Are you finding that the cost of QuickBooks Enterprise is starting to pinch your budget and cash flow?

In this article, I’d like to provide you with a head-to-head cost comparison of QuickBooks Online (QBO) Advanced vs. QuickBooks Enterprise and some important things you need to know.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SUBSCRIPTION

Years ago, users of QuickBooks Enterprise enjoyed the “buy it once, use it for many years” approach.

That all changed in the fall of 2015 when Intuit moved Enterprise to a subscription only model. It’s a 12 month subscription, with the choice to make one annual payment (which is less expensive) or twelve monthly payments.

In other words, “no pay, no play” – if you don’t renew your subscription, Enterprise simply stops working and you have no access to your critical financial information.

QBO has been subscription-based ever since it hit the market, so now the two platforms are equal in that regard.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ANNUAL COST OF QBO ADVANCED VS. QUICKBOOKS ENTERPRISE

I’ve put together a handy little table that provides a comparison of the costs between:

• QuickBooks Enterprise 5 user Silver subscription
• QuickBooks Enterprise 10 user Silver subscription
• QBO Advanced subscription (this version allows for up to 25 users)

Let’s take a closer look…

• The pricing shown for Enterprise reflects the 20% lifetime discount that I offer my clients as a QuickBooks Solution Provider.
  • The pricing shown is the annual payment option. Pricing for the monthly payment option is about 18% higher
  • I’ve purposely left out any references to Advanced Inventory/QuickBooks Platinum as businesses with inventory have a special set of needs. Here’s more info should you need help with inventory management and QuickBooks.
• The pricing shown for QBO Advanced is the current monthly cost of $180 per month * 12 months. As shown in the table, QBO Advanced includes up to 25 users as part of the subscription price

BUT WAIT, WHY DO YOU INCLUDE HOSTING COSTS?

Ask any QBO user, and they will tell you that one of the huge advantages of that product is easy 24/7 access from any web browser or the QBO app on any device. No hassles with remote desktop setups or other IT headaches.

In order to bring Enterprise into the same world of 24/7 access, your business really has two options:

• Contract with a third party hosting company
• Build out your own internal server, remote access software, and IT support to keep it all running

In this example, I’m showing the estimated costs of hosting QuickBooks Enterprise for both the 5 user and 10 user editions. These estimates are based on a $50 per user per month cost figure, which seems to be pretty common these days.

If you choose to substitute your own IT costs for hosting as you work through your own comparison, that’s ok too. Chances are, when you factor in the costs of your own hardware, software and support, it will be even more than those from hosting companies.

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you.

When lining up a cost comparison of QBO Advanced vs. QuickBooks Enterprise, the savings to your checkbook with QBO Advanced are rather substantial.

Based on my quick “back of the envelope” calculations, the savings could range anywhere from $3,600 to over $8,000 per year.

Yes – that’s per YEAR!

BUT HERE IS A HITCH YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

I ‘m guessing the cost savings look very appealing, but I urge you to tap the brakes for just a second…

Beyond the need to ensure that QBO Advanced (and any potential add-ons your business may need) have you covered when it comes to features and functionality, there’s an even bigger issue up front for you to understand.

As of now, there is no direct path to take your existing Enterprise company data file and move it into QBO Advanced format.

Let me repeat that, as it’s super critical – as of now, there is no direct path to move your existing data from Enterprise into QBO Advanced (however, there definitely is a direct path from QuickBooks Pro/Premier into QBO Advanced).

So…

For some businesses, they would be ready in a flash to leave their old Enterprise company file behind due to inaccurate information, corrupted data, and a host of other maladies that lie within. If you haven’t experienced any of the headaches of data corruption or out of balance reports in QuickBooks data files, consider yourself very lucky.

For others, this issue creates a real conundrum which forces them to figure out how to maintain access to their old Enterprise information for purposes such as sales history, year-over-year comparisons, audits, etc.

Fortunately, there are some third-party firms (with no relation to Intuit) that offer migration services from Enterprise to QBO Advanced or migration from Enterprise to QuickBooks Pro/Premier (where possible) to allow a single, non-subscription copy of QuickBooks to be installed for lookup of prior information. Bear in mind that the price tag for services such as these can easily run $3,000 and up depending on a number of different factors with your specific QuickBooks data file.

A COMPELLING CASE?

When you look at the dollars and cents of QBO Advanced vs. Enterprise, the cost differences are certainly compelling!

Are they enough for your business to consider a switch?

MORE ON QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ADVANCED VS. QUICKBOOKS ENTERPRISE:

• 5 Reasons to Consider QBO Advanced over QuickBooks Enterprise
• Is QuickBooks Online Better than QuickBooks Enterprise – Part 1
• Is QuickBooks Online Better than QuickBooks Enterprise – Part 2
• Is QuickBooks Online Better than QuickBooks Enterprise – Part 3

RELATED TOPICS:

• Discounts for a full 12 months on QuickBooks Online
• Be sure to visit our QBO Resource Center
• Comparison of QBO Advanced vs. QuickBooks Enterprise
• Third party conversion of Enterprise into QBO Advanced files
• Transaction Pro Importer for a smooth transfer of lists and transactions in and out of QuickBooks
• Need consulting help to sort all this out?