When considering whether or not it makes sense to move your accounting to the cloud, many people will immediately consider their cost increases. As we have discussed in the first three parts of this series, when you are business owner that does not have any compelling reasons from a functionality perspective to move away from the desktop, you will not be enamored with spending more money.
Part 4 -“Why should I pay all of that extra cost?”
There are quite often debates regarding whether or not it is more cost effective to move to a Saas based program (QuickBooks online, Xero…), cloud hosting (Right Networks, Cloud 9, Unidata…) or just to stay with the desktop software.
Most commonly, a user will purchase software and use it for a minimum of 2-3 years having paid a one-time fee. In many cases, a user may extend the use of a version for an additional 1-3 years even though the software provider discontinues support. In these scenarios, a user will spend substantially less than the cost for an equivalent cloud based resource which requires a monthly subscription fee. Additionally, when using a cloud based resource, the subscription fees can be increased and all users are subject to those cost changes.
Example:
Small Business Owner Using QuickBooks Pro for Windows
| Option |
First Year Price |
Three Year Price |
| Desktop Software |
$299.99 |
$299.99 |
| QuickBooks Online* (per user) |
$274.86 |
$921.66 |
| Right Networks Hosting** (per user) |
$600.00 |
$1,800.00 |
*Pricing based on QuickBooks Online Essentials as advertised on Intuit website. (first six months $18.86 then $26.95 a month)
**Pricing based on Right Networks hosting prices as advertised on website-price does not include software fees
Summary
As previously mentioned in the first three parts of this series, a user should always choose the accounting solution that best meets the needs of their business. Although some business owners will benefit from the features and accessibility of a cloud based solution, the users that do not have a reason to change will only end up spending more money for a resource they do not need.
In other words, if the desktop version of your software is working well for your business and you want to continue working within your local environment, there is no reason to change. If you are however looking for a simpler way to provide access to your desktop file for your accountant/bookkeeper or you have remote computers/staff members that need access, you will want to consider Qbox.
With Q Box, accountants and their client’s continue to use the same desktop version of QuickBooks. However, using Q Box, they have a locally hosted copy of the file that is continually synchronized with their remote client’s copy. In other words, no more sending QBW files back and forth, no more screen sharing, no expensive cloud hosting and no more downloading/uploading of QuickBooks files.
To learn more, visit www.qboxplus.com
Tomorrow- Part 5: “So can I have the best of both worlds? Work on a locally hosted QuickBooks file but still provide access to my accountant/bookkeeper or other remote shared users?”
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