Hello! Please grab a coffee (or a bottle of wine?) and familiarize yourself with the 2021 (subscription) changes, as well as the not-yet-public 2024 (stop sell) changes that Intuit is making to their Quickbooks Desktop software. This one's a doozy! Lake Cook Solutions and our sister company Kinetic Process are here to help you with navigating these changes, or migrating your accounting software or payroll/payments to a new vendor. If you know someone who uses Quickbooks Desktop, please forward this message to them.
QBD GOES SUBSCRIPTION IN 2021
As you may be aware, since September 2021 with the release of Quickbooks Desktop 2022, the Desktop products hasve been a subscription products with an annual renewal to be able to continue to use the software. All Quickbooks Desktop software carries a 3-year support period. The last non-subscription version of Quickbooks Desktop is Quickbooks Desktop 2021. Support for this version runs through this coming May 2024, at which point Quickbooks Payments, Quickbooks Payroll and any Intuit online services will stop working with this version. If you're not using these online services then you don't need to do anything. If you are, you have some decisions to make, and soon.
* 4 MAIN OPTIONS:
Option A - [Move Payroll/Payments Vendors]: Migrate your impacted Intuit online services (Payments, Payroll, Bank Feeds) to other vendors, and keep enjoying using your non-subscription version of Quickbooks Desktop. We're helping some of our clients migrate to our sister company, Kinetic Process, as we're Paychex partners and resellers. For more information on KP Payroll check out our website or email Info@KineticProcess.com. Other popular payroll vendors are ADP, Paylocity, Paycom and others. For payments, we're recommending clients switch to Stripe payments.
Option B - [Move Accounting AND Payroll/Payments Vendors]: Migrate to another Accounting Software completely, many of which have payroll integrations, but often still have separate payroll vendors and not as tight of an integration. Some payroll and payment vendor options are above. We're recommending clients that wish to change to another accounting software move to Xero, a web based accounting system. Xero integrates with a great many things, and can import Quickbooks Desktop data very well. Lake Cook Solutions is a Xero partner and can help you with this move.
Option C - [Move to Quickbooks Online]: Migrate your existing Quickbooks Desktop installation to Quickbooks Online. Their software is capable of migrating most of the data from Desktop to Online, but some things may not transfer. To learn more about what will and will not be migrated, please see Intuit's Learn how features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online page. Also be aware that Quickbooks Online is VERY different than Desktop. To see some of the feature differences compared, click here: https://lakecook.cc/qbdvsqbo Never seen or used Quickbooks Online? Click here to be logged into the Quickbooks Online Advanced Demo Environment: https://qbo.intuit.com/redir/testdrive_us_advanced NOTE: We have had several clients engage us to move them off of Quickbooks Online and back to Quickbooks Desktop due to customization issues, usability issues, and shortcomings in the product itself.
Option D - [Upgrade to Latest Quickbooks Desktop Subscription Version]: This may be the most expensive option but allows you to seamlessly continue using the same software you're used to using today, without m(any) changes. Moving up to the 2024 version should get you another 3 years of support, although you will need to pay the annual renewal each year which will allow you to upgrade to the new version. Pricing for QBD Plus Versions is in the FAQ section below. NOTE: 2 major caveats to this option are: 1. If you ever cease your subscription payments, you will lose access to using the software and/or your data as many of the 2022 & 2023 versions cease to allow you to access your company file once you stop paying. 2. Quickbooks Desktop just announced (to partners) a STOP SELL for Quickbooks Desktop (see below).
INTUIT INSTITUTES A STOP SELL FOR QBD PRODUCTS IN 2024
Intuit partners have just been advised that effective July 31st, 2024 they have issued a stop sell of all Quickbooks Desktop Pro Plus and Premier Plus products to new customers. This change is permanent, so moving forward the only desktop option for new customers (or non-subscription customers who don't upgrade by July 2024) will be Quickbooks Enterprise. For those that are not aware, Quickbooks Enterprise IS Quickbooks Desktop but has additional features for larger companies and teams, and a much larger price tag. Intuit has also removed all retail options to purchase QBD Pro Plus/Premier Plus, and the upgrade or renewal can only be purchased through an Intuit accounting partner. (Don't worry, Lake Cook Solutions is an Intuit Accouting Partner!) If a client chooses to stay on Quickbooks Desktop, then the current subscription pricing is still the lowest cost when compared to Quickbooks Enterprise.
Intuit will be announcing this stop sell change to end customers in February 2024. Based on all the information we have to date, if a client updates to the 2024 version, Intuit *should* continue to support you through May of 2027 based on all prior releases. They may continue to iterate and release a 2025 and higher versions, which should also have the 3 year release cycle. We just don't know. Please see the list of frequently asked questions regarding this STOP SELL change below.
PRICING
All prices are for the base software offering only, and for most tiers (Desktop, Online) payroll is extra. All prices are annual and recurring. All pricing is pre-tax, sales tax will be added at point of sale.
How much does Quickbooks Desktop 2024 Cost?
How much does Quickbooks Enterprise 24.0 Cost?
How much does Quickbooks Online Cost?
FAQ:
Q: If I'm not using Intuit Online Services like Payments, Payroll and Bank Feeds, does this impact me?
No. Actually, since you're not using the online aspects of Quickbooks Desktop, you should be able to continue on your unsupported version indefinitely. Lake Cook Solutions will continue to support legacy versions of Quickbooks Desktop (i.e. 2008, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2021). That said, do evaluate your comfort level with running unsupported software and ensure it fits your business continuity needs.
Q: If I'm on an unsupported version of Quickbooks Desktop (2021 or earlier) and I don't upgrade by July 31st, 2024, what happens?
If you don't purchase into Intuit's QBD Subscription Product by the end of July as a 'new customer', then you will effectively be locked out of upgrading your current Quickbooks Desktop software forever. We've seen clients using Quickbooks Desktop as old as 2008 on Windows 10, and it seems to work fine.
Q: How do I know if my Quickbooks is a Subscription Product? Do I have to do anything if I am?
Subscription Versions of Quickbooks Desktop carry the Plus suffix and will have a version year of 2022 or later. (e.g. Quickbooks Desktop Pro Plus 2022 or Quickbooks Desktop Premier Plus 2023)
If you're already on a subscription version of QBD, then you may continue to renew since you are not considered a 'new customer' to the subscription side of the product.
Q: If I subscribe to the current version of Quickbooks Desktop, what happens to my company files? What if I stop my subscription?
Any company files you open in the new version of the software will be upgraded to work with the 2024 version. This is generally a one-way process, so you won't be able to access these company files any longer in non-subscription versions of Quickbooks Online.
If you stop your subscription, the software essentially stops working, locking you out of your data. The data still remains on your PC, and if you subscribe again in the future it would become accessible again. There has been talk about Intuit making the product revert to a read-only state, but we haven't seen that yet. If you migrate your accounting to another software, you could continue using your unsupported non-subscription version of QBD indefinitely. Once you decide to subscribe, you lose the ability to choose to go back.
Q: What products will Intuit no longer be selling and what is the effective date?
Intuit has made a decision that after July 31, 2024, they will no longer sell new subscriptions of the following products:
QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus, QuickBooks Desktop Mac Plus, QuickBooks Desktop Enhanced Payroll
Existing subscribers are not impacted by this change. Existing QuickBooks Desktop Plus and Desktop Payroll subscribers can continue to renew their subscriptions after July 31, 2024. Intuit will continue to provide security updates, product updates, and support for existing subscribers. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise products are also not impacted by this change, and customers can continue to purchase Enterprise subscriptions after July 31, 2024.
Q: Are QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, and Desktop Enhanced Payroll going to be discontinued (sunset)?
QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, and Desktop Enhanced Payroll will not be discontinued at this time. This is a stop sell only for new purchases, not a discontinuation (sunset) of this product line. Existing subscribers of these products can continue to renew their subscriptions after July 31, 2024.* The stop sell only impacts new purchases by Intuit Partners and their clients. Intuit will continue to provide security updates, product updates, and support for existing subscribers.
Q: When will my clients be notified?
Intuit plans to make this announcement to existing QuickBooks Desktop customers in February 2024.
Q: Can a new customer buy these products before July 31, 2024 and continue to renew?
Yes, any customer who has purchased a QuickBooks Desktop Plus or Enhanced Payroll subscription prior to July 31, 2024, will be able to continue to renew after July 31, 2024.
Q: How do clients purchase QuickBooks Desktop Plus or Desktop Enhanced Payroll before the cut off date?
To purchase QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, or Desktop Enhanced Payroll prior to July 31, 2024, please contact an Intuit ProAdvisor Partner. NOTE: Lake Cook Solutions IS an Intuit Partner.
Q: What happens for clients currently on an unsupported version of QuickBooks Desktop?
It’s important to remain on an active, supported version of QuickBooks Desktop; otherwise, you won't have access to live technical support if you run into problems or try to access any of the other Intuit add-on services that can be integrated with QuickBooks Desktop. This includes QuickBooks Desktop Payroll, QuickBooks Desktop Payments, and online bank feeds. Unsupported versions also don't receive the latest critical security patches and updates.
Intuit is encouraging customers on standalone QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, or Mac versions 2021 and older to consider moving to QuickBooks Online for "more efficient workflows and the flexibility to work from anywhere—so you can spend less time at the office and get more done." For customers not yet ready to move to QuickBooks Online, Intuit is encouraging them to purchase a QuickBooks Desktop Plus subscription prior to the stop sell date of July 31, 2024.
Q: Is QuickBooks Enterprise affected by this change?
No. QuickBooks Enterprise is not affected by this stop sell. New Enterprise customers and Intuit partners can continue to purchase QuickBooks Enterprise subscriptions from partner sales channels and online after July 31, 2024. Existing Enterprise customers are also not affected by this stop sell and can continue to renew their subscriptions on their renewal dates.
If you have any questions about this or would like to discuss your specific situation, please email Info@LakeCookSolutions.com or call us @ 847/999-7000.
Thank you,
The Lake Cook Solutions Team
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