Extending The Power of QuickBooks with Custom Programming

Many QuickBooks users and prospective QuickBooks users like the basic accounting functions in QuickBooks (financial reporting, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, banking, etc.), but find that there are other aspects of their business where the existing QuickBooks features don’t quite meet their needs. These users are typically faced with two options: time-consuming and costly workarounds, or upgrading to a much more expensive ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system.

In my work as an Intuit Solution Provider and software developer, I’ve help clients where QuickBooks has fallen a bit short in the following areas:

• Manufacturing
• Supply chain management
• Specialized data import or export
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
• Employee time and expense tracking

It’s not just businesses who are outgrowing QuickBooks who face these issues. I’ve also met many business owners, especially in the last couple of years,l who are faced with a hefty annual maintenance bill for their ERP system and have come to the realization that for the same amount of money they can purchase QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions, get it implemented, and have money to spare for custom development or add-on products they might need.

I’ve also talked to many people who are planning for impressive growth in their businesses over the next few years, but the unspoken question is: Will it really happen? These businesses need a short-term solution for their software needs without breaking the bank.

Fortunately, Intuit has provided many ways for software developers to create tools that integrate with QuickBooks. Many can be found here: Intuit QuickBooks Solutions Marketplace. In addition to these off-the-shelf solutions, many companies have worked with a software developer to create custom applications that are designed specifically for their unique business needs.

Some of the advantages of extending QuickBooks with custom applications are:

1. Cost savings. These can be considerable. Implementing a full-blown ERP system can easily cost more than $100,000, and most ERP software vendors require an annual maintenance agreement, which is often around 20% of the original purchase price.
2. You get to keep a good accounting system (QuickBooks) that many of your employees have already learned how to use. Many ERP systems include an accounting module that’s much less user-friendly than QuickBooks. So you may get the manufacturing capabilities that you need at the cost of settling for an accounting system that’s harder to use.
3. In an uncertain business environment you may not want to commit to a more expensive ERP system. A custom solution integrated with QuickBooks may be a good interim solution until you have confidence that moving to an ERP system is a step that you can afford.
4. Save on licensing fees. The cost of an ERP system is often based on the number of named or concurrent users.  Custom software that is built just for you is often purchased as a complete package, without additional per-user charges.

Sadly, the most serious objection I’ve heard to this approach is a result of management ego. Many people consider the purchase of an expensive ERP system as a sign that their business is all grown up. It’s also more impressive to tell your pals down at the club that you just purchased Microsoft Dynamics or NetSuite than to say you spent a few thousand dollars creating a custom add-on for QuickBooks. In the end, you have to do what’s best for your business.

To help you imagine the possibilities, here are a few examples of custom QuickBooks add-ons from my own work:

CRM Integration – A professional services organization wanted to let their consultants enter time and expenses related to their projects into Salesforce, and then get paid out of QuickBooks. We customized Salesforce for time and expense entry, and built an integration tool to use this data to create bills in QuickBooks Online.

Manufacturing Application – A wood stove pellet manufacturer receives raw wood materials in various forms (chips, sawdust, shavings) and species (fir, pine), with varying moisture levels, but needs to track the inventory according to a common basis. An external application was developed to manage the receiving of raw materials and production of finished goods, with bills and inventory transactions sent to QuickBooks Enterprise.

Data Import – A real estate developer with many projects around the country receives monthly reports from their project managers in Excel. Tools were developed to read the Excel files and create journal entries, checks, estimates, and budgets in QuickBooks Enterprise.

I hope this has given you an idea of how QuickBooks can be extended rather than replaced, making it more useful to you while saving the expense of a costly ERP implementation.

Filed in: QuickBooks