@pleasegiveusanemail
"Since I am only using QuickBooks Online when I'm at work, it's crucial for me that when I run into an issue, I can simply explain the issue, send it off, and wait for a comprehensive, intelligent response. I understand that QuickBooks online right now doesn't prioritize any form of asynchronous communication. My question is, will this change?"
Not likely, but we can hope. A quick search on this forum will show you how utterly lacking support is for QB (Desktop or Online). The level of support has been declining steadily over the years. Reading responses on this forum from QB employees is a mixed-bag but mostly very bad. IMO, almost every response from QB employees is just a cut and paste from QB's instructional webpages that can be found with a Google search. Anything beyond that and it's often a guess. Just this morning there was a question posted from a user asking how to enter a formula into the 'Amount' box so QBO could calculate rate x hours when writing a check. The QB employee's response was that QBO cannot do that. That has been a feature in Desktop and Online for a long time.
"To me, it seems like cowardice or laziness, but I'm sure I don't see the whole picture. Can someone explain how this sync-only mode is beneficial to customers or the longevity of QBO?"
You do and it isn't. Regular contributors to this forum (specifically myself and @BigRedConsulting) often get frustrated with the responses from QB employees and let them know. At times, they overextend themselves and give advice which equates to incorrect and dangerous tax advice although they don't realize it. Many times, they answer a different question than what was asked. It's obvious that they have a quota or some measurement that encourages a certain quantity of responses without regard to the quality of those responses.
