Though QuickBooks Online offers numerous advantages, it does have its limitations. This is not to say that it’s an undesirable system. It works for numerous businesses, companies, and industries. But in the interest of transparency, here, we are going to discuss some of the things that it simply cannot do for project tracking and job costing.
Later, we’ll introduce you to a company that should be your go-to source for any and all information involving QuickBooks and, a more expansive software option, Acumatica.
What Is QuickBooks?
An indispensable software option for many businesses, QuickBooks Online is accounting software that is deeply connected to credit cards and banks, is 100% cloud, and electronically optimizes data entry workflows. It comes in several editions:
- Advanced
- Plus
- Essentials
- Simple Start
- Self-Employed
Though prices tend to vary, monthly, you can expect to pay between $15 and $150.
Job Costing and Project Tracking – What QuickBooks Online Can’t Do
It cannot…
- Assign costs to a particular invoice, sales receipt, or estimate. To the overall project, however, it can assign costs.
- Create special proactive reports or notifications indicating when a project is getting close to budget or has exceeded budget.
- Create committed costs report or a WIP report (with QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, these features are available)
- Create Job Progress Percent reports, Estimates Versus Actuals, and other commonly needed reports (with all versions of QuickBooks Desktop, these features are available)
- Create a Project Job Status report (with all versions of QuickBooks Desktop, these features are available)
- Organize or track projects by Job Type (with all versions of QuickBooks Desktop, these features are available)
- Track actual completion date, estimated completion dates, start date, and other common important dates (with all versions of QuickBooks Desktop, these features are available)
- To calculate projected margin in a project, create an estimate with estimated item cost (with all versions of QuickBooks Desktop, these features are available)
A Little Bit About QuickBooks
Versions – Currently, there are 5 versions of QuickBooks:
- QuickBooks Enterprise
- QuickBooks Premier
- QuickBooks Pro
- QuickBooks Online
- QuickBooks Online Advanced
But all assist business owners in managing their finances and accounting.
History – In California’s Mountain View area, Tom Prouix and Scott Cook created/founded Intuit in 1983. For individual financial management, their Quicken software was a big hit. So, it only stands to reason that, for small business owners, they decided to develop similar services. After experimenting with early versions, Intuit had developed both “pro” and basic versions by 2000. Versions that were more industry-specific were offered as of 2003.
How To Learn About QuickBooks and Acumatica
If, after reading all of the above, you still have questions about QuickBooks – and you probably do – there’s no one better to consult with than the experts at Fourlane.
For the record, if your business has outgrown QuickBooks, you may be better served by Acumatica or NetSuite. Both software offerings are benefiting numerous businesses throughout thousands of industries.
Concentrating on and dealing with digital solutions, machine vision, handling technology, assembly, and robotics, Acumatica is the world’s largest exhibition. It deals with the security, business relevance, and orientation of investments, among other things.
Contact us today to find out more.
