If I may digress and make an observation. As a user I was inclined to whine a bit about being forced to upgrade. As one who develops and supports software for a living, I think that it is reasonable to expect that customers will upgrade after 3 years. Supporting old versions of software take resources that could be used to add new exiting features and all software vendors must balance between the two.
The end of support for online invoicing with Quickbooks 2004, left me with some interesting choices.
- Go back to my 20th century practice of stuffing the invoices in envelopes and taking them to the post office. That worked great if you like getting invoices 90 days after the due date.
- Use my on line banking for invoicing. I was all set to do this, but there was one problem. In order to add a client that was a business, the "Add Client" form was asking me to enter my clients Employer Identification Number. I really did not want to ask my customers (who PAY me money) for information that seems rather private. So I canceled the online invoicing from my bank.
- Upgrade to the latest desktop version of Quickbooks. A reasonable option, but if my computer ever has to be sent away for repairs again it will be tough.
- Upgrade to Quickbooks on line -- Access my accounting information from anywhere for a low monthly payment (slightly more than I am currently paying for on line billing)? Sounds good to me.
- Describe my impressions of the product and the upgrade process.
- Explore the more philosophical issue of storing sensitive data in a web based account.
- The advantages of on-line applications over desktop applications.
Stay tuned -- more to come....
-- RMKnightStar
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