QuickBooks Online For Dummies. Marmel Elaine

tools used to search for a transaction, go to a report, and view recent transactions are combined into one Search box near the right side of the screen. And third, the Accountant Tools menu (the briefcase icon) displays tools not found in QBO that help accountants manage client companies.

       FIGURE 1-3: An open company in QBOA.

      Even though an open company looks a bit different depending on whether it is opened using QBO or QBOA, the basic functionality doesn’t really change, other than accountants having more options than end users have.

      

Because QBOA contains functionality that QBO doesn’t have, I’ve organized this book so that QBO users can focus on Part 2 when using the product, and QBOA users can use the information in both Parts 2 and 3 to work with a company online.

      To browse or not to browse …

In addition to working in a browser, you also can work in mobile apps. Figure 1-4 shows QBO in the Windows mobile app, and Figure 1-5 shows QBOA just after opening it in the Windows mobile app (but before opening any client company).

       FIGURE 1-4: QBO while working in the Windows mobile app.

       FIGURE 1-5: QBOA while working in the Windows app.

      

Mobile apps are also available for Macs and iPhone, iPad, and Android devices at no additional cost to you. And, you’ll find Pinch and Zoom functionality now in the mobile apps and in browsers on mobile devices.

      If you compare Figure 1-4 to Figure 1-1 and Figure 1-5 to Figure 1-2, you’ll notice that, once again, QBOA users have the same additional options in the Windows app that they have in a browser. The menus at the top of the screen in the mobile app are the biggest visual difference between QBO and QBOA in the mobile apps and QBO and QBOA in a browser. If you’ve been a QuickBooks desktop product user, you know that you can use the menus to navigate. Under the hood, the Windows app offers some options that you won’t find readily available in a browser, such as the ability to work in multiple windows.

      So take your choice: Work in a browser, work in a mobile app, or work in both, depending on your needs at the moment! You’re not limited; you don’t have to choose between an app and a browser. Work in one or the other, as suits your needs at the moment.

      Understanding the Cloud

      Just to make sure we’re on the same page here, I’m defining the cloud as software and data housed securely in remote data centers (not on your office premises) and accessed securely using the Internet. Working in the cloud can increase your efficiency by offering you the opportunity to work anywhere, communicate easily with others, and collaborate in real time.

      

Regardless of whether you use QBO or QBOA in a browser or in an app, both the software and the data are housed on servers controlled by Intuit and accessible via the Internet.

      In the traditional model of software use, you buy software and install it on your computer. Or you might buy the software and install it on a vendor’s server. QBO and QBOA fall into the category of Software as a Service (SaaS). You typically don’t buy SaaS software; instead, you rent it (that is, you purchase a subscription).

      Because SaaS software is typically web-based software, you typically access SaaS software over the Internet using a browser. A browser is software installed on your local computer or mobile device that you use to, well, browse the Internet, looking up cool stuff like what the stock market is doing today, what kind of weather can you expect on Friday when your vacation starts, how to get to your boss’s house for the party he’s having, and – oh, yes – to work with web-based software such as QBO and QBOA. In the case of QBO and QBOA, you can work with these web-based SaaS products using either a browser or an app you download to your computer.

      Using web-based software can be attractive for a number of reasons. For example, using web-based software, you have access to that software’s information anywhere, anytime, from any device – stationary or mobile.

      

Some folks see the “anywhere, anytime” feature as a potential disadvantage because it makes information too readily available – and therefore a target for hackers. Intuit stores your data on servers that use bank-level security and encryption, and Intuit automatically backs up your data for you. Other folks see the “anywhere, anytime” feature as a disadvantage for exactly the reason that they have access to the software’s information anywhere, anytime, and from any device, offering the opportunity to work more than they’d like. You are in charge of your life, so … no comment on this “disadvantage.”

      In addition, web-based software like QBO and QBOA promotes collaboration and can help you save time. Using QBO and QBOA, accountants, bookkeepers, and clients can communicate about issues that arise, as described in Chapter 14.

      Then there’s the issue of keeping software up to date. Desktop software such as QuickBooks is updated typically once each year. Unlike their desktop cousin, QBO and QBOA are updated every two to four weeks.

      

Because updating occurs so frequently to QBO and QBOA, by the time this book is published, things (and screens) might have changed. Actually, make that “probably have changed.”

      Should You Move to the Cloud?

      Before you make the move to the cloud, you should consider the needs of your business in the following areas:

      ❯❯ Invoicing, point of sale, electronic payment, and customer relationship management

      ❯❯ Financial and tax reporting

      ❯❯ Budgeting

      ❯❯ Time-tracking and payroll

      ❯❯ Inventory, job costing, and job scheduling

      ❯❯ Managing company expenses and vendor bills

      Beyond the advantages described in the preceding section, the particular needs of a business might dictate whether you can use QBO. For example, QBO won’t work for you if your business has industry-specific needs or is mid-sized and needs to use ODBC-compliant applications. In addition, QBO won’t work for you if you need to

      ❯❯ Track your balance sheet by class

      ❯❯ Process more than 350,000 transactions annually

      ❯❯ Track labor costs

      ❯❯ Manage a robust inventory

      ❯❯ Prepare and track progress invoices

      

Robust inventory means that you make and sell goods instead of selling finished goods. If you sell finished goods, QBO will work for you.

      In any of these cases, you would probably be better off with one of Intuit’s desktop products.