First the disclaimer: As an Intuit Solution Provider, Intuit Retail Solution Provider and Intuit Merchant Services Provider we deal primarily with POS v8 and QuickBooks Enterprise Edition v9. We offer the full range of Intuit products but these are the ones we support beyond the inital installation. We have certified ProAdvisors on staff which you won't find with "affiliates" offering QuickBooks and QuickBooks compatible hardware. I am solely responsible for the views and opinions expressed here which may or may not be congruent with Intuit's views and opinions.

Intuit has made great strides with the entire line in the last year but do not expect a problem free installation. Customers adopting new Intuit software before the first maintenance release have been disappointed each of the last three years. Fortunately, the first maintenance release is already available for the new products that started shipping in October 2008, specifically POS v8 and QBES v9.

Intuit is following the Microsoft model of planned obsolescence. Intuit only supports the last three releases of its products. Buy POS v6 now and next September you are on your own. At this year's conference in Dallas, Intuit stated it would stop offering free support for POS v8. I do not know whether that has been implemented yet or not.  

Software as a Service is the over-hyped buzz word for 2008. Even Simple Start, the FREE version of QuickBooks, showcases Intuit's desire to offer online service add-ons. They even have QuickBooks Online now. Need inventory tracking? Subscribe to Velocity Inventory. Need payroll? Subscribe to Intuit's Online service. Need remote access? Subscribe to QuickBooks Webex. Need sales tax compliance? Subscribe to Avalara for 65 cents per invoice. You get the drift. This carries through right up to v9 of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions which, BTW, now handles 30+ simultaneous users thanks to a complete database rewrite. My advice? Steer away from Software as a Service add-ons to the QuickBooks products. There are real software solutions to all of these business needs, except payroll, that do not commit the business to monthly service fees forever.  

As for POS v8, read the side by side comparison of the versions very carefully before ordering. If you buy the wrong version for your requirements it can be an expensive mistake. Also, be aware that if you couple POS with a new or existing QuickBooks Financial software solution, POS will suck the inventory control right out of the Financial software. THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL. POS just does it. If you are running a storefront and a web sales site you probably want expert advice on how to integrate the software while controlling inventories separately. This is not part of the routine setup included with the software.

You probably also want a integrated web site and shopping cart as well. Call me directly if you want a referral on the web site and shopping cart development and seamless integration with QuickBooks. Yes, I get a referral fee so I am not putting it up here. No, I will not be referring you to Intuit's own solution starting at $149 per month plus set-up fees.

Wade Lovell