Question: I have a Mac that I use for my business, but I’d like to use QuickBooks. What are my options?
Answer: There is a Mac desktop version of QuickBooks, which is very different from the Windows QuickBooks and is inadequate for our business. Furthermore, it is being discontinued, and a 2017 version is not being released.
If you ask Intuit what to do, they will direct you to QuickBooks Online, which is not a suitable option for our industry. The best QuickBooks products for our industry are Premier and Enterprise.
I have clients with Mac who have purchased “parallels,” which permits both Mac and Windows to be on your Mac computer. It seems to work well enough, but constantly switching back and forth between the two is confusing.
Another option is to host your QuickBooks Premier or Enterprise in a cloud. There are several services that do this, like Novel Aspect or Right Networks.
And, of course, check with your I.T. person to make sure your selection works with your current system.
QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise can be modified to better serve ad specialty distributors. Harriet Gatter is a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, a former accounting professor and a former ad specialty distributor. She advises ad specialty distributors to use QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise, often in conjunction with other industry-specific software, to manage the complexities of the ad specialty business, with the results being time saved, errors eliminated and an overall accurate accounting of your business. Contact her at [email protected]
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