Buying QuickBooks Hosting? Here Are Top 3 Providers
It goes without any question that QuickBooks is one of the most popular software used in the accounting industry.
Having more than 80% market share in the United States, QuickBooks is continuously assisting small and medium-sized businesses for their accounting tasks.
Some of the primary reasons that make it a preferred choice are its ability to automate most of the routine bookkeeping tasks, import data from different business applications like Excel, provision of the projected balance sheet, and more.
Furthermore, if you are a QuickBooks Desktop user, there are chances that you might be hosting it on the cloud for some added benefits like:
- Anytime, anywhere access to the software and its data
- Reduction in IT and hardware cost
- Scale resources like Storage, RAM, and more as per the requirements
- Collaborate with the team on a common platform
Considering the number of QuickBooks hosting providers in the market that enable you to move your QuickBooks application (and even the whole accounting practice) on the cloud, finding the perfect fit might not be that easy.
Last time, I compiled a list of some of the top QuickBooks hosting providers on the basis of pricing and other parameters. This time around, I have discussed three of the QuickBooks hosting providers from that list:
Check out the comparison table of these QuickBooks cloud hosting providers below for better insight:
Now, before setting your mind on a particular hosting provider, you must evaluate it on the below-mentioned factors.
1. Reputation of the Hosting Provider
In addition to the services offered by the provider, the number of satisfied clients says a lot about its business. Therefore, you must check client reviews on sites like Serchen, Facebook, and G2.
Take the recommendations and opinions of the clients into consideration for a better understanding of the product.
In order to build trust between you and the provider, another factor to look into is the expertise of the QuickBooks hosting provider in the field.
While opting for a hosting provider, check for the ones that are Intuit Authorized. It ensures that Intuit backs up their service as a competent QuickBooks hosting provider in the market.
2. Server Availability
Accessibility time for the server is one of the primary factors for the growth of your business. For better performance, the downtime of a server needs to be minimum.
The uptime guarantee value must be stated clearly in the companies SLA (Service Level Agreement). It makes sure that the provider is legally liable to provide you the mentioned uptime of the server.
Every minute of server inaccessibility can cause a significant loss to the company. Therefore, more the uptime guarantee, lesser will be the disruption caused. For example, 99.999% uptime guarantee means that there will be a downtime of less than 6 minutes in a year.
3. Security Measures Taken
The financial data is one of the most critical aspects of a company. Therefore, security should be the topmost priority when selecting the QuickBooks hosting provider. Always check for the security policies followed by the cloud vendor to safeguard the application.
Some of the essential security measures to keep in mind are:
➜ End-to-end encryption
➜ Anti-malware and anti-virus
➜ Multi-level authentication
➜ Multiple firewalls
➜ Intrusion Detection/Prevention System
4. Data Center Location
The location at which the company’s data is stored plays a vital role in its accessibility. When QuickBooks is moved to the cloud, the hosting provider stores the information in large data centers which are maintained using high-end technology and system.
The data is backed up in real-time on different servers either in the same location or in a different location, depending on your service provider.
It eliminates the chances of accidental loss of critical data as it is not stored on a single physical device.
Some hosting providers offer Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) options by providing data redundancy. It is ensured by keeping essential files and documents at multiple data centers having geographically diverse locations. The data is regularly backed-up at these centers for seamless work experience.
So, whether there is a hurricane or earthquake at your location, your data will be safe and you will be back in operations in no time.
5. Cost-Effectiveness
The pricing associated with the QuickBooks Hosting services provided might be one of the foremost factors that come to your mind. Every hosting provider offers a different set of plans as per your business needs.
One of the most significant advantages of moving QuickBooks software to the cloud is that it provides scalability options. This indicates that you can upscale or downscale resources like storage space, users, and RAM depending upon the requirements.
Always compare the price of the hosting plans with all the available options. After analyzing, choose the most fitting plan offered according to your needs. Most cloud service providers offer pay-as-you-go plans wherein you have to pay for only what you are using.
To Wrap Up
The choice of the QuickBooks hosting provider has a considerable impact on the business. Therefore, carefully analyze all of your available options in order to find the perfect fit for the growth of your business.
Which QuickBooks hosting provider are you using? Anything to add here? Let us know in the comment section below.
