Learn the top reasons organizations move away from QuickBooks.
Since its initial release in 1983, Intuit’s QuickBooks has helped many small and mid-size businesses manage their finances. Known for its ease of use, the popular software has provided the basic functionality that many start-ups needed to launch their enterprises. However, as they grow, many for-profit and nonprofit organizations eventually realize that QuickBooks no longer meets their needs.
Let’s take a look at the top reasons it may be time for your organization to upgrade to a more robust financial software solution.
Software has critical limitations and is stuck in the past.
Although QuickBooks continues to provide value to organizations, many businesses discover that the software has critical limitations as their operations grow. As a result, finance teams often make compromises that lower productivity and develop inefficient workarounds and home-grown applications just to get their jobs done. Common QuickBooks shortcomings include inflexible processes, data accessibility issues, and inadequate reporting. Businesses too often find themselves burdened by a patchwork of ancillary spreadsheets and manual processes — extra steps that slow down work and increase the risk of errors.
Top pain points that QuickBooks users encounter.
A TechValidate study revealed the top common pain points that QuickBooks users encounter as their organizations push past the limits of the software’s functionality:
1. Over-reliance on spreadsheets to support financial processes and reporting
QuickBooks doesn’t provide the built-in capabilities for revenue recognition, multi-entity consolidation, and other complex processes.
2. Excess manual entry and re-entry
Many businesses rely on manually integrating QuickBooks with their other key business applications via CSV dumps, rekeying, and other processes.
3. Limited access to reports and information
QuickBooks offers only basic reports and does not provide dashboards. Together, these deficiencies prevent a business from using real-time visibility into its metrics to drive better decision-making.
4. Difficulty in adapting to new business requirements
As a business’s data volume increases and calculations become more complex, delays in QuickBooks screens and menus become noticeable, and printing out a report becomes a time-consuming nuisance. The risks of system crashes and data loss also increase.
5. Inadequate controls around financial processes
Because QuickBooks relies on so many manual processes, it creates a higher risk of data-entry errors and data duplications. These errors can result in costly financial mistakes.
The Advantages of Cloud-Based Financial Software
Just a few years ago, businesses that had outgrown QuickBooks had limited options when seeking mid-market financial software — all of which required buying servers and other expensive equipment, as well as hiring IT staff to customize and maintain the software. Fortunately, cloud computing has completely changed the landscape. Today, businesses can adopt cloud-based financial software that requires only a web browser and an internet connection to use. Because a vendor supplies the software, servers, and IT staff, cloud solutions remove the cost and risk of stepping up to business-class financial software.
Cloud-based financial software provides many advantages, including:
- Real-time data and processes: Remote employees and external users can access data and processes securely.
- Flexible reporting: The software delivers timely, accurate reports with relevant insights into data.
- Role-based dashboards: Users and stakeholders across the organization can get the information and visibility they need.
- Increased productivity: Automation simplifies accounts receivables, payables, and other accounting processes. Integration enables organizations to build an interoperable system of best-in-class applications.
- Scalability: The solution grows with a business, providing financial controls even for high-volume, high-transaction businesses.
- Internal controls: Robust financial controls ensure compliance and speed up auditing.
Deciding Whether It’s Time to Move On
If your financial organization is currently using QuickBooks, is your team exporting data to multiple spreadsheets, creating additional journal entries each month, setting up dummy accounts, or developing home-grown applications? These are just a few of the signs that the time has come for your business to upgrade its financial software.
Cloud-based financial management solutions like Sage Intacct enable financial organizations to work more effectively with their stakeholders. The only AICPA-preferred accounting management solution, it automates financial processes to increase accuracy, provides actionable insights into financial and operational data, and improves compliance.
For insights into identifying the signs that your organization has outgrown QuickBooks —and how it can tap into the power of modern cloud accounting software— download “Life After QuickBooks: Why It’s Time to Step Up to Sage Intacct for Business-Class Financial Software” today. This brief white paper clarifies how upgrading your financial software can help your organization improve its financial operations and make better, data-driven business decisions.