QuickBooks is a powerful, easy-to-use financial management system. Growing businesses find QuickBooks Solutions advantageous because their simplicity and scalability (ability to support up to 30 simultaneous users and handle large amounts of data and transactions).

However a common problem with QuickBooks is remote access. Many small businesses now need more flexibility for their collaborators to use QuickBooks from anywhere.

More and more, users want to access QuickBooks remotely, for a variety of reasons. Key people travel frequently, several staff members are in other locations, or an accountant or bookkeeper need access to QuickBooks. You can certainly send backups to each other, although some files are getting too large for that - even with the Portable Company option. Some accountants will use the Accountant's copy, but then both the accountant and users have restrictions. So, the idea that people can be in different locations and access the same data file is becoming more popular.

So browsing on the Inernet, we can find a lot of frustrated users trying to find their way around this:

• How can two people share a QuickBooks file over the internet?
• How do we share Quickbooks over The Internet?
• How safe is QuickBooks remote access ?

There are multiple ways of accessing QuickBooks remotely and we will be discussing them in detail.

Challenge

QuickBooks is a file based solution like MS Access, and does not have any Client/Server capability, this explains why its Remote Access features are limited.

It has been designed to be used on a Local Area Network, but today QuickBooks files are getting bigger and even LAN usage can be slow.

There is generaly no single answer to extending QuickBooks beyond the LAN, so we will examine the different possibilities and rank them accordingly.

We will then see how Vedivi Business can help in providing an efficient way of extending QuickBooks.

• QuickBooks Online (SaaS)
• QuickBooks Remote Access (WebEx)
• QuickBooks over VPN
• QuickBooks over Remote Desktop
• QuickBooks Enterprise & Remote Desktop Services
• QuickBooks and Virtualization (Cloud)
• Solution: Vedivi Business
• Comparison

QuickBooks Online (SaaS)

this came out a few years ago and many organizations use it. If your accounting needs are simple, this can be a good option. As long as you have Internet access, you can work in the data file and can have multiple users. You're always in the most current version and someone else takes care of the backups. You pay a monthly fee (these can sometimes be discounted if you work with a ProAdvisor). If you've used QuickBooks before, this will look different, but you'll learn! You can have your desktop data converted to Online QuickBooks (and vice versa) and frequently not all data converts the way you want, so do take the time to read Intuit's comments on converting and make a backup before converting. Online QuickBooks does not have all the features found in QuickBooks Pro, nor as many reports. If you have inventory or need job/project costing, this option will not work.

It is a good choice for businesses new to QuickBooks as it offers a simple way to get started for a reasonable cost ($9.95 to $34.95 per month). But your data is stored outside your network, you are dependent on intuit quality of service (down times, outage, slow network, security...) and the functionality is limited (reports, add-ons..).

Overall
Simplicity		Cost		Security
Functionality		Reliability		Performance

QuickBooks Remote Access (WebEx)

QuickBooks Remote Access is a Remote Access solution provided by WebEx allowing users to access their computer screen remotely. It is a subscription based (monthly) solution sold by WebEx (not Intuit).

This way, you can use a desktop version of QuickBooks (Pro, Premier or Enterprise), so you'll have more functionality. How and where you print depends on the program and level of features you have. You most likely will have access to the other software on the computer, so this is a popular option for those out of the office. Because you literally take control of a computer, the computer must be left on. If it's not your computer then scheduling with the other user will also need to be a consideration.

It requires a designated workstation (switched on with WebEx installed) in the office for each remote user to connect to. When a workstation is accessed remotely, no one else in the office can use it.

Useful for single users, but not really the ideal solution for multi-user (configure and maintain a computer for each user, train users on the remote access tool...). The security and performance implications are also to be considered.

Overall
Simplicity		Cost		Security
Functionality		Reliability		Performance

QuickBooks over VPN

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) offers a way to securely connect to an Office network (LAN) remotely. Once the VPN connection is established, the user gets access to any network device on the network.

Basically a VPN allows people outside the office LAN to connect to the LAN and thus gain access to QuickBooks file (on a shared folder for instance). Any user connected using a VPN can then open QuickBooks exactly the way they would do it at the office.

It sounds like the perfect solution, it is secure, centralized, does not require a computer per user at the office and does not require extra training to get started. Unfortunately, VPNs can be expensive and time consuming to maintain. Performance is also an issue with large QuickBooks files.

But the right VPN solution (Instant SSL Software VPN with inline data compression) and a decent Internet connection at the Office will offer a very good solution for accessing QuickBooks remotely.

Setting up a VPN will also help Small Businesses introducing secure teleworking not just for QuickBooks, but for accessing files, applications and devices remotely.

We will be discussing an appropriate VPN choice in the last chapter (see the Solution: Vedivi Business section)

Overall
Simplicity		Cost		Security
Functionality		Reliability		Performance

QuickBooks over Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop is a Miscrosoft Windows component that allows a user to access applications and data on a remote computer over a network, it is free and already installed on Windows.

Using Remote Desktop a user can log-in to his computer remotely as if he/she were in front of it. Remote Desktop is part of Windows and a proven and secure way to access your computer remotely. It is far superior to commercial remote screen solutions, more secure and requires no installation (already part of Windows).

QuickBooks users can take advantage of Remote Desktop for working remotely:

If all users have a computer at the office, then they could use Remote Desktop to connect to their computers and run QuickBooks remotely.

The best way to use Remote Desktop would be to have Windows Server (2008) installed at the office and all users to login to it remotely (Windows 2008 server support multi-sessions). That way only one computer is needed to run QuickBooks. QuickBooks file could also reside on the server as well to further improve performances.

Remote Desktop is normally limited to the LAN, but it can easily be made accessible from anywhere using Vedivi (see the Solution: Vedivi Business section).

Windows 2008 Server can be expensive (unless you already have one), but using Cloud computing can bring cost down considerably (see the QuickBooks in the Cloud section).

Overall
Simplicity		Cost		Security
Functionality		Reliability		Performance

QuickBooks Enterprise & Remote Desktop Services

Remote Desktop Services (RDS) is a technology offered by Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R21 that allows multiple users to access applications, data or virtual desktops located on a central server. This technology was formerly known as “Terminal Services” in Windows Server 2003 and is now one part of a greater set of virtualization technologies offered by RDS.

With QuickBooks Enterprise, you can take advantage of Windows Terminal Services to access your software and data remotely AND you get the power and additional features in Enterprise. In essence, you access your server and both Enterprise and your data are there. This is different than the traditional use the software on your computer and access the data on the server. Many organizations overlook Enterprise because of price, but most prospective users don't know what all Enterprise can do nor what all comes with the initial purchase. And best of all, as long as you have an active Full Service Plan, you'll NEVER pay for the software again and the annual full service plan costs less than a multi-version of QuickBooks Premier. (The first year includes the Full Service Support plan which gives you unlimited tech support, 10 GB of free online backup and the new version when it rolls out - just to name a couple.) To have remote access in addition to more powerful features and tighter security can be a good solution for a business.

This is the latest and most complete solution for QuickBooks users. It is more complex to put in place and can become quite expensive.

Outside the QuickBooks licences, two areas make the cost and complexity jump:

• Server costs: requires a server with Windows 2008 and mutiple terminal service licenses.
• Access to RDS server for remote users: the server itself should not be on the internet for security reasons, so you need another server (TS Gateway) to allow connections from the internet.

These can easily be solved by using Virtualization (or Cloud) to host the server (see the QuickBooks in the Cloud section) and using Vedivi Solution to provide access to the RDS Server (see the Solution: Vedivi Business section).

Overall
Simplicity		Cost		Security
Functionality		Reliability		Performance

QuickBooks and Virtualization (Cloud)

For best performances and easy maintenance, QuickBooks now recommands a central installation approach where QuickBooks Application and data files are on a multi-sessions server (Windows 2008 Server) and users access it through Remote Desktop Services. We have seen this for QuickBooks Enterprise (above).

Virtualization

But how to achieve the same for any version of QuickBooks (Pro, Premium or Enterprise), well Virtualization might be an answer: servers are also useful for other purposes, such as email hosting and file sharing. Rather than purchasing servers for each application, savvy organizations are buying one machine and using virtualization to create several virtual server instances to fulfill their various needs. Included for free with Windows Server 2008 R2 andWindows Server 2008, virtualization technology helps companies make the most of their servers.

So when deciding whether or not to use RDS and centralise your QuickBooks installation, keep in mind that it’s possible the server needed for RDS could also be leveraged for other applications. It may even be enough to support much, if not all, of your business applications.

QuickBooks in the Cloud

For smaller organization, the Cloud is an even more attractive option (cheaper and simpler): instead of doing the virtualisation yourself (buying a server and configuring it), you could just buy a virtual server from a Cloud provider.

The Cloud server would cost a fraction of a real server and you won't have to worry about installation and maintenance. QuickBooks and your data file will be on the virtual server and users will connect to it through Remote Desktop.

Solution: Vedivi Business

Vedivi Business is the latest generation of secure remote access solution, it combines a VPN with Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance integration.

With Vedivi you can:

• Setup a VPN and provide secure remote access for your business in minutes
• Offer full network connectivity to your office network to collaborators wherever they connect from
• Allow users use Remote Desktop to connect to their computer or a Windows Server session from any web browser
• Provide Remote Assistance to any client or user from a web browser without software installation

More and more business now use Vedivi to access QuickBooks remotely, because Vedivi integrates with your choice of QuickBooks setup and does not dictate it.

With a Vedivi Business account, you can either set-up a VPN or/and use Remote Desktop and connect to a remote computer, so whatever configuration you choose to access QuickBooks, Vedivi is the preferred remote access solution.

Get started with Vedivi 30-Day free trial so you can see for yourself why so many businesses trust Vedivi for QuickBooks remote access.

Comparison

Solution	Overall	Simplicity	Cost	Security	Functionality	Reliability	Performance
QuickBooks Online (SaaS)
QuickBooks Remote Access (WebEx)
QuickBooks over VPN with Vedivi
QuickBooks over Remote Desktop with Vedivi
QuickBooks Enterprise & Remote Desktop Services with Vedivi