Why is QBO So expensive???!!!

Which QB Desktop year version do you have?

2021; which means i either upgrade to an end of life program or i find a new solution

I understand that every penny counts, @thefosterhouse. As every business need arises, QuickBooks continues to develop its products with features that help better our customers' business-related activities.

You do have the option to select from our range of QuickBooks Online plans, each tailored to meet your business requirements with its own unique pricing structure. Check out this article to learn more: Plans for every kind of business. 

Additionally, I've added this article for you to check whether you want to update a card, change your subscription, or view your billing history: Manage billing, payment, and subscription info in QuickBooks Online.

If you've got more concerns about QuickBooks, feel free to come by to this thread. I'll be around to help.

"You do have the option to select from our range of QuickBooks Online plans, each tailored to meet your business requirements with its own unique pricing structure. "

WRONG. if my tiny business with the simplest books I can possibly have can't use anything but the HIGHEST TIER to stay functional, then what is the point of the lower tiers? why put basic functionality behind such a massive paywall? 

"EVERY PENNY COUNTS?" we're not talking pennies, this is THOUSANDS OF DOLLARDS. 

@thefosterhouse 

You can still use QB Desktop 2021 with a non subscription license + a 3rd party payroll app as an option. You will register your payroll expense as JE manually in QB Desktop. If you are located in California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington; one payroll app costs $190 per year + $30 per year/employee.

I'm frustratingly in the same boat! Intuit has gone from bearable to unusablely greedy! I uses 2021 Desktop Pro and it has more features than I need, but I need the ones I use. I've been a QB user since 2001. I know I can keep using it after it sunsets. The fact that they time bomb basic features of purchased software is complete BS. The only reason I've upgraded to newer versions has been to keep the online banking connections. I use an external payroll service that costs me less than $200 a year. I just want to be able to download bank and credit card transactions. I'd pay a reasonable amount to keep that function if I had the option. $650 a year for a desktop subscription is not reasonable in any way shape or form.

I'm debating trying Wave, but it does not have some of the functionality I have grown to rely on.

annual subscriptions for a software that doesn't need it is abhorrent and just slimy greed. I barely use +90% of the features as well in QB Pro, but still require the $200 a month tier of their crap online product for my books to be functional. Their sales team have openly lied to me saying "We'rE nOt gEtTinG riD oF QuiCkBoOks" and then every CPA i talk to has said that they have been notified that QuickBooks Desktop is EOL and they're having to move all their clients to QBO or other products this year.

@thefosterhouse 

RE: I've been using Pro Desktop for over a decade and now, to get the SAME product features, it's behind a $200 a month paywall. This is ridiculous.

It is, but also you don't get nearly the same features. QB Online was designed for the smallest businesses with basically no needs. Intuit promoted it that way at first.  And now, while they've added very little real functionally to it, and it is still way behind Desktop, they're pretending it's a replacement. You are experiencing he results.

RE: ...they have been notified that QuickBooks Desktop is EOL and they're having to move all their clients to QBO or other products this year.

You actually still have several years. Intuit is still selling Pro & Premier 2024 and will until about July, and then they will continue to support it for several years, probably their usual three-year plan - according to an email I received from them.

And also, if you want to avoid the nightmare that is QB Online even longer, it turns out Intuit says that they are continuing to build and sell Enterprise Desktop. I just checked, and if Online is going to cost you $4,000 a year, then Enterprise is much cheaper:

@Brianjonesphoto 

If you can download the file in XLS or CSV format from your bank after May 2024, you can use an importer tool as a workaround to replace the bank feed feature. Otherwise, we have another option to keep running the bank feature on QB Desktop. Contact me in private for details.

@thefosterhouse 

every CPA i talk to has said that they have been notified that QuickBooks Desktop is EOL

They will support QB Desktop 2024 until May 2027. I don't see any announcement that they won't release QB Desktop 2025 Enterprise. QBO users still need to use QB Desktop to export data to TurboTax.

any product that requires a subscription is a service that can be removed at any time. 

I just got off the phone with QB support and came on here for any help  - we are in the same situation as you & are just as completely frustrated!! It is a lot of money to throw on such a small business - not sure what to do but definitely do not want to pay this much 

Can you open a 2022 QB file with this 2021 you are talking about? In other words will I be able to import my data?

@Jjjelectric 

we are in the same situation

Which situation?

@tidmore58 

You may have 2 options:

1. Export your data from QBD 2022 to QBO and convert it back to QBD 2021.

2. Use the trial version of QBD 2022 to access your historical data for good and start from scratch in QBD 2021.

@thefosterhouse  What did you end up doing?  Curious if you found any viable alternatives to QB desktop 2021.  I'm in the same boat.  Smallest of small businesses.  This price gouge is preposterous.  Intuit has lost me no matter what with this.

I was able to get a License of QB desktop 2024 while I try and find another alternative. I’m working with my CPA to find a new solution. Intuit totally screwed over every small business with this move. 

The lowest level that has ap ar and gl and full reporting is $30.  If you can't afford that maybe you can just use excel.

I'm in the same boat and completely agree with you.  I wish there was greater competition in the space.  I'm so sick of this cloud nonsense.  In QBO, you can't delete records permanently, you can't download and backup a database file that can be restored later, it's rediculously expensive, if you cancel your subscription, they delete your data after a year, you have to pay a separate subscription for each company file and a separate subscription for each payroll service for each company.  Their Quickbooks Payments merchant account fees are literally exactly twice as much as what I pay in Desktop.  Switching would cost me easily more than $5,000 extra a year.  I HATE this company.  They are terrible

@possumdelight 

you can't download and backup a database file that can be restored later,

Switching would cost me easily more than $5,000 extra a year.

You can convert your data to QB Desktop and use the trial version for good to access your historical data

It has become so outrageous the software is terrible, and the tech services have gotten even worse.  My files have become corrupted.  This never happened with peach tree.  I need a new solution 

@krista wells 

Do you run QB Desktop? What error message did you encounter?

A solution might be to fix an outside payroll provider like Gusto and downgrade to most basic QBO version possible,

which I think is $30/mo? I agree with extreme price hikes, and it’s seems to be happening more often. Used to be $250-600 for 3

year subscription, now it’s like $1800/year!  300% increase!    But we all feel trapped so what the options?   

Based on accountant feedback, we’re releasing Quickbooks Ledger, designed specifically for year-end, tax-only, and low-transaction clients. This accountant only product is currently $10/month per subscription.

maybe consider this?    And outside payroll provider?