This document discusses how one company transitioned from using QuickBooks Desktop 2016 for accounting along with separate payroll and time tracking systems, to using QuickBooks Online and Microsoft Office 365/Azure cloud services. It describes the costs and limitations of the previous on-premises system compared to the benefits and reduced costs of the new cloud-based system, including increased access, integration between services, and reduced IT management needs. The transition process and timeline is outlined, along with some tips and limitations to be aware of when moving accounting to the cloud.

1. The Cloud Disruption Story
Business Accounting

2. Who is this guy?
Sean Wallbridge :: SharePoint Tour Guide
▪ Experience
▪ 23 Years in Information Technology
▪ IT Consultant/SharePoint Jedi
▪ 13 Years as a Business Owner
▪ President and Principal Consultant @itgroove
▪ 8 Time SharePoint MVP, Trainer (MCT) & Casual Developer
▪ Author and Technical Editor for 8 books
▪ On the Web: www.itgroove.net
▪ My Blog: www.brainlitter.com
We are Cloud
Friendly and
Office 365 Ready

3. Disclaimer
I am not an accountant
I am not a professional bookkeeper
I am not a lawyer and I’m not giving you advice

4. Um, How does this relate to Office 365?

5. Cloud Disruption – Office 365 … and then …
Office 365
Accounting
Software
Email
Outlook/Exchange
Personal
Files
OneDrive for Business
Intranet
Teams
HR
IT
Sales
Finance
Projects
Project 1
Project 2
Sites
Unique Business Site 1
Unique Business Site 2
Policies, Procedures,
Forms, Lists and
Lightweight Data
Business
Files and
Data
SharePoint
Maybe One Day…
Power
Apps
Planner Project
Flow Groups Yammer
Power
BI CRM Store
CollabSkype, Yammer, Teams

6. Life Before

7. Living with QuickBooks 2016
▪ QuickBooks 2016 Software ($84/month with payroll)
▪ Telpay Service ($25 month - $15 fee plus two monthly session fees of $5)
▪ Terminal Server so that 3 people could share the company file outside the office
▪ Periodic “Sync” using homegrown EXE to merge SharePoint time entries with QBO Invoices

8. What we had then
QuickBooks 2016
• Accounting and GL
• Service & Product
Invoicing
Telpay
• Payroll
SharePoint
• Paperless Storage
• Time Entries
• Reporting

9. Today: Software as a Service (Saas)

10. What we did
• Before: QuickBooks Desktop 2016,
SharePoint 2016 Time/BI and Telpay Payroll
• After: QuickBooks Online (with payroll) and Azure
based billing system

11. Why we did it
initially…
• New Time and Billing System
• Terminal Server was a PITA

12. Fringe Benefits
• Less bookkeeper, more AI
• Linked Accounts and Credit Cards
• Simplified Paperless Expenses
• Great Mobile Experiences
• Focus on input and reporting/health
• Simplified BI and a fresh start (not an upgrade)
• Accountant/Bookkeeper (2) access is included in licensing

13. Accounting Changes
Create new Agreements Site in SPO. Home (soon) of:
- Future SOW’s (with eventual other cool hooks)
- Contracts
- Other agreements like Coffee Cards, RFX’s, etc.
Build and test new Time Entry
and SOW System
Migrate to QuickBooks Online
Look into doing GL entries direct
from new Time Entry System into
QuickBooks Online
Manually update Client
Invoices in QuickBooks
(tasks/notifications)
Move Payroll to a
service or use QB Online
Time Entry Timeline (Planned Sequence & Creepy Heads)
Find new
accountant/bookkeeper
Migrate/Create New
Paperwork (paper to
digital) Site
July – August 10 July – September 30
July – October 31
December 31

14. What we have now
QBO
• Accounting & GL
• Product Invoicing
• Payroll
Azure
• Time Entries & Project
Tracking
• Service Invoicing
SharePoint
• Paperless Storage

15. QBO Expense Process…

16. QBO Reconciliation Process (Matching)

17. QBO Home Page

18. Why you might
Access - Anywhere, anytime on anything
Reduced Bookkeeping time and/or bills
One bill/expense for accounting software/payroll (never mind infrastructure)
Real time accountant access
Paperless Expenses

19. "I would not want to be a CPA right now. I would not want to be
an accountant right now, I would rather be a philosophy major."

20. Before/After Summary
QuickBooks 2016
▪ Costs:
▪ QB Monthly Cost: $84 + tax (includes payroll)
▪ Telpay Monthly Cost: $25
▪ Hardware: Server (virtualized)
▪ Software: Windows, Terminal Server and CAL’s and
Backups
▪ Management: Windows Patching, QB Upgrades, Backups,
Monitoring
▪ User Connectivity: RDP and LAN only
▪ Service Connectivity: Standalone EXE
QuickBooks Online (QBO)
▪ Costs:
▪ QBO Monthly Cost: $49 + tax (includes payroll)
▪ User Connectivity:
▪ Browser
▪ Windows App
▪ Mobile App for iOS (phone and tablet) and Android
▪ Service Connectivity:
▪ Web Services and Zapier, etc.
▪ 3rd Party Solutions (Store)
▪ PowerBI (soon?)
▪ RIP: “Single User Mode”

21. What Next?

22. When?
▪ Start of a new month
▪ Start of a new year

23. Approach?
▪ Start Fresh (maybe even change platforms?)
▪ Migrate (60 days)

24. Tidbits and leftovers

25. Gotchas (QBO)
▪ You’re gonna have a few hop-ons
▪ Estimates don’t come across
▪ No emailed pay stubs (yet?)
▪ Payroll Setup (QuickBase*). Give yourself at least 3 weeks

26. Alternatives
• Sage One
• Sage 50c
• Freshbooks
• Others…

27. Thank you.
Questions?