I echo the comments I've seen posted here and in related threads since the price increase announcement. Quickbooks Online is already a top-tier priced product, so couching the increase in with alignment to similar offerings is a canned and insulting copy/paste response. As are the reasons about the need to add new features.

Like many small business owners, I touch 20% of the overall features to run my basic business and I'm not clamoring for new features I will never use. If this is the case, tier the product with additional levels so those that want/need and ask for the features that QB claims can simply sign on at those levels and leave the Essentials level alone. It's called Essentials, so stop adding things that aren't essential and jacking the price 25%. 

I'd be really curious to see the product enhancement roadmap history about how many Essentials users are demanding these new features. It seems more likely that QB is simply trying to maximize revenue by adding additional (extra fee features) likke QB cash, time tracking, etc. that people using Essentials are not asking for. 

A 25% increase is ridiculous in one swing of the bat like this. Since I have to use QB online to interface with our accountant/tax prep, I am stuck for now. But I'm going to consult with my accountant on other options as we have discussed before that QB Online is a big expense for businesses like mine (consulting and services business) that only need P&L, Balance sheets, and basic accounts tracking. I use another service for payroll and contractor mgmt that is far cheaper than QB and VERY effective for my business and small employee numbers. I wish they had an accounting package.