the most popular upgrade alternatives to quickbooks...the most popular upgrade alternatives to...
TRANSCRIPT
The Most Popular
Upgrade Alternatives
to QuickBooks
The Most Popular Upgrade Alternatives to QuickBooks
Table of Contents
Introduction
Moving Beyond QuickBooks
The 10 Most Popular Upgrades
Dynamics GP
Intacct
Sage 300 ERP
SAP Business One
Sage 100 ERP
NetSuite
Dynamics NAV
Sage 100 Contractor
Denali Business + Accounting
Acumatica
Upgrade Options by Industry
Professional Services
Construction and Contracting
Distribution
Manufacturing
Non-Profit Organizations
Government Organizations
Property Management
Methodology
About Find Accounting Software
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The Most Popular Upgrade Alternatives to QuickBooks
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Introduction
With data from over 4,000 QuickBooks replacement reviews at our
fingertips, we wanted to provide access to something software buyers
have never had before: A breakdown of the most popular
QuickBooks replacement alternatives based on actual reviews.
Interested? Alright, then. Let’s start with a spoiler.
The three most popular programs buyers considered when they were
ready to move beyond QuickBooks were Dynamics GP, Intacct, and
Sage 300 ERP.
Given their overall popularity, each program makes a strong case as
the place to start your consideration of QuickBooks alternatives. Then
again, your company isn’t just any company. That’s why we’ve
provided additional data on the most popular QuickBooks replacement
products by industry, brief product profiles, and insight into the typical
total project costs for buyers who have reviewed these software
options.
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Moving Beyond QuickBooks
So why do companies decide to replace QuickBooks?
QuickBooks after all is used by millions of companies, offers a wide
range of functionality, and many versions cost less than a year of
cable television to run.
When it comes to switching software, everyone has their reasons. But
these are the common reasons buyers tell us they’re looking to
upgrade from QuickBooks.
We need more (or more customizable) reporting
We want stronger security for access control, authorization, and
approvals
We’ve exceeded the file size limitations
We run into performance issues when multiple users are
accessing the software
We want something scalable that can grow with our company
We need something that is designed for our particular industry
We’re looking for more comprehensive functionality (ie, CRM,
project management, estimating, etc.)
We need more knowledgeable, consultative support than what
is provided
We need more flexibility to handle our specific workflows
To sum it up, when companies want to replace QuickBooks, it’s usually
because they’ve simply outgrown it in some critical way.
None of this means QuickBooks is a bad product. In fact, other than
the operating systems and office productivity tools offered by Microsoft
and Apple, perhaps no other business software has offered as much
The Most Popular Upgrade Alternatives to QuickBooks
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value to so many small businesses at so low a price as QuickBooks
has.
Intuit, the developer responsible for QuickBooks, has simply decided to
focus on developing a product for the smaller side of the small
business market. With nearly 23 million non-employer firms and
another 3 million businesses with fewer than 5 employees in the U.S.,
it’s not a bad strategy. Moreover, the nearly uninterrupted rise in
Intuit’s stock price since its initial public offering in 1993, suggests
they’re doing a pretty successful job of meeting the needs of this
market base.
There are a handful of other fantastic low-cost programs on the
market that can be licensed at costs in the QuickBooks range (under
$1000 a year). But for growing companies looking to upgrade beyond
QuickBooks, programs like Xero, Sage 50, Wave, Freshbooks, and
other entry-level accounting usually aren’t the most relevant choices.
Overall, they provide a similar level of functionality as QuickBooks.
But there are hundreds of programs that do provide a functional
upgrade from QuickBooks for companies looking to support business
expansion, seeking improved efficiency, or simply looking for broader
feature support. Let’s take a closer look at the most popular among
them.
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The Ten Most Popular Upgrades
Analyzing the products considered by 4,000+ buyers over the last five
years revealed the following top 10 most commonly reviewed
QuickBooks replacement products:
While the products vary in terms of pricepoint, deployment (cloud/on-
premise), and feature support, each owns a well-established history as
a popular accounting software choice for the SMB market.
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Dynamics GP
Dynamics GP is an accounting/ERP product developed by Microsoft.
The product was originally released in 1993. The current version of
Dynamics GP includes functionality supporting:
Financial management and accounting
Inventory management and operations
Sales and services
Business intelligence and reporting
Human resources and payroll
stry ve
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Dynamics GP is traditionally offered as an on-premise solution with
upfront licensing fees and annual support/update fees. It can also be
provisioned as a hosted solution on the Microsoft Azure platform.
Subscription pricing is available.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Dynamics GP said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final purchase
cost.
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Intacct
Intacct was founded in 1999 and was one of the first web-based, cloud
accounting products available for the SMB market.
Intacct includes support for core accounting, financial reporting,
billing, purchasing, sales and use tax, inventory management, and
project accounting.
The Intacct solution is particularly popular with professional services
companies based on extensive support of time-based billing, ease of
use for remote professionals, and strong project accounting features.
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As a developer-hosted cloud option, licensing for Intacct is offered on a
subscription basis.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Intacct said they’d be willing to consider over the course of 3 years of
usage, rather than final purchase cost.
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Sage 300 ERP
Sage 300 ERP is an accounting and business management solution. It
was initially developed in 1976 and has had a number of name
changes over the years. Many people still refer to it by the name
Accpac, which Sage officially dropped from the product title in 2012.
Along with core accounting, billing, human resources/payroll, inventory
control, and purchasing, Sage 300 ERP also offers support for
document management, customer relationship management (CRM),
and project management.
Because of the breadth of its functionality, Sage 300 ERP is popular
across a wide variety of business types.
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Sage 300 ERP is available for both client/server and web-based, cloud
deployments.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Sage 300 ERP said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final purchase
cost.
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SAP Business One
SAP is a name that many business management software buyers
associate with the enterprise market. However, since 1996 SAP has
offered SAP Business One as an ERP solution targeted specifically for
the SMB market.
SAP Business One offers functionality for accounting and financial
management, customer relationship management (CRM), operations
and distribution, and human resources management.
Because of a focus on operations processes such as supply chain
management, warehouse management, and production planning, SAP
Business One is popular with distributors and manufacturers.
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SAP is traditionally licensed for client/server deployments. However,
via the SAP Business One Cloud option it is available as an authorized
vendor-hosted option on a subscription (SaaS) basis.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing SAP Business One said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final
purchase cost.
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Sage 100 ERP
Like the similarly named Sage 300 ERP program, Sage 100 ERP is
another accounting and business management solution with a long
history spanning a series of name changes.
Sage 100 ERP provides accounting, inventory, order entry & billing, job
cost, and manufacturing (work orders, bill of materials, and material
requirements planning) functionality.
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Sage 100 ERP is typically purchased as an on-premise solution.
However, in recent years Sage has made an online version accessible.
The online version is not natively web-based (as Sage 300 ERP is), but
hosted in a Sage data-center and made available via the use of Citrix
remote access software. The online version is available via
subscription (SaaS) pricing.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Sage 100 ERP said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final purchase
cost.
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NetSuite
NetSuite is perhaps the most well-known cloud-based ERP option.
NetSuite includes a broad range of ERP functionality including:
Financial management
Supply chain
Inventory control
Procurement
Billing management
Warehouse & fulfillment
Human capital management
NetSuite also offers a development platform for 3rd party software
developers enabling a robust market of add-on products.
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As a web-based, cloud software product, NetSuite is licensed on a
subscription (SaaS) basis.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Intacct said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final purchase cost.
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Dynamics NAV
Another ERP option from Microsoft’s Dynamics line of ERP solutions,
Dynamics NAV was originally published by a Danish developer in 1987
as “Navision.”
Dynamics NAV provides core financial management, purchasing, order
management, inventory control, customer relationship management,
and human resources management.
Built on a different code base from Dynamics GP, many buyers
nevertheless will find themselves reviewing both solutions. Dynamics
NAV is particularly well suited for companies doing international
business or manufacturers who need more in depth functional support
for operational processes such as bill of materials management,
requirements planning, and production management.
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Dynamics NAV is most commonly provisioned as an on-premise,
server-based solution. However, like Dynamics GP, it is also available
as a hosted solution deployed on the Microsoft Azure Platform.
Subscription (SaaS) licensing is available.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Dynamics NAV said they’d have interest in considering, rather than final
purchase cost.
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Sage 100 Contractor
The Sage 100 Contractor—formerly known as Master Builder—includes
support for core financial management, billing, purchasing, inventory
control, and budgeting. Additionally, Sage 100 Contractor provides
features for typical construction and contracting processes like
estimating, job costing, progress billing, and subcontract
management.
Sage 100 Contractor is extremely popular with small-to-mid-sized
construction firms. It is infrequently review by companies in other
industries.
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Sage 100 Contractor is available for purchase as an on-premise
offering. Contractors interested in having Sage 100 Contractor
remotely hosted have the option to do so via the Sage Construction
Anywhere Connector. Subscription (SaaS) pricing is available.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Sage 100 Contractor said they’d have interest in considering, rather than
final purchase cost.
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Denali Business + Accounting
Cougar Mountain Software has been producing accounting software
solutions since the 1980’s and the Denali Business & Accounting
program is their flagship offering.
Denali Business & Accounting includes core accounting, inventory
management, job costing, order entry, payroll, purchasing, and point
of sale functionality.
The Denali Business + Accounting product is available as both an on-
premise and hosted, SaaS offering. Pricing for Denali Business +
Accounting is the lowest of the top 10 most popular QuickBooks
replacement options.
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Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Denali Business + Accounting said they’d have interest in considering,
rather than final purchase cost.
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Acumatica ERP
Acumatica is another cloud-based ERP solution for the SMB market—
but with a twist. Acumatica ERP is not only available as a developer
hosted SaaS option, but also as an on-premise solution hosted from an
internal web-server.
Acumatica ERP includes functionality for core financial management,
inventory control, customer relationship management (CRM),
manufacturing, order management, purchasing, service management,
and non-profit accounting.
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Acumatica ERP is available as a purchased option or on a subscription
basis.
Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user
count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted
supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers
reviewing Acumatica ERP said they’d have interest in considering, rather than final
purchase cost.
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Upgrade Options by Industry
Because of differences in accounting processes, individual accounting
software products may be more or less appropriate for companies in
different industries.
The table provides ranks for the overall most popular QuickBooks replacement
options by industry.
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Professional Service
The orientation toward project work among professional service firms
leads to unique accounting and business management processes.
Generating revenue via the delivery of services requires special
attention to time and project management. Products focused on these
tasks are particularly appropriate for professional service firms.
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Common needs for professional service firms replacing QuickBooks
include:
Project accounting or job costing
Project management
Expense reporting
Document management
Time and billing
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Construction and Contracting
Similar to professional services firms, construction and contracting
businesses generate revenue via project work.
However, builders and contractors also require software with features
for managing equipment, supplies, bids, and subcontractors.
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Common needs for contractors replacing QuickBooks include:
Job costing
Project management
Equipment management
Bid management
Field service management
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Distribution
For distribution companies, requirements related to product and
vendor management take on elevated importance. As margins are
often low in the distribution vertical, strong automation features are
especially important in order to optimize efficiency and cut costs.
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Beyond core accounting needs, common requirements for distributors
replacing QuickBooks include:
Advanced inventory control
Warehouse management
Supply chain management
Order entry
Pricing management
-Warehouse management
-Supply chain management
-Order entry
-Pricing management
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Manufacturing
Manufacturers not only face distribution related challenges, but also
require software to support production mananagement, engineering,
requirements planning, and equipment maintenance tasks.
Integrating the back-office with the production floor can create major
efficiencies for manufacturers seeking an edge on competitors.
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Common requirements for manufacturers replacing QuickBooks
include:
Bill of materials support
Material requirements planning
Production management
Quality control
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Non-Profit Organizations
One of the financial management challenges faced by non-profits is
the need to track expenditures back to specific fund sources.
Even small non-profit organizations can reduce the time it takes to
manage key accounting tasks by targeting software designed to
support fund accounting and other non-profit specific financial tasks.
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Common needs for non-profit organization replacing QuickBooks
include:
Fund accounting
Membership management
Fundraising and donation management
Grant management
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Government Organizations
One of the most common requirements for government organizations
is the ability to track expenditures back to specific fund sources and
budget allocations.
Additionally, because of the tendency towards hierarchical
organizationalk structures in government entities, processes related to
requisitions and approvals take on increased importance.
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Beyond core accounting, typical needs for government organizations
replacing QuickBooks often include:
Advanced budgeting and planning
Fund accounting
Purchase requisitions
Departmentalized reporting
Utility billing
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Property Management
Monthly recurring billing, property/tenant based reporting, and
maintenance tracking are just some of the unique management tasks
faced by property management businesses.
Software adapted for property management can help address
administrative challenges in a more cost effective manner.
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Common requirements for property managers replacing QuickBooks
include:
Tenant management
Property/unit specific reporting
Investment reporting for split ownership scenarios
Work order management
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Methodology
The data presented in this report comes from 4,143 organizations who
actively reviewed QuickBooks replacements in the last five years.
In order to identify the most popular replacement programs for
companies using QuickBooks, we tallied the individual programs that
these companies considered purchasing. Each product included in the
count was either: a) one that was referred to the buyer via our free
matching service, or b) one that the contact reported independently
reviewing.
Only reviews including requirements for general ledger and least two
other main modules were examined, in order to eliminate instances
where buyers were looking to augment QuickBooks, rather than
replace it. In collecting the data sample, no distinction was made
between current users of the various QuickBooks product versions
(Pro, Premier, Enterprise).
Statistics, of course, are only ever as meaningful as the sample from
which they are derived. To our knowledge, no larger or more relevant
data set has ever been considered in pursuit of the answer to the
question of which programs are the most popular among companies
looking to move on from QuickBooks.
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About Find Accounting Software
Find Accounting Software provides a free matching software matching
service to buyers regardless of company size or organization type. At
present, software sellers representing 3,000+ unique business
management software products actively partner with Find Accounting
Software on a paid membership basis.
factors for manufacturers seeking a technical
and business management edge on
competitors.