5 Limitations of QuickBooks Online that QuickBooks Hosting Helps Overcome

Small and mid-sized businesses have relied on QuickBooks for a prolonged time to handle their accounting tasks. QuickBooks is a vital part of their daily workflows, from invoicing to keeping financial track of business and preparing year-end taxes. Undoubtedly, the accounting application has evolved as a robust tool that helps enterprises meet various requirements regarding managing and recording finances. 

While QuickBooks has been phenomenal for many businesses, part of its success is due to the introduction of two modes of cloud-based QuickBooks – QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Hosting. QuickBooks Online, backed by a cloud computing model, allows multi-user access to QuickBooks via web browsers and mobile apps. Additionally, it offers customizable and feasible tools that help you take your accounting experience to the next level. However, it has certain limitations that QuickBooks Hosting helps you easily overcome. Read on to explore them and harness yourself with the adequate knowledge required to make an informed decision for your business. 

What Are QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Hosting? 

Developed by Intuit, QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based version of QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online has a significantly different user interface and features preferred by small and mid-sized businesses. Businesses with less complicated invoicing requirements or that don’t need inventory tracking options prefer using QB Online. 

On the other hand, QuickBooks Hosting is installing the licensed QuickBooks Desktop application on the remote servers of hosting providers. You can access the hosted application via web browsers and use your preferred devices like smartphones, laptops, iPads, tablets, etc. Simply put, cloud-based QuickBooks allows you to access all the information, data, and files from any location without installing the software on a local machine. 

The table below provides some key differences between QuickBooks Online Vs QuickBooks Desktop :

Limitations of QuickBooks Online that QuickBooks Cloud Hosting Helps Overcome 

Now that you know the difference between cloud-based QuickBooks hosting and QuickBooks Online, read on to explore the latter’s limitations, which the former helps you overcome.  

1. User Interface and Customization 

With QuickBooks Online, you get a different set of features and user interface, unlike QuickBooks desktop. As such, you might find it challenging to get quickly accustomed to the various metrics. But, when you host QB Desktop on the cloud, all the QB features and the UI remain the same as that of QB Desktop. A cloud-based QuickBooks hosting solution also enables you to customize the application according to your business requirements.  

2. Customer Support 

Using QuickBooks Online, you can’t contact the customer support department at any time of the day. Intuit has fixed timing for customers who can contact the customer support department. Such instances often hinder business continuity, as you don’t get the required assistance to solve your QuickBooks-related issues. 

On the contrary, when you choose the best QuickBooks desktop cloud hosting provider, you get round-the-clock IT support. Most cloud hosting providers have skilled professionals available to assist you in times of need. You can contact them via various means, such as phone, chat, and email.  

3. Features 

Using QuickBooks Online doesn’t mean you get all the features of QuickBooks, as it depends on your plan. These plans could be either from QuickBooks Online Simple Start, QuickBooks Essentials, or QuickBooks Plus. You could, however, get some basic software features, such as FIFO inventory tracking, bank account synchronizations, and sending and tracking invoices. Moreover, Intuit states that not all the features of QB Online are available for use on mobile devices. 

To overcome the challenges mentioned above, you can use cloud based QuickBooks hosting solution. It enables you to use all the features of QuickBooks you’re accustomed to. These include budgeting, tracking expenses, and added benefits like remote access using your preferred devices. 

With QuickBooks hosted on the cloud, you don’t need to spend extra hours learning how to use QuickBooks Online. Additionally, you don’t lose out on getting industry-specific features as the functionality of QuickBooks hosting is similar to the QuickBooks desktop version.  

4. Cost 

Although QuickBooks Online doesn’t require you to pay for upgraded versions and purchase multiple licenses, it can be more costly than desktop-based software. You need to pay a monthly subscription fee with QBO instead of a one-time payment. If you have only one user to use the software and don’t need to get regular upgrades, you could instead purchase the software, which is less expensive. 

If your priorities are to cut down on your business costs with QuickBooks, hosting it on the cloud is the best you can do. With minimal QuickBooks cloud pricing, you can host QuickBooks on the remote servers of cloud hosting providers. The pay-as-you-go pricing model of reliable hosting providers enables you to pay as per the server resources you need. Plus, you get multiple benefits from the cloud, such as: 

• Remote accessibility 
• Easy collaboration 
• Data security 
• Data backup and disaster recovery 
• Seamless collaboration 
• Add-on integrations 
• 24×7 customer support 

5. QuickBooks Versions 

QuickBooks Online is an independent version. It means that only the Online version is supported in QuickBooks Online, and the desktop application is not compatible with the online portal. However, cloud-based QuickBooks hosting enables you to use all types of QuickBooks Desktop like QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise in the cloud. 

Final Thoughts 

By now, you must have realized how QuickBooks hosting helps you overcome the limitations of QuickBooks Online. The advantages of cloud-hosted QuickBooks are imperative for the growth of your business. Besides, the hosted solution helps you unleash the full potential of the QuickBooks Desktop version. 

If you plan to switch from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks hosting or want to use QB hosting services afresh, contact us +1-855-363-0916. We are a leading Intuit-authorized commercial hosting provider that offers best-in-class QuickBooks hosting services and licenses.