QuickBooks Online For Dummies. Elaine Marmel

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, in QBO Desktop, 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 (also 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 a browser, QBO Desktop, or an app you download to your mobile device.

      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 traditional QuickBooks typically receives a major update once each year, along with periodic software patches that must also be installed. Unlike their desktop cousin, QBO and QBOA are automatically updated every two to four weeks — meaning there’s never a new version to install or patches to deal with.

      

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 that supports making and selling finished goods.

      In any of these cases, you would probably be better off with one of Intuit’s “designed for desktop use” products like traditional QuickBooks Pro, Premier, or Enterprise.

      

When QBO and QBOA were first released, the U.S. version didn’t support multiple currencies. That feature has been added to both products. And, you can set a “home currency” without enabling multicurrency support. See Chapter 3 for more information.

System Requirements

      Using a web-based software product typically doesn’t require a lot of hardware and software; in fact, the demands of QBO and QBOA aren’t extensive. In particular, you need a Windows or Intel-based Mac computer using Windows 7, 8.1, or 10, or OS X 10.11 or later. You also need

       An Internet connection — Intuit recommends a high-speed connection of 3 Mbps or higher

       One of the four supported Internet browsers:Google ChromeMozilla FirefoxMicrosoft EdgeSafari, if your operating system is iOS 11.1 or higher

       Adobe Reader 11.0 or higher to print forms

      Although QBO and QBOA work in all the major browsers, they work best, in my experience, in Chrome, with Firefox coming in a close second. Therefore, we use Chrome throughout this book, and the Part of Tens chapters cover using Chrome so that you can get comfortable with that browser. If you’re a Firefox user, give QBO and QBOA a try in Firefox.

      The requirements for QBO Desktop and the mobile apps are basically the same as those outlined here, except that you won’t really need a browser on your device (although you’ll probably have one). You’ll still need an Internet connection, and be aware that, although new features are added to the mobile apps all the time, the mobile apps do not support all features of QBO and QBOA.

      Whether you work on a desktop computer or on a mobile device, the computer or device needs to meet the basic requirements of the operating system you use on that computer or device — and then some. For example, if you’re using a Windows desktop computer, you need the amount of RAM (random access memory) specified by Microsoft to load the version of Windows on the computer before you ever launch your browser. If you don’t have sufficient RAM to run the operating system, you certainly won’t be happy with the behavior of QBO and QBOA. You won’t be happy with the behavior of the computer, either.

      Basic requirements (and we stress the word basic) for a Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 computer, as specified by Microsoft, are

       1-gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

       1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM (32 bit) or 2GB of RAM (64 bit)

       16GB of available hard disk space for the 32-bit version of the operating system or 32GB for the 64-bit versions of the operating system

       A display that supports at least 800 x 600 dpi

       DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

       An Internet connection for both installation and operating system updates

These versions of Windows work with multi-core processors, and all 32-bit versions of Windows can support up to 32 processor cores, whereas 64-bit versions can