It happens—you start a business and get the best product you can afford at the time to manage your operations. You scrimp and save until you can come up with enough money to put QuickBooks to work for you. But soon, you’ve outgrown the capabilities this platform has to offer, and over the years, you’ve gotten creative with workarounds that help you at least function (albeit in frustration) so you can accomplish your day-to-day tasks.
Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone.
Before you know it, you’re dealing with sales tax, inventory management, warehouse operations, and you’ve got spreadsheets and sticky notes trying to bridge the gaps that QuickBooks can’t cover.
Have you ever considered that your money-saving endeavor to stick with QuickBooks could be putting your business at risk? If you’re like many business leaders, probably not. The truth is, however, that the workarounds you’ve created as your organization has grown could ultimately be harmful to your overall operations, costing you in both safety and money in the long run.
How, you ask? Let’s take a look.
1. How Does Shadow IT Impact QuickBooks Workarounds?
For starters, you should understand what shadow IT is.
Shadow IT uses information tech systems, devices, and software without explicit IT department approval. In other words, it increases the chances for your data to end up outside of your control.
For instance, let’s say a staff member has access to a shared drive. He or she could download a document to their personal device then re-upload it to their personal cloud storage system. This means that data has leaked out of your organization’s system.
Employees use shadow IT as workarounds when their current systems aren’t giving them everything they need. This results in risks to both security and visibility, as well as potential losses of information and data breaches. When your QuickBooks capabilities are too limited for your staff’s needs, they’re more likely to use shadow IT to overcome limitations and annoyances brought on by the product.
The Risk: When your IT department isn’t vetting the processes your employees are using, requiring specific permissions or access, a great many vulnerabilities can surface, including places where hackers will happily infiltrate your internal systems.
2. Are You Encountering Accounting Issues?
The first (and often most obvious sign) that you’ve outgrown QuickBooks occurs when you’re suddenly seeing an uptick in accounting errors. Your accounting system should be minimizing your problems, not increasing them. You shouldn’t have to waste time fixing unnecessary mistakes.
Along those same lines, if billing is taking forever when it comes time to reconcile the books, or if converting to other currencies produces numerous errors, it’s probably time to make a switch.
The Risk: Sticking with outdated accounting systems can cost you in the long run, both in terms of errors that could slip through the cracks and time you could spend doing more productive things than fixing said errors.
3. Is Your Team Experiencing Manual Process Overload?
Your software products should enhance your overall business flow, not impede it. If you’ve outgrown QuickBooks and have created workaround just to get by, your team is likely dealing with a dozen manual processes intended to marry disparate systems together.
The Risk: Cumbersome manual processes are prone to errors, and they leave your team with less time for analysis that actually brings value to your operations.
4. Is Your Setup More Complex Thank QuickBooks Can Handle?
QuickBooks isn’t designed to manage firms’ trust accounts or other options that are beyond out-of-the-box solutions. To manage deficiencies in the QuickBooks system, you have to really understand the software, as well as the rules you’re up against when you’re handling your accounts. The setup process can be daunting, and even after a ton of work, it may not yield what you’re looking for, often presenting strange formats or numerous steps to get your mission and goals aligned with the software you’ve chosen.
The Risk: If your setup is too complex, QuickBooks simply won’t be able to handle it. That will mean it’s up to you to rely on accountants and attorneys to handle their needs outside of your source of truth, which is never best practice.
5. Have You Had Trouble with Security or Compliance Issues?
Depending on the industry that you’re in, using QuickBooks might put you at risk of non-compliance. If you’re not confident your organization would come out of an audit squeaky clean, you really need to analyze your current processes. If you’re not 100% certain that you’d pass an audit with flying colors, you need to look for a solution that can put your mind at ease.
The Risk: You never want to play between the lines when it comes to compliance. If you’re not willing to risk fines, legal reprimands, your customers’ trust, and your brand’s reputation, you need to consider switching to a solution that’s built for your needs.
6. Are You Willing to Work with a Provider That Can Eliminate Unnecessary Burdens?
This should be a resounding “Yes!” If not, maybe you’re okay dealing with your workarounds, but our team at MIBAR can promise this isn’t a sustainable solution for long-term growth.
If you’re ready to see how an upgraded system can help you make the most of all of your investments, including people and technology, we’re ready to show you the way. We invite you to talk to our software experts today to learn how we can help you get around your workarounds.
Stop Struggling With QuickBooks, Start Improving Your Business
QuickBooks was designed only to automate a handful of core accounting functions, not to manage your entire business. If your business is experiencing any of the above critical limitations, it’s time to graduate to a solution like NetSuite or Acumatica.
Switching from QuickBooks allows companies to increase efficiency, simplify core processes and boost productivity, leading to long-term success.
Reach out to our team at MIBAR to learn how we can help you get started today!
Additional QuickBooks Migration Resources
Comparing 8 Key Features of NetSuite vs. QuickBooks
8 Signs QuickBooks is Holding Your Business Back
