QuickBooks Hosting Answers “Why So Many CPAs Are Losing Their Clients?”
When a client switches from one CPA to another, there is always a tagline that they use for switching “My CPA used to spend the entire day on the company files and would hand me a bill and a voucher that I have to pay to someone.” Value for money is what the customers expect at this moment. The loss of a client due to work overload is reasonable but there are many CPAs who are losing their work because of their bad experience with QuickBooks hosting services. Does that sound reasonable? This is the perspective that most of them are lagging in understanding why they are suffering this loss of clients.
Speed and ease of usage are the two things that most of the users desire. There is always a difference when a CPA is dealing with financial information and when an ordinary user is dealing with the same. This means that the professional accountants are not likely to invest their time in understanding the “How To?” of QuickBooks but the technical issues relating to the QuickBooks hosting providers can be the hurdles. The speed of the servers might not be an observation if the accountant shifts a computer with low speed to a virtual environment with low server speed and larger downtime.
Very few accounting professionals feel that the problem is not because they might be inefficient but it is because their working system is what makes them so. A speed check can very well determine whether working on a certain hosted application is easy or not. Besides, server uptime and the time to respond are also important factors in determining the success regular accounting activities. Generally users perceive that cloud applications cannot run better than the desktop PC applications. The speed of user internet is quite important in connecting to the servers.
Once the connection to a QuickBooks hosting server is established, check for the running of applications. There might be some professionals that have their QuickBooks hosted over some poor quality remote servers. The frustrating server speed may cause the operations to be delayed thereby lowering the efficiency of the accountants. CPAs have to stay in constant touch with the clients so as to keep a track of client finances. Hosting environment cannot be neglected since it is a multi-user environment that allows multiple users to work on the same file. Since hosting is indispensable, it is always better to have secure servers with high speed and uptime.
It has been observed through many surveys that the CPAs suffering from slow server speed troubles have regained the lost strength of their clients. So, if you are one of the sufferers, try a good and reliable QuickBooks hosting provider. A free trial should always be taken before opting for the service.
Hosted QuickBooks Security – A Fueling Business Issue
Internet seems to be wedded with the question of security. Any program or service running over the internet arouses the suspicion of some threat or attack creeping in. With all that around, the question “Is my accounting data secure?” is quite obvious. Though capital and operational expenses account for a major part of the decision for QuickBooks hosting, yet security consideration is equally important. How to ensure that your data is safe? There are three major points that can let you free from this mental turmoil of safety.
Physical Security
Wondering about the physical location of your servers and the connected security? Physically, there are massive data centers that have multiple servers set up at a single location. The hosted QuickBooks that the clients access from a remote location is hosted on such servers. Organizations committing to the security of your customer-sensitive information take care that all the access to the data center is authorized. This access is usually based on a two-step verifications process based on biometric as well as card based access. Moreover, this highly sensitive information storehouse is guarded by CCTV cameras to monitor access round the clock.
Virtual Security
The hosted QuickBooks network security is the most vulnerable of all. There is provision for a series of firewalls to protect the sensitive data. Intrusion detection systems ensure complete monitoring of any suspicious activity that takes place. The system is completely protected with antivirus software that protects each bit of data that is stored on the remote servers. Apart from this, proper 128-bit encryption is implemented at the network end and the LAN network is clubbed with proper tunneling. Data backup on different protected servers ensures that in case of any natural calamities, the client data will be secure and can be recovered to the mark of last checkpoint.
Trust is the key factor
You need to trust your provider. When considering QuickBooks hosting solutions, the providers do not offer legal documentation for the security of your data but they do offer their word. Even Intuit states in its documentation that the data may be used for comparative analysis but client data will not be accessible to any other company or to any unauthorized server personnel. The data lies secure with the hosts. They may perform some tests to analyze the weaker sections of their services but using or leaking out client data is what will break down their corporate image. Which organizations would want that?
So, if you are going for some hosted QuickBooks provider, make sure you ask about the security at both the physical and network end and lay your trust on your provider.
QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Hosting – Are You Confused?
When it comes to accounting for small business organizations, QuickBooks online or QuickBooks hosting is the biggest question in the minds of start-up business owners. Let’s analyze what comes up better in the battle….
The idea behind QBO…
QuickBooks, as the name suggests is really quick for the management of starter company accounts. With successive releases and improved features, Intuit had been enhancing the quality of this accounting software but what made it partner the cloud? Simply put, it is a DIY solution for the small business organizations that helps their users access their company accounts from anywhere and at any time without any complex technical issues.
What’s new and improved in QuickBooks online? Intuit has been constantly working on enhancing the capabilities of this version of QB. Inventory tracking, sending purchase orders, usage of analytical tools and better integration with Excel are some of the enhancements that Intuit has made so as to make small business clients have this software as their one-stop solution. Now, QB Online is also equipped with the ability to provide multiple access options to multiple users at the same time over a consistent data file.
Why take the QuickBooks hosting road then?
QuickBooks Online has though been enhanced to meet the small and startup needs of business owners who require easy accounting solutions, yet it is incapable to suffice the needs of a growing business firm. For most of the part, the features of QBO are not as advanced as those of the desktop versions. Some of the features that this version seems to be missing are:
- Sales order
- Progress Invoicing
- Item Receipts
- Balance Sheet by Class
- Printing 1096
- QuickBooks Statement Writer
- Inventory Assemblies
- Receiving Partial Purchase Orders
- Serial Number Tracking
So, QBO is just a starter in the race and lays much behind the 2013 QuickBooks Enterprise and Pro Editions. Moreover, the use of online version does not permit the integration of special add-ons with QuickBooks. With hosting, you can have any number of additional software installed with your version of QB. ACT, Fishbowl and Outlook are some of the most common installations that can be easily integrated with QB to make work easy and consistent. Besides, with QuickBooks hosting, business organizations can have a free choice to decide the version of QuickBooks that they plan to use for their enterprise accounting operations.
Data backup and transfer are two major benefits of QuickBooks hosting solutions. When taking services from a hosting provider, client data is backed up regularly. Each day at a fixed time, data backup is created till the last checkpoint. This backup is maintained redundantly on various other backup servers so that even if any natural calamity hits, the data can be recovered from another location. Moreover, hosting providers make the switch easy. If you plan to move to another provider, getting a simple database copy of your data with QBO is not possible. However, in the case of hosted QuickBooks providers, you can simply get a complete database file that can be easily uploaded at another provider’s server in case you choose to switch.
It’s your call
Now that you know about the functionality of both, depending upon the current and future requirements of your business, you can decide whether the online solution will be better or QuickBooks hosting.
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