RIP QuickBooks Desktop in 2024?

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In this episode of the unofficial QuickBooks Accountants [00:00:30] Podcast, we're going to be talking about the death of QuickBooks Desktop, or at [00:00:35] least the beginning of the end. It's the beginning of the end, November 30th. [00:00:40] Uh, most accounting professionals got the bombshell of a bombshell of an email about [00:00:45] the, the timelines of the.

What seems to be [00:00:50] the beginning of the end of QuickBooks Desktop. Hi, Alicia, how are you? Hey,

[00:00:54] Alicia: I'm, [00:00:55] um, uh, okay, I guess. I'm hopeful in some [00:01:00] ways. I'm a lot of things right now.

[00:01:02] Hector: It's, it's, it's a lot to process. [00:01:05] Um, and we're going to do a mini rant, mini rant. A lot to process because we just came [00:01:10] back from QuickBooks Connect.

We just heard the, you know, the big energy around [00:01:15] the partnership with accountants. And just two weeks after we get this bombshell [00:01:20] of piece of communication, right after QuickBooks Connect, I think Alicia and [00:01:25] I, and many of you guys listening probably would have wished that this stuff would have come out before [00:01:30] QuickBooks Connect.

Let us process it and then at the big conference, [00:01:35] announce it and clarify it because we'll have every single Intuit employee, or at least the [00:01:40] 200 people that were there that we can talk to and talk through it. But now we're going to have to [00:01:45] deal with this in social media and Intuit is going to have to like, you know, play clean up with [00:01:50] this, with https: otter.

ai There's gonna be tons of conjecture and tons of confusion, and [00:01:55] no matter how Intuit tries to nail communications, they always miss some big [00:02:00] detail that sends all of us on a, on a wild goose chase. Alicia,

[00:02:04] Alicia: what are your [00:02:05] thoughts? I just realized something. So they just made that big announcement, how they have the reimagined [00:02:10] ProAdvisor program with points based on your attached Clients and [00:02:15] their services.

Now that all makes a whole lot of sense. And the [00:02:20] people who were afraid that they went down to gold and would never make it back up to a lead again. [00:02:25] Well, guess what? You just might. Because the big announcement [00:02:30] is that as of July 31st, 2024, they are [00:02:35] sunsetting new subscriptions to pro premier, I'm sorry, QuickBooks, desktop [00:02:40] pro.

Premier, Mac, and Desktop Enhanced Payroll. [00:02:45] So this is really huge news. Now I want you to realize that they're saying [00:02:50] new subscriptions and right now your QuickBooks desktop has [00:02:55] a three year sunset. So, we're not looking at the immediate death [00:03:00] of desktop, don't be alarmist, we're not quite there yet, and [00:03:05] enterprise is going to be alive and well, because right now, QBO can't do everything that [00:03:10] desktop does, so this is a step, this is not the [00:03:15] death and the end of desktop, but We've been expecting this announcement for a [00:03:20] while and, you know, if you've been listening to this episode, you've heard me say that, um, I [00:03:25] suspected that they were going to get rid of all the other versions and just have enterprise.

[00:03:30] And I was right, but it's sooner than I thought it was going to be.

[00:03:33] Hector: Yeah. So there's a [00:03:35] lot to unpack here and let's, let's, let's get clarified first. If [00:03:40] you are today an annual subscriber of QuickBooks Desktop [00:03:45] Pro or QuickBooks Desktop Premier. And fast forward to July [00:03:50] 31st, fast forward to August 1st of 2024, and your [00:03:55] renewal comes in before July 31st or after July 31st, [00:04:00] you will be able to renew.

Okay. So this is not [00:04:05] disruption for existing desktop customers. So as long as your credit card [00:04:10] is on file and the system can auto renew, you will be fine. Now, I [00:04:15] do predict that for the people that for whatever reason the credit card doesn't go through, it's going to be [00:04:20] hell, okay, absolutely hell, because it just happened to me and I will tell you a [00:04:25] side quest, okay, side quest, my ProAdvisors, my QuickBooks Desktop [00:04:30] ProAdvisor subscription didn't renew for some reason, my credit card wasn't filed, It [00:04:35] didn't renew for some reason, my QuickBooks desktop accountant stopped working, it took me like half an [00:04:40] hour to like, you know, talk to different people into it to realize that somehow my credit card didn't go [00:04:45] through, my, my license was, was expired or, or lapsed or whatever.[00:04:50]

So I called in and said, Hey, can we fix it? We, we got it fixed, my, my QuickBooks [00:04:55] ProAdvisor desktop subscription got restored, but guess what? I had payroll [00:05:00] attached to that, enhanced payroll attached to that. And earlier this year, they [00:05:05] stopped selling desktop payroll add ons to new [00:05:10] clients. Guess what?

They said, well, it's going to be a new client. We can't [00:05:15] sell you the payroll subscription. I'm like, what are you talking about? [00:05:20] I've been having QuickBooks desktop payroll for like 12 years or [00:05:25] so. So it was like this whole thing and this whole production and let's say, okay, we're going to have to make an exception.

[00:05:30] We're going to be able to get you back into desktop, but it will, I mean, desktop payroll add on, but it'll be a brand new [00:05:35] account. So that means I have to go and add all the EIN numbers. To the new account to [00:05:40] then reactivate payroll for all my QuickBooks desktop payroll clients. So what I'm telling you [00:05:45] is, all I'm saying is, even though they're saying that existing clients will [00:05:50] not be disrupted.

Little things like this can cause problems [00:05:55] because Intuit could systematically block the sale of all quote, new customers. Wait a

[00:05:59] Alicia: [00:06:00] minute. So time out for a second. So you're saying that because your credit card failed, all of a sudden that made it a [00:06:05] new subscription?

[00:06:06] Hector: Right. My, my, my, my subscription lapsed.

And I, and, [00:06:10] and, and they're going to make an exception and allow me to buy a new one, which by the way, it needed to be full [00:06:15] price. The full 1400, not even the 700, which had the 50 percent [00:06:20] bundle. I'm not even allowed to buy the, the bundle price. For the [00:06:25] QuickBooks desktop payroll add on. And the payroll support person was super helpful, super nice, [00:06:30] but they were systematically blocked out of it.

And Hector Garcia, a new [00:06:35] customer, I don't think so. You know, so like what I'm telling you is if I go through that and I lived that [00:06:40] firsthand, it's just happened three days ago, the existing desktop clients that again, [00:06:45] They're not going to be disrupted, more or less. If something goes wrong with the payment, it could [00:06:50] be a big issue.

So like, into a better prepare for these special cases.

[00:06:54] Alicia: So [00:06:55] word to the wise, make sure that your credit card billing information is up to date. And if you [00:07:00] get a new credit card in the mail, make sure the, um, uh, Camps. com. [00:07:05] Intuit. com is the first place that you go to make sure that your billing information is updated, [00:07:10] even if it's 10 months away from your next renewal.

Don't forget, do it right

[00:07:14] Hector: away. [00:07:15] Right. So anyway, side quest over, let's get back on track here. So, so July [00:07:20] 31st deadline of 2024 passes. You don't have an [00:07:25] existing QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, Mac, or [00:07:30] payroll add on subscription. You will not be able to purchase a [00:07:35] new license or a new subscription past July 31st, 2024.

[00:07:40] Okay. And I assume that the QuickBooks will close down their systems so they cannot [00:07:45] sell quote new subscriptions. Basically that means that Intuit wants to. [00:07:50] Stunt the grow of QuickBooks desktop customers and essentially [00:07:55] start reducing that, dwindling that down. Now, this article makes a [00:08:00] couple of very specific, um, uh, uh, points about who is not going to be [00:08:05] impacted.

So that's really important. Okay. So, um, You will continue to have [00:08:10] security updates, product updates, support for existing subscribers. This is not the same [00:08:15] thing as a sunset. So they're not literally not sunsetting this. So if you have QuickBooks [00:08:20] Desktop Pro, Premiere or Mac 2024, you still will [00:08:25] have support through.

I would say May 31st, [00:08:30] 2027, because that's how it works. You get those three years up to the end of May. Now, the key thing here, which is [00:08:35] not communicated here at all, is will there be a QuickBooks [00:08:40] Desktop Pro Premiere Mac 2025? [00:08:45] This is not communicated here. I'm going to make the assumption that [00:08:50] probably not, which means that the official death of QuickBooks Desktop, if they [00:08:55] don't release a 2025, will be.

Uh, for existing subscribers [00:09:00] will be, uh, May 31st, 2027. So we, we might be, [00:09:05] we might be able to at this point through conjecture, put the official date [00:09:10] of the death of ProPremier. Now. QuickBooks Enterprise is [00:09:15] also, quote, QuickBooks Desktop. And one of the challenges that people have is because they're so [00:09:20] used to not working with enterprise because it's too expensive or it's out of the price range or whatever, [00:09:25] is that a lot of people forget the existence of QuickBooks Enterprise.

QuickBooks Enterprise will [00:09:30] not be impacted. So even after July 31st, they will continue to [00:09:35] sell new subscriptions to QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. QuickBooks. [00:09:40] Enterprise is QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. Okay. And it's better than Pro Premier. More powerful than [00:09:45] Pro Premier. And yes, more expensive. But you know, honestly, QuickBooks [00:09:50] Desktop has been underpriced for like 30 years, right?

So Intuit is, is, [00:09:55] is making a course correction. I don't think people complain that QuickBooks Desktop Pro for [00:10:00] six 50 a year is quote, too expensive for small businesses. It absolutely isn't. It is [00:10:05] so cheap. It is so cheap. And the reason why I tell you, I think I still think it's so cheap is [00:10:10] because people wouldn't be making a big deal out of this if there wasn't that [00:10:15] many people in QuickBooks Desktop.

And the reason why there's people in QuickBooks Desktop is because it's worth a lot more [00:10:20] than what it costs. So I'm going to make another prediction here, and Alicia, piggyback on [00:10:25] that, sorry, is that the renewal for QuickBooks Desktop, if they do a renewal next [00:10:30] year, it's going to go up in price significantly.

This is not. Stated [00:10:35] in here, but I think on top of everything else, they'll renew it. It'll probably go to like [00:10:40] 900 or a thousand. For a one user pro. So that's my prediction. Okay. Like one thing that you [00:10:45] can always bet on is that Intuit will increase the prices and you almost always win that bet. Okay. [00:10:50] Hey, you said you weren't

[00:10:50] Alicia: going to rant.

[00:10:51] Hector: Yeah, sorry.

[00:10:54] Alicia: Um, [00:10:55] so one of the things that people have appreciated about desktop is the fact that you can have multiple [00:11:00] companies in it. And so that's one of the reasons why some people still [00:11:05] prefer it and need it. And they've been like, Oh, I don't want to go on QBO because it's too [00:11:10] expensive to have too many, uh, to have multiple files.

And in a way, this kind of [00:11:15] creates the, the price parity with it that, you know, you could go to QBO with multiple [00:11:20] files because it's not going to cost you more than it is with desktop.[00:11:25]

[00:11:26] Hector: I think the most important point that you can make here [00:11:30] illustrated is, for example, I have a client that has QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise [00:11:35] and they run 20 LLCs through here. And. Each LLC has like a slightly different [00:11:40] ownership structure. So they couldn't like make one file with a bunch of locations or classes.[00:11:45]

So the argument of going into advanced and putting multiple locations and classes, that wasn't [00:11:50] going to work. Um, so it, there was no universe in which, and they needed some advanced [00:11:55] functions. So there was no universe in which having 20 desktop advanced files, even a [00:12:00] 50 percent discount. Uh, would it been comparable price wise to, uh, to a

[00:12:04] Alicia: user?

Right, [00:12:05] but this is also where, where QuickBooks Ledger fills a specific need because when you do have [00:12:10] those smaller clients, now you have a way of moving them over off of the desktop [00:12:15] multiple file use and into QBO at a, in a cost

[00:12:17] Hector: effective manner. Yeah, but this is where you got to put a huge [00:12:20] asterisk on this.

This particular client of mine has 20 LLCs. Each LLC has [00:12:25] three or four real estate properties. Okay. So I need classes. I need, I need to be able to have [00:12:30] a sort of a P& L by class under each entity. QuickBooks [00:12:35] ledger won't help with that. So yeah, it helps with the multi entity, but not with the class. [00:12:40] Needs within the entity.

The problem is that we have been so ill accustomed, lack of a [00:12:45] better term, to have such powerful software with QuickBooks Desktop Pro with classes, [00:12:50] that is, it's, it's hard to draw the comparison points. Um, [00:12:55] and. I guess we, at this point, there probably isn't any [00:13:00] more, we could talk about it. I mean, it's, it's, it is what it is.

Right. I mean, we can't stop it. Only thing [00:13:05] that Intuit could possibly backtrack on is maybe like push the dates [00:13:10] further into the future, but it's very clear that Intuit wants everybody on the QBO [00:13:15] platform. So let's move on to like why they're doing this. If you want to discuss that.

[00:13:19] Alicia: [00:13:20] Yeah, that's exactly where I wanted to go next, because I personally, [00:13:25] with my heart going out to the handful of people that have to be on desktop, [00:13:30] either because of internet connectivity issues where they live, or, um, some, [00:13:35] or, you know, a couple of needs specific cases, QBO really has become [00:13:40] robust enough that with the exception of some construction and [00:13:45] manufacturing, it really has Come Intuit's own for most things and [00:13:50] essentially Intuit is by having desktop and online, [00:13:55] they really are different software, which means that they have to take everything that they're doing and double it [00:14:00] into completely different directions, software development, engineering, [00:14:05] um, Support, [00:14:10] support, support's the biggest, hold that thought, [00:14:15] interactions with other vendors and outside entities, and [00:14:20] then of course, support, you have to teach People who are on the support [00:14:25] team, how to use a software package that a dwindling number of people are even [00:14:30] using.

And so you have a whole lot of costs and you don't get good [00:14:35] results. And so I personally completely understand where Intuit is coming [00:14:40] from with this, because it allows them to take all of that investment [00:14:45] for dwindling return and consolidate it. So [00:14:50] that they can build out more support. They can spend more resources to actually fix all [00:14:55] those little minor tweaks that we're complaining about.

They can, um, [00:15:00] put more into the relationships with us. Um, there's a whole, if [00:15:05] they are, you know, being able to claw back millions of dollars of investment [00:15:10] that now goes into the QBO space, that's great for us. [00:15:15] So. And while this is kind of like the end of an era and a [00:15:20] massive shock, and, um, it's, I think, a good move in, [00:15:25] for Intuit to do.

I really

[00:15:28] Hector: do. Yeah, of course. Of course it's [00:15:30] a good move. But, but the thing is that you have to contextualize why is it a good move, because [00:15:35] beyond the cost of support, beyond the cost of development, beyond the [00:15:40] cost of dealing with third party integration, probably the three biggest. [00:15:45] Challenges with running desktop software because they've already fixed the revenue problem.

Like [00:15:50] we already, they already got people on board on the annual subscription. Um, I don't know what the rate already [00:15:55]

[00:15:55] Alicia: was. They already jack prices up, right? ,

[00:15:56] Hector: yeah. The, the price already up and, and, and, and they still could go [00:16:00] even be, even higher up. I think. I think they still have an opportunity to even increase our price.

And, um, [00:16:05] and you go through like, like the Facebook groups and stuff and the biggest question that people have is we don't get it. [00:16:10] They're already charging annual for it. People love the product. Why are you forcing people to [00:16:15] move to QBO? And this is, this is my conspiracy theory. Okay. My conspiracy [00:16:20] theory is that the data inside of a QBO file is [00:16:25] more valuable than the monthly subscription that they charge for.[00:16:30]

[00:16:30] Alicia: Absolutely. Period. I want to chime in and give some context to that. [00:16:35] So one of the things about QuickBooks Online is that it's a data, [00:16:40] data gold mine for them that it is completely bank. [00:16:45] It has bank level. Encryption, and it is completely secure as in terms of your [00:16:50] personal data, but it allows them to look at spending behaviors [00:16:55] and, um, and business behavior and that insight and knowledge [00:17:00] for them, whether it's developing AI or integrations is [00:17:05] gold to them and not in terms of like selling your personal information that's [00:17:10] Not what we're talking about.

We're talking about the ability to understand what's happening in business [00:17:15] and leverage that to help businesses grow. And so [00:17:20] you're right that QBO allows them greater insight than desktop [00:17:25] does.

[00:17:25] Hector: Yeah, I'll put an asterisk on that. I, I've, I don't, I don't think that Intuit. [00:17:30] The, the, into once the QBO data, so they can sell it to other people.

So let's, [00:17:35] let's be in agreement with that. I don't think that would be a dumb strategy because [00:17:40] that would backfire on them.

[00:17:41] Alicia: That goes against their own, um, terms of,

[00:17:44] Hector: terms of [00:17:45] service. Yeah. And even that stuff is partially fungible anyway. But [00:17:50] what, what I, what I think, uh, or, or, or not what I think the [00:17:55] value of the data.

It's, well, number one, um, accentuated by [00:18:00] the fact that we can further train AI. When you further train AI with [00:18:05] more data, better data, uh, you can automate more systems. If you automate more [00:18:10] systems, you make the software more valuable. If you make the software more valuable, and this is really [00:18:15] the, the, the sad portion of this, you make the software more valuable.

You can. Keep [00:18:20] increasing the size of the software and the, and the, and the customers will pay a higher price [00:18:25] because they're already paying two, three or four times of professional services [00:18:30] for someone to work in conjunction with the software. So yes, absolutely. By, by, by [00:18:35] being online, by being, by having better data, by having better AI, they can make [00:18:40] the product more valuable.

They can charge more. And the, the economy, there, there is economic. [00:18:45] Viability for people paying two, three, 400 a month for accounting software, because they're [00:18:50] already paying two, three hundred, four hundred or a thousand dollars a month for professional accounting and [00:18:55] professional accounting. Part of it, part of it can be replaced by [00:19:00] software, period.

[00:19:00] Alicia: Well, well, you just touched on something though, that bugs me though, is that [00:19:05] it really does depend on who their market is that right now, the [00:19:10] highest growth area in U. S. economic business is micro businesses, [00:19:15] solopreneurs that came out of COVID going, I don't want to work that nine to five anymore, I want to do what [00:19:20] I'm good at and what I'm passionate about.

And The, the cost point, [00:19:25] the price point on QBO is actually kind of expensive [00:19:30] for those solopreneurs. And that's also why [00:19:35] Intuit really is trying to lean in on the, even though they've gotten away from the, [00:19:40] it's so easy, um, anybody can do it. That's not their marketing anymore, [00:19:45] but they know that their biggest growth is those [00:19:50] people who are just going to go find an app on the app store and download it and start doing it on their phones [00:19:55] and not even doing it on their computers.

[00:19:56] Hector: I hear you, but I'm going to poke a hole in that [00:20:00] theory and I'll tell you why. So you're saying that, uh, uh, a micro [00:20:05] business looking at QuickBooks Online, Simple Start, 30 bucks a month. It's out of market. [00:20:10] It's too expensive. That's what you're

[00:20:11] Alicia: saying, right? No, no, no, no. Um, when I talk about a small business though, it's [00:20:15] not the one person doesn't mean that they're simple start.

You [00:20:20] can have a one person business that still requires plus because they still need [00:20:25] classes or they still need some of the complexities that are in the software. [00:20:30] But 90 bucks a month for somebody just starting out. And the fact [00:20:35] that you can't really use QuickBooks yourself without a bookkeeper watching your back.

Now, [00:20:40] all of a sudden you've got micro businesses who are starting up with the money in their, you know, [00:20:45] the 2, 000 in their savings account can't afford now. [00:20:50] I'm

[00:20:50] Hector: going to, I'm going to use an example from an outside [00:20:55] industry that I think like, you're going to go, Oh yeah, that makes tons of sense. So [00:21:00] let's say the average regular gas car is, let's say the average is [00:21:05] 30, 000.

Okay. Knowing that, and without knowing like the economics of like [00:21:10] vehicles, if you were to guess, if the true average of a gas car is 30, 000. [00:21:15] What do you think the average of an electric car is, like immediately? Depends if it's being subsidized [00:21:20] or not. Right. Yeah. With, with other subsidies, the actual, the actual sticker [00:21:25] price is going to be higher, like 35 or 40, right?

So you would, you would think, wait a minute. [00:21:30] If the average is paying 30, how are you going to enter a whole, how are you going to create a whole new [00:21:35] category, which is like 20 or 30 percent higher? It's because the buyer doesn't just [00:21:40] look at the car, they look at the cost of the car and gas. So when they say, [00:21:45] I'm going to pay 10, 000 more for the car or 20 percent more, whatever the number is for the car, [00:21:50] but in the long run, I'm going to save on gas.

They're willing to pay more for the vehicle. [00:21:55] The way I think. Intuit is thinking, and again, this is the, the, the, the [00:22:00] conspiracy theory part. Not the, Hey, Intuit, I totally believe you that you love accountants. Okay. This is the other, the [00:22:05] other side of it. Okay. The other side of it is this average small business pays [00:22:10] for the end result, which is be compliant with a tax return.[00:22:15]

And the entire ecosystem of that is bookkeeping, bill pay, payroll, and a [00:22:20] tax return. The entire ecosystem of that, the entire purse of that, let's say it's [00:22:25] 2, 000 a year. And. Intuit is thinking if we, if QBO, [00:22:30] it's a better product and it could replace some of these useless professional services, [00:22:35] because again, I'm not defending accountants, accountants, we waste so much [00:22:40] resources.

Like I think accountants are amazing, but at the same time, we waste so many resources, [00:22:45] there's so much money that people pay us for such non value added stuff, [00:22:50] okay, like

[00:22:50] Alicia: subtraction fees from PayPal.

[00:22:52] Hector: Oh, like, listen. Just the [00:22:55] amount of work that we do on sales tax, like in Europe, in Europe, [00:23:00] sales tax is like automatic.

Like you just pay the sales tax, like there's systems that all automatically [00:23:05] tell the government how much it is. We're not spending hours and hours just like going over sales tax [00:23:10] reports and figuring out, you know, is it calculated correctly? So, so there's [00:23:15] tons of waste.[00:23:20]

So it's tons of waste in professional services that Intuit aims to [00:23:25] like, to, to, to make, to make agile, to get rid of. And like, there's [00:23:30] tons of like dead work with internal accountants, external accountants, bookkeepers, professionals. [00:23:35] There's a bunch of dead work, non value added work that does not move the economy forward.

It [00:23:40] just. Keeps people compliant. So yes, to Intuit's defense, they want to make their [00:23:45] software better with better AI, make it higher, make it higher value and provide more value to [00:23:50] individual business owners. And we're going to have to figure out how to reinvent ourselves. But the point is that Intuit [00:23:55] wants to move everybody to QBO.

Wants the data, wants to train the AI, wants to [00:24:00] create better software. Again, from, from, from words to execution is a whole different [00:24:05] issue. And the desktop platform basically mired, you know, a whole bunch [00:24:10] of segments of the small business and they have to move people to online as soon as possible. So [00:24:15] sorry about that.

I just have to finish because I didn't want my words to get misquoted because that's what I think [00:24:20] it's going to be happening in the next couple of years.

[00:24:22] Alicia: Yeah, I mean, I've got like five different thoughts based [00:24:25] on everything that you just said. Um, one of them is the, the, with the electric car, part [00:24:30] of the additional agree, the cost, one, one of the reasons [00:24:35] why people are more willing to pay for it is also because it supports their ethics.

They want [00:24:40] to not. To not use up fossil fuels and to [00:24:45] go electric. So they're trying to forward the technology. With accounting software, [00:24:50] um, with the small businesses that approach me, they're not [00:24:55] thinking about the software in terms of gained productivity. They're only [00:25:00] thinking about it in terms of entering in their expenses and taking money from their customers.

[00:25:05] So for them to be faced with 90, 000, 90 a month, [00:25:10] We know that by spending that [00:25:15] 90 a month, they are going to save nine hours of time over the month [00:25:20] from doing all of the mundane data entry, but they don't know that they don't have a concept around [00:25:25] that. And so I think there's going to be a, Intuit's going to have, um, [00:25:30] it, it.

With the prices where they are right now, I think that's about where they kind of have to [00:25:35] stay for a little while. They can't keep raising it up. Hopefully, by [00:25:40] taking down their resources invested in desktop, they won't have [00:25:45] to raise the prices on QBO to continue the development. I'm hoping that's part of the [00:25:50] equation, uh, because They are locking some small [00:25:55] businesses out of using the source that they're trying to bring people up to.

Yeah,

[00:25:59] Hector: I'm [00:26:00] with you there. I was not thinking they're going to raise the price tomorrow. I mean, I'm talking about a long time ago. Look, listen, [00:26:05] I recently just put more money in Intuit stock. So like as an investor, you know, this is a [00:26:10] very good time to invest everybody. Absolutely. And look, look, I've always told Intuit, I'm [00:26:15] not saying always, the last five years that I've known this is going to happen, and I don't know why they didn't listen.[00:26:20]

Saying they're going to phase out ProPremiere is such bad communication. What they [00:26:25] should have said is, Hey, we are merging all of our desktop platforms into a sync. We're [00:26:30] consolidating into a single platform called QuickBooks Enterprise. So we can make the product [00:26:35] better and give you more features instantly.

Why didn't they go that route? [00:26:40] Why, again, why are they so messy with communications and why do they not know? How [00:26:45] accountants feel about this, especially the ones that have been doing this for 20 years, 25 years, um, [00:26:50] that they don't, this is just like, listen, QuickBooks Enterprise is an incredible piece of software.

I am [00:26:55] not affected by this because I've always recommended Enterprise first, regardless, [00:27:00] regardless of the price. And you go, and you tell me, Oh, Hector, small businesses, small businesses can't [00:27:05] pay BS. You know why? Because they pay for an internal employee, [00:27:10] 000 a year. And if they learn how to use the software correctly, they don't need to pay that [00:27:15] employee to do that or pay the employee to do something else.

Like go develop better services, go, [00:27:20] go build relationships with their customers, go sell more products and services. We waste a [00:27:25] lot, like. America, the world, wastes so much [00:27:30] resources in mundane paperwork shuffling. And it's time [00:27:35] for a company like Intuit to fix it. So I am actually rooting for Intuit to, to, to [00:27:40] execute this correctly.

It's just a problem with

[00:27:42] Alicia: communication. Yeah, this was actually one of the other things [00:27:45] that I wanted to circle back around to when you were talking about that lost productivity is that I am [00:27:50] shocked every single year, not shocked, not, well, shocked, yes, surprised, [00:27:55] no, that there is so much lost productivity with the whole realm [00:28:00] of taxes and bookkeeping that it's just Ridiculous that [00:28:05] 1099s, right?

Like why should the business owner have to spend all of these time and [00:28:10] resources sending out documentation just to prove that somebody got paid? [00:28:15] That should be not our job. That should be the, the compliance should be on the part of [00:28:20] the small business owner or the LLC or the sole proprietor. PayPal fees, the [00:28:25] amount of lost time that we take subtracting merchant service fees from [00:28:30] all the FinTech.

What a waste of time. Venmo. How do you [00:28:35] bookkeep for Venmo? It doesn't connect to any of the software. Huge [00:28:40] bust. What's

[00:28:40] Hector: that? Transcribing checks. Transcribing checks is one of the [00:28:45] worst use of like our intelligence.

[00:28:47] Alicia: And, and, and the one that really, really [00:28:50] gets me is every year when I get the notices from either the state or the fed saying, Oh, by the way, you [00:28:55] mispaid your taxes, you owe us this amount, or we're giving you back this amount.

Well, if they knew in the [00:29:00] first place, why are we? Spending so much time as accountants and why are small [00:29:05] businesses hiring us to determine what those numbers are just for the government to come back around and say, Oh, by the way, [00:29:10] that's wrong if they knew, why don't you just tell us in the first place?

Yeah,

[00:29:14] Hector: [00:29:15] there, there, there, there's, there's two, there's two separate issues at hand here that are sort of happening [00:29:20] at the same time. Issue number one is. Hey, I'm an accountant. I've [00:29:25] been doing this for 25 years. I know how to use QuickBooks Desktop. It's fast. I'm comfortable. [00:29:30] I know what every button is. Once I install it, I know that for a whole year, [00:29:35] there won't be a new magical button or the screen will be completely changed on me.

So I can completely [00:29:40] understand how somebody that is using Desktop looks at QuickBooks Online as, [00:29:45] as, as such a. Just such an intrusion in your workflow and [00:29:50] interruption, because QuickBooks Online has for the past 12 years, just been one [00:29:55] huge beta test, right? So, so it's very, very frustrating for accountants that [00:30:00] basically, uh, like, like predictable things, like when things [00:30:05] just work, they, they, they don't want to learn new things so quickly.

So. Number one, I completely [00:30:10] sympathize with people using QuickBooks Desktop. I fell in love with this industry through QuickBooks Desktop. [00:30:15] I would argue the reason I became an accountant is because I thought [00:30:20] accounting was so stupid, like as a profession, as a, as a, as a, as a. [00:30:25] As an art form, as a science, the whole thing is just jacked up, like left, right.

Why not do [00:30:30] normal math? And when I use QuickBooks Desktop and I put myself in the shoes of a business [00:30:35] owner and go, holy crap, it's so easy to like, keep track of like what's going on with my business. [00:30:40] I fell in love with accounting through QuickBooks Desktop. So I have a very, very personal, deep [00:30:45] love for QuickBooks Desktop because it was my, it was.

It was the, [00:30:50] the eyes in which I saw accounting and, and I fell in love with accounting through the eyes of QuickBooks [00:30:55] Desktop. Mm-Hmm. . So when, when QuickBooks Online comes along, and Intuit has a strategy to move everybody [00:31:00] to the cloud because they want the data, because they want the ai, because they want, you know, to, to add more value [00:31:05] because they wanna fix the amount of time that we're wasting as a society.

All the good [00:31:10] things that come from QuickBooks Online. I'm rooting for Intuit. I'm rooting for QuickBooks Online. The [00:31:15] problem is that QuickBooks Online. As a, as a software, it has [00:31:20] been developed. It's a complete disaster. Like the, the, the, the changes to the screens, you [00:31:25] can have your opinion.

[00:31:25] Alicia: Before you go on to that topic, I need to go back and address [00:31:30] what you were just talking about.

Okay. Go, go, go. Um, so something that [00:31:35] you just said is, is really key in that is that this is also a sign of evolution, [00:31:40] not just of the software and of the industry, but actually our culture [00:31:45] that. The, the people who are most impacted by this decision and the most [00:31:50] frustrated by it are the people who have developed decades of expertise by using desktop.[00:31:55]

They are, you know, average age, we're talking in their probably [00:32:00] 60s, um, and they are experts at what they do, they have, [00:32:05] um, and They've got the, they've got pride, they've got expertise, they've got [00:32:10] notoriety, but when, and this is just science that as you get older, [00:32:15] your brain doesn't, um, doesn't learn new things quite as well.

And [00:32:20] so you are now all of a sudden completely out of your comfort zone when you've built [00:32:25] an entire career based on desktop and now you're being forced to learn [00:32:30] online sometime in the next three years. And so that's [00:32:35] scary. And it's frustrating and for some people, it's [00:32:40] literally not possible that if some people were already eyeing retirement, this is [00:32:45] probably going to impact the great resignation in a [00:32:50] measurable way that we're going to actually probably see increased [00:32:55] retirement.

Again, in the next three years, because of this decision, which is [00:33:00] really something to think about. Um, you,

[00:33:01] Hector: you think the face out of QuickBooks desktop will actually [00:33:05] increase the amount of people that just quit the profession? Like I quit because QuickBooks desktop goes away?

[00:33:09] Alicia: Yeah. [00:33:10] So, so let's say you are 60 years old.

And you, all of a [00:33:15] sudden, the software that you know, with your eyes closed, literally, like you can, you know how to [00:33:20] get to the chart of accounts without even, literally with your eyes closed, um, [00:33:25] you, now all of a sudden you have to go learn this whole new software that changes [00:33:30] out from under you all the time and sometimes is buggy now, [00:33:35] like, Kids, software changing all the time and [00:33:40] software that's buggy, that's just kind of their norm, you know, and I, I have two [00:33:45] teenagers and I work with a lot of millennials and technology is [00:33:50] like no big thing to them.

And even myself, I've been, uh, I was an app, [00:33:55] a Microsoft office specialist and an Apple specialist before I was a QuickBooks specialist and I [00:34:00] used to thrive on the new technology and I would get a new iPhone and I would know everything. Everything [00:34:05] about it within a week. And I'm at the point now where I get my new [00:34:10] iPhone and I know what I already know how to do, but I don't even take the time to go looking for all [00:34:15] the new stuff and all the creative ways of using it.

Well, I do with [00:34:20] QuickBooks. That's, you know, I've focused all my energy on that. But the, [00:34:25] the changes that Intuit is making in QuickBooks Online is much [00:34:30] more accepted by younger people. The new business owners [00:34:35] coming into the industry, the new bookkeepers coming into the industry [00:34:40] and not so happy for the people who have the years of [00:34:45] experience.

[00:34:45] Hector: Well, I mean, the ones that don't know any better, of course, you know, it's like if you never had Mexican [00:34:50] and you go to Taco Bell and you think it's amazing, right? But then you have real Mexican and then you go to Taco Bell [00:34:55] and you totally know it's trash. Like that's the problem. Well, Country

[00:34:58] Alicia: Rep Supremes, Country Rep Supremes are [00:35:00] great.

No matter, no matter whether they're

[00:35:01] Hector: real Mexicans. QuickBooks desktop is real, is really, is real [00:35:05] Mexican food and QBO is Taco Bell. That's the reality, but the, [00:35:10] the, and look, I, look, listen, listen, uh, Alicia and I, before the show were [00:35:15] like, Hey, let's do a good call back up. Hector, you'd be the desktop guy.

You'd be the one that, you know, kind of sees [00:35:20] the world through the eyes of the desktop user. And Alicia, I'll, you know, I'll be the QBO [00:35:25] champion, you know, the both of us agree with each other. Like, I know Alicia has. [00:35:30] Tons of love for QuickBooks Desktop. She literally just wrote a book on QuickBooks Desktop, [00:35:35] just published.

I can't, I don't even know how, I can't even imagine how she [00:35:40] feels about like all this effort that she put into a piece of software that already has. [00:35:45]

[00:35:45] Alicia: You know, honestly, honestly, I wrote my desktop book. Because [00:35:50] I knew that it was gonna be sunset. 'cause I knew all the other publishers were not going to bother.[00:35:55]

So that would leave me standing in the field with this one excellent 600 page. How do [00:36:00] I use desktop book? Of course, there aren't gonna be any new users a year from me, . [00:36:05] Yeah. And

[00:36:05] Hector: everybody you have, you'll be the only one with a book that nobody wants to

[00:36:08] Alicia: read how to use it. Right. So I'm [00:36:10] not gonna, I'm not gonna lean in on that book anymore, but I'm still glad that I have it.

My [00:36:15] QBO book, however, is absolutely freaking amazing and everybody should be using it [00:36:20] and it is always going to be updated every year so that it does [00:36:25] live with, with the, with the changes. Like right now, I'm finding the replacement, yeah, [00:36:30] my QuickBooks Online book. Right now, I'm, I'm, as of today, I'm, I'm [00:36:35] doing a find and replace where it says the black bar at the bottom and just taking the bar at the bottom, [00:36:40] because on some screens, the black bar is now white.

But on only on some screens, and [00:36:45] that's my life. Yeah,

[00:36:46] Hector: I know. I know you're going to be like the vinyl producers, right? There's [00:36:50] like two vinyl producers and they're, they're making all the bank because people are still buying vinyl [00:36:55] for some reason. People stop to buy

[00:36:56] Alicia: books. I will still

[00:36:57] Hector: read them. Yeah, absolutely.

No, listen, [00:37:00] listen, I literally built an app. Four QuickBooks Online called Right Tool, [00:37:05] right? So it's not like, like I'm not against this like the actually more QuickBooks Online [00:37:10] users means it's good for you, more users for Right Tool. My YouTube channel leads, or [00:37:15] probably not leads, but it's one of the leaders when somebody searches any QuickBooks online tutorial.

I [00:37:20] know QuickBooks Online, like the back of my head, the same way as three books online. I'll thrive in this. I'll [00:37:25] have no issues. But like you're saying, some people are going to have a tough time. And look, and it's not just an age [00:37:30] thing. I'm 43. Okay. I prefer to use desktop over QuickBooks Online in many [00:37:35] situations because I am faster in it.

It's just QuickBooks Desktop is faster in [00:37:40] some things. Like when it comes to bank feeds and automation through bank rules. QBO [00:37:45] is faster. I mean, no, no challenge there when it comes to like sending forms [00:37:50] online, sending reports online, automating recurrent transactions, [00:37:55] automating, uh, sales receipts with automatic payments.

There's so many things that [00:38:00] QBO is just going to be astronomically faster than QuickBooks Desktop, QBO, [00:38:05] advanced. The new reports are incredible. Desktop. Advanced reports are a hot mess. [00:38:10] There's tons of things that QBO fundamentally does better, integrate with other apps, bring in [00:38:15] e commerce transactions, however.

There are some functions that are just going to [00:38:20] be better and faster in desktop, whether it's batch entry, manual entry, uh, [00:38:25] construction, accounting, inventory, accounting, manufacturing, all this stuff is going to be [00:38:30] better in desktop and I can, I could totally understand someone that goes, all right, you're moving my [00:38:35] cheese, not like.

You know, a couple of, you know, uh, uh, feet over you're [00:38:40] moving my cheese to like a different country. Right. So like, it's, it's, it's going to be very challenging for a lot of [00:38:45] people. And my suggestion is don't retire early, just learn QuickBooks Online. It's actually not [00:38:50] that bad, right? Especially when you have the right tool.

It's not that bad, but the reality is that [00:38:55] it's a new system. It's going to, it's going to take new thinking. It's going to take new [00:39:00] practice.

[00:39:00] Alicia: You know, one of my favorite things to do has been helping bookkeepers make the [00:39:05] transition. And so like, this isn't new to me. I've been doing this for now going on 10 years [00:39:10] that, um, when you are used to seeing it one way, like I, I like to joke that [00:39:15] QBO is to desktop.

Like Ginger Rogers is to Fred Astaire. Now this. [00:39:20] Analogies specifically for you people who are in your fifties and higher. But, [00:39:25] um, it, it, Ginger Rogers does everything that Fred Astaire does, but backwards and in [00:39:30] high heels. And that's QBO. There's so many things that QBO does [00:39:35] that desktop can't dream of doing, that there's a lot of really good in [00:39:40] this, but you have to learn it.

You have to take the time to train in it. And that's my [00:39:45] favorite group of people to teach. That's my favorite group of people to have in my classes are [00:39:50] the bookkeepers who know desktop like the back of their hand, and they need to figure out where those same features [00:39:55] are in QBO so that they're not hunting around, trying to find things and getting frustrated.

They can [00:40:00] just make the transition smoothly, learn where the familiar tools are, and [00:40:05] then get the opportunity to go, Ooh, Wow, that's kind of cool. [00:40:10] And, um, I have a class on QBOA for accountant, for [00:40:15] ProAdvisors. And I think I'm actually, I think we're just scheduling a new one in [00:40:20] December, like right now. So if you follow me on any of the, um, any of the socials, [00:40:25] keep an eye out for it, that if you are a QuickBooks desktop diehard, [00:40:30] and you know that you need to make this transition, please come to my.[00:40:35]

QBOA for ProAdvisors class in December, because what I'm going to do is [00:40:40] show you what it's all about, what all the buzz is about, what are the things that people love [00:40:45] about it, help you make the transition and, um, give you [00:40:50] opportunities to thrive with this change because there is a huge opportunity to thrive

[00:40:54] Hector: here.[00:40:55]

Absolutely. And we'll put links to that in the show notes. Before we end, there's [00:41:00] one more piece of like side announcement that happened at the same time. Again, both [00:41:05] these news dropped November 30th. Um, and we're recording this November 30th, almost at midnight [00:41:10] Eastern. And I don't know when this is going to go live in YouTube or, or in the podcast should be, should be the [00:41:15] next week or so.

But, um, the other side. Uh, news [00:41:20] is it's also going to be changes to QuickBooks Desktop Direct Deposit. Now, [00:41:25] traditionally, if you have been paying a 1. 75 per direct [00:41:30] deposit with your QuickBooks, uh, Enhanced Payroll, with your QuickBooks [00:41:35] Desktop Payroll, that's added to QuickBooks, uh, Pro or Premier, again, if you've been paying a [00:41:40] 1.

75, this is going to go up to 4, [00:41:45] 4, 4. Per page, that's more than [00:41:50] double, more than double. So the reason why it's [00:41:55] important to include this in the notes here in the news is because if you actually talk [00:42:00] to, um, and I will put links to this, um, to this link as well. So again, if you, if you [00:42:05] have QuickBooks enterprise with payroll, that's, that's, do you not paying for that?

I'm saying, if [00:42:10] you're already paying a dollar 75, that's going to go up and hold on. What was the date on that? [00:42:15] Sorry, I didn't start in January 8th, 2024. So it's happening right, right in the [00:42:20] next month, less than a month. Okay. In a month. Okay. A month. Okay. Okay, fine. Thank you [00:42:25] Inter for giving us 30 day notice on this.

But anyway, the, the, the thing about [00:42:30] this is that the biggest crutch that keeps a [00:42:35] lot of people on desktop is the payroll. Okay. It's not, it's not, [00:42:40] Oh, I don't like. Online or no, I'm against online or is that the old [00:42:45] grumpy accountant that doesn't want to change? The reality is that QuickBooks [00:42:50] desktop payroll, it's much more powerful than QuickBooks online [00:42:55] payroll, period.

There's actually no comparison on this. You can go back and edit paychecks. You can [00:43:00] go back and, and, and issue, um, uh, amended forms. Uh, [00:43:05] you, you have tons of flexibility. You're totally in the driver's seat. With, uh, [00:43:10] with QuickBooks Desktop Payroll and a lot of accounting professionals like QuickBooks Desktop [00:43:15] because of the control they have over payroll and then the job costing and all the job costing related stuff, [00:43:20] uh, for the reports, QuickQBO is not going to give us that by January 8th.

I [00:43:25] guarantee you that. They won't.

[00:43:27] Alicia: I mean, there's change in that direction, [00:43:30] but it's one step at a time.

[00:43:32] Hector: Yeah, it's gonna be, I guarantee you, we won't [00:43:35] see, again, I reserve the right to be wrong. We won't see true payroll job costing, [00:43:40] assuming that they, they release this in warp speed until after tax season [00:43:45] 2024.

So yeah, yeah. The problem is this is going to cause a lot of consternation where all of a sudden, you know, we're [00:43:50] paying 4 per direct deposit fee, more than double that we're used to. And we don't have [00:43:55] a QBO, sorry, a QuickBooks desktop parity feature set in [00:44:00] QBO. So even if we're willing, I give away the data, even if we're willing to change systems and go to [00:44:05] QBO, even if we're willing to pay more per client or whatever to go to QBO.

We [00:44:10] don't get the functionality. So that, that's where I think Intuit has missed the [00:44:15] mark big time. These timelines don't make any sense, in my opinion. Okay. [00:44:20] I think they should have done this face out in 2025, give us an entire [00:44:25] year. Like, like anything in accounting, you got to give a year. It's gotta be a year, right?

Like, [00:44:30] so like this weird eight months or whatever, nine months or whatever this is, it's just not good. [00:44:35] And the only people that were notified from my understanding are the accountants and the [00:44:40] ProAdvisors today, and the clients, like the end users, the small businesses, will be. [00:44:45] Announced in February, but you know what, a lot of them are going to find out and they're going to read the articles and they're going to [00:44:50] call us the next two months are just going to be such a disaster.

I mean, I don't want to be a [00:44:55] QuickBooks desktop accountant anymore.

[00:44:57] Alicia: I feel bad for anybody who is [00:45:00] not connected. Any business owner who's not connected to an accountant and decides that they want [00:45:05] to start using QuickBooks and they go to desktop. But I mean, I don't even think there are that many [00:45:10] people who fall into that category because if you go to QuickBooks.

com, you have to [00:45:15] look for desktop. They don't even call it QuickBooks Online in a lot of places. This is [00:45:20] something that I've kind of noticed, but in, uh, there's a shift now that QuickBooks [00:45:25] Online is becoming just. QuickBooks and what we used to refer to as QuickBooks [00:45:30] was QuickBooks Desktop. And I think those are flip flopping in [00:45:35] nomenclature that QuickBooks is now referring just to the online version, slowly but [00:45:40] surely.

[00:45:40] Hector: Yeah. And you know, what's interesting is if you go to like the old school texts and articles [00:45:45] and videos, even my videos before QuickBooks Online was big. [00:45:50] We refer to QuickBooks. Just QuickBooks. Just QuickBook. The desktop version right now. Just the desktop version. Desktop, [00:45:55] yeah. So like, it makes it very, like even, even I get emails from people say, Hey, I have QuickBooks and I have this [00:46:00] problem, and I have to ask QuickBooks online or QuickBooks Desktop, and people go, no, no, no, it's just QuickBooks.

I'm like, [00:46:05] that's not how it is. Right. QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop. Do you have

[00:46:08] Alicia: program or do you go to your browser? [00:46:10]

[00:46:10] Hector: Right, right. But I mean, I'm just, it just creates more, more friction. Look, look, a part of [00:46:15] me wishes that would've said. By the way, the whole thing's done. Like for me, [00:46:20] it's, it will be so much easier to just kill desktop completely than all these like little face [00:46:25] outs.

Like, like, think about

[00:46:26] Alicia: it. Well, that just goes opposite of what you just said.

[00:46:29] Hector: [00:46:30] No, well, no, I know. I said a part of me, a part of me doesn't want to deal with [00:46:35] so much change for so many years. No, no, I understand. I said, give us more time. I understand. No, I [00:46:40] stand by that. I'm saying. The right communication, the right strategy would have been that I'm saying a part of me [00:46:45] wishes that five years ago they would have just killed this whole thing because.

They do it in these little [00:46:50] baby steps and it just, it feels like little punches, but very often, you know, because. The frog in [00:46:55] water. Yes, exactly. Like the frog in the boiling water. First. So, so as a [00:47:00] reseller, you have to also look at my perspective. So the first thing was, you know, they lowered [00:47:05] the amount of commission you get with that stuff.

Second is, um, you know, the, [00:47:10] the, you cannot resell it. You have to, you have to charge the normal rate, they pay into it [00:47:15] directly and then they pay us a bounty. And no more residuals for QuickBooks Desktop ProPremiere. [00:47:20] Then is, you can still sell ProPremiere, but you can't make any money on it. Then the next year is, you can't [00:47:25] sell ProPremiere, they have to call 1 800 INTUIT.

And 1 800 INTUIT tells them a bunch of mumbo jumbo [00:47:30] that's not real. And they come back to us and say, they said, you can't buy it. And it's like. Everybody's wasting time. We can't [00:47:35] even get commission on that. Then they went to subscribe to the subscriptions. Then they released [00:47:40] 2024 and they say, we keep investing in the desktop platform.

Don't worry. And then now this [00:47:45] happens, you know? So like, so, so the challenge is like, we've gone to like a six year period [00:47:50] where. They just like, they should have just said, Hey, by the way, we're killing desktop and it's going to take five [00:47:55] years. And here's all the timeline, like that would have been much easier than just, just doing a very little, very little.[00:48:00]

Cause it just, the resentment builds up.

[00:48:02] Alicia: But, but it's a, uh, on the, on the flip side, it's a [00:48:05] step by step migration in that direction. I mean, we knew this. [00:48:10] Five years ago, we knew that it was coming. And so this is kind of like [00:48:15] the step by step by step to make it a natural progression. So I don't [00:48:20] actually hold it against them that that is the approach that they've taken, uh, because [00:48:25] that makes it actually more palatable and make more sense in the context of, of the [00:48:30] evolution of the product.

[00:48:32] Hector: Yeah. But the exception is what [00:48:35] they take away, right? Whatever they take away doesn't. It doesn't [00:48:40] equate with what they, what they add and improve in QBO. That's the problem. The problem is they're [00:48:45] getting closer and closer to killing it, but they're not getting closer and closer to getting QBO with [00:48:50] desktop feature parity.

But

[00:48:51] Alicia: that just circles right back around and that may be the, the, the, [00:48:55] the perfect way to resolve the, this episode is that takes us right back to the [00:49:00] beginning of the why that we talked about, that as long as their resources are split [00:49:05] into having to really Support two different pieces of software that [00:49:10] essentially could have been two completely different companies software, then their resources are [00:49:15] split.

And this is, I'm, you know, I'm always eternally hopeful. I'm [00:49:20] actually known for being maybe too idealistic about some of these things, but, If it [00:49:25] was me with the, being the CFO on this, I would be like, okay, well, that just frees up [00:49:30] all of these resources to really go and solve all of these problems that, that [00:49:35] Hector and Alicia and their communities have been telling us need to be solved.

Let's put some more [00:49:40] people into solving all the little problems. Let's put people into making sales [00:49:45] receipts and making multi channel e commerce inventory available. Let's put more people into the [00:49:50] job costing and the. course. Let's get it so that it is really powerable and [00:49:55] stable. That is my fantasy out of all of this.

If [00:50:00] that's the direction Intuit is going, I will stand behind it. Yeah.

[00:50:03] Hector: I, I doubt just throwing more [00:50:05] people at the problem. Um, I think they got to throw accountants at it too, [00:50:10] right? It's just all these product managers are like in their twenties and stuff. Like they're, [00:50:15] they're, they're really well intentioned and they, and they want to do well.

And I talked to a lot of them in QB Connect, [00:50:20] they're wonderful people, but they don't have enough, like. Like street context, [00:50:25] like they don't have enough, like, you know, gray hair to like really truly understand what we need and, [00:50:30] and, and all these feedback that Intuit gets, gets, gets lost in the loudest one and not necessarily the [00:50:35] most effective one.

[00:50:36] Alicia: I talked to so [00:50:40] many PMs that I think Intuit should actually make a job for me. I think I [00:50:45] could save them millions of dollars with my one salary by. [00:50:50] Having me be the voice of reason to go around to all these PMs and everything [00:50:55] that they're developing and poke holes in it, because I do it on a daily basis.

[00:51:00] Why not make a universal role out of it anyway? Yeah, you,

[00:51:03] Hector: you, you need a, you need [00:51:05] a head of feedback. Like you need someone that, that [00:51:10] takes all this feedback and say, all right, this is what makes sense. This is the stuff that has the most impact, [00:51:15] let's work on this. And you, you, you, you test it with a [00:51:20] small group, you bring back QuickBooks labs, let people.

Up in to [00:51:25] test this, everybody that opts in goes to a webinar. It gives feedback, [00:51:30] give feedback and then once you flushed it out, then you go live with it. Okay. But that's the thing I, [00:51:35] it doesn't work like that. They just go, they go live with a random group of people and, uh, and you don't know [00:51:40] who it is and half your customers have it, half your customers don't.

It's just, it's just horrible. So yeah, I agree [00:51:45] with you a hundred percent. I would love to have you in there, you know, for us working for Intuit. [00:51:50] Uh, let's see, you know, Hey, you manifested in the podcast. Let's see if they listen to it and they give you a job [00:51:55] offer. Just send me 10 percent for being part of it.

So we'll end with that good note. The [00:52:00] silver lining of this whole thing is that if by July 31st, 2024, [00:52:05] My QBO has QuickBooks premiere feature parody. I will take down [00:52:10] this, I will take, I will make a public apology for this podcast. I will take down the video, [00:52:15] take down the episode and say that was 100 percent wrong.

So, but, [00:52:20] is it going to happen? We'll see.

[00:52:23] Alicia: Ever hopeful. I will, I will remain [00:52:25] ever hopeful. I'll be the good cop to your bad cop.

[00:52:28] Hector: Absolutely. So with that being [00:52:30] said, thank you, Alicia. Thank you, listeners. I made it to this point. Sorry for the rant. This is a very touchy [00:52:35] moment for a lot of us. And I know some of you guys feel the way we do.

And you know, this [00:52:40] was Alicia and I's dynamic. We were going to be a good cop, bad cop, uh, in the desktop [00:52:45] online world. And hopefully we gave you both an informative and entertaining, entertaining episode. [00:52:50] Until the next one. See you in the next one. See

[00:52:52] Alicia: you in the next one.