Reasons To Move Applications Like QuickBooks To The Cloud

Moving your desktop version of Intuit’s QuickBooks to the cloud so you can access it online has obvious benefits. The application was made for, and is needed by, people that are geographically separated but still require access. Aside from that, generally working in the cloud has also proven beneficial for a variety of reasons. It saves money, time and helps businesses be more productive and function more efficiently. But if you still haven’t heard enough about QuickBooks hosting to make you move your desktop version to the cloud, here are some facts about cloud computing that might motivate you to take action.

• The average downtime when running applications in-house is 4X longer than that which is seen with applications hosted in the cloud.
• 53% of professionals move to the cloud due to ease of management.
• IBM estimates that cloud computing can reduce IT labor by as much as 50%, and overall IT costs (including hardware, software, maintenance and energy) as much as 29%.
• The number of businesses utilizing the cloud will jump from 14% in 2010 to over 40% in 2014.
• It is estimated that cloud computing will help reduce data center energy consumption by 38% globally by 2014.

With so many benefits, it makes sense to move your QuickBooks to a hosted platform. Be sure to look for future articles that help businesses and professionals move to the cloud with a provider that offers the hosting services that they need. When it comes to reviewing QuickBooks hosting providers, knowing the right questions to ask is key.

(Data provided by Cloud Computing Outlook, Cloud.com & http://www.quickbookshostingexperts.com)

Accessing QuickBooks While You’re Away From The Office

For Multi-User/Multi-Site/Heavier-Duty Remote Access Needs

by QuickBooks Expert – Scott Gregory

As your business grows, more of your employees will likely need access to the company QuickBooks information while working away from the office. In addition, you may have more than one physical location and each location needs to be centrally tied into the company QuickBooks information.

Potential solutions…
Windows Remote Desktop/Terminal Services – this solution will likely require some IT assistance to set up. However, once it is up and running, it can offer a whole new world of opportunities for your staff to access not just QuickBooks, but all of the computer resources within your business.

There is no monthly or annual fee for the Remote Desktop/Terminal Services solution. However, there is separate licensing that has to be purchased from Microsoft that will run on your server to allow these remote connections to happen seamlessly. You’ll want to connect with your IT provider for pricing on the licenses and installation/setup services.

CRITICAL NOTE: Windows Remote Desktop/Terminal Services is only supported as a remote access option for companies running the Enterprise version of QuickBooks. Some firms have had success running the Pro and/or Premier versions of QuickBooks in this environment, but they have forged their own trail in doing so – Intuit does not support Windows Remote Desktop for the Pro or Premier versions and will not answer any questions pertaining to it.

QuickBooks Hosting Services – instead of setting up your own server and software as explained in the Windows Remote Desktop option above, these third party hosting services do it for you.

By choosing this option, you don’t incur any upfront hardware or software costs (other than the cost of QuickBooks of course). Instead, you pay the hosting company a monthly fee per user to take care of things for you.

This is also referred to as “putting your QuickBooks in the cloud”. Hosting provides you the ability to get to your QuickBooks information 24/7 without the need for IT support costs. Generally, the costs for hosting run about $40-$50/user per month.

Two of the leading companies when it comes to hosting QuickBooks are InsynQ-CPAASP and Right Networks. Be sure to understand their terms of service, fee structure and other important information as you evaluate whether moving your QuickBooks to the cloud makes sense for your business. Many businesses have found the hosted solution to be perfect for their needs and a great way to reduce their IT costs as well.

CAN BE USED WITH: QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise

Scott Gregory provides a wide variety of QuickBooks solutions and profit improvement techniques to his clients in a relaxed yet very informative manner. For additional information on QuickBooks training and services that he provides, visit www.betterbottomline.com. For additional information and recommendations from Mr. Gregory on QuickBooks remote access options – click here.

Isn’t your business worth at least 50 bucks per month?

or: Penny Smart, Pound Foolish

There is an age-old problem when it comes to small businesses and technology: small business owners have a hard time finding value in paying for IT services to support their businesses, and they spend a lot of money not addressing the issue.  For a wide variety of reasons, small business owners just seem to have a hard time justifying the costs of outsourced and/or managed IT services.  Strangely, many business owners end up spend more money and time trying NOT to outsource – they just won’t acknowledge this reality.

Let’s consider that a business has been operating for a few years, and maybe has revenues approaching $1M annually. A million dollars in annual revenues isn’t anything to sneeze at.  Now let’s also consider that this small business has a small computer network which supports their operations.  This network is likely made up of older machines, legacy desktop software, and a few random little applications or software constructions they’ve acquired over the years.  Is this business focused in properly securing the network with firewalls and security software, and is this portion of the network monitored regularly?  How about data management and backups?  Does the business frequently back up data offsite, and then test those backups to verify that the data can be properly restored?  Is the system protected from virus or intrusions?  Is it monitored?  Is it tested?  Is someone actually responsible for all of this stuff?  If this business is like most small businesses, the answer to most of these questions is “no” or “not really”.

It’s not unusual for small business owners to fail to fully recognize the real value of their business technology (as opposed to the purchase price), and the necessary costs to manage and maintain it properly.  There’s an old saying in the IT world that there are only two types of business – those who have lost their data and those who will.  The business who has lost their data understands the value of IT management, because they have had to bear the cost of repairs, replacements, lost productivity, and lost revenue.  Once they realize the cost, they understand the value of mitigating that risk.  Unfortunately, it often takes just such an experience to get the small business owner to really recognize that not spending on IT management is actually a decision to spend more later when bad things happen.  And bad things will happen.  Count on it.

Now, let’s talk about the ability for that business to have their IT solutions hosted and delivered to them as a subscription service.  The security, including firewall monitoring and virus protection are part of the service.  Regular data backups are part of the service, as is technical support.  While the business still pays for (and owns) their software license assets, the rest of the system – the engineering and technical labor, the platforms, the network – are all part of the subscription, and are under the care of skilled engineering and technical personnel.  As an example, InsynQ CPAASP QuickBooks hosting solutions are priced at around $50 (ish) per user per month, depending on service, and provide a comprehensive managed IT approach for small businesses.  For a business owner who knows that they will spend (lose) far more if their systems are out of service, or if their paid workers aren’t able to work, that 50 bucks proves to be a pretty small price to pay.

 

Why would a business want to host their QuickBooks in the Cloud?

With all the talk today about cloud computing and working online, you’d think that huge numbers of business owners are migrating their entire operations to Internet applications and platforms.  The value statements of “no upfront costs”, “pay as you go”, and “better collaboration” are the marketing speak for these online solutions, but the actual reasons for adoption may be very different from what you’d expect.  And yes, businesses are moving in droves to the “cloud”, but not necessarily to true web-based applications.

One of the primary drivers for “cloud” adoption is the growing complexity of software and services designed to support the business.   Folks usually don’t mind paying for products, but paying for the services to install, implement, and manage those products isn’t something most small businesses businesses like doing.  Even a solution like Intuit QuickBooks, which was once viewed as a very simple to install and maintain product, has become quite complex in terms of its networking and database manager requirements, connected services offerings, and application integration options.  This increasing complexity in the technology is driving businesses to seek outside IT help to implement, support, and manage software products and computing platforms that were once manageable from within the company.  Rather than paying IT personnel or contractors on a regular basis, businesses are finding that it may be far more affordable (and effective) to totally outsource the IT – infrastructure and all.

Mobility is another huge driver for the adoption of cloud computing and online services.  Application hosting was initially a great approach for businesses with multiple locations that needed to work together, but the model has been extended to address the needs of highly mobile individuals as well as the distributed organization.  Just because a business has only one brick and mortar location doesn’t mean it doesn’t wish to do business from other places, too.  With smart phones getting smarter, and pad computing being a reality, business users know they can have way more than just email on their mobile devices.

While “better collaboration” is also a strong part of the value proposition for a cloud-based or online application approach for the business, the type of collaboration may not be what you’re thinking.  For years there have been tools, solutions, and services which enable “better collaboration” among coworkers and team members (read=document sharing).  However, the online working model potentially enables another type of collaboration – collaboration with outside parties and electronic data exchange with other systems.  Interactions with vendors, customers, even professional service providers, may be more fully enabled through an online working model.  Clearly, public accountants recognize this benefit, and are leveraging it to generate and capitalize on new service opportunities with their clients online.

What’s interesting about the current wave of adoption of online services by small businesses is the realization that some of the fundamental needs of the business – messaging and productivity – are not the drivers for “moving online”.  Certainly, many of these elements were the initial focus for cloud computing vendor offerings – like Google Docs, hosted MS Exchange mail, etc. – but the reality is that businesses are heavily invested in the operational software tools and products currently embedded in the market and are reticent to leave them behind.   Desktop-based solutions, like Intuit QuickBooks for example, are still the cornerstones of many SMB (as well as enterprise) business operations.  Even though there may be web-based alternatives, they often lack the options, flexibility, or usability of these tried-and-true products.  And, sadly, they lack the integrations.

The market wants their familiar software and systems, but they now want them in a new, simple to access and easy to implement manner.  Further, the market demands (continues to demand) that their business solutions integrate, share data and work together… and they want options, lots of options.  This is why businesses want to host their desktop editions of QuickBooks in the cloud, and why so many businesses are electing to use InsynQ-CPAASP for their QuickBooks hosting.

Make Sense?

 

There’s a lot to be said for inertia… Intuit QuickBooks in the Middle East

A recent article on itp.net reveals that businesses in the Middle East are now more frequently seeking out high value solutions for business accounting, such as Intuit QuickBooks, rather than purchasing “premium brand” solutions… and the reseller channel is feeling the pinch.  The issue is largely one of brand-recognition, and it’s a tough issue to fight.  As the article says, “..when potential customers realise that one-third of all US SMEs run their businesses on Intuit’s QuickBooks software, they begin to appreciate the value of the software”.

It’s also possible that cloud-hosted QuickBooks (such as from cpaasp.com) has made the solution much more available and recognized in other markets… particularly since many of those markets are on the forefront of providing outsourced processing services for US-based businesses.

“Value enterprise publisher Intuit is stealing market share from its more established rivals, as businesses in the region look to cut unnecessary costs, its master partner in the MENA region has claimed.”

“Speaking about the state of the market, managing director of TransNational Computer Middle East, Vijendra Singh said that every week, more and more companies in the region are switching to Intuit-based solutions.”

“More and more people are becoming price sensitive,” he revealed. “Even some of the biggest companies in the market are looking at their bottom line and asking ‘do we really need this premium brand?’”

read the rest of the article on itp.net

Particularly with the ability to have Intuit QuickBooks hosted in the cloud by providers like cpaasp.com, and with the plethora of integrations available to extend the solution, larger businesses are finding that QB actually can do the job for them.

It’s not always about the superiority of the solution… sometimes it’s simple inertia in the market, momentum that has built up over many years and which extends from software developers to consultants and trainers.

It’s also important to consider that tough economic times force folks to sometimes go for less than they may need just because it’s more affordable.  I wouldn’t imagine that the Middle East is immune to economic issues, eh?

Get the complete information on QuickBooks hosting…. don’t believe everything you hear.

With the inception of the Authorized Commercial Hosting program for Intuit QuickBooks, a great deal of competitive messaging was introduced to the market.  Various hosts and providers are marketing for your business, and the same caveats that exist elsewhere in the market exist here in no lesser degree: let the buyer beware.  Due diligence is key to getting the service you really want, and you should listen carefully for the clues that may reveal the underlying truth about the service or provider you’re looking at.

At the Intuit ISP Summit, for example, there was a lot of information floating about regarding “the one and only host for QuickBooks Enterprise”.  Generally, this type of obfuscation by the provider’s marketing department wouldn’t bother me (I see it all the time), but in this case, it is not good information and leaves a lot of channel participants wondering what their realistic options are.  ISPs in particular need to understand their options for delivering QBES products, because that’s the lifeblood and revenue opportunity for the channel.  Selling the solution direct-to-market competes with the channel, and reduces options for implementation and long-term product support.  The hosting community can be a valuable partner in the business model, but it’s important to partner with a provider who understands your motivations and concerns, and who has aligned their service model to your greatest benefit.

My suggestion would be to vet out your potential providers, and ask them about their position or placement in the market and in the Intuit hosting program, as well as doing the necessary investigation into their delivery model, protections, and application and support offerings.  If they tell you that they’re the only ones who can do this… be wary.  You don’t want to start off an important business relationship based on half-truths.  It doesn’t bode well for the long-term.

Truth Number One:  NO Intuit-authorized provider has allowances or grants beyond any other.  This means that each and every hosting company authorized by Intuit as a Commercial Host for QuickBooks can lawfully offer:

1. hosting for QuickBooks Pro and Premier Editions, supported versions only
2. hosting for QuickBooks Enterprise Edition, supported versions only
3. subscription rental (some call it lease) licensing for QuickBooks Pro and Premier editions

Truth Number Two:  Intuit’s website lists the authorized providers and the program general guidelines.

1. The listing can be found at http://www.quickbooks.com/franchisesolutions  and then linking to the “Intuit Hosting Program” tab
2. Authorized QuickBooks hosts, as listed by Intuit, are:

• Right Networks. Telephone: (888) 417 4448
• InsynQ, Inc. Telephone: (866) 206 1781
• Uni-Data & Communications, Inc. Telephone: (718) 445-5600 x3180
• Xcentric Telephone: (678) 297-0190
• Cloud9 Real Time Telephone: (888) 869-0076
• Coaxis International, Inc. Telephone: (850) 391-1022
• myownasp. Telephone: (800) 521-7322
• NovelAspect.com. Telephone: (888) 228-0143
• Swizznet. Telephone: (888) 794-9948
• HarborCloud.  Telephone: (877) 294-2909

Truth Number Three: Intuit has selected a “private label or co-brand” partner to offer limited QBES hosting services under Intuit’s brand.

1. The partner, Right Networks, offers QBES hosting direct to market as a service branded and priced by Intuit… many say in direct competition with the ISP network and reseller channels.
2. Hosting of QuickBooks Enterprise editions is NOT limited to this provider.
   (view additional option for hosting QuickBooks Enterprise)

Got it?

Delivery options for hosted QuickBooks: DirectConnect makes it simple

Would having a desktop icon to click on make it easier to migrate desktop QuickBooks users to the cloud?

The virtual desktop service continues to be a leader when it comes to “cloud enabling” small businesses, as it allows the user to have access to a wide variety of applications and services, all integrated on the virtual desktop just as they would be on a local PC.

However, there is a type of user which might be better-served with direct access to a hosted application, rather than with a virtual desktop delivery.  This type of user tends to be very non-technical, with a limited understanding of the PC platform, but with enough knowledge to open and run the application(s) which are used by them on a daily basis.  As an example, let’s consider a small business owner who uses QuickBooks and, possibly, Microsoft Office.

A virtual desktop delivery for this user often means that the user must access a website or portal system somewhere, login to the portal, and then launch their virtual desktop service.  Once the service launches, the user may then launch their QB application and open their data file.  The desktop interface is exactly like a Windows PC interface, so learning how to run the QB app, save a file, or print a document isn’t difficult.  It’s essentially the same functionality as on the local PC.

For this type of user, where a single (or just a few) applications are required, might it not be a simpler and even more familiar delivery if the user could click on a QuickBooks icon on their local PC desktop, and launch directly into the hosted QuickBooks app?  The same may be true with Word or Excel… if the user had those icons on their local PC desktop and could run those applications from the local desktop, each application opening in its own window on the PC… wouldn’t that perhaps be more “normal” for the user?

Delivered from the same enterprise class infrastructure as the InsynQ virtual desktop and hosted applications, DirectConnect services provide an ability to integrate the hosted applications directly into the user’s local Windows PC environment.  As soon as the PC starts up, the icons for the DirectConnect applications are placed on the desktop and start menus, allowing the user to simply click on the icon to launch the hosted application.

The application is still running on the host computers, and the data is protected and managed on the host.  But to the user, the appearance is that the application is running on the local PC.  The app window can be moved, resized, relocated to a second (or third or whatever) monitor screen – all the flexibility you have with arranging open application Windows on your PC now includes the hosted applications as well.

Business users like working with what they know.  Using new applications can be frustrating, and trying to take advantage of new technologies is sometimes a daunting task.  Advisors, consultants, bookkeepers and accountants can now offer a simple alternative to virtual or remote desktop service, providing the client with the applications and data protection they need, but delivered in a better way for that user.

Your Private Cloud: Avoid the Hype and Focus on Reality

Your Private Cloud

• All the apps you want so you can do everything from anywhere
• As much data as you can accumulate
• Perfection by subscription
• It never breaks and you can’t outgrow it
• Get it all for just $1

Yeah, right.

Hype?  You bet it can be.  According to Gartner research, private cloud computing has moved into the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”.  This comes from the Gartner 2011 Hype Cycle Special Report, which offers assessments of the “maturity, business benefit and future direction of over 1,900 technologies”.  The entries are grouped into 76 different “Hype Cycles”, revealing the similar patterns of “over-enthusiasm, disillusionment, and eventual realism” that comes with every new technology or innovation.

The purpose of the report is to provide guidance to business IT decision makers, providing information on when businesses should consider adoption of a technology or IT model in order to achieve the maximum potential value.

Part of the problem is the confusion in the market, where there are multitudes of definitions being offered for cloud computing models.  Different service providers offer their solutions with varying levels of service and capability, so there is really no way to compare one Private Cloud service to another.

Challenges to the QuickBooks Accountant “self-hosting”model: There’s more to hosting than just having a server.

Sure, any good IT guy can build you a network.  And any quality IT services company can offer to manage your network and systems for you.  But, can just any IT company help make your business a QuickBooks hosting company for other businesses?  Maybe, maybe not.   I’ve always said that there is a fine art to delivering quality application services (especially involving QuickBooks) to a largely non-technical audience, and if the details aren’t covered up front, they will end up causing you a great deal of pain later.

Almost every IT consultant I’ve worked with believes that they have what it takes to help accountants create an in-house capability to host QuickBooks and provide remote access for client businesses.  While there is likely no argument that the consultant understands how to set up a network for a single organization, the rules change a bit when you begin talking about having many different businesses – most of them not related in any way – sharing systems, software, and data storage facilities.  This is often referred to as “multitenant” architecture, and QuickBooks, like many other desktop applications, was never designed for this type of implementation.  For these and other reasons, it takes quite a bit of technical understanding as well as recognition of the necessary controlling elements in the business model to create a hosted delivery that can actually work well, and deliver the security and confidentiality of data required and an online “experience” your clients will enjoy.

While many of the issues to be addressed are technical in nature, a lot of them also speak to the details of the business model and exactly what services are being offered.  Decisions must be made in terms of what applications to support, how users will access the applications, how users and data will be organized, and how the entire system will be supported, managed and maintained over time.  Experience has taught us that the business that expects their costs to be largely experienced with  initial equipment purchases and implementations will be unhappily surprised by the investments in time and materials required to create the client hosting environment, and then to support users and maintain systems post-launch.

The key is to not minimize the needs of the client, and to fully recognize and address the issues that the client will face when working from your environment.  Without the relevant experience to know what these challenges are and how to overcome them, the firm may find themselves at a significant operational disadvantage.  The result is that they are unable to fully meet the client demands, and could possibly lose the entire IT investment because of an inability to reasonably compete with commercial hosting offerings.

If your company is looking to offer QuickBooks hosting services to your clients, contact CPAASP today to get the information you need to make the best, most informed decisions possible.  After all, an unsatisfactory online experience could damage the trust and working relationship with the client, and that just isn’t worth the risk.

The Cloud Lets Us Centralize the Information, Distribute the Workload

Defining “cloud computing” and how it applies to small/medium businesses is not always easy.  Perhaps one way to look at it is to consider how cloud computing concepts apply to the management and use of data and information within the business.

Take Google, for example (the Google search service, not the company). Google has systems that communicate with other systems, and provide access to lots of information located in lots of different places, and provides that information to lots of different people who use it for a variety of different reasons.  Google doesn’t actually store all the data it’s linking to.  Google provides centralized access to the data.  And, when you load that page or link, it’s not coming from Google servers, it is likely launching from the server where the data actually resides.

It’s really not that different from, say Intacct and Bill.com, where both applications are available via the Web, the systems communicate and share data, and users access the systems to perform a variety of functions.  The Intacct servers, Bill.com’s servers, and the application users are not all located in the same place, and work via the “cloud” – the amorphous network of servers and systems all interconnected.

The whole “cloud computing” concept is really fairly basic: centralize the information but distribute the workload.

Centralizing the information so those who need it can access it is critical to supporting the business, but distributing the workload for accessing the information – and accessing it in the context of the work to be performed – is essential to creating an efficient business.

As an example, let’s look at a basic accounting solution, like QuickBooks Pro.  While the software offers a range of features to support the essential record keeping requirements of many businesses, it doesn’t offer much functionality to address the more detailed operational aspects of the business.  It doesn’t offer sales or contact management support for the sales department, it doesn’t offer any CRM or service tracking tools for the service or support department, and it doesn’t even address the manufacturing, distribution, or merchandising needs of the business.

However, by leveraging the power of “the cloud”, even a solution like QuickBooks Pro can handle a fairly complicated enterprise requirement.

The power is with integrations – “specialist” solutions which focus on specific aspects of the business, but which also have the ability to share information.  Just like with the original “one write” systems, the information should only have to be entered once, and then it can be used again.

Long ago we recognized that redundant data entry – re-keying information – leads to lost productivity and increased potential for errors.  With the ever-increasing volume of information being generated by business and individuals, it is essential that data entered once be available to any part of the system it relates to.

This means that customer information in the accounting system would also be available to the sales and service teams.  However, since we don’t want those users in the actual financial systems, it is best to give them applications to help them do their jobs, but to have data in those applications integrate with data from the financial systems.

• Sales people can have accurate customer information, maybe even sales or purchase histories, products purchased, and so on, making it easier for them to be more effective at their jobs.
• Customer service or support personnel know who their customers are, and what services or products they’ve purchased, and maybe even if the customer’s account is eligible for support.
• Warehouse workers are able to view picking tickets, pick and pack shipments, and produce packing slips or shipping bills, and all without direct access to master vendor or inventory data or financial information.

Give users the tools they need to accomplish their tasks well, and don’t expose them to unnecessary data or applications.  This is a critical element to creating efficient business processes.  Utilizing the Internet as the network, and taking advantage of web services and Internet-based solutions and integrations, the business can create a framework of functionality which addresses the unique requirements of the business while providing the additional levels of mobility, access, and security required to facilitate those processes at any time and from anywhere.