Last week, we talked about why your organization should switch to QuickBooks Online (QBO) from QuickBooks Desktop. If you read the reasons and thought – this sounds great! Don’t do anything just yet, check out the reasons below on why you may not want to take the plunge.
- Better reporting – due to the desktop version being around much longer, the reporting functions are much more robust. Users have more options with the types of reports being prepared and also more options with filteringthe data . This can make preparing reports more efficient since it reduces using other softwares, like Excel, to pull out only required information.
- Batch invoicing – If your organization prepares many invoices for its members, such as for membership renewals, QBO may not be the best option for you since it does not offer batch invoicing. Being able to create multiple invoices in one go can save a huge amount of time and allows your accounting department to focus on more value added tasks.
- One-time fee – QuickBooks Desktop is purchased outright whereas QBO is a cloud based monthly subscription. To look at comparable versions, the desktop will cost $500 and should be upgraded every 3 years, whereas the monthly subscription is $27/month. Over 3 years, the monthly fees will total $972. This is almost double the cost and for a not-for-profit, it can be a deal breaker.
- If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it – sometimes things are just working well as is and the desktop version may have everything you already need. It isn’t always necessary to change for the sake of changing. As with any new software, there will be a learning curve and time and effort required during the transition. This could take away resources from other duties while showing little return on investment.
After analyzing the costs and benefits of both versions, QuickBooks Desktop might be the right option for your organization at this time. It is important though to check back before your next upgrade and re-evaluate the options.