So You've heard the news...
Intuit, the firm behind popular tax and accounting software packages QuickBooks and TurboTax has officially announced some major changes to their pricing for the desktop version of Quickbooks. This move brings the desktop product more in-line with their cloud based online product. Lets take a look at those changes and see exactly what that means for us as small business owners.
Is Intuit Discontinuing the desktop version of quickbooks?
Lets get this out of the way first. There has been some speculation online following rumors that Intuit has decided to discontinue the desktop software all together. Let us assure you that this is false. The rumors stem from an announcement that Intuit has decided to discontinue and cut support for the Desktop product in the United Kingdom, which is true. However, to our knowledge Intuit has no plans of discontinuing the product in the United States, at least currently.
What exactly is intuit doing?
While Intuit isn’t outright discontinuing the product here in the US, Intuit has made significant changes to their pricing strategy going forward into 2023. Most notably, switching from the multi-year licensing model that we’re all familiar with to a new annual subscription model similar in price to Quickbooks Online.
In prior years, 3-year product licenses have been available for around $300-$400 USD, and users could often snag the software at a discount from authorized resellers. In 2023 however, the price will increase from roughly $100/year to a whopping $549.99/year, per user, and Intuit will no longer be offering any 3rd party discounts, meaning end users will need to fork over the full price for the product.
Check out the table below for updated pricing for each flavor of the software:
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
|
Quickbooks Desktop Pro Plus 2023 |
$549 per year |
|
Quickbooks 2023 Desktop for Mac |
$549 per year |
|
Quickbooks 2023 Desktop Premier Plus |
$799 per year |
|
Quickbooks 2023 Desktop Enterprise 23.0 |
No Change |
What does this mean for small business owners?
In simple terms, it means that if your CPA or bookkeeper uses Quickbooks Desktop, the cost of your bookkeeping services might increase going forward into 2023. For those small business owners who handle their accounting in-house using QB Desktop, it means your annual accounting overhead expenses are going to increase by a significant percentage should you choose to upgrade to the 2023 version of the software.
What are Your options?
Business owners who handle their own books do have a few options:
- As of right now, Intuit has not cut support for the 2020, 2021, or 2022 software versions, so you could choose to hold out for a while until they cut support. This could save you a good deal of money, although you wouldn’t have access to the newest updates and features. 2023 is also the final year to snag a reseller discount, so if you choose to wait until 2024 or later, you’ll have to pay full price to upgrade.
- Hold out indefinitely by using workarounds. If you’re on the 2022 version or earlier, then your product will still work even if intuit cuts support. You’ll still be able to access your company file, enter transactions, generate reports, and make journal entries. What wont work is features such as bank feeds that rely on online connections. If you’re comfortable using QB manually without relying on those features, than you could theoretically continue to use an older version of the software indefinitely. If you’re not comfortable using QB without those features, there are a few workarounds available. One that we recommend is Transaction Pro. This add-on comes with a one-time price tag of $199 and can help you replace the bank feeds feature for outdated QB Desktop product versions. We haven’t personally tested this software, but we have spoken to plenty of accountants and bookkeepers who are using this software and they’ve all given it great reviews.
A word of caution
For those of you that do choose to upgrade to the newest version of Quickbooks Desktop, please do so with caution. Once you upgrade you will be locked in to the new annual subscription model which means that if you fail to pay your subscription each year, you will not only lose product support, you’ll be locked out of your company file entirely. In 2023 and newer versions, you will not be able to access your data, enter transactions, or make journal entries without an active license, and there is no way to go back once you’ve made the switch.
