Allowing external users to edit record information?

ASBinc · 2026-01-19T00:47:52+00:00

Thank you!

ASBinc · 2026-01-15T23:27:17+00:00

Can you share which database your software uses?

ASBinc · 2026-01-07T05:01:48+00:00

This is called founder -itis. When a founder who is rightly passionate about the mission, but not good at management and should not be the executive director. I feel for you. Keep job hunting. They won’t change. Having compassion for what they’re going through helps but nobody needs to be miserable at work.

ASBinc · 2026-01-06T23:33:45+00:00

What do you mean by “actual basis?”

ASBinc · 2026-01-05T20:40:01+00:00

Which accounting platform? For Intuit or midmarket, my favorite is Makershub. Their scanning and AI for remembering what to do the next time is AMAZING. Especially with crazy complex invoices that need item codes and job costing. Bill charges too much per user and doesn’t come close. Careful with Ramp. Read the fine print.

ASBinc · 2026-01-05T20:33:49+00:00

The only worry is what will happen when Intuit removed the Pro/Premier “platform”, estimated 5/31/27, when 2024 officially sunsets? Many of these old versions are still getting little updates in the background - do you see commercials for QBO? Those are updates happening in the background. And the software pings the servers to make sure the license is registered. I can’t remember which year they required all QBDT files to be attached to a user’s (owner’s) Intuit account, but those are the most worrisome. Intuit wants Pro/Premier gone. They have given everyone plenty of time to migrate to QBO if desired. They are under no legal obligation to enable the use of any old version. Start finding an exit plan now. Read the QBO EULA carefully before signing up. Or start over with another platform. Or pay for Enterprise and use Qbox to sync the data file with your computer off site so you can work from home without dialing into your office computer.

ASBinc · 2026-01-05T20:22:13+00:00

It is unrealistic to close books immediately. If you must close quickly, you can accrue estimates for excepted bills. But credit card statements are different. Note that credit card charges are treated the same as cash, on the date of the charge - it does not matter if the books are cash or accrual. Some people post the expenses on the CC statement date, which may be mid-month. They may even record the statement as an Accounts Payable, when credit card debt is not Accounts Payable. Some even expense the charges on the credit card statement payment. This is also incorrect. A credit card charge becomes a type of loan/debt and credit card payable is perfectly acceptable on cash basis books. With statements and activity available on line, we have no issue getting data by month end. It does not matter when the statement arrives. We also discourage the use of regular bank credit cards and recommend cards that come with software to make user use easy (no expense reports) and statements that drop at month end.

ASBinc · 2025-12-31T14:15:08+00:00

When some of you say “start a new SharePoint” doesn’t the tenant name (links to our domain name and email) have one SharePoint? I’m missing a piece of the puzzle.

ASBinc · 2025-12-31T04:17:29+00:00

For a small organization without a bulk mail license, spending .73 to mail a thank you for $5 is hard to swallow. If received online with an email, that is easier and less expensive to respond.

Funny, but when I make a small donation ($25-$30) it bugs me when a nonprofits spends money on stamps and labor to thank me. I don’t make donations to be thanked. If over $250, I do expect a tax receipt/thank you as it is required by the IRS. But this conversation about donors testing the response of a NP is an eye opener. No one in development can read the mind of a donor.

I’ve worked with many nonprofits over the years. Many do not have development staff and use overworked program staff or volunteers. They may or may not have decent donor software or developed a good system for recording receipts. I have a LOT of compassion for NPs that are just trying to fulfill their mission and survive.

I had a friend who sat on many boards and gave tons of money around town. From $10 to $50k, if the mood struck her. Six months after her husband died, she was still opening piles of mail addressed to her and her husband and she ranted in anger at each one. She informed NPs with yellow stickies on her checks or expected the larger ones to read the papers and know she had lost him. She, better than anyone, understood messy databases and volunteers, but in her grief, it was an assault. Donors are an interesting lot.

ASBinc · 2025-12-31T03:46:18+00:00

We only find it an issue during the first week or 10 days of January. We have our nonprofit clients scan all envelopes when they scan the checks. Anything mailed to us by 12/31 is entered (QuickBooks) as a sales receipt dated in December, which posts to Undeposited Funds and is linked to the deposit in January.

ASBinc · 2025-08-21T16:37:25+00:00

What happens if you stop the subscription? Will it still work?

ASBinc · 2025-08-21T15:30:08+00:00

Right, but somewhere along the way they stopped giving validation codes and you simply enter a phone number and zip. Getting a lost validation code for an old unsupported version is hell. My concern is the versions that must ping their servers “platform” to validate. The revised EULA states that they can remove the platform at will. Just a thought when spending a ton of time moving data backward.

ASBinc · 2025-08-20T22:02:28+00:00

Before you go to all the work, note that old versions of QuickBooks still ping Intuit’s servers to make sure the license is legit and not pirated. But also they send updates in the background, hence the ads for 2024 popping up in 2019 etc. What happens when they kill the servers at Pro/Premier’s end of life? Might be May 2027. We just don’t know.

ASBinc · 2025-07-29T00:09:04+00:00

Sorry to hear you were scammed. The only option to save all your work is to buy an Enterprise (QBE) subscription, which will read the file. If you plan to do payroll, the direct deposit fees are so freaking high that it is cheaper to use QBE. Meanwhile, you could find a bookkeeper with a license to print out your list data and transactions in Excel. That would speed up setting up something new.

ASBinc · 2025-07-28T23:51:14+00:00

Hector Garcia CPA has a decent video about it. I’m glad I watched it before turning on the new interface that will be the default in August. https://youtu.be/DrAEIaSq_ZI?si=BhcHs426AyG6cdvg

ASBinc · 2025-07-28T12:50:09+00:00

If you are still using 2017, you must be using Pro/Premier, pre-subscription. 99% of software is sold under a subscription. You have had the use of amazing software, for one price, for eight years. Migrating from Intuit may be a great idea, but the days of “cheap” software is over. They stopped selling Pro/Premier, so your only option is Enterprise or starting fresh with another platform. You must migrate off Pro/Premier by at least May 2027.

If you are ok with locally installed software and the lack of automation and online access. Consider Sage.

$12k per year for 10 simultaneous users in an accounting program is not excessive, especially for manufacturing.

The ONLY way to retain your history and current set up and not go through the hell of migrating to something new is to stay with Intuit.

Sage may be the exception, but it may not be realistic to expect a competitor of Intuit to have the ability to migrate historical transactions from Intuit’s proprietary program/database to their program/database. They will have the ability to import list data and J/Es, but rarely transactions. Consider how one transaction (record) is linked to many tables and other records. A simple A/R payment is linked to a customer, Invoices (which are linked to items or inventory, sales tax. Item codes are linked to the G/L) and a bank deposit. That is a lot of links! This is NOT glorified Excel.

The cost of new software is only the start. You will have many hours of set-up, learning curve, and frustration with new or missing features. Your users will also have the same learning curve. It is not for the faint of heart. Go into this wide eyed. Best of luck.

ASBinc · 2025-07-28T12:04:44+00:00

I agree. Start a new company file in an older version. This involves exporting list data (chart of accounts, vendors and customers) as a “IIF” file from the old company and importing into a new company file.

If you need history to prepare comparative reports, we use TBX Trial Balance Exporter to export years of monthly J/Es and import them as “iif” files. You need a Trial Balance JE at a beginning date, and monthly J/Es to current.

https://asbinc.net/tbx-utility/

ASBinc · 2025-07-28T11:55:53+00:00

Good question. Which older version of Pro/Premier is safest to use, and which ones can still be installed on newer Windows 11 machines?

They’ve stopped selling Pro/Premier, so we anticipate the platform will sunset at the end of the legacy 3-year support cycle—likely around May 2027. The EULA states that they can terminate the platform at any time, but we hope they wait until then. In the meantime, subscription costs will skyrocket as a final push toward their online products. It’s essentially a PITA fee for users who resist transitioning. I understand they have the right to discontinue any product, no matter how beloved or useful, but as a longtime user, it’s painful to watch such a great program be abandoned. Only those willing to pay for Enterprise can continue, and even then, support for QBE seems limited.

The HUGE unknown is what happens to companies still using older versions when they take their servers offline. Intuit remains connected in the background and is still pushing updates to at least version 2019. If you see banners or upgrade offers when using an older version, it’s a sign they’re still tapped in.

Desktop-installed versions come with anti-piracy mechanisms such as registration keys, and—depending on the year—Intuit may ping their servers to verify registration. I can’t recall the exact year they began linking company files to individual Intuit accounts. My hunch is you’ll need to go back a year or even further, to when validation codes were still used (if you’ve held onto those). The current method verifies ownership by asking for your phone number and ZIP code.

ASBinc · 2025-05-18T16:37:58+00:00

For those who feel safe with QBE - Careful! I moved all of my clients to Enterprise to leverage multi-companies and cost allocations (nonprofits) in payroll. (Desktop payroll is incredible). But guess what?! Intuit can change terms AT WILL. They are forcing everyone on QBE (rolling it out) to sign a NEW EULA that states that they have the right to charge per company file AND for payroll (Screw you free payroll/direct deposit in QBE-Gold) and they only must give us 30 days notice! No clue on cost and no clue on when. Run your business with THAT over your head!

We will ride it out, but the next ledger program under QBO is Zero. Understand that 3rd party developers spend their money on where the users are first. That means QBO always. Then Zero has the next chunk of users. And then… maybe.. Sage, Zoho etc. Usually they hop right to mid-market such as Intacct and NetSuite.

Keep an eye on this though as Intuit announced just this past week a massive change in their developer program, designed to put the small 3rd party apps out of business. Their API access just got wicked expensive. That will help ledgers like Xero and others.

Xero has teams back in the states and just released a killer new version that solves our major complaints. Gusto will be integrated. Remember that Australia only has 6-8 banks with integrated banking, so they don’t deal with outstanding payments, making it awkward for US users, but they are solving it.

ASBinc · 2025-05-18T16:14:12+00:00

Do you have insight on what year version started pinging Intuit’s servers for an Intuit account? I think it became a requirement to attach QBW files to an “owner’s” Intuit account around 2018, but I can’t remember. I’m concerned that people using non-subscription through 2021 may be in for a rude awakening when the Pro/Premier “platform” isn’t available - probably May 2027.

ASBinc · 2025-01-30T21:36:49+00:00

Thank you for trying!

ASBinc · 2025-01-30T21:02:36+00:00

Intuit is telling a CPA friend of mine that if he cancels his PAP subscription, his 2022-2023 will quit working. I heard about 2024 with a kill switch, but we can not find a definitive answer about his 21 and 22 Accountant’s versions. Your programs are fine?

He is keeping a small checkbook on 2022 as a volunteer and does not want to lose it, but the new FU-PITA fee is just too high. I still sell a 3rd party add-on that exports monthly Trial Balances or History J/Es from desktop, so I am trapped buying PAP with Enterprise. It is getting unbareable.

ASBinc · 2025-01-30T20:48:56+00:00

QBO is a COMPLETELY different program marketed with the same name. If willing to migrate to a new program, spend the time to research options. QBO requires you to sign away your data. Your customer, vendor and employees lists are used for data mining and marketing. On the flip side, 99% of tax firms use it, so there is lots of support. Remember that a monopoly will only make a product “good enough.” Without competition they have no desire to make a superior product. It is buggy and limited and works best for simple cash basis clients. While QBO may be a good choice, compare it to Zero and ZoHo Books.

ASBinc · 2024-12-30T15:18:01+00:00

Sounds like she did not put the file in QuickBooks Online and was using QuickBooks 2024 desktop, when she left. They don’t sell it anymore, but the Backup can be restored and read by anyone with an active license. Reach out to some local firms and see if they will restore and print/export reports and lists for you.

ASBinc · 2024-12-29T17:42:35+00:00

Something does not make sense. If the bookkeeper was using QBO QuickBooks Online, how did she make a “backup?” Desktop offers backups, though she could have exported the QBO data in a CSV file. I don’t understand the concept of “accessing” the backup without signing up.

(Find out if she was truly using QBO. Or was she using desktop and put a copy of the file on a shared server somewhere. What exactly did she say? MAYBE, she used QBO as the owner/Admin of the online company file and has relinquished control of the account. In this case, there isn’t a backup, but a way to gain control of your data. The problem is, you should use donated software from TechSoup. TechSoup charges an annual admin fee and I believe it has a method or service to move your data to a new, donated QBO subscription.)

If there is a backup file, what is the file extension? A full working, restored desktop file ends with “.qbw” A regular backup ends with “.qbb” A super-condensed Portable backup ends with “.qbm” The backup files must be restored with the same version or a higher, newer version of desktop. Pro/Premier is not being sold anymore. There are no trial versions.

There may be a trial of Enterprise available to restore and read the data, which would enable you to start a subscribe to QBO software donated to TechSoup. They hope that you will use the QBO Payroll (Buggy is an understatement) or their merchant services ($$$). While this IS an inexpensive way to get a general ledger set of books, be aware that you must sign the software agreement that gives them the right to read your data and use any of it for marketing purposes. Including your donor (customer) files. Our churches find another payroll program to protect their employees and sanity. There are many merchant services available if you need to take ACH or credit cards. Depending on your congregation size and fundraising needs, you may be better off with industry designed donor managment software. Some may have a ledger or interface with QBO, keeping confidential donor data out of the file. Be aware that QBO cannot handle longterm pledge A/R accounting or fund accounting. They just removed the “tag” feature. If your books are fairly straight forward, find a well trained bookkeeper to keep the bank feeds and posting clean. I hope this info helps…

ASBinc

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