A question clients often have is: Should I upgrade to the latest version of QuickBooks? The answer is yes, especially if your current version is older than three years, or if you could benefit from the latest features. There are a bunch of new features presented around this time each year, as well as improvements throughout the year that can be set to download to your desktop, so if you’re on the desktop version, then you may want to upgrade soon.

You may already know this, but Sound Business Services can get you a better price on QuickBooks than you can get yourself … and we have the expertise and know-how to help you install it correctly, the first time.

If you’re on QuickBooks Online (QBO), the version you’re working on is the latest version because QBO is cloud-based. That means it’s constantly updated without having to install anything new. While we definitely encourage our clients to move to QBO, we also know there are a lot of companies that prefer to stay on QuickBooks Desktop.

So, if you’re one of those companies, here’s a list of the new features in QuickBooks Desktop 2018. Note: features are available on most versions of QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Accountant 2018, as well as Enterprise 18.0. Again, we can help you sort out your upgrade.

  • Multi-Monitor Support: You can now move individual QuickBooks windows to as many as three connected monitors. This is a great feature to be more efficient and also gain more space to work.
  • Payroll Liability Payment Reminder: One thing you never want to get behind on is payroll; this new feature is a great reminder.
  • Past Due Stamp on Invoices: Serves as a trigger for unpaid invoices – “Past Due” shows up in red.
  • Merge Vendor Records: Provides a consolidated window to identify and merge duplicated vendor records.
  • Copy-Line and Paste-Line Keyboard Shortcuts: Now, you have a way to work with transactions that require repeating rows of information, with new keyboard shortcuts that help you save time.
  • Cash/Accrual Toggle on Reports: Toggle displayed reports between cash or accrual basis.
  • Sales Order Fulfillment Window: Provides access to picklist details on a mobile device that’s connected wirelessly to a QuickBooks Enterprise file with Advanced Inventory (Available on Enterprise only).

There are also three “improved” features in the 2018 version:

  1. Updated Email Security
  2. Mobile Inventory Scanning
  3. Inventory Report Customization

As you can see, QuickBooks Desktop 2018 is definitely worth the upgrade. Anything that will make your life easier and enable you to spend more time working on your business than back office operations is worth checking out!

Contact us today if you have questions and/or need upgrade information. We’re here to help.

Special thanks to Intuit’s Firm of the Future Blog for providing the source for this article.