As a contractor who uses QuickBooks, you’ve seen the software has its limitations when it comes to the green industry. Needing other features yet not wanting to duplicate your work, you have probably looked at products that handle what you need and say they integrate with QuickBooks. Some software does a great job with integrating, but others fall way short. Here are some key areas to consider:

Version of QuickBooks

Find out which versions(s) of QuickBooks your software will integrate with. If it integrates with Pro, it will integrate with Premier and Enterprise, but Online is a very different software, so ask. You also might find the year comes into play, as well, (i.e. the product may work with a newer version of QuickBooks, but not an older version or vice versa.)

Item level vs. account

Many times software will integrate at the account level but not the item level. If you use a desktop version of QuickBooks and job costing is important, I recommend integration at the item level. If it doesn’t, you’ll find some features and many of your job cost reports in QuickBooks will be meaningless.

Method and frequency of integration

Find out how this product will integrate with QuickBooks. Sometimes, you have to purchase an additional module or product, so be sure to ask. How does the integration work? Sometimes it’s automatic; sometimes it’s a click of a button; and sometimes you have to manually export out of one program and then manually import into QuickBooks (and/or vice versa).

References

Talk to someone who’s using the product with QuickBooks and ask about their experience. You also might ask if the sales company uses QuickBooks for their accounting; they often understand the integration better.

Hosting

If your desktop version of QuickBooks is being hosted somewhere, ask if your hosting company works with this software. If they do, you most likely will pay for the additional program, but usually at a good rate. If they don’t already support your software, ask if they can. If they say they can, be sure to ask what your fee will be—often it’s significantly higher.