Tagging a few Searchfunders who have commented on Quickbooks in the past & might be able to offer advice here: ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌

You can also find Searchfunder friendly accountants under the Directory tab at the top of this page. Filter by "accountant".

Tagging a few of them here who may be able to comment: ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌, ^[redacted]‌

To our commentators, THANK YOU for helping to make Searchfunder a collaborative community. Be sure to take full advantage of your UNLIMITED access to IBISWorld (Searchers only) & BVR Deal Stats, now available under the INDUSTRIES & VALUATIONS tabs at the top of this screen. Here are the direct links:

www.searchfunder.com/ibisworld

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With Best Wishes, ^[redacted]‌

This is a tough one and really comes down to your perspective & preferences after close. You could live with the current accounting system for a few months and see where the opportunities & gaps are, and how the integrations you've identified will actually add value. You may find another (different) platform that can take it to the next level after you really understand the nuts and bolts of your business. We transitioned from Quickbooks to Sage Intacct due to a variety of factors but came down to better accrual accounting capabilities and intercompany rules & reporting.

Hey John, your instincts are correct about the power of QBO's ecosystem of apps that pick up where QBO drops off. But TargetCo's industry should also influence your choice of accounting software. For instance, if you have complex inventory management needs, QBO won't likely be the right solution. We helped a search fund port from Sage to QBO and performed that migration right after close so we could start the NewCo's accounting in a fresh QBO instance. It was an asset deal so we didn't move the OldCo's financials into the new instance. We did, however, port OldCo's financials into a separate QBO instance and we referenced that old QBO file regularly as we setup the new accounting systems. It was convenient to have both instances in the same platform. Happy to chat if you have any follow-up questions. Best wishes getting to close. -Dave

I would postpone this decision. Spend the first 6-12 mos figuring out why systems and processes are the way they are and then you're in a way better position to choose a path forward. As Ben mentions above, you may find that there's a platform that's a better fit than QBO. Besides, if you're like most of the rest of us, you'll have your hands pretty full transitioning into the company.

I would agree with deferring this decision as there is probably more important issues to fix before switching over to Quickbooks Online.

I’m of the opinion that if your needs require you to move to QBO for important features, and if it is something you’ll have to do anyway, at close can be good timing. Particularly in Dave’s example about an asset sale and lots of pieces changing already. It also depends how much other activity you have happening in the first weeks - and the personality/skill of your accounting team.

Thanks, Brent. I'll be the accounting team!

Without knowing the specific business and the functionality needs you are driving for its tough to give a solid opinion. However I'd be careful to ensure you retain the historical transactional history. Certainly its helpful to run reports out of one system versus trying to meld information together for reporting. There maybe more planning/work required to transition than anticipated and other more pressing items.

We switched to QBO from QBD on the day of closing. It was a fairly smooth transition, but it was a lot of work to clean up and migrate our customer list (and historical data). I would suggest taking a step back and considering the volume of change you are planning to make in the first[redacted]days and determine the relative priority of switching accounting systems. It isn't an insignificant task. And I would also make sure to have an accounting guru on speed dial to help you get things setup correctly in advance of closing.