QuickBooks Enterprise 9.0 - 5 Star Rating? I Don't Think So

(Full disclosure: I am a Certified QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions advisor and a charter member of the Intuit Solutions Provider/Reseller program)

Reasons why I agree with their assessment:

• QuickBooks Enterprise 9.0 is a very economical choice for businesses that are either outgrowing QuickBooks Pro or Premier, or those that are on the lower end of the mid-market. Compared to other mid-market packages, QuickBooks Enterprise is very budget-friendly. The list price on a 5 user version is $3,000, which is typically thousands less than competing products.
• QuickBooks software (all versions, including Enterprise) has a very intuitive interface and doesn't require weeks of training time to figure it out. Contrary to some of the marketing done in support of the QuickBooks product line that says accounting knowledge isn't needed to use it, it is still essential that someone in the organization have a rock-solid understanding of accounting to ensure that the software is used correctly.
• QuickBooks Enterprise 9.0 owners are not forced into a renewal of the support and maintenance agreement once the initial 12 month support agreement expires like other competitive packages. It may make good sense for a business to renew the agreement, but it is their choice to do so. For example, the renewal price for maintenance and support for a 5 user license of QuickBooks Enterprise is $750 per year. This entitles the business to receive a complete upgrade to the newest version of QuickBooks Enterprise (i.e. QuickBooks Enterprise 10.0/2010).
• The online data backup storage vault is an excellent benefit that is included. Purchasers of Enterprise 9.0 also receive a free 12 month subscription to the QuickBooks Online Backup service. They can use that service to automate their backup of QuickBooks and other critical business data to an offsite location. Up to 10 gigabytes of data can be stored in the vault. Many small businesses suffer from erratic or non-existent backup strategies, and this tool can definitely help them streamline that business necessity.
• The Messenger utility built into Enterprise 9.0 is a great addition that really helps administrators see what is going on with the users and also allows them to log users off without having to visit their computer to do so.
• The always-on audit trail helps businesses get some x-ray vision into what exactly is happening with their financial data and the users of that data. This is critical insight that every business using QuickBooks needs to know.
• There are a number of excellent add-on products that have been developed that enhance the core value of QuickBooks as an accounting platform while the add-on software fills another specific need (i.e. advanced inventory control, document management, etc.)

Reasons why I disagree with their assessment:

• Additional licenses must be purchased in 5 user bundles. The reality is that businesses don't increase their users in even increments like this. Businesses need to have the ability to add less than 5 licenses at a time. Why not offer a 2 user and a 5 user increment? It shouldn't cost Intuit any more to offer more flexibility. In fact, it may help Intuit's revenue stream by bringing on businesses that have chosen NOT to increase their license count by 5 and are limping by and asking users to exit when others need to log on.
• The reporting tools within the software are very tired and need an update. This is an enterprise level software, yet it uses the same report tool found in the Pro and Premier versions. Intuit would counter that you can use the Intuit Statement Writer that comes standard in Enterprise for advanced reporting needs. That's nice and all, but that tool only covers basic reports like the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet. If I want to make some enhancements to customer or sales reports, I'm out of luck. Intuit would also counter that any report can be exported to Excel for further analysis. I would like to see them either revamp the reporting tools inside the Enterprise edition or bake in something like Crystal Reports.
• Enterprise 9.0 doesn't offer a significant number of reasons to upgrade. Unless a business has the need for reporting in multi-currency or to increase their number of users beyond 20 (you can have up to 30 in the new version), the rest of the enhancements were relatively minor and caused many businesses to say "I'll pass" on this version.
• The online banking enhancements in Enterprise 9.0 were not well-received at all. Do a quick Google search on "problems with QuickBooks online banking 2009" - you'll see the story. Intuit has made some valiant attempts to take care of these issues since the software was released, but the damage has been done.
• The client data review tool in Enterprise 9.0 is a terrific new feature for accountants to use with their clients. But just how many of the 57,000+ users of QuickBooks Enterprise are accountants? Probably less than 5% would be my guess. My point here is that precious product development time could be spent on new features that have a broader impact on the installed Enterprise client base.
• The customer relationship interface in QuickBooks is tired too - last time I looked, I can track 2 contact names, 2 phone numbers and 2 e-mail addresses inside the core customer module. Huh? This is supposed to be an enterprise level package. I shouldn't have to purchase a QuickBooks CRM add-on just to deal with the multitude of contact information associated with a customer. While some nice features were added in 2006 to the customer area, the core customer screen has been the same since at least 2003. Time for a facelift guys.
• My vendor accounts can't contain a remit to and a physical address. Why not? This is basic functionality that should have been written into the software years ago.
• There are no credit management tools of any significance. Other than a field for a customer credit limit and a warning during order processing that the limit has been exceeded, Enterprise has no ability to put orders on credit hold or get approval from the credit department prior to shipment.
• There needs to be more improvement to reduce the "multi-user"/"single user" mode hassles. While Enterprise 9.0 now allows a business to create a backup copy of their data while others are still working in it, you still can't resort a list, change a sales tax rate or do other common tasks in multi-user mode. Imagine telling 29 other users they have to exit QuickBooks so you can resort a list that has gotten out of whack.
• No external tools exist to help repair problems with the company data file. Enterprise has the ability to verify and rebuild data files, BUT, you have to be able to open the data file first in order to use these tools. In some cases, the file becomes corrupted and can't be accessed via normal methods. The only option at that time is to turn to the QuickBooks data team for help. There need to be some external tools made available in case this emergency arises.

Even with the issues that have been raised, QuickBooks Enterprise 9.0 is very budget-friendly, easy to use and powerful accounting software package. It could be so much more though with some enhancements to the core package and without having to rely on the myriad add-ons to solve some basic accounting and reporting problems. It just doesn't rate 5 stars in my opinion.

Let's see what QuickBooks has in store for the release of QuickBooks Enterprise 10.0/2010 this fall. Maybe that will be a 5 start version!