Did you know that QuickBooks also comes in an Enterprise version? Here are three very good reasons why QuickBooks Enterprise should be on your radar:
- Better performance compared to Pro or Premier- if you currently are experiencing poor performance in QuickBooks Pro or Premier when running reports, accessing the data file and other common tasks, Enterprise can help resolve that problem.
You may not know it, but when QuickBooks Pro or Premier data files start to get bigger than 150 megabytes, they usually start to experience performance issues and in some cases, data corruption and other miscues. Quickly check your file size by tapping the F2 key while in QuickBooks and looking for the "file size" line - if it is more than 150000 (the equivalent of 150 megabytes), you may be entering the "red zone" with it and trouble may be lurking ahead.
QuickBooks Enterprise is designed to handle data files much larger than 150 megabytes. As a result, you get better performance each business day and faster access to the information you need to run your business. - Enhanced User Security and Permissions - QuickBooks Enterprise takes the entire concept of user security to a much deeper level. It provides the ability to set up roles and custom permissions to view, modify, delete and print that can't be found in Pro or Premier.
The screen shot below shows the permissions assigned to a role called "Accounts Receivable"
You can see how the permissions of this role are set in the example above - a solid green circle means full permission, a half circle indicates limited permission, and a blank circle means no access. Even better, you can create completely custom roles, assign more than one role to an employee and also use a "View Only" role so that QuickBooks can be put in a "look but don't touch" mode. Many businesses move into Enterprise for this feature alone. - Need for More Than 5 Users - No matter how hard you might try, QuickBooks Pro and Premier will never allow your business to have more than 5 people connected to a company data file at any time. QuickBooks Enterprise allows you to have up to 30 licensed users in a QuickBooks company data file at one time. This makes your growth path an easy one - simply move from Pro or Premier into Enterprise. No need to re-learn any new software since QuickBooks Enterprise uses the same familiar interface found in Pro and Premier.
It's also important to ensure that your network and computer hardware be appropriately configured for the best performance in a multi-user QuickBooks environment. This is true whether you are using Pro, Premier or Enterprise.
It is true that QuickBooks Enterprise costs more than Pro or Premier. However, how much is it costing your business to have your employees sitting around waiting for screens to load and reports to run in your existing version of QuickBooks? While that cost doesn't show up directly in your checkbook, it can be quite large when measured during the course of a year.
In addition, the ability to tightly configure the user security and permissions in QuickBooks Enterprise can save businesses a bundle when it comes to their risk management costs.
Finally, what costs will your business endure when you simply outgrow your current QuickBooks Pro or Premier data file? If you are forced to start a new data file at that time (and that is often the case), you immediately lose access to comparative data and reports without a lot of extra work in Excel. If you opt to move from Pro or Premier into Enterprise, your transition is seamless, and your data remains intact.
One of the biggest worries I hear about making the transition into Enterprise is that your company data will not transfer. Put that worry out of your mind. Enterprise makes it easy to make the transition - there is a built-in data upgrade tool to take care of this process for you.
For more details on QuickBooks Enterprise, including white papers, and case studies visit my web site. Once there, you can also request a customized quote for Enterprise.
RELATED POST: The Differences Between QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise
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Scott Gregory is a specialist with QuickBooks Enterprise, Premier and Pro software. He has been helping businesses with QuickBooks for over 10 years.
Connect with Scott at Bottom Line Accounting Solutions if you have any questions or concerns.
Three great reasons, however the fourth reason... QuickBooks Enterprise installs out of the box on Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services. It is fully supported by Intuit and the environment is easy to maintain and unbelievably fast.
Posted by: Les Murphy | September 28, 2009 at 12:15 PM