We hear a lot about all the technologies that will one day change our lives like drones, driverless cars and 3D printed body parts. That stuff is for real and, yes, it will have a huge impact on the world within the next decade.
But what about the short term? What about the next 2 to 5 years?
There are many technologies that you are using in your business which will become obsolete in that time frame. And the last thing you want to be doing is investing your money in the wrong place. Here are just three business techs that will be disappearing from earth sooner than you think. Not entirely…but they’ll be pretty much dead.
On-Premise Accounting Systems
Remember the good old days when you could purchase your QuickBooks, Peachtree or One-Write (what’s that?) accounting software, install it on your computer and be good to go?
Get ready to say goodbye.
The big software developers like Intuit and Sage are re-directing most of their development dollars to cloud-based applications. It makes sense – cloud applications are more easily supported, scalable, accessible, upgradable and integrated with other cloud-based systems. If you’re looking for a new accounting system this year, lean heavily to those either providing cloud-based solutions or that have a plan to.
Credit Card Machines
I know what you’re thinking. Sure, there are all these “mobile” payment options available out there, but I’m still using my credit card for 99% of the things I buy!
New mobile read credit card scanners are definitely there, but the transition is not happening as fast as expected. What’s the tipping point?
More adoption by Millennials?
Lower transactions fees to encourage retailers?
A digital driver’s license for your smartphone?
All or some of the above?
Whatever the answer, it’s ultimately going to happen.
Using mobile payments will ultimately be more convenient, more secure and more profitable for the credit card industry (and all those industries that indirectly benefit). If you’re a merchant, a restauranteur or do anything where you accept a credit card at your location, you’ll find yourself accepting far less cards and far more mobile payments over the next 2-5 years. The POS device that only accepts credit cards will be a thing of the past.
Office Phone Systems
Once upon a time you needed a phone system for your office and it was a big investment. There were servers and software and individual units. You had to hire a firm to implement it all and then train your people. For a small company it was a huge hit to cash flow, even when it was leased over a hundred years. Well, things have changed.
My phone system, provided by VirtualPBX, costs me $10 per month per mailbox. Like competitors such as Grasshopper and RingCentral, this company provides all the capabilities of an in-house system but through the cloud. Callers get an automated attendant and then choose from a dial-by-name directory. Calls are transferred to smartphones or purchased units. Voicemails are stored online. All messages are forwarded via text and email. It works! Look for those in-house phone systems to become a thing of the past, particularly for smaller companies with smaller budgets.
View Comments (128)
Michael | December 28, 2019 at 11:09 am Comment
Unfortunately QBO has not become cheaper, the price has increase for Plus 50% over 3 years. From $50 to $70. Without discounts the annual price is $840 for 5 users. Compared to QB Premiere (5 users) of $1250 (discounted to $950) which you can buy and hold for 3 years before replacing.
FYI - Online payment of AR invoices is available in desktop.
Don't get me wrong. I love the cloud and am building my business around it as a Accounting and Bookkeeping Service provider.
Anysia: Me mentioning internet access in a car was a bad example. 😆
Michael: The more people who adopt QBO the lower the price? For Intuit we see the opposite.
They are steadily raising the price of QBO, which is now at $70 or $150 per month! With the latest price increase, we are getting many requests to go back to desktop. ACH used to be free, if wiling to wait five days. ACH is now next day, but 1% of receipts. The latest large increase is on their payroll products. These are outrageous prices for a product that is slow to add features and is nowhere near as feature rich as Desktop, which can cost under $200 and used for three years. The 2020 version can still be bought without a monthly subscription but the assumption is this will change. Enterprise is already sold on a required subscription and they are selling desktop by subscription.
Most companies who move to QBO assume it is simply QuickBooks in the cloud when in reality it is a completely different product where Intuit use the same product name for brand recognition. It has been horribly confusing to have two completely different products named “QuickBooks.“ I am a premier reseller and a developer and we are forbidden to edit the logo to include “Desktop” or “Online.”
The other most stated reason to move to QBO is remote access.
Many of our clients put desktop on hosted servers at $50+ per month per user. Except for one client who truly needed multiuser access from multiple locations, I’ve been able to remove everyone from hosted servers and back to local computers using a syncing program called Qbox. $120 year for unlimited files and users. Game changer for us as we can share QuickBooks company files with treasurers, owners, bookkeepers and tax accountants.
With Qbox on our laptops we aren’t tethered to my server. Office files are also local but synced to SharePoint.
Now that everyone in my office has laptops, if the Internet goes out we can drive into town or use a hotspot and still get a payroll out. I can’t tell you how much stress relief this has been for me.
But on a daily basis doing accounting in the cloud is slow, frustrating, and cumbersome. I for one am completely happy with desktop accounting.
QBDT 2020 will get us to June 1, 2023. A lot can happen in three years!
Well 3.5 years later, it hasn’t happened. Only the in 4th quarter of FY 19 did revenue from QBO close in on Desktop $272mil vs $277, but the online ecosystem exceeded the desktop ecosytstem, $459mil vs $446.
In Q1 FY 2020 QBO does exceed desktop, $306mil vs 239, but the desktop ecosystem wins $545 vs $501.
As an Intuit Advance Qualified Solution Provider (IE reseller), Intuit has shared its commitment to re-invest in desktop products. This exemplified by recent rebirth of QuickBooks Mac and the recent release of QuickBooks Enterprise Advance. As a long-time desktop user, it is only after Intuit is providing me with NFR (not for resell) version of QBO Advance am I considering moving to the cloud.
It is very interesting to see how predictions are turning out.
Very interesting! Thank you for the comment!
Just like anything, the more people adopt QB online, the cheaper it will become. My company is virtual and doesn't have a dedicated office. It also does pretty basic transactions. I love the QB online invoicing tool. Makes paying them very easy and avoids paper checks.
Thank you for the comment, Michael!
Sara Laidlaw, you should not be talking (or texting) on your phone while driving!
As the owner of a small IT services company (AKA MSP) I find that the software I use every day will connect to only the desktop version of QuickBooks. My account says that many of the features I use are also Not available with the Online Version. We won't be making the to cloud based accounting.
On the other hand, we have a cloud based PBX system. Business VoIP, Inc. (Bloomington MN) sold SIP phones to us and maintains the PBX in the cloud. We can use the Auto Attendant to answer calls but choose to answer calls personally (unless we are out of the office). This is the best of both worlds - the phone cost less than the proprietary phones that come with an in-house PBX and the service costs less that what we were paying for land lines for our old PBX. We saved about $14,000.00 plus annual maintenance fees. The Grasshopper and Ring Central type offerings are not satisfactory. We want our customer to hear the phone ring before we answer and we want to answer before an impersonal greeting does.
Our biggest savings was trading our FAX machine for digital fax. The new total cost is $7.00 ($5 + $2 for the DID) instead of the $40.00+ for just the FAX line before. And the best part is that we don't need to print all the junk faxes :o)
My company ( a flower shop), uses a card machine. Half of our orders are taken and processed over the phone and not in person. Having a machine that can manually accept input will always be necessary for us.
As a systems integrator I follow trends in the business more than most do. A lot of companies large and small are having second thoughts about what they put on the cloud. There are hidden costs, usage-based costs, and drawbacks that many haven't fully considered and discover when they get deeper into it. Yes, there are times it can make sense, but not as often as you've been led to believe. A good compromise for some is a facility where you can rent rack space and install your own gear, but that's not an option for very small businesses. Usually, this is to avoid the large expense of building out your own datacenter, with all the power, cooling, generator expenses.
Very interesting! Thank you for this comment, David!
As to fax machines, I represent clients before the IRS in contested tax matters. My fax machine is essential to communicating with the IRS on a daily basis. They have no incoming email capacity for taxpayers or representatives and very little outgoing. I do not see fax machines going away any time soon in my industry.
This is article is written from a very inexperienced perspective. Millennial? Cloud is not the end all. Someone would have you believe that it is better than any other configuration but it is not. If you believe in independence and not full blind trust to run your business then you will not put everything in the cloud. If you don't care about the business you are building, fully rely on the cloud. Eventually someone will figure out how to exploit the infrastructure and it will be lights out. Its as dumb as putting your life on facebook.
VoIP systems have numerous requirements and applications that cannot be fulfilled since they are not onsite. Cloud based voip does not integrate,nor do you want them to, with facilities based systems like video and access controls and when your Internet connection is crappy that day you will want to throw it through it the wall.
Recurring costs for cloud offerings work for very small numbers but you can save a lot of money, if you know what you are doing and have an organization that is geographically singular at a user count of 15-20 users. The key is not cloud but actually to keep your monthly recurring costs to a minimum. Every network and need is different. You should have a balance of both cloud and on prem.