Small business owners are always looking for effective ways to manage and save time running their businesses, and what better way to do that than with new software applications?
If you are one of those business owners who would like to easily create estimates and turn them into invoices for your small business, seamlessly log hours and bill clients for your time, stay on top of your expenses and keep reliable records for tax time, QuickBooks Online (QBO) is a powerful cloud-based accounting software solution developed and marketed by Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) that can help you do that and more.
QuickBooks Online provides one central dashboard on the web where you can complete your frequent business tasks in just a few steps. Now if you’d like to access QuickBooks Online directly from your computer without having to first launch your browser to access the desktop interface, Intuit also recently features a QuickBooks app for Mac computers that automatically syncs to the cloud in real time.
The company says that although accessing QuickBooks Online through your browser is still great, there are some cool things you can only do with the free QuickBooks app for Mac.
QuickBooks App for Mac, Ways it’s Better than Online Version
In a post on the official QuickBooks blog, the company lists some of the main advantages of using the QuickBooks app for Mac versus just using the online version, including:
1. QuickBooks Mac App Runs Faster Than on Your Browser
The Mac app gives you 1-click log in for faster access. It appears on your desktop just like any other Mac program, and you can even pin it on the dock for quick access. Just click the icon to get started.
2. QuickBooks Mac App Allows You to Stay Signed In
Unlike the QuickBooks website that signs you out after a period of inactivity, the QuickBooks app for Mac lets you stay signed in indefinitely.
3. QuickBooks Mac App Loads Pages Faster
Simply click items down the left navigation bar: Customers, Vendors, Transactions and so on, and they all pop up much faster than in a browser window.
4. QuickBooks Mac App Easily Opens Multiple Windows
With the app, you can easily work in multiple windows. Just drag and drop windows anywhere — even across monitors and side-by-side. Moreover, windows automatically refresh. When you make a change in one window, all other related windows will automatically refresh with the updated data.
5. QuickBooks Mac App Allows You to Work Faster with Mac Shortcuts
You can use fewer keystrokes with the Mac app than on the website. For example, you can press Option + i instead of Ctrl + Option + i to create an invoice.
More Apps for Managing Your Small Business on the Go
It is worth mentioning also that there is a QuickBooks app for Windows that lets you run QuickBooks Online on your Windows desktop computer faster than in a browser. There are also QuickBooks mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android phones that come free with your QuickBooks Online subscription.
In talking up the availability of these apps, senior vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Small Business Financial Solutions Group Dan Wernikoff said in a press release back in 2014 that the apps are part of the company’s bigger strategy to build an open ecosystem. He singled out the newly released Mac app as yet another step in Intuit’s mission to make using QuickBooks a more streamlined process:
“Small business owners who use a Mac can now access the power of the QuickBooks Online ecosystem while working with the operating system they know and love. This is another example of how we’ve turned QuickBooks into an open ecosystem of business management solutions that can be accessed from any device.”
The QuickBooks’ Mac and Windows apps are available for free download on the company’s website.
Image: Intuit
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