QBO is a Cat, QB Desktop is a Dog – A “Dan”alogy

In the never-ending dilemma of QB Online vs. Desktop, there are three camps:

• "QB Desktop or Bust!!!"

• "QB Online is the wave of the future"

• "I like both"

If you are part of the first two camps, the mere mention of the other platform makes your skin crawl when you hear it. Kind of like when someone says Android, when you are an iPhone user, or Facebook, when you're "all about the 'gram!!"

In order to understand the difference between the two, I tried to relate in different terms, with what I call a Dan-alogy, which is a term coined by some of my co-workers when they would overhear me relating a complex concept in layman's terms. The more off the wall the better.

I realized that QB Online is like a cat and QB desktop is like a dog. If you are a dog person, you don't care for cats and, likewise, if you are a cat person, dogs are so uncivilized. It's not that you dislike the other animals, but you prefer one over the other. Like a cat, QBO will rub against your legs, meow, and look up at you with those big, Puss 'n Boots eyes, begging the attention of even the dog people. You try to go to the QuickBooks website.....nothing but cats!!! You get an inquiry from your ProAdvisor site, "I've had cats for 5 years and need some help." Eventually, the dog people bend down and pick up the cat. QBO is the same way. There are too many cats out there, not to have to pick it up every once in a while.

Sometimes, the cat will scratch you. You'll find that there is a trick the dog will do, whereas the cat will just sit there and stare. You wish your cat would be a dog, but that's just wishful thinking. You can't train a cat. The cat does what it wants, often when you least expect it, like running around the house at 3 AM. If you don't like cats, you'll go back to your trusty dog. You know what to expect, it's faithful, and you can get it to do what you want, or at least that's what you might tell yourself.

I'm in the third camp, I can see a place for both. QB Online is getting all the attention, but there is still a need for desktop features. We have a great new tool that guides you through the business needs and recommends which version would be the best fit.

By the way, I have 3 cats, and 2 dogs!