Subscription fee

Good morning, @PM500. 

Welcome to the Community! Let me share a bit more information with your subscription fee. 

It sounds like you used the standalone version of QuickBooks Desktop and now you're paying for a subscription because all of our Desktop products are subscription based now. 

We did send out email notifications explaining why these changes were made and the benefits of having a subscription. Review this guide for more details: Announcing changes to QuickBooks products and pricing/QuickBooks Desktop FAQs. 

I recommend looking into using our QuickBooks Online product since you're only needing the software for basic needs. Check out the pricing and features that come with it, through this article: QBO info. 

Feel free to come back if you have any other questions or concerns. We're always here to lend a helping hand. Take care! 

We would like to continue using the desktop version. Do we have the option to incorporate the Simple Start into our desktop version so the annual subscription is not so costly? And please send us a copy of the email notification with the explanation for the 55% increase. Can you also address why it would be cheaper to buy a new desktop version every year rather than pay a subscription fee for an older version? 

Hey there again, @PM500. 

I appreciate you coming back and asking more questions.

QuickBooks Online and Desktop are two separate products, so you wouldn't be able to incorporate both of them to get a better cost. 

If you haven't received the email, you'll need to check your spam/junk folder to be sure. Sometimes the emails will go there instead of to your inbox based on settings. 

The benefits to having a subscription would be the support, product updates, as well as access to the most current DT version with the option of included upgrade when newer versions are released. 

Reach back out again if you have any more concerns. I'm only a reply away if you need me. Happy Wednesday! 

@PM500   What you're not being told, is that your subscription price will go up EVERY year.  Plan accordingly.  

And if we have the desktop version and decide not to renew the subscription, does that mean we are locked out of the program and unable to access all of our records from the previous year and years prior? 

Let me continue to help by answering your question, PM500.

Your access to your files through QuickBooks will only be locked out while your subscription is inactive, and it will be reinstated after renewing your subscription. For more information, please refer the QuickBooks Desktop cancelation policies and expand the product that you're subscribed to.

If you want to see more references for QuickBooks Desktop, just click the Topics menu above and choose QuickBooks Desktop in the product list on the next page.

Feel free to go back to this thread if you have more questions in mind. Take care and have a good done!

I understand that if a subscription is not renewed, then no new transactions should take place moving forward, but to lock a company out of their past personal files from software that they have already paid for is nothing short of unfair.  At this point I am requesting a phone call from a representative to discuss this and our previous concerns.  After all, we just paid $549 for what equates to basic customer service.   

Has anyone retained an attorney to sue Intuit for doing this to customers who have each paid thousands of dollars for the right to input data into their company files. Intuit cannot possibly legally block customers, who do not renew a subscription to Quickbooks Pro Plus or Premiere, from accessing the critical data they have entered into their company files even if they do not renew their subscription.  A $200 increase - this year only - is outrageous, fraudulent, and grossly unfair.  Last year my renewal was only $50.  Will Intuit raise the price next year by $500?  What a joke!  Anyone know of a good class action law firm?

@JessT   The question was:  "if we have the desktop version and decide not to renew . . . we are locked out of the program and unable to access all of our records . . .?" 

Your REAL answer should have just been:

" YES.  Intuit holds your data hostage until you pay up." 

Bottom Line:

Intuit is a monopoly engaging in price gouging and unfair business practices. The plain truth is that their website Lead Line “Powering Prosperity Around the World" (and boasting $12.7 BILLION in revenue)  . . . is REALLY all about THEIR OWN PROSPERITY.  
Increasing a  "manadatory subscription" price by over 50% is unethical and immoral. 

I was forced into the subscription model last year, at a rate of $350/year, in order to retain usage of other Intuit products (merchant services and payroll). One year later and the rate goes up to $550! It's deceptive and gross, bordering on fraudulent when you add in the threat of losing access to all of your historic data if you don't renew.

QuickBooks just charged a $525.00 fee in April 2023.  Today they've charged an additional $799.00!  This is getting ridiculous!  

Hi, @slarry. I want to ensure these charges' concern will be handled well.

In this case, we'll have to pull up your account to investigate further about these charges. However, we can do it here since the Community is an open forum. So, I'd recommend reaching out to our phone or messaging team. They can securely look into your account and offer further suggestions to resolve the issue.

Here's how:

1. From your company file, go to the Help menu.
2. Select Contact Us.
3. Enter your concern, then select Let's Talk.
4. Choose a way to connect with us:

• Start a chat with a support expert.
• Get a callback from the next available expert.

You can see this article for the support schedule: QuickBooks Online Support.

If you have any other concerns with Intuit charges, you can check out this article to verify: Understand Intuit charges on your credit card or bank statement. This includes steps and forms on how you can check Intuit charges.

I'll be here if you need anything else. Stay healthy and be positive!

Did you find out what the two charges were for?  I'm guessing the $799 was for payroll.  I remember when payroll tax tables were $25.00.

I have a hatred for Quick books which is so high I am going to retire rather than upgrade to the subscription version of QB next year.  The major reasons:  1) Going from renewing QB Desktop Pro for about $200 once every 3 years to $549.00 per year for the subscription version - and I expect it will continue to rise astronomically.  2)  The fact you lose the ability to even look at your data after you stop paying.  Right now you can use QB Pro 2019 and while they don't support it you can still use it to do anything on a limited basis which does not include payroll or other electronic transfer features.  3)  They keep pushing QB Online.  A product that is very, very much inferior to Desktop Pro.  Only an accountant or a bookkeeper knows the difference and that is what they are counting on.  For many years I have refused to work with a client with QB Online.

And taking payments on line used to be 50 cents - it is now $3.00 and the 2 clients I have using it, it never works.  I have to manually figure out what the deposits are supposed to be.  For $3 a payment???

They are basically a monopoly now and don't care that we hate them.  And it infuriates me even more to read the responses from tech support and their ridiculous comments about staying positive!  

Quickbooks has decided to treat their customers of many years with total disregard.  These payroll and subscription renewal fees have become absolutely prohibitive for the average small business. In the past the sales model was to provide product enhancements which would encourage you to upgrade product.  That coupled with reasonable annual fees for the payroll module is what has led to them being the industry leader of this service with small businesses.  A few years ago that changed and minimal if any significant changes were made to the software including not even fixing the dismal slow performance, the poor formatting of the reports , poor formatting of the date column on the register screen.... I could go on.   Since no one would willing upgrade to the newest versions they switched to a subscription based model forcing users to upgrade or your software became unusable.  About the same time they started implementing additional fees per employee as if it somehow cost more to calculate the payroll for more employees.  If you are not providing direct deposit then there is little or no additional expense in calculating the payroll.  Intuit knows full well that they have you hostage.  They waited for all competitors to essentially drop out of the market then they started ramping up the charges.  Finally, no one wants to be a part of your Cloud where your data is easily hacked. Just ask T-Mobile, Delta Dental, MoveIt, Chick-fil-A, and many others about their substantial data breaches.  No thanks!  Please stop trying to force all users online. Shame on intuit for treating their long term customers this way!

@SoftwareCrookery 

You can use QB Desktop with a non subscription license + a 3rd party payroll app to lower your costs.

Yeah - pricing creeping up YOY. Now I pay QuickBooks Essentials $696.00 a yr!!!??? and it is the essential service. I think I will switch to wave

@Maryse928 

You can convert your data to QB Desktop file and use the trial version to access your historical data for good. Then you may start from scratch in Wave.

I don’t mind the fee as much as the changes that came unexpectedly and unwanted. I re-create my payroll in QB for MY records only… I pay a CPA and GUSTO to make sure all is in line and correct) …. I just want to have that information integrated with all my other records for ME. Now, when I finish entering payroll I get a message saying the information has been transmitted to QB. I do NOT want any information going ANYWHERE. I only allow online access to get updates. Why has this changed. I will discontinue my subscription if I do not get it remedied quickly. I called customer support and heard a lot of cordial niceties, but no answer as to why my info is being transferred. Only that is safe and secure Like every other company that has been breached, right? But, I digress. I don’t care how secure it is, I didn’t ask to have it transmitted and you do not have my permission to TAKE it! What is so hard to understand?

Class action lawsuit in the making

Seriously! I posted here on a different concern but still very egregious. I have never been a big supporter of class action, I have always thrown them in the trash bin, but these recent practices are overreach at the very least.