From Patrick Bonnaure, founder of ProLedge Bookkeeping Services
The debate between Mac and Windows is getting almost as polarized as our beloved Congress. Until recently, the bookkeeping world had managed to remain relatively immune to this debate, but with the increased market share of the Mac in the small business space, the question of QuickBooks for Windows vs QuickBooks for Mac has started taking more prominence.
Indeed, the Desktop application will help users who are transitioning to Online by providing a familiar interface while retaining the cloud benefits of QuickBooks Online. The worse that can happen is that you’ll waste a few minutes trying out the desktop app and deciding it’s not for you.
At first glance, it should not be an issue: “If you are a Windows person, get QuickBooks for Windows. If you are a Mac person, get QuickBooks for Mac”. Unfortunately, it is more complicated than this. For the foreseeable future, selecting QuickBooks for Mac will handcuff you in several ways:
For QuickBooks Online, go here. With iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android phones and tablets. Not all Quicken desktop features are available in the App. The App is a companion app and will work only with Quicken 2015 and above desktop products. Quicken for Mac software and the Quicken App are not designed to function outside.
Leave your browser behind with the QuickBooks Online Mac app. Download the app to your computer to access all of your online data right from your Applications folder. Access your QuickBooks Online account, right from your desktop. Fast, automatic sign-in on launch. Use keyboard shortcuts and multiple windows to take care of business.
QuickBooks for Mac has fewer features than the Windows versions
The vast majority of CPAs and bookkeepers do not support QuickBooks for Mac
Converting QuickBooks file back and forth between Mac and Windows doesn’t work well and can corrupt the data.
QuickBooks for Mac doesn’t interface with as many 3rd party applications
. New to using QuickBooks online? Simply download the app, create an account, and try it for FREE for 30 days! No credit card required, and no obligation to purchase. FREE trial includes unlimited access to QuickBooks on the web and your mobile devices. Not compatible with QuickBooks Desktop for Windows or Mac. From INTUIT Makers of. QuickBooks Online Simple Start includes 1 user license. QuickBooks Online Essentials includes 3 user licenses. QuickBooks Online Plus includes 5 user licenses. The QuickBooks Online mobile app works with iPhone, iPad, and Android phones and tablets. Devices sold separately; data plan required.
I’ll expand a little bit on these items below, but if you own a Mac, your logical next question would be: “I am stuck then?”. Of course not. You have a number of options that will keep you in the QuickBooks world without having to switch to a PC:
Accept the limitations of QuickBooks for Mac and stick with it. This is a very viable solution if you are a very small business, you don’t need 3rd party help and you have limited need for integration with 3rd party applications.
Switch to QuickBooks Online, the web based version of QuickBooks
Work with a QuickBooks hosting provider. From your Mac, you will get access to the full featured QuickBooks for Windows.
Fewer features Intuit is traditionally a Windows shop. They have had Mac developers for a long time, but the Mac development group is not tasked with feature innovation. Their charter is to “keep up” with QuickBooks for Windows. I am sure that many people with Intuit would violently disagree with this, but it is the unfortunate reality. Some examples:
QuickBooks for Mac doesn’t have Premier and Enterprise versions. It has fewer features than even the Pro version of Windows.
Fewer reports
Fewer payroll options
Limited inventory capabilities
Online banking not as well integrated
Bookkeeping support CPAs and bookkeepers need to maintain their own licenses of QuickBooks to support their clients. The whole accounting profession is pretty much standardized on the Windows platform. It would be too expensive for them to maintain a park of Mac hardware and QuickBooks for Mac licenses (across multiple years) to support Mac files.
Converting files between Mac and PC Both the Windows and Mac versions of QuickBooks have the capability to convert the company file to the other OS. However, since the feature set is different, the converted file needs to restrict itself to the common denominator. As a result, some data doesn’t transfer from one version to the other. Also, to Intuit’s own admission, the conversion is not dependable. For instance, if you convert more than a couple of times back and forth, reconciliations of the bank accounts tend to disappear. Essentially, this conversion tool should be used only if you decide to migrate from one OS to the other for good, but it should not be used as a protocol to work with your bookkeeper or CPA on an on-going basis.
Integration with 3rd party application In the last 5 years, the power of QuickBooks (and its dominance) has increased dramatically thanks to the myriad of 3rd party developers who have developed applications and services that integrate with QuickBooks. Unfortunately, the vast majority of this development effort has been done exclusively for the Windows version of QuickBooks. If you are on the QuickBooks for Mac, you only have access to a small subset of these developers. 5 to 10 years from now, I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasa bit more equality, assuming of course that the desktop version of QuickBooks hasn’t been supplanted by the cloud versions by then. However, as of today, QuickBooks for Mac is more “insulated”.
In summary, QuickBooks for Mac can be a very good option for you if your needs are relatively simple and you don’t need as much integration with the outside world (professionals and applications). The good news is that QuickBooks for Mac is not a dead-end. If QuickBooks for Mac becomes too restrictive for you down the road, there are multiple options for migrating to alternative solutions.
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For the last two years, I’ve been using QuickBooks® Online without a browser by accessing it through the QuickBooks for Mac app on my desktop. Last fall, the Windows app was also released, and now everyone has the ability to work more productively in QuickBooks Online.
The QuickBooks Online App for Windows is “thin-client” for QuickBooks Online that gives you the ability to use QuickBooks Online as if it was a natively installed program. Similar to apps such as Spotify or Outlook for Office 365, it is a desktop application that accesses online data. The app was specifically designed for power users like accountants. Using the desktop app means that we save time doing routine tasks, and have access to desktop application standard features.
Saves Me Time
I love that I can start working in QuickBooks Online in seconds, with one click of the App icon on my taskbar or Dock, just like any other Windows or Mac application.
Quickbooks Online App Not Working On Mac
https://yellowinet473.weebly.com/best-time-tracking-app-for-mac-productivity.html. Not only do you stay permanently logged into your account, but the app also opens right to the last company you accessed, letting you get back to work within seconds. Contrast this to the browser experience of having to log in, perhaps choose your identity, then the company you want to access from your client list and then opening up the windows you were last working in. And, unlike the browser, you can stay logged in for days, not the maximum of four hours that the browser allows.
Pages load up to 150% faster in the app than they do in the browser because the QuickBooks app uses local caching of data. This is most noticeable when you access long lists of data, such as a bank register or a chart of accounts. The caching also means that when you open a screen the second time, it loads even more quickly. Data entry is quicker than browser, since you don’t have to wait as long for Save and the form to refresh. The local caching also means that you are not as vulnerable to slowdowns in network speed or temporary QuickBooks Online outages. And, for those concerned about online data security, this is a more secure way to access client data than in a browser.
Not only can you open multiple windows and even use them on separate monitors, but the data in those windows also always stays in sync. Unlike using separate tabs in a browser, you don’t have to refresh or reload a tab to see the changes you made on one page reflected on another page.
Works Like a Desktop Program
When working in the QuickBooks for Windows or Mac app, you feel like you are in a desktop program – familiar menus on the top give you quick access to most used windows and forms, pop out windows let you use multiple monitors, and standard keyboard shortcuts speed data entry. Also, printing uses local print dialog boxes, rather than Adobe or browser print dialogs, meaning that reports and forms, such as checks, are formatted more reliably and consistently. For my accounting colleagues who say that they don’t like working in QuickBooks Online, this app removes many of the major objections.
QuickBooks Online for Accountants Tools
Everything you can do with QBOA in the browser is available in the app as well.
You can use the “accountants only” tools:
Access clients from the client list and send requests to clients:
Switch between clients using the Accountant Tools list or the drop down menu at the top, or even a menu item on the file menu.
It’s so easy to switch companies that you may find yourself popping into a client account for a few minutes to answer a question, or switch to your own firm’s books to send a quick invoice.
Tips for Working with the App
Here are some tips for working with the App:
Take advantage of the ability to add Favorites in order to quickly access any forms or reports you use regularly that might not be one of the standard keyboard shortcuts or menu selections. You can access and manage the Favorites from the star at the upper right or from the Favorites menu.
Quickbooks Online App For Windows
Note that just like the desktop version, these favorites are per person, per company.
Review the keyboard shortcuts and learn how to use them. You can access a PDF with a complete list of the App shortcuts from the Help menu.
Check the box to Stay signed in, and you will really enjoy the one click startup every morning.
Quickbooks Online Mac App Not Working
Download and Install
Quickbooks Online Canada Mac App
The App can be downloaded from this website, or from Intuit Apps.com. Search for the Mac or Windows App. It takes just minutes to download install and sign in, and you’ll be on your way to saving a significant amount of time working with your QuickBooks Online clients.