| Like any other consumer I was really interested in | | | | begins with a simple registration, completion of a |
| knowing exactly what was being offered for free | | | | company profile which includes selecting an |
| by QuickBooks. An old finance professor of mine | | | | industry, classifying your source of revenue as a |
| in an introductory finance course taught us the | | | | customer,client, patient,etc... Towards the end of |
| "no free lunch theorem", which basically states | | | | this process Intuit requests billing information, i.e. |
| that, there are no free lunches. I think what we | | | | credit card information which they clearly state |
| have here, is a quick lunch rather than a three | | | | that it will not be used unless you purchase the |
| course meal. This article will address the pros and | | | | software. To Intuit's credit this is very clear on |
| cons of QuickBooks Online(QBO) free version | | | | the website after you press the submit button |
| which was launched in October 2009. Like any | | | | and you receive a receipt indicating that the price |
| other optimist, I'll begin with the pros before the | | | | is free. In summary, unless you have a very small |
| cons concerning the QBO free version software. | | | | business with less than five customers or it's not |
| Some of the positive aspects are as follows: | | | | important to track revenue by customer, then |
| - Easy set up which includes many sample chart | | | | this version might be suited for your purposes. In |
| accounts with different companies in different | | | | addition, another use of the software would be to |
| industries | | | | perform a write up of the accounting transactions |
| - It is web-based which provides anytime and | | | | which generally occurs after the fact, which |
| anywhere access and includes automatic backups | | | | means it's not used for real-time purposes. An |
| at the Intuit's servers. | | | | example of a write up, would be to prepare the |
| - The ability to print expense checks. | | | | year-end tax return or to prepare a financial |
| - Basic financial statements with some other | | | | statement long after the transactions have |
| supplemental reporting capabilities | | | | occurred. |
| - iPhone compatible with read-only rights and the | | | | Notwithstanding the above, since there is no |
| ability to invoice customers on the fly. Some of | | | | expiration for the free use of the QBO Simple |
| them that negative aspects are as follows: | | | | Start, it does provide a good mechanism to test |
| - It is only limited to five customers | | | | and more importantly use QBO for more than 30 |
| - Lacks the ability to use form 1099s | | | | days. It should also be noted that QBO Basic and |
| - No statement of cash flows -- this is important, | | | | QBO Plus, both provide a 30 day free period to |
| because this financial statement portrays the | | | | test drive the software. My experience is that 30 |
| sources and uses of your business's cash from | | | | days may not be sufficient. So the remaining |
| the beginning of the year to the end of the year | | | | option is to either use the free 30 day period for |
| - Only one user access and your accountant does | | | | QBO Basic and QBO Plus and if you need more |
| not have free online Internet access | | | | than 30 days then purchase QBO Basic for $9.95 |
| - Does not export to Excel When you're using this | | | | a month or QBO Plus for $34.95 a month. This is |
| software you're actually using the bare-bones | | | | a viable option, since the software can be |
| version of QuickBooks which is called QuickBooks | | | | purchased on a month-to-month basis. The |
| Online Simple Start. The setup is relatively easy, | | | | website clearly states "No contract, cancel |
| however there is one aspect that deserves | | | | anytime". |
| discussion and a word of caution. The setup | | | | |