When to get out of quickbooks
QuickBooks is user friendly, cost effective and sufficient for small to medium sized businesses but as businesses grow the limitations become apparent. Most businesses will look to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution like NetSuite. But when should you make the switch and is it always the best idea?
Here are the signs your business is ready to make the move:
1. Increased Transaction Volume
If your business is processing a high volume of transactions that QuickBooks can no longer handle, it’s time to switch. This includes slow processing times, struggles to manage data and difficulties in tracking transactions.
2. Global Expansion
If your business is going global, dealing with multiple currencies, multiple subsidiaries, tax regulations and international financial reporting standards can get complicated. NetSuite’s global financial management capabilities are designed to handle these complexities.
3. Complex Inventory Management
Businesses with complex inventory needs, such as tracking inventory across multiple locations, managing backorders or handling drop shipments may find QuickBooks lacks the functionality. NetSuite has inventory management features that can grow with your business.
4. Access for Multiple Users with Different Roles
As businesses grow the need for different level of access and controls for different users becomes essential. If QuickBooks can’t accommodate your growing team’s needs for different access levels and permissions, NetSuite’s role based access control can.
5. Integration with Other Applications
Increasing reliance on other business applications for operations, sales or marketing that require seamless integration with your financial system is another trigger. If QuickBooks is limiting your ability to integrate, NetSuite’s robust API and prebuilt integrations with a wide range of applications can be the solution.
Reasons to hesitate before making the switch
1. Cost
One of the biggest factors to consider is cost. Businesses need to evaluate if the return on investment justifies the higher cost.
2. Implementation Time and Resources
Switching to NetSuite can be a time consuming process, requires careful planning and potentially significant resources to ensure a smooth transition. This includes data migration, system configuration and integration with other business systems.
3. Too Many Features
For some businesses the many features of NetSuite may be more than what they currently need, resulting in unnecessary complexity and cost.
Whether you decide to make the switch now or later, understanding your options ensures that your financial systems evolve in tandem with your business needs.
FAQs
1. What are the signs it’s time to move from QuickBooks to an ERP?
Main indicators are increased transaction volume causing slowness in the system, global expansion requiring multi-currency support, complex inventory management needs, role based access controls for multiple users, and need to integrate with other business applications.
2. How does global expansion impact my QuickBooks?
Global expansion brings in complexities like multiple currencies, multiple subsidiaries, different tax regulations and international financial reporting standards that QuickBooks is not designed to handle efficiently. NetSuite’s global financial management is designed for these challenges.