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QuickBooks Online is here (almost)

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15th Nov 2010
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Intuit has opened up a UK beta test site of its QuickBooks Online software to solicit feedback from users over the next three months.

The UK version of QuickBooks Online has transcended rumour and become something akin to a Samuel Beckett play. A version of the program launched in north America more than a year ago and won praise for a smooth-looking interface and free “Simple Start” edition for sole traders. So far, however,  the company has not released solid figures on the number of users who have taken it up across the Atlantic.

To take part in the UK user testing process, you can log into the QuickBooks Online site in just a few minutes and access the ledgers from any internet connection and browser. This is the standard approach to launching a Cloud application, but what is different about this application is that Intuit is asking testers for £3-£5 (depending on version used) to take part.

Intuit said the charge “lets us test the sign up process properly, so we can be sure it's easy to use”. At the end of the trial period, active beta testers will get a £20 Amazon gift certificate, with the most active participants getting thank-you vouchers worth up to £200.

Intuit continues: “If we decide to roll out the full version of QuickBooks Online, you'll automatically be moved to the full version of the QuickBooks Online service you selected during the beta, if and until you cancel.”

The current rate card puts the post-launch monthly fee for Simple Start at £8-£13 (as opposed to the free US version), with the Essentials version costing  £20-£25 and a Plus licence £28-£33 a month.

Postings from our US sister site AccountingWEB.com indicate that QuickBooks Online is a stripped down version of the desktop software. However, one advantages of using it is that if you remain a dedicated desktop QuickBooks user, you should be able to download a QuickBooks Online file and run it on your on premise software, for example to make adjustments to client books or produce more sophisticated reports than the default online templates.

Support for mobile platforms in north America means that iPhone, BlackBerry and Android users can see and manage payments, receivables, bank balances and customer contact information on their smartphones.

KashFlow’s Duane Jackson got his retaliation in early with a blog post outlining the basic details of the Intuit offering and questioning the approach. “

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The main reason I'm not at all worried about their entrance into this market is that they clearly don't get it,” he told AccountingWEB.

“There's much more to SaaS than just having a web-based product on a pay monthly basis. The fact that they are charging beta users and doing the old 'forget to cancel and we'll charge you' routine shows they just haven't grasped the subtleties of the seismic shift that's underway.”

AccountingWEB.co.uk member John Perry was looking forward to taking advantage of a "decent" online version of QuickBooks, but commented in an Any Answers thread, "This is not it."

He continued: "I am not prepared to pay to test it and I definitely wouldn't commit a client's data to it. Even the beta website says that, if you are already using a PC version of Quickbooks, you probably shouldn't change to the online version."

The import-export options are more limited that this report first suggested, Perry noted. There is no current facility to upload an existing QuickBooks file to the online version and exports require going via Excel, he found.

Finding fault with both the initial product and its marketing, Perry went on to comment, "The pricing is way over the too." Where the recommended price for Simple Start PC is £99 plus VAT, the online edition will cost £8-£13 after launch. "It probably doesn't need an accountant to work out that Intuit are asking a lot more for the web-based version than they get for a (probably superior) PC version."

Replies (8)

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By carnmores
15th Nov 2010 19:34

we have 30 clients on QB

so i reckon i will be able to make my own mind up without its competitors dissing it!

i have been waiting for the SaaS version rather than jumping ship early to something else

i will be critical if necessary but my suspicionis that it will do what i want it to

the pricing i have seen and signed upto does not bear relation to that staed by Duane

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By Simon Oates
16th Nov 2010 16:01

Transfer between online and desktop

I like QuickBooks and have recommended it to clients for years however the following comment on the sign up page does worry me:

"If you already have QuickBooks on your computer, it's not possible to transfer your data to QuickBooks Online. It's best to stick with your current version of QuickBooks for now."

This appears to say that the product will be aimed at new users only - are they really the best people to beta test a product? If the product does get a full UK launch will it be possible to transfer data from online to desktop - the advantage mentioned in the article - or are they going to be incompatible?

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By carnmores
16th Nov 2010 16:28

the problem initially is the number of different versions that a

and of course the clouders are correct it couldnt possibly happen the other way round - my feeling is that they will get to a time whne upload will be possible tho i note that it may be possible to download to the desk top - actually i dont really have a problem aboput starting a new data file for most of my clients - i would like to import. iif if possible tho but am not sure of the constraints there yet

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By reghorman
17th Nov 2010 18:47

There is another way for happy users to take full advantage of C

Happy users can put ALL their software online and take the benefits of past investment forward to improve and extend what is already proven. It's called Total Cloud Computing and is delivered using a Virtual Desktop. Everything works fine and requires little end user re-training and disruption to normal information flow.

Quickbook users wishing to go online need not wait for anything new, and they don't need to invest in setting things up. Same goes for any existing in-house single user or networked solution, and the benefits are proven.

Vitual Desktops simplify life, they can accommodate SaaS solutions. Best part is that it comes as a solution that works on any device, anywhere and the performance, even on OLD PC's is extremely fast.

The future is Cloud but not as a part of software re-development.

 

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By carnmores
18th Nov 2010 12:17

what the hell was all that about

total whatever

maybe but in defence of the clouders SaaS this is nonsense 

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By twickers
22nd Nov 2010 13:00

Cloud computing- to try it out

Recommend followers of this thread to try

"Glidefree"    it is a USA provider- Free (absolutely) edition  30g..  provides Email facility and spreadsheet..

you can arrange meetings /share files.... your  can email me at [email protected]... magic stuff  

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By PUREaccountants
23rd Nov 2010 14:39

QB online or off its still...

 QB is a great program, i've been using it since 1997 (or whatever is what called then). Since beginning in practice I have used it for all my book-keeping/payroll and reporting, its a great bit of software. 

But I have recently moved my clients to Xero, a slow process but gaining adoption. Why? Simple really, QB became expensive, the upgrade path from 2006-2008 mean't you lost functionality but paid more for it. The database was completely rebuilt so even the transfer of data from 2006 -2008 was hard. It still cannot work out automatically the various permutations of VAT accounting allowed - honestly??

I have found QB support to be lacking and as a reseller the margins are reduced to almost nothing. 

Their online version is more expensive than other providers such as kashflow or Xero, has less usable add-ons and quite frankly is at least 5 years behind in development. 

If QB had kept development high and brought out upgrades as often as Xero and the likes then perhaps I'd still be with them, but unfortunatley it's adios to desktop for me and hello iPad and a real-world solution.

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By chanpangchi
26th Nov 2010 18:57

Intuit's Web sites hit by major outage

Head to the cloud and foot on the ground.  I love cloud computing becuase it offers enterprise grade  software / infrastructure with a very reasonable monthly premium; however, it does not mean we can forget all the IT policies we have for on premise systems, e.g. security, busienss continuity plan... etc.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20007912-93.html

-- Regards,

[email protected]

http://ca.linkedin.com/in/alginc

http://www.algconsultings.com/

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