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Six Reasons You Should Recommend Your QuickBooks Desktop Clients Move to QuickBooks Online and How to Make the Change Less Scary

By: Dave Kersting

Change is never easy. We’re human, and humans like consistency and predictability. But sometimes, change is necessary, and to our surprise it turns out to be a good thing.

For me, the perfect example is in one of my all-time favorite shows: Grey’s Anatomy. After years of watching it religiously, I couldn’t believe the character of Addison Montgomery was leaving. I was shocked, appalled, confused! How could the show possibly survive without her? Then, the next thing I knew, a spinoff was born. Private Practice centered around Addison Montgomery and soon it was my new favorite show, even better than the original.

Like my initial reluctance to lose a beloved character on my favorite show, your clients may resist a change in their accounting software. Fortunately, like Private Practice (in my not-so-humble-opinion), QuickBooks Online is even better than the original and well worth the discomfort of a little change.

Most accounting professionals know the reasons why getting clients on QuickBooks Online is better for us. But what about for your clients? Here are six ways moving to QuickBooks Online will benefit your clients and their businesses, plus one way to make the transition painless for you and your clients.

1. QuickBooks Online is available from anywhere you have internet

QuickBooks Online is cloud-based, which means clients can access their financial data from anywhere with an internet connection. This makes it easier for clients to collaborate with their accountant, work remotely, and access their financial information on the go.

What I love is being able to utilize the QBO App when I’m away from the office and want to answer questions my client may have. Whether you’re on the accountant side or the client side, the mobile app provides a seamless experience to keep finances organized and business running smoothly from anywhere.

2. You never have to install updates or buy new software versions

The days of purchasing and installing new software versions are over. With QuickBooks Online, clients receive automatic updates and upgrades without having to manually install new software versions. This ensures that clients are always using the latest, most secure, version of the software and have access to the latest features and functionality. Out of sight out of mind – and all included with the regular subscription price.

3. QuickBooks Online provides real-time collaboration

QuickBooks Online allows multiple users to access the same company file simultaneously, making it easier for clients and their accountants to collaborate on financial data in real-time. If you’re thinking that you can already have multiple users in QuickBooks Desktop, this is true, but how many times is it in single-user mode when you try to access it? QBO eliminates this frustrating roadblock because it’s made for collaboration.

4. QuickBooks Online is more secure than your desktop computer or local network

QuickBooks Online uses bank-level security measures to protect client financial data, including encryption, firewalls, and multi-factor authentication. This can give clients peace of mind knowing that their financial data is secure and protected.

5. QuickBooks Online has built-in remote sharing capabilities

Sure, we as accountants can use third-party software to remote into our clients’ computers and gain access to their QuickBooks Desktop, but what else are we gaining access to? The truth is, remote access to an entire computer or local network open the door for us to see things we don’t want or need. Things that could create security risks for us and our businesses. Plus, we may have to work around our clients’ office hours to remote into a computer at their location.

Do you trust your clients’ information security and anti-virus technology? Are you certain everything is secure enough that there’s no chance a malicious actor could use that connection to access your system? All of these fears disappear by using the remote-in feature directly in QuickBooks Online.

6. QuickBooks Online offers more integrations, effortlessly

QuickBooks Desktop can integrate with many other software programs, but the process can be complicated. QuickBooks Online has a simpler integration process and can integrate with over 650 cloud-based software programs. This gives you and your clients a step up with automations, inventory, customer relationship management, email marketing, workflow applications, and many others.

Overcoming the conversion and migration barrier

Let’s say you’ve presented all these benefits to your QuickBooks Desktop clients and they’re ready to make the move. You know what’s next: conversion and migration. Did anyone else just hear spooky music?

If you (like us at Capovario and many other accounting professionals) don’t want to be in charge of converting or migrating a client, the great news is there’s a solution that will make your and your clients’ lives a lot easier. Intuit has lots of resources to make moving online easier and more efficient, and your first stop should be the desktop migration page for accountants.

If you’re interested in doing some of the work (remember, this can be another source of revenue for your firm!) you’ll definitely want to check out the online migration tool. On the other hand, if you want assistance from the Intuit pros who do this all day, every day, call the migration experts at 800-459-5183, Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time.

Regardless of how you do it, and who you choose to help, when all is said and done your clients will be more secure, more productive, and more efficient on QuickBooks Online. This is one time where we can assure you the spin-off is better than the original.

This is a paid partnership with Intuit.

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