Host QuickBooks in the Cloud - Starter's Guide

Many small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) use QuickBooks for their day to day financial needs. Perhaps you are using the desktop version of QuickBooks installed on a PC or in-house server but want better security, multi-user remote access, or to use QuickBooks on your Apple or Android device.

If so, you want to know if you should take the next step in modern financial accounting and host your desktop version of QuickBooks in the cloud. The simple answer is yes. When you host QuickBooks in the cloud you stay connected and mobile, increase business security, and reduce IT costs as your business grows.

The next question is how do I host QuickBooks in the cloud?  The answer is to use a QuickBooks Hosting Provider.  They have the expertise and infrastructure needed to host QuickBooks reliably and securely that SMBs simply don’t have.

What does it mean to host QuickBooks in the cloud and how does it work?

QuickBooks hosting is when your QuickBooks Pro, Premier, Enterprise or Accountant software and company files are installed on a server hosted in the cloud along with technology that allows users to access the server remotely.  Via this remote desktop technology, multiple users can then access and use QuickBooks anytime, anywhere, from any Windows, Apple, or Android device.  Once logged in, QuickBooks will work for each user just like it is installed on their local PC.

Some QuickBooks hosting providers allow additional applications to be installed alongside QuickBooks.  For example, Concero pre-installs the full suite of Office 365 applications onto each users’ Cloud Desktop and allows customers to install other Windows 10 compatible business software on their cloud server at no additional cost.  This way you have a complete Windows workstation in the cloud.

QuickBooks hosting is typically offered as a monthly subscription service. This is the simplest solution.  You pay for only what you use and you never have to worry about hardware, software, servers, network resources, or IT management, everything is handled by the Quickbooks Hosting Provider.

Host QuickBooks in the cloud to keep connected and mobile.

QuickBooks users are typically bookkeepers, accountants, business owners, and sales agents.  For many businesses, these users are often remote or mobile.  Keeping these remote users connected to essential business applications and data is critical.  When you host QuickBooks in the cloud users can access QuickBooks anywhere, anytime, with any device and work together in real time.

A user can start the day at the office by logging into QuickBooks via their workstation, hit the road and stay connected to QuickBooks via their mobile device, then work on QuickBooks from their home PC.  It’s like taking your office workstation everywhere you have an internet connection except all your financial data never leaves the safety of the datacenter.

Host QuickBooks in the cloud to increase business security.

Protecting financial data is critical for all businesses.  Loss or corruption of QuickBooks data can have a devastating impact on a SMB.  When you host QuickBooks with a reputable hosting company, your QuickBooks application and datafiles will be isolated from other hosted customers as well as from your local networks and user devices.  As a result, your financial data can’t be compromised by fire, flood, ransomware, device theft, or other disaster at the home or office.

With Concero, we host your QuickBooks in a top-tier data Canadian centre loaded with safeguards and behind multiple layers of physical and network security.

Some of Concero’s safeguards include:

• A SSAE 16 SOC 2 certified data center
• Network intrusion detection systems
• Multiple layers of firewalls
• Multi-factor user authentication
• Nightly backups with system-level or granular file-level restores.

Host QuickBooks in the cloud to save money as your business grows.

Hosting QuickBooks in the cloud is as simple as signing up for a monthly pay per user service.  You can start with as little as one user and add or remove users when needed. You only pay for what you need and there is no additional investment costs or IT maintenance overhead.

At Concero, we handle all aspects of hosted QuickBooks service delivery including migrations, updates, patches, and monitoring of each remote user connection.  You avoid any hidden or unexpected costs of hosting QuickBooks as everything is included in the monthly service rate.  Concero does all the work.

Find out more about QuickBooks Hosting.

Learn more information about Concero cloud security and compliance.