Ginevra Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Anybody know of a good non-accountant’s program that is fairly intuitive to use but that has a far better user support presence? I switched to QB Online in Nov, from years-long Desktop version use, but there are several things I cannot figure out. You have to pay for real help. You have to pay a second subscription to do payroll! I am only paying ONE employee - dh, but I have to pay an additional $45 every month for that, unless I just bootleg his paychecks, which then screws up/does not keep track of the payroll liabilities. It also expects to *automatically* pay the payroll liabilities and now I can only change that to non-automated beginning February. But I have already paid Q4 taxes in January because they were due, whether I had the calculated payments or not, so I just paid the same as Q3. Anyway…didn’t mean to get on a soapbox but I really need to either make QB Online work for me right now or abandon it entirely and start a different program while we’re still in the first month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Check out Wave to see if it might work for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggie96 Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 DH and I have run our own business for 16.5 years. In the beginning we did not use QB (the name of the software in 2006 escapes me now, part of our ERP system used for what we sell). After about 6 months in business we started applying for a small business loan/LOC. Our Chase banker (a mid-level manager at the time that handled business relations, super smart guy that moved up their ladder very fast) strongly suggested that we convert everything to QB. He told us that he had seen time and again small businesses struggle to be taken financially seriously using "other" stuff for bookkeeping (even though the reports gave the same data). He told us that the IRS, State Comptroller, and banks are incredibly familiar with QB, and in the end it would be much easier on us. Thus began QB for us. When the pricing went up recently, I did the same thing and started looking around, finding nothing cheap or easy, plus transitioning would suck. So I kept us with QB + payroll. I HATE that they raised the stinkin' prices. 😞 BUT when QB made a mistake in our payroll (software glitch that I didn't catch, they did), they were super helpful to work with to fix it. Also, I have now been through 2 state audits and both times the auditors told me the specific reports and parameters form QB that they wanted. Super easy. We only have 2 employees so the payroll module price is stupid, BUT at least I know it's handled correctly and the government people "trusted" the data. Also, I have not ever had to pay for QB support (although I know you can). I have used the community help in the software when needed or just googled "blah blah QB Online". When I did need to contact them (maybe 5 times in all these years), I did the live chat box (free) and then they had me call a couple of those times. Just food for thought and another perspective. Trash it if not helpful. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Thank you; that IS helpful. I feel quite frustrated with a bunch of the QB online at the moment. It seems like whatever it is I need to do, I have to fight with the system to make it do what I was used to just doing with no issue at all. The main thing I was happy about is direct import from our banks, because trying to find small discrepancies would take hours and hours of manual work. So that is one thing that has been great; having the checks and fees and direct deposits just show up in there automatically so I don’t have to constantly go through the physical checkbook and rectify it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 We've used Quickbooks Online for years, and I am getting more and more annoyed with it. I don't use them for payroll, so I can't speak to that, but we've seen support deteriorate over the past 2 years, and especially in the last 6 months. They used to have excellent support. Little issues keep popping up with no resolution in sight, and the price increase with no added benefit is really frustrating. They've put more into the advanced version, which is too expensive for smaller businesses. Freshbooks is the one I plan on checking out next when I have some time, but we are in the process of updating a legacy accounting system and will probably end up using that when it is ready. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marybarr Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 (edited) I had been using Quickbooks Online for a long time, but it's for sure not the best one. I have noticed a lot of errors and decided to find something else. I've been using Wave for a month, and I like it so far. I want to try something else just to compare, but Wave is much better than QB Online. For me, technology and finance are very interesting, and my work is connected to them, so from time to time, I think about creating some software, which will be better because I have a lot of experience in using different apps, so I think it would be helpful with creation. But I'm not sure that my skills and resources are enough now. Some time ago, I came across a blog article where I read some very interesting info about creating AI software, and now I have even more ideas. But in that guide, I saw how long and complicated that process is, and I think I need to think about possible projects more carefully to see whether it's worth starting. Edited April 1 by marybarr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Listening carefully here.... I am a bookkeeper that has used QB desktop for over 20 years with multiple clients. I am FED UP with them. Customer service the last 5 years has been worthless, and they are pushing so hard to get everyone to switch to online, even though all I ever hear about is how no one likes QB online, how many problems it has, and how many less features it has than desktop. My companies are loyal enough that they would follow whatever I recommended as far as their accounting software. Obviously I am crazy expert with QB, but just so tired of the poor service and push to online that I am looking at alternatives. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Blue Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 @goldberrywe use QB for our small business. We are planning to retire in just a few years. We have been getting the notices that QB desktop soon will no longer be supported. For now, I’m going to ignore that and hope we can squeeze by until retirement with the desktop version. I have never used any other software, and it would be a pain to have to transition to something else when we are so close to the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 QuickBooks Online payroll is a garbage product or at least it was a garbage project last I used it. At that time, it would not reliably integrate with QBO or allow staffing allocations to be done seamlessly. I saw the writing on the wall for QBs desktop and switched the last of my clients to QBO in 2018. I have found it does almost everything I want + somethings that QB Desktop never did very well. I don’t use QB for payroll though, I use Gusto for all my clients. Hating on QBO is a little hobby for most bookkeepers but I have found it to be much better than a lot of people think. There are lower cost payroll options. There are also bookkeeping systems that are more intuitive than QBO- FreshBooks and Xero get good reviews. One of my larger clients switched to Aplos and it’s great. I wouldn’t necessarily expect to use the same system for both payroll and bookkeeping though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 10 hours ago, Indigo Blue said: @goldberrywe use QB for our small business. We are planning to retire in just a few years. We have been getting the notices that QB desktop soon will no longer be supported. For now, I’m going to ignore that and hope we can squeeze by until retirement with the desktop version. I have never used any other software, and it would be a pain to have to transition to something else when we are so close to the end. Payroll will go away at some point but if you don’t have payroll you are probably ok. Or if you don’t mind recording payroll from another service in QBD. I would recommend getting the most recent version of QBD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Blue Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 5 hours ago, LucyStoner said: Payroll will go away at some point but if you don’t have payroll you are probably ok. Or if you don’t mind recording payroll from another service in QBD. I would recommend getting the most recent version of QBD. Thanks. Yes, I should probably update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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