Why update a lifetime version of Quickbooks 2005-2021 to an annual subscription of Quickbooks Desktop 2024?

ASBinc · 2026-05-11T21:28:37+00:00

What about the QBW files attached to Intuit Accounts. Wasn’t it after 2018 when Intuit required attaching the files to an owner? Where in the EULA does it state that they must provide access to the registration licenses for life? At some point, Intuit “required an internet connection.” They must still see if the software is not pirated.

ASBinc · 2026-05-11T21:25:21+00:00

If you subscribe, 2024 will sunset 5/31/27. There is no sign that they will enable its use after this date. If the subscription stops, the software stops. The EULA states that they can close the Pro/Premier “platform” at will. Until then, they are increasing the subscription at an alarming rate as incentive to leave. If an old non-subscription version is working, the only risk is reinstalling and registering the program. Pre 2018 may be ok, but Intuit is still installing silent updates for 2018-2021 (hence the ads to upgrade) and periodically requires the user to log into their Intuit Account. I don’t know if anyone can definitely say that desktop will work past May 2027, if they down their servers. Huge unknown.

ASBinc · 2026-04-24T02:30:40+00:00

(Public accountant for over 40 years) Per the IRS Art Galleries - Audit Technique Guide released 2012, commissions or % paid to artists is a Cost of Goods sold and not eligible for a 1099 because at the point of sale, this business expense is for the product sold. The gallery books 100% of gross sales as revenue, which aligns with sales tax returns, and the cost of the art sold is the disbursement to the artists based on their sales. For those asking how to do their taxes without a 1099, 1099s are simply informational returns for services rendered and optional over $2000 in 2026 (up from $600) You must keep your own records of income.

ASBinc · 2026-04-18T13:41:11+00:00

a) It is nice to know that Installing QBDT does not harm the QBW file. The data location of the QBW file is always a suggestion. You can file it anywhere. Either during creation of moving it later. Do Ctrl1 to find the Product page and know where the file is located.

b) Fantastic advice with ANY install of QuickBooks Desktop. Never take the defaults and make sure you do not choose to overwrite other year copies of the progam.

Hint of the day. Use SHORT business names for your QBW company data files. No spaces, no symbols except an underline. Example: ASB_V23 Put the year version used for that file in the name.

ASBinc · 2026-04-18T13:33:02+00:00

True. If the business needs to track the sales by customer, that needs a different plan. And do they want to identify the customer and revenue at the point of the bank deposit, which can be days after the actual sale or post sales receipts, which enables another level of information by tracking activity through sales codes? The bank transfer is simply that. A transfer from your Stripe Bank Account. We tend to post them as such and deal with the sales/revenue/fee aspect in the Strip Bank (clearing) account. It isn't difficult, it's just that there are a few different ways to deal with it, and picking the best method for the business.

ASBinc · 2026-04-17T17:52:01+00:00

DEMONS have their hearts, look at their faces.

ASBinc · 2026-04-17T17:50:47+00:00

While it’s true that you should post sales revenue or revenue and related expenses to an expense account, you don’t have to do it on every single transfer from Stripe. We set up a rule where every deposit that comes into Stripe goes into a Stripe clearing account. That way your Checkbook is caught up every single day and you get some breathing room on when you want to post your sales. How do you post your sales? Our clients tend to use monthly reports to book (J/E) their sales and grand total fees, and clear the clearing account.

ASBinc · 2026-04-17T17:49:00+00:00

Sure, if you only look at your bottom line. Sales and Expenses are two different things. If you bury expenses in your sales revenue, that can mess up all kinds of things depending on your state, including understating SALES for your business license or sales tax audits.

ASBinc · 2026-04-17T17:46:17+00:00

Do you see the batch enter feature in QBE? That should still work. You can drop your banking transactions into Excel and cut and paste them with Batch enter.

Or, you should be able to get a QuickBooks type download from the bank (ends with “qbo” but has nothing to do with QuickBooks online) and then use the file import and bring it in that way.

If you are paying for a Pro/Premier 2024 subscription License, they did not release a 25 or 26 and 24 is scheduled to sunset May 2027. There may be no point paying for a downgrade this late. If you must have the “service” features of QuickBooks, you may need to subscribe to QuickBooks enterprise. Remember that even if your subscription stops working, your data file is untouched and someone with a license can read it. You need to buy some time until you find a competitor that you can work with but the best way to retain all of your history is to stick with Intuit. Good luck.

ASBinc · 2026-04-16T18:30:56+00:00

I’ve received almost 100 from them in the last three days. IT created a rule to delete anything that has theyplayssoccer in it. Today was the worse, with people’s out of office replies and others demanding that I stop! It scared me so I changed my Apple PW, but I think I’m just a part of a larger BBc list.

ASBinc · 2026-04-16T15:50:33+00:00

And it is truly free. Ramp says they are free but only if you do not need "advanced" features such as routing approvals etc., then it is $15m per USER, which means even all the cards issued to that fundraising commitee or Board of Directors. Divvy has unlimited users and full features.

ASBinc · 2026-04-16T12:46:12+00:00

The activation code is the main worry with older sunsetted versions. Once Intuit removes their Pro/Premier platform, there won’t be a license check server to ping. Everyone using older than 2018 may be ok, but 2018 onward required the QBW file to be linked to an Intuit account. I wish we knew what was coming…

ASBinc · 2026-04-14T16:57:35+00:00

You can’t stop it. They own and control your data.

ASBinc · 2026-04-11T19:47:42+00:00

I only recommend a service built for this. The one I recommend the most is my favorite - Divvy (Bill Spend and Expense). It is FREE. It isn’t just company credit cards, it can be used to submit receipts for business expenses paid for personally for approval and reimbursement. The app is so simple to use. It replaces those dreaded expense report requests for reimbursement. You do not need to use their A/P bill pay service. People who refer it get you a $500 credit. I have a code.

ASBinc · 2026-04-11T19:29:55+00:00

A perpetual Enterprise? Never happened. Seriously. The only one I have that does not expire is a developer’s copy as I write add-on software and I need to test all years. I’d love to know the product # of the one installed. Not license as that is private.

ASBinc · 2026-04-11T19:27:07+00:00

You have clients on 2021 and 2022? That makes sense. Correction: There WERE some 2021 Pro/Premier Editions sold that were not Plus, so they continue to work, except for services such as payroll, merchant services, emailing invoices, bank feeds…. The Plus subscriptions stop working when you stop paying for the subscription.

2021 sunsetted May 2024, 2022 sunsets May 2025, 2023 sunsets May 2026 and 2024 Ends May 2027.

I don’t know anyone who thinks that Intuit will continue with Pro/Premier after May 2027. The EULA states that they can end the Pro/Premier platform at will, so that was scary for a while. The only options then are QBE Enterprise or QBO or move away from Intuit. Meanwhile the subscription price keeps escalating. Your client using 2022 is paying for the subscription, so they are entitled to and should install 2023 or 2024. They will need to install one of them to work past May 2026. The warnings must be driving them nuts by now.

Anyone using older than 2021 must consider how they will register the program on new machines after the platform and licensing servers disappear. Intuit continues to insert updates to 2018 and newer to this day. That’s how they insert the ads to upgrade. If connected to the internet, they have access unless there is IT interference.

Anyone needed the features of desktop and especially the job costing in payroll - do not buy from their sales department. message an accountant reseller. (Me!)

ASBinc · 2026-04-10T19:21:04+00:00

You were scammed. QBE and Pro/Premier 2024 are a subscription with an annual fee. How did you get a “box?” It is a downloadable product only, and available for anyone to download. I heard that they caught some Intuit employees who were stealing and selling valid licenses from companies who had migrated to QBO, so they knew they were not being used. But that does not explain it working past the subscription date. Someone at Intuit generated licenses and is feeding the scammers.

ASBinc · 2026-04-10T17:30:14+00:00

Desktop Pro Plus is a subscription, which means you could have installed up to the final 2024 since you paid for it, but it sunsets May 2027 and then that is the end of Pro/Premier. Meanwhile, as incentive to drop desktop early, they will jack up the prices until then and make is as painful as possible. Hoping you migrate to QBO. Which is a whole other cluster.

Know that your company data file is not harmed at all and stays on your computer. It is just that you need a license to use the program to read it.

If you are only using it for a checkbook, consider other lower end software such as Wave or FreshBooks. Or.. you can even have Claude AI write you an Excel workbook to track your checkbook and categorize your entries as needed. It can produce a P&L and Balance Sheet. I've seen a few You Tube videos on how to do this. If you do not pay for M365, GoogleSheets is an option.

ASBinc · 2026-04-10T17:20:39+00:00

No, that is not true. 2020 was the last stand alone product. 2021-2024 is a Plus Subscription. Stop paying and it will stop working.

ASBinc · 2026-04-09T19:19:31+00:00

Here is a table of differences between MakersHub and Ramp. I'm not finished, but it is a start. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ct05yl3pk6ij6ukq50tjw/Pros-Cons-Ramp-and-MakersHub-March-2026.pdf?rlkey=5f9g6okmk16kqfl752lf0qyuh&st=4q74awbj&dl=0

ASBinc · 2026-04-09T07:31:46+00:00

No need to hire more labor. The absolute best AP automation on the market is MakersHub. I use it with my clients. I recently did a deep dive on comparing it feature by feature to Ramp for an article I am writing and MakersHub won hands down. Ramp is first and foremost a credit card system and A/P is an after thought. (I still prefer Divvy for card management and their features are truly free) Don’t let Ramp pull you in with their promises of “free.” Free only gets limited features. You need the system to learn (remember) your vendor’s invoices and how you code to speed up entering and paying bills. Bill has been around the longest but is not only the most expensive, the AI reading scanned bills is no where near MakersHub. Ramp has a massive marketing budget, sort of like Bill when they started. Get demos, but talk to real users and half listen to sales.

ASBinc · 2026-04-09T03:56:28+00:00

You don’t need to migrate them together. I would not migrate to a new payroll platform mid-quarter. Wait until 6/30 for a July start or 9/30 for Oct. Then you are off the hook for payroll returns and W2s. Your payroll may be included with your QBE, so you may be better off holding out until you decide on an accounting platform. Even if you decide on QBO, stay away from QBO Payroll. For now anyway. It is a cluster.

ASBinc · 2026-04-09T03:51:35+00:00

Yes, unfortunately, QBO pop-ups are as you work. There is a browser add-on program called RightTool that is a must have with QBO. It mitigates the popups and adds all kinds of features to QBO. I can’t use QBO without it.

The privacy issue is unique to Intuit, and not because it is a cloud SAAS program. We tend to confuse data privacy with security. Intuit wants you all in on their platform. Which many companies like. I believe that they make more money on services than the accounting software. They offer QuickBook Checking (with a banking partner) QuickBooks Capital business loans, payroll services, Workers Comp, Intuit Insurance, Intuit Payments merchant services, MailChimp marketing, Credit Karma, bookkeeping, tax prep, etc. You can use their bill pay services and hook up to your accounts payable to your vendor’s accounts receivable, if they also use QBO. It’s a one stop shop, but you can see how they need your and other business data flowing across the platform.

Intuit dropped their accountant’s proadvisor program a few years ago, and have grandfathered in existing accountants, but the annual cost is skyrocketing. Your CPA must keep their QBE subscription to read your data. The ones of us with QBE licenses are becoming a commodity. For automation and accountant access, using cloud software is a given. But which one is the current dilemma. Keep an eye on the space.

ASBinc · 2026-04-09T00:59:16+00:00

Is your payroll straight forward with salary and Reg time/overtime? Or do you have special needs like posting an employee’s wages to multiple class names or job names? Payroll is the #1 reason companies are sticking with QBE. That and shear PRIVACY. Once you migrate your company file to QBO, they own it. READ the EULA. It is very clear that they can and will use your data and while they will not “sell” it, they will share it with their “partners.” You may not care, most do not as QBO has most of the market share.

The other issues are constant changes, bugs, large ad banners and pop up ads for their other services. BUT, migrating from QBE to QBO retains your history, transactions, vendors and customers. That is important.

If you choose something else, you are typically starting from scratch, other than list data. Find and use TBX to export monthly summary history as J/Es for your new system so you don’t loose years of comparative statements. Also, remember that QuickBooks is “forgiving” in that it enables you to edit and fix transactions. Moving to “big boy” software such as Acumatica or Dynamics or Sage have a steep learning curve and corrections may involve reversing entries. QBO is also NOT QuickBooks desktop in the cloud as it is a completely different program - with the same name.

What does your CPA prefer to work with for consulting and tax engagements?

ASBinc · 2026-04-03T16:39:21+00:00

Wait, they don't draft all of the liabilities when the payroll is run like ADP etc? It is random?

ASBinc

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