessary to use QuickBooks effectively) to a new model where everyone has to purchase new software every single year. 

I study every year's improvements to pass the certification tests and advise clients, and year after year almost none of the changes impact client's enough to even warrant a conversation. Certainly, the changes don't warrant an extra $300 - $1200 yearly expense & the additional time it takes to make the purchase and install the software. Every three years, yes, everyone needs updated software. Every year, no, it's a waste of time & money.

Basically, past the first few years of software development in the early 90's, Intuit has always been more interested in marketing than quality.

If you want to save money, make sure you're up to date with QuickBooks Desktop 2021 now!

Because that way you'll have 3 years before you have to buy new software every single year. When I googled, "QuickBooks sunset software" I received this response: 

“Until May 31, 2021, QuickBooks provides customer support and add-on services for Pro, Premier, and Enterprise Solutions 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. However, if you are still using a 2018 version of QuickBooks, your business may be affected on May 31st."

QuickBooks Desktop 2021 lasts to May 2024

QuickBooks Desktop 2020 lasts to May 2023

QuickBooks Desktop 2019 lasts to May 2022

Go to the products webpage Save on QuickBooks Products

to buy QuickBooks 2021 from Amazon.com. You can also buy software directly from Intuit.com or email me for a reseller. Thanks, readers! 

QuickBooks Online Simple Start Chart of Accounts Disaster

I just visited a new client with a new QuickBooks Online Simple Start subscription. His chart of accounts was a disaster. Way too many accounts for starters, and the software to modify or delete them was not what it "should" be. 

Using my accountant's access to his QuickBooks, with my higher level version of QB Online, I at least had good software to DELETE OVER 100 ACCOUNTS! Thanks a lot Intuit. 

On top of that one can't just go "delete" because QB Online never deletes an account. I have to rename the account so that the client won't be tempted to use it. I'm showing you here that I renamed over 100 accounts. 

All the accounts included were so ridiculous I could not believe it. Even Intuit Corporate does not want a chart of accounts anywhere near the length of one they gave this unsuspecting customer. What is the problem with the QB Online team that they would release this nonsense? It's as if you buy your first house, without being warned that it will be full of garbage for you to dispose of before you can move any of your stuff into there. Surprise! 

Your Chart of accounts should be small and tight. If I end the year with only $10 posted to one account, I don't need that account any longer. I'll move the $10 to another account because with fewer accounts the financial report is easier to understand and analyze. It's art as well as science. 

For everything you want to know about creating an awesome chart of accounts, please read or listen to my book, "Radically Simple Accounting". 

If DIY is not your style, or you want more help, I'll be happy to work with you to fix the chart of accounts you have now, or create a new one for your business.

What Your CPA Isn't Telling You

Some CPA’s when I suggest that my clients take deductions they haven’t been taking; you would think I was asking the CPA to take money out of their own pocket, when in fact, it’s the clients legal right to take all deductions they're entitled to by the IRS. 

Luckily for small business owners everywhere in the USA, a CPA named Mark J. Kohler wrote this book. Also an attorney, Mark J. Kohler wants to make sure you know ways you as a small business owner can pay less in taxes this year…and in the future. It can be upsetting to find out that you could have saved a ton of money but didn’t because no one told you how. So don’t waste any time in getting this information. Here are some ways:

•     Hire me, I’ll tell you.

•   Watch Mark J Kohler YouTube videos (search inside YouTube on his name)

•  Read one or more of his books. “What your CPA isn’t Telling You”, “The Business Owner’s Guide to Financial Freedom: What Wall Street Isn’t Telling you”, “The Tax and Legal Playbook: Game-changing Solutions to your Small-Business Questions”, “How to Pay Zero Taxes – 2020 – 2021, Your Guide to Every Tax Break the IRS Allows”.

•  Go to his website, https://markjkohler.com/ and learn more about what his company offers including self-directing IRA's. 

It’s heart-warming to discover that there is someone who knows way more than I do, and wants to help my clients the same way I do. 

 

 

Book Review: From Monk to Money Manager

This may be the best personal financial book written. It’s definitely the best personal finance book I’ve ever read. I’m a consultant CFO and the author of an accounting book, "Radically Simple Accounting". On my website I share a free reading list of nearly 100 books on money with simple reviews. 

Everyone---no matter how much they know financially---will learn something from this book; just as I did. 

I insist my 2 adult children read (or listen) to this book too, even though they are doing way better financially than I was at their age and are financially successsful by anyone's standards. We all have blind spots and more to learn. 

In a world full of money hype and distorted views, I find his explanations clear and level-headed. There were times I litterally cheered because he's so trustworthy. 

ROI stands for Return on Investment. The price of this book and time it takes to read it could help you save or make thousands of dollars—an excellent ROI. Let me know what you get out of this book?

QB Advanced Online 2021 Certification

What's new in QB Online for 2021 certification update is a turning point in my opinion of QB Online. 

I used to strenuously caution prospects about starting out with QB Online over QB Desktop becuase of the bugs. For example, the entire salestax module in QB Online is difficult to setup properly, use correctly in invoices, and forget the salestax liablity report for cash. As if all small businesses use the accrual system when cash tends to be more favorable tax wise. Or how about retainers/ advance payments that don't post correctly in QB Online? These are core features for accounting software. 

But learning about all the new cool QB Online features, like bill pay directly through the bank, tagging, and financial reporting charts...awesome charts.... QB Online just got cool enough to almost balance out it's accounting problems. Almost. 

QuickBooks Desktop 2021 Certification

I'm so grateful to be a consultant/accountant on my own terms so that I am not required financially to crank out client work all day/every day, but can take the time to study and learn. I just passed my QuickBooks Desktop 2021 feature improvements exam, so I'm up to date on new features that may be of interest to you. 

New features in QuickBooks Desktop 2021 means that the software is alive and well for those who erroneously believe that Intuit is discontinuing this product in favor of QB Online. Even the QB Desktop for the Mac version has some new 2021 updates worthwhile. 

If you want to use QB Desktop but need remote access one option is to have the software hosted. For more information on options please check out my free white paper on, "Remote Access for QuickBooks". Go to the "PR" menu (for Public Relations) and download it from there. Right now I'm only recommending Swizznet Hosting so please share your success stories with other hosts?

Learning is one of the best parts of life!

Using your iPhone (Android) with QuickBooks for Invoicing Customers

I'm researching this now for clients and here is where I'm at as of now.

 

QB Desktop: Intuit used to have a mobile app for QB Enterprise (all the desktop products) in 2018, but they pulled that in favor of the App store app for QB Online only. I'm looking at the QB Desktop Apps section another poster pointed to and there is an app called Invoice Tracker that syncs with desktop, not by Intuit, but by a 3rd party. I have not tried it myself. 

 

QB Desktop Hosted: This is when you pay someone to host your QuickBooks Desktop software so as many users as you pay for can get anywhere, anytime access, the way one would with online, only with the advantage of the better quality QB Desktop software (including Enterprise). One client uses a host that we access using RDC (remote data connection). I can get access on my PC and my Mac, but does that lend itself to access by an iPhone? Another client is using a host that uses Citrix. I can access that one directly through Chrome, but does Citrix work well with the iPhone and Safari? When researching a host if iPhone (Android) invoicing is important, I would make that a primary question, and test it before committing everyone in accounting to that host?

 

QB Online. This is the product Intuit wants to sell because of the profit margins. When one goes to the App store and see QB Accountant, this connects with QB Online. I was at a client's last week for whom it was a big deal and he was super happy with how it worked. But then in my opinion QB Online is overpriced, slow, and buggy software so it's a trade off. For example, that same client has been overpaying salestax because the salestax feature & reports don't work for love or money. 

 

I'm still looking for better information? Once I get it, I will update this blog article with better information and add it to my white paper on "Remote Access Options for QuickBooks". If you have anything to add or recommend, please do. This is an important topic.