Tax time isn’t the only annual event businesses have to pay attention to. Each year, just like clockwork, Intuit sunsets another version of QuickBooks desktop software to move the market forward and focus on the newer versions. Technology advancements, feature additions and functional improvements are constantly being introduced so license holders are regularly asked to update and (annually) upgrade their software. When a new version of the software is released, Intuit ends support for the older versions. In this case, as QuickBooks 2022 becomes mainstream, QuickBooks 2019 goes out of support.
Intuit always notifies license holders in advance as services for older versions of QuickBooks Desktop are put on the schedule to be discontinued. For some, this notification comes via email or phone, but for many it is a notification provided right in the software. A popup or other message is displayed that notifies the user that their software needs to be upgraded to the newer version.
Service discontinuation will happen on the schedule provided by Intuit. The key date is May 31, 2022. After that date, access to any add-on services will end for those using QuickBooks Desktop 2019, for Windows platform. The discontinuation of services applies to all 2019 desktop editions of QuickBooks, including QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, QuickBooks Accountant, and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions.
For users of QuickBooks Point of Sale, the key date is August 10, 2022. After this date, QB POS v18 will no longer have access to add-on services
If you don’t use any add-on services in QuickBooks desktop 2019, then your product will likely still work for you. There won’t be any live support available, and none of the other Intuit services that work with QuickBooks desktop will work with your 2019 version, and you won’t receive any updates or patches for security or other fixes.
Losing security updates should be reason enough to upgrade your software, even if you don’t need the add-on services. It’s your financial data, so you should consider the value of having better security than your out-of-date software can provide.
When Intuit decides to discontinue services for QuickBooks Desktop 2019, what that means is that the software will no longer connect to services it once worked with. Services no longer available with QuickBooks desktop 2019 (after May 31, 2022) include
- QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Services
- QuickBooks Live Support
- QuickBooks Online Backup
- QuickBooks Online Banking
- Other services QB 2019 connects to…
You also won’t receive critical security updates starting June 1, 2022. If you receive any security updates before this date, install them.
To upgrade your QuickBooks software, you will need to purchase a subscription to the new version.
Yes, that’s right…. A subscription. There is no longer any option to do an outright purchase of your QuickBooks software license. Rather, you will be purchasing an annual subscription to the software, which must be maintained in order to keep using the software. Under the 2019 license, you can still use the software even if the support lapses because the application will still run, just without any connected services or updates. But with the subscription license, the subscription must be active for the software to run. In short, keeping the license subscription current and the software updated becomes mandatory, not optional.
This is the full list of QuickBooks products affected by service discontinuation after May 31, 2022.
- QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2019
- QuickBooks Desktop Premier 2019 (General Business, Contractor, Manufacturing & Wholesale, Nonprofit, Professional Services, and Retail)
- QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 19
- QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition 2019
- QuickBooks Enterprise Accountant 19
- QuickBooks Desktop for Mac 2019
These are the products/services affected by service discontinuation after August 10, 2022
- QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale 18.0 payments services:
- Intuit Payments integration
- Intuit Service Store Exchange
- Mobile Sync feature
While Intuit sunsets the older versions of QuickBooks every year after a new version is released, these days they’re being a little more aggressive in trying to convert folks to QuickBooks Online. QBO does offer some neat features such as automatic bank account updates, but it isn’t quite what QuickBooks desktop users have come to expect from their beloved QB. The functionality of QBO is quite different from QB desktop, as is the data format. QuickBooks desktop “power users” will likely as not disapprove of how QBO handles things and will find that the functionality is limited in comparison.
QuickBooks Online may be a good alternative for Pro version users who don’t need much detailed functionality from their software… paying bills and invoicing customers is easily handled in QBO, but more advanced requirements still need desktop to get it done. Another sticky issue with QBO is where multiple company files are involved. With Online, each company is a separate “subscription”, where QuickBooks desktop sees it as just another company file. With QBO, you pay per-company, but not with QB desktop. For some businesses with many files or business entities to manage, this is a deal-breaker for using QBO.
For businesses that need the features and functionality of the desktop editions but also want the benefits of anytime/anywhere access, consider running your QuickBooks on the Microsoft cloud with NOOBEH. For single-user needs, a Microsoft CloudPC for small business may be just the ticket. It’s affordable (same price or less than with shared hosting) and you can run ALL your business software on it for no additional fees. When multi-user access is needed, NOOBEH delivers completely private cloud servers where all your users can access your business applications and data securely, from anywhere you need them to.
No, Intuit is not ending support for QuickBooks desktop software
Intuit is not doing away with the desktop versions of QuickBooks, no matter what a QuickBooks sales agent may tell you. While the QuickBooks tele-sales group may be focusing on getting people subscribed to QuickBooks Online, there remain millions of users of the desktop editions and the company is more than happy to continue selling them software. The features and functionality of QuickBooks desktop editions, particularly Premier and Enterprise, continue to be in high demand by growing businesses around the world. There are also many 3rd party solutions which integrate only with the desktop editions of QuickBooks, due largely to the advanced functionality available.
QuickBooks Online is an easy first introduction to finance software for a new small business owner, and the solution may work for the business for some time. As the business grows and as needs change and become more complex, it will be necessary to implement software solutions that can adapt and address the new requirements. If that’s QBO, great. If QuickBooks desktop editions can handle things better, that’s also great. Either way, Mendelson Consulting and NOOBEH have the right solution for you, along with the best way to keep it running and working for your business.
Make Sense?
J
Cooper Mann Company 