QUICKBOOKS PRO VS ONLINE

[Neto]

I think I may have mentioned that we were using QB Non-Profit 2018 for our congregation's missions account until recently (now using 2016). Anyway, the design of the checks hasn't changed, they still work just the same. We order them from techchecks.net. I would just suggest getting the window envelopes from the same place, as we had window alignment issues with these checks until we started using their envelopes.

[mike]

There is something about the old way of distributing software that I like. You buy it, you own it. It works forever. You upgrade when and if you want to.

But I also understand that software constantly needs to be developed and improved, especially software that is critical in running a business. I spend thousands a year to upgrade and maintain support for my POS software and it is well worth it.

Where the old model works well is for smaller businesses or individuals for whom it simply doesn't make sense to pay a monthly subscription for Microsoft Office (I finally caved and did this at work) or Adobe Creative Suite, etc. The new subscription models are totally pushing out these types of users.

[Neto]

There is something about the old way of distributing software that I like. You buy it, you own it. It works forever. You upgrade when and if you want to.
Where the old model works well is for smaller businesses or individuals for whom it simply doesn't make sense to pay a monthly subscription for Microsoft Office (I finally caved and did this at work)....

I still use Word for Windows 97. I like the old Menu Bar, and also use LibreOffice a lot, so the similarity helps me switch back & forth w/o confusion, or needing to search for the things Microsoft hid away some obscure place in the later versions.
(I used Word for DOS, purchased in 1991, in translation work until I stopped working on it in around 2007. If I went back to translation work, I would probably still use it, because the conversion process into the standard format marker text files required for Scripture printing is very straight-forward. But the main thing that kept me using it back then is the ease with which you can change all of the paragraph styles by simply attaching a different "style sheet". And you could edit those style sheets directly, like a text file. When I was going to print for checking with a native speaker, I would attach the style sheet that had triple spacing, print it, then close the file w/o saving changes. That gave me plenty of room to write in corrections and options offered by the translation assistants.)

[knotdust]

Thanks to all of you for your comments and experiences. It has been a big help in making some decisions.

I have a good friend who is finding the limitations of even Quickbooks Enterprise desktop. He does all the accounting and some of the networking for a retail business with 2 stores selling a diverse group of products. Their biggest seller last Christmas was the Big Green Egg. When they have an open house Quickbooks really struggles to keep up with the amount of transactions they have during those events. He is beginning the exploration of what their next accounting package will be. He also is learning how to do some of the computer networking so they can keep all but the most complex work in house. So I am hearing how Quickbooks has its limitations as well. I know also that a Brotherhood Aid Plan I represent just switched from Quickbooks to another software program because of some of those same limitations.

I may hazard a guess here but I wonder whether Quickbooks may be fading out somewhat. My personal opinion is that the Quickbooks on line version was not well thought out, planned or written. There are also limitations in the Desktop version as well. I'm not sure that Intuit has kept up well with making the needed updates or that they have been responsive to the needs and wants of the users. Things might be ripe for another software program to come on the market that will serve the small to midsize business and non-profits more effectively. There are much more complex packages out there for larger businesses that work well. Some are designed for various markets. I know the one we had at my last work place was designed for the manufacturing industry. We didn't utilize nearly all the tools but we were learning how to make it serve us. The company was somewhat responsive to the customers needs. Years ago I worked for a company that was using an Oracle program that was very complex and detailed

It has all been very instructive and helpful. Some of you are much more knowledgeable of some of the detailed parts of computing than I am and that is why I posed the original question. So thanks once again.

[Neto]

The two main accounting systems I know of that are responsive to the users are ABC Accounting, and Eagle Business (EBMS). ABC has been operating since the mid 70's, and is run by conservative Mennonites. EBMS is a product of Esch Computer, and is also run by Mennonites, but I don't get the impression that they are especially conservative. (I did get my first desktop computer from Esch Computer, back in 97 or 98, while they briefly had a store here in Holmes County. It served me well for the remaining time we were in Brazil, till 2003, when we moved back to the States. I sold it to a Brazilian missionary about a year later, when I had to clear out my office in the Wycliffe translation center there.)
Anyway, those accounting systems are expensive to get into, and maybe a bit of a steep learning curve, but they will build custom modules to make their system do what ever you need it to do. With QuickBooks, what you see is what you get. Most of the new features for quite a few years are all internet tools, useless junk for non-internet users like all of my clients. One business I work with did switch to EBMS, because they were running out of names in QB Premier, and Enterprise Solutions had already moved to subscription only. They really like EBMS, and would never consider going back to an Intuit product.
I do agree that if someone could come up with a good accounting system that could sell for a similar price range as QB, it could gain a good part of the market. Another issue, however, is that accountants pretty much all use or know QB, and learning another for only a few customers wouldn't go over too well. So at first, the main users would probably be the smaller businesses that only submit P&L reports, etc. to their accountant at tax time. I think that one feature that might draw an interest from current QB Pro & Premier users would be the ability to do FIFO costing instead of just cost averaging for inventory management. But I'm not an accountant, and have no formal training in accounting at all, so I could well be wrong about that.

[silentreader]

The two main accounting systems I know of that are responsive to the users are ABC Accounting, and Eagle Business (EBMS). ABC has been operating since the mid 70's, and is run by conservative Mennonites. EBMS is a product of Esch Computer, and is also run by Mennonites, but I don't get the impression that they are especially conservative. (I did get my first desktop computer from Esch Computer, back in 97 or 98, while they briefly had a store here in Holmes County. It served me well for the remaining time we were in Brazil, till 2003, when we moved back to the States. I sold it to a Brazilian missionary about a year later, when I had to clear out my office in the Wycliffe translation center there.)
Anyway, those accounting systems are expensive to get into, and maybe a bit of a steep learning curve, but they will build custom modules to make their system do what ever you need it to do. With QuickBooks, what you see is what you get. Most of the new features for quite a few years are all internet tools, useless junk for non-internet users like all of my clients. One business I work with did switch to EBMS, because they were running out of names in QB Premier, and Enterprise Solutions had already moved to subscription only. They really like EBMS, and would never consider going back to an Intuit product.
I do agree that if someone could come up with a good accounting system that could sell for a similar price range as QB, it could gain a good part of the market. Another issue, however, is that accountants pretty much all use or know QB, and learning another for only a few customers wouldn't go over too well. So at first, the main users would probably be the smaller businesses that only submit P&L reports, etc. to their accountant at tax time. I think that one feature that might draw an interest from current QB Pro & Premier users would be the ability to do FIFO costing instead of just cost averaging for inventory management. But I'm not an accountant, and have no formal training in accounting at all, so I could well be wrong about that.

I'm somewhat out of the loop on all this but I may or may not find myself getting involved, so this may be a stupid question.
I don't suppose either Oracle or OpenOffice have any programs that would work?

[mike]

I don't suppose either Oracle or OpenOffice have any programs that would work?

https://www.gnucash.org/features.phtml

[silentreader]

I don't suppose either Oracle or OpenOffice have any programs that would work?

https://www.gnucash.org/features.phtml

Thanks, mike, do you or anyone else on here have any experience with that?

[silentreader]

The two main accounting systems I know of that are responsive to the users are ABC Accounting, and Eagle Business (EBMS). ABC has been operating since the mid 70's, and is run by conservative Mennonites. EBMS is a product of Esch Computer, and is also run by Mennonites, but I don't get the impression that they are especially conservative. (I did get my first desktop computer from Esch Computer, back in 97 or 98, while they briefly had a store here in Holmes County. It served me well for the remaining time we were in Brazil, till 2003, when we moved back to the States. I sold it to a Brazilian missionary about a year later, when I had to clear out my office in the Wycliffe translation center there.)
Anyway, those accounting systems are expensive to get into, and maybe a bit of a steep learning curve, but they will build custom modules to make their system do what ever you need it to do. With QuickBooks, what you see is what you get. Most of the new features for quite a few years are all internet tools, useless junk for non-internet users like all of my clients. One business I work with did switch to EBMS, because they were running out of names in QB Premier, and Enterprise Solutions had already moved to subscription only. They really like EBMS, and would never consider going back to an Intuit product.
I do agree that if someone could come up with a good accounting system that could sell for a similar price range as QB, it could gain a good part of the market. Another issue, however, is that accountants pretty much all use or know QB, and learning another for only a few customers wouldn't go over too well. So at first, the main users would probably be the smaller businesses that only submit P&L reports, etc. to their accountant at tax time. I think that one feature that might draw an interest from current QB Pro & Premier users would be the ability to do FIFO costing instead of just cost averaging for inventory management. But I'm not an accountant, and have no formal training in accounting at all, so I could well be wrong about that.

I'm somewhat out of the loop on all this but I may or may not find myself getting involved, so this may be a stupid question.
I don't suppose either Oracle or OpenOffice have any programs that would work?

I use OpenOffice for everything "office" on a personal level, including creating documents (church-related) but I have no idea if it would work on a small-business level, including project cost tracking.

[Neto]

I'm somewhat out of the loop on all this but I may or may not find myself getting involved, so this may be a stupid question.
I don't suppose either Oracle or OpenOffice have any programs that would work?

I use OpenOffice for everything "office" on a personal level, including creating documents (church-related) but I have no idea if it would work on a small-business level, including project cost tracking.

GNUCash has no inventory tracking at all.