the most popular upgrade alternatives to...

The Most Popular

Upgrade Alternatives

to QuickBooks

The Most Popular Upgrade Alternatives to QuickBooks

Table of Contents

Introduction

Moving Beyond QuickBooks

The 10 Most Popular Upgrades

Dynamics GP

Intacct

Sage 300 ERP

SAP Business One

Sage 100 ERP

NetSuite

Dynamics NAV

Sage 100 Contractor

Denali Business + Accounting

Acumatica

Upgrade Options by Industry

Professional Services

Construction and Contracting

Distribution

Manufacturing

Non-Profit Organizations

Government Organizations

Property Management

Methodology

About Find Accounting Software

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1

Introduction

With data from over 4,000 QuickBooks replacement reviews at our

fingertips, we wanted to provide access to something software buyers

have never had before: A breakdown of the most popular

QuickBooks replacement alternatives based on actual reviews.

Interested? Alright, then. Let’s start with a spoiler.

The three most popular programs buyers considered when they were

ready to move beyond QuickBooks were Dynamics GP, Intacct, and

Sage 300 ERP.

Given their overall popularity, each program makes a strong case as

the place to start your consideration of QuickBooks alternatives. Then

again, your company isn’t just any company. That’s why we’ve

provided additional data on the most popular QuickBooks replacement

products by industry, brief product profiles, and insight into the typical

total project costs for buyers who have reviewed these software

options.


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Moving Beyond QuickBooks

So why do companies decide to replace QuickBooks?

QuickBooks after all is used by millions of companies, offers a wide

range of functionality, and many versions cost less than a year of

cable television to run.

When it comes to switching software, everyone has their reasons. But

these are the common reasons buyers tell us they’re looking to

upgrade from QuickBooks.

We need more (or more customizable) reporting

We want stronger security for access control, authorization, and

approvals

We’ve exceeded the file size limitations

We run into performance issues when multiple users are

accessing the software

We want something scalable that can grow with our company

We need something that is designed for our particular industry

We’re looking for more comprehensive functionality (ie, CRM,

project management, estimating, etc.)

We need more knowledgeable, consultative support than what

is provided

We need more flexibility to handle our specific workflows

To sum it up, when companies want to replace QuickBooks, it’s usually

because they’ve simply outgrown it in some critical way.

None of this means QuickBooks is a bad product. In fact, other than

the operating systems and office productivity tools offered by Microsoft

and Apple, perhaps no other business software has offered as much


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value to so many small businesses at so low a price as QuickBooks

has.

Intuit, the developer responsible for QuickBooks, has simply decided to

focus on developing a product for the smaller side of the small

business market. With nearly 23 million non-employer firms and

another 3 million businesses with fewer than 5 employees in the U.S.,

it’s not a bad strategy. Moreover, the nearly uninterrupted rise in

Intuit’s stock price since its initial public offering in 1993, suggests

they’re doing a pretty successful job of meeting the needs of this

market base.

There are a handful of other fantastic low-cost programs on the

market that can be licensed at costs in the QuickBooks range (under

$1000 a year). But for growing companies looking to upgrade beyond

QuickBooks, programs like Xero, Sage 50, Wave, Freshbooks, and

other entry-level accounting usually aren’t the most relevant choices.

Overall, they provide a similar level of functionality as QuickBooks.

But there are hundreds of programs that do provide a functional

upgrade from QuickBooks for companies looking to support business

expansion, seeking improved efficiency, or simply looking for broader

feature support. Let’s take a closer look at the most popular among

them.

http://www.sbecouncil.org/about-us/facts-and-data/

http://www.sbecouncil.org/about-us/facts-and-data/


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The Ten Most Popular Upgrades

Analyzing the products considered by 4,000+ buyers over the last five

years revealed the following top 10 most commonly reviewed

QuickBooks replacement products:

While the products vary in terms of pricepoint, deployment (cloud/on-

premise), and feature support, each owns a well-established history as

a popular accounting software choice for the SMB market.


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Dynamics GP

Dynamics GP is an accounting/ERP product developed by Microsoft.

The product was originally released in 1993. The current version of

Dynamics GP includes functionality supporting:

Financial management and accounting

Inventory management and operations

Sales and services

Business intelligence and reporting

Human resources and payroll

stry ve


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Dynamics GP is traditionally offered as an on-premise solution with

upfront licensing fees and annual support/update fees. It can also be

provisioned as a hosted solution on the Microsoft Azure platform.

Subscription pricing is available.

Pricing depends on a variety of factors, including which modules are licensed, user

count, implementation requirements, training needs, and the extent of contracted

supported services. Figures quoted are for the expected maximum price buyers

reviewing Dynamics GP said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final purchase

cost.


7

Intacct

Intacct was founded in 1999 and was one of the first web-based, cloud

accounting products available for the SMB market.

Intacct includes support for core accounting, financial reporting,

billing, purchasing, sales and use tax, inventory management, and

project accounting.

The Intacct solution is particularly popular with professional services

companies based on extensive support of time-based billing, ease of

use for remote professionals, and strong project accounting features.


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As a developer-hosted cloud option, licensing for Intacct is offered on a

subscription basis.




reviewing Intacct said they’d be willing to consider over the course of 3 years of

usage, rather than final purchase cost.


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Sage 300 ERP

Sage 300 ERP is an accounting and business management solution. It

was initially developed in 1976 and has had a number of name

changes over the years. Many people still refer to it by the name

Accpac, which Sage officially dropped from the product title in 2012.

Along with core accounting, billing, human resources/payroll, inventory

control, and purchasing, Sage 300 ERP also offers support for

document management, customer relationship management (CRM),

and project management.

Because of the breadth of its functionality, Sage 300 ERP is popular

across a wide variety of business types.


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Sage 300 ERP is available for both client/server and web-based, cloud

deployments.




reviewing Sage 300 ERP said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final purchase

cost.


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SAP Business One

SAP is a name that many business management software buyers

associate with the enterprise market. However, since 1996 SAP has

offered SAP Business One as an ERP solution targeted specifically for

the SMB market.

SAP Business One offers functionality for accounting and financial

management, customer relationship management (CRM), operations

and distribution, and human resources management.

Because of a focus on operations processes such as supply chain

management, warehouse management, and production planning, SAP

Business One is popular with distributors and manufacturers.


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SAP is traditionally licensed for client/server deployments. However,

via the SAP Business One Cloud option it is available as an authorized

vendor-hosted option on a subscription (SaaS) basis.




reviewing SAP Business One said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final

purchase cost.


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Sage 100 ERP

Like the similarly named Sage 300 ERP program, Sage 100 ERP is

another accounting and business management solution with a long

history spanning a series of name changes.

Sage 100 ERP provides accounting, inventory, order entry & billing, job

cost, and manufacturing (work orders, bill of materials, and material

requirements planning) functionality.


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Sage 100 ERP is typically purchased as an on-premise solution.

However, in recent years Sage has made an online version accessible.

The online version is not natively web-based (as Sage 300 ERP is), but

hosted in a Sage data-center and made available via the use of Citrix

remote access software. The online version is available via

subscription (SaaS) pricing.




reviewing Sage 100 ERP said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final purchase

cost.


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NetSuite

NetSuite is perhaps the most well-known cloud-based ERP option.

NetSuite includes a broad range of ERP functionality including:

Financial management

Supply chain

Inventory control

Procurement

Billing management

Warehouse & fulfillment

Human capital management

NetSuite also offers a development platform for 3rd party software

developers enabling a robust market of add-on products.


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As a web-based, cloud software product, NetSuite is licensed on a

subscription (SaaS) basis.




reviewing Intacct said they’d be willing to consider, rather than final purchase cost.


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Dynamics NAV

Another ERP option from Microsoft’s Dynamics line of ERP solutions,

Dynamics NAV was originally published by a Danish developer in 1987

as “Navision.”

Dynamics NAV provides core financial management, purchasing, order

management, inventory control, customer relationship management,

and human resources management.

Built on a different code base from Dynamics GP, many buyers

nevertheless will find themselves reviewing both solutions. Dynamics

NAV is particularly well suited for companies doing international

business or manufacturers who need more in depth functional support

for operational processes such as bill of materials management,

requirements planning, and production management.


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Dynamics NAV is most commonly provisioned as an on-premise,

server-based solution. However, like Dynamics GP, it is also available

as a hosted solution deployed on the Microsoft Azure Platform.

Subscription (SaaS) licensing is available.




reviewing Dynamics NAV said they’d have interest in considering, rather than final

purchase cost.


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Sage 100 Contractor

The Sage 100 Contractor—formerly known as Master Builder—includes

support for core financial management, billing, purchasing, inventory

control, and budgeting. Additionally, Sage 100 Contractor provides

features for typical construction and contracting processes like

estimating, job costing, progress billing, and subcontract

management.

Sage 100 Contractor is extremely popular with small-to-mid-sized

construction firms. It is infrequently review by companies in other

industries.


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Sage 100 Contractor is available for purchase as an on-premise

offering. Contractors interested in having Sage 100 Contractor

remotely hosted have the option to do so via the Sage Construction

Anywhere Connector. Subscription (SaaS) pricing is available.




reviewing Sage 100 Contractor said they’d have interest in considering, rather than

final purchase cost.


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Denali Business + Accounting

Cougar Mountain Software has been producing accounting software

solutions since the 1980’s and the Denali Business & Accounting

program is their flagship offering.

Denali Business & Accounting includes core accounting, inventory

management, job costing, order entry, payroll, purchasing, and point

of sale functionality.

The Denali Business + Accounting product is available as both an on-

premise and hosted, SaaS offering. Pricing for Denali Business +

Accounting is the lowest of the top 10 most popular QuickBooks

replacement options.


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reviewing Denali Business + Accounting said they’d have interest in considering,

rather than final purchase cost.


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Acumatica ERP

Acumatica is another cloud-based ERP solution for the SMB market—

but with a twist. Acumatica ERP is not only available as a developer

hosted SaaS option, but also as an on-premise solution hosted from an

internal web-server.

Acumatica ERP includes functionality for core financial management,

inventory control, customer relationship management (CRM),

manufacturing, order management, purchasing, service management,

and non-profit accounting.


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Acumatica ERP is available as a purchased option or on a subscription

basis.




reviewing Acumatica ERP said they’d have interest in considering, rather than final

purchase cost.


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Upgrade Options by Industry

Because of differences in accounting processes, individual accounting

software products may be more or less appropriate for companies in

different industries.

The table provides ranks for the overall most popular QuickBooks replacement

options by industry.


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Professional Service

The orientation toward project work among professional service firms

leads to unique accounting and business management processes.

Generating revenue via the delivery of services requires special

attention to time and project management. Products focused on these

tasks are particularly appropriate for professional service firms.


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Common needs for professional service firms replacing QuickBooks

include:

Project accounting or job costing

Project management

Expense reporting

Document management

Time and billing


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Construction and Contracting

Similar to professional services firms, construction and contracting

businesses generate revenue via project work.

However, builders and contractors also require software with features

for managing equipment, supplies, bids, and subcontractors.


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Common needs for contractors replacing QuickBooks include:

Job costing

Project management

Equipment management

Bid management

Field service management


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Distribution

For distribution companies, requirements related to product and

vendor management take on elevated importance. As margins are

often low in the distribution vertical, strong automation features are

especially important in order to optimize efficiency and cut costs.


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Beyond core accounting needs, common requirements for distributors

replacing QuickBooks include:

Advanced inventory control

Warehouse management

Supply chain management

Order entry

Pricing management

-Warehouse management

-Supply chain management

-Order entry

-Pricing management


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Manufacturing

Manufacturers not only face distribution related challenges, but also

require software to support production mananagement, engineering,

requirements planning, and equipment maintenance tasks.

Integrating the back-office with the production floor can create major

efficiencies for manufacturers seeking an edge on competitors.


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Common requirements for manufacturers replacing QuickBooks

include:

Bill of materials support

Material requirements planning

Production management

Quality control


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Non-Profit Organizations

One of the financial management challenges faced by non-profits is

the need to track expenditures back to specific fund sources.

Even small non-profit organizations can reduce the time it takes to

manage key accounting tasks by targeting software designed to

support fund accounting and other non-profit specific financial tasks.


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Common needs for non-profit organization replacing QuickBooks

include:

Fund accounting

Membership management

Fundraising and donation management

Grant management


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Government Organizations

One of the most common requirements for government organizations

is the ability to track expenditures back to specific fund sources and

budget allocations.

Additionally, because of the tendency towards hierarchical

organizationalk structures in government entities, processes related to

requisitions and approvals take on increased importance.


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Beyond core accounting, typical needs for government organizations

replacing QuickBooks often include:

Advanced budgeting and planning

Fund accounting

Purchase requisitions

Departmentalized reporting

Utility billing


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Property Management

Monthly recurring billing, property/tenant based reporting, and

maintenance tracking are just some of the unique management tasks

faced by property management businesses.

Software adapted for property management can help address

administrative challenges in a more cost effective manner.


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Common requirements for property managers replacing QuickBooks

include:

Tenant management

Property/unit specific reporting

Investment reporting for split ownership scenarios

Work order management


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Methodology

The data presented in this report comes from 4,143 organizations who

actively reviewed QuickBooks replacements in the last five years.

In order to identify the most popular replacement programs for

companies using QuickBooks, we tallied the individual programs that

these companies considered purchasing. Each product included in the

count was either: a) one that was referred to the buyer via our free

matching service, or b) one that the contact reported independently

reviewing.

Only reviews including requirements for general ledger and least two

other main modules were examined, in order to eliminate instances

where buyers were looking to augment QuickBooks, rather than

replace it. In collecting the data sample, no distinction was made

between current users of the various QuickBooks product versions

(Pro, Premier, Enterprise).

Statistics, of course, are only ever as meaningful as the sample from

which they are derived. To our knowledge, no larger or more relevant

data set has ever been considered in pursuit of the answer to the

question of which programs are the most popular among companies

looking to move on from QuickBooks.


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About Find Accounting Software

Find Accounting Software provides a free matching software matching

service to buyers regardless of company size or organization type. At

present, software sellers representing 3,000+ unique business

management software products actively partner with Find Accounting

Software on a paid membership basis.

factors for manufacturers seeking a technical

and business management edge on

competitors.

http://findaccountingsoftware.com/

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