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We know many of you are longtime QuickBooks users, so before we all take a break for the holidays, we wanted to let you know about an important change to how QuickBooks is charging for its services.

This will be of particular importance to businesses currently using QuickBooks Desktop. While this used to be a less expensive option for some users, this will no longer be the case, as Intuit (the parent company of QuickBooks) has made several strategic decisions to push customers toward their cloud-based product, QuickBooks Online. 

In the past, you may have purchased QuickBooks Desktop with the knowledge that it would work for several years before you had to upgrade. From now on, though, the Desktop program will have to be upgraded every year. Without a paid upgrade, you will lose functionality in the program. Moreover, a modified pricing structure will make it uneconomical for many of our clients. Essentially, the cheapest Desktop version will cost $649.00 per year, and discounts will no longer be available through third parties. In addition, if you have multiple users in QuickBooks Desktop, your price will increase even more. For a QuickBooks Desktop file with five users, your new price will be $1,999 annually.

These changes are being made by Intuit in order to move users to QuickBooks Online, and by making that move, you can save some money on your software. If you switch to QuickBooks Online’s “Simple Start” or “Essentials” package, your annual cost will be just $280 or $520, respectively. For a company with five users, QuickBooks Online “Plus” would be the right fit and would cost $750 annually. 

For those who may not be familiar with QuickBooks Online, it is a comprehensive accounting tool that contains the same functions as QuickBooks Desktop, with a different presentation and user experience, and an entire library of apps that can add a whole host of features. Our firm offers custom QuickBooks setup and training, which helps clients get comfortable in a new program more quickly. We can even take care of the conversion on your behalf. All we need is a backup of your company file.

Please be aware that you might see special offers directly from QuickBooks that appear to be cheaper, but these introductory rates will expire, leaving you with higher long-term costs. Our experience in conversion and training, and our working relationship with Intuit will allow us to ensure that any change you make is done in the most cost-effective and the least inconvenient manner possible. We encourage you to contact us to help guide this change, so we can help ensure that you have a good experience. 

In closing, this is not an ultimatum from your CPA firm that you have to make a software change against your will. This is a heads up that Intuit has made strategic decisions that will effectively begin phasing out QuickBooks Desktop – which means you may have some decisions to make. We hope you’ll allow us to be a part of the decision-making process that results in you choosing the best software for your business moving forward. We are confident that we can help you make any necessary changes with great effectiveness. 

Happy holidays from all of us at Wilson Toellner CPA.