QuickBooks POS Discontinued: How Retailers Can Prepare

 Intuit announced it will discontinue QuickBooks POS. Is your business prepared? 

QuickBooks Point of Sale (desktop POS) has long been a staple for many small-to-midsized retailers, allowing for easy integration with QuickBooks’ accounting solutions. However, as technology demands evolve, so do the tools that businesses rely on.  

That’s the case with Intuit. The company announced that it would discontinue QuickBooks POS last year, with a sunset date for the platform in October 2023.  

This has left many existing QuickBooks POS users in a quandary. Subsequently, many want to know:  

• How will the QB POS being discontinued affect day-to-day operations?  
• How can they migrate off the platform?  
• Will their POS data still be available after migration?  
• What are the best QuickBooks POS alternatives?

We’re taking a look at the discontinuation in this guide, which provides POS migration tips for current QuickBooks POS users and offers advice for a smooth transition.  

Why Is QuickBooks POS Discontinued?  

The discontinuation of QuickBooks POS is indicative of a broad industry trend toward cloud-based POS systems. Cloud POS systems offer some advantages to desktop POS systems like QuickBooks. Some key advantages of a cloud-based system include: 

• Remote access 
• Cost effectiveness  
• Scalability  
• Data security  
• Real-time synchronization  

Ultimately, the best strategy is for customers to choose a reliable, cloud-based POS platform. And they should begin to migrate as soon as possible. A new POS system can be set up quickly. But migrating existing sales and inventory data can take more time. Therefore, providing yourself as much time as possible will ensure your business isn’t disrupted.  

Key Dates  

Intuit will discontinue QuickBooks POS on October 3, 2023. After this date, the software will no longer be updated, and phone / chat support will be discontinued. It’s crucial for businesses to plan their transition well in advance to avoid problems in day-to-day operations.   

What Do Existing Customers Need to Do?  

Migrating from one POS system to another is not a mere software change. It requires moving vast amounts of data, customer databases and sales histories. Proper planning ensures a smooth move with minimal hiccups. Here are some tips for migrating off QuickBooks POS:   

• Planning – Establish a clear timeline and create a secure backup of your existing data.  
• Data Migration – Determine what data needs to be migrated. This could include inventory, transaction history, and customer data.  
• Hardware Compatibility – Check if your hardware (including barcode scanners, receipt printers and cash drawers are compatible with the new POS.  
• Testing – Provide ample time to test the new system. For example, your team can process mock transactions, returns, and customer loyalty signups to test the system’s functionality.  
• Monitoring – As you migrate platforms, keep an eye on your POS reporting data. Watch inventory levels to ensure there are no discrepancies. You should also cross-check financial reports, sales and payment processing. 
• Inform Your Customers – In some cases, you should inform your customers. This is especially true if new features – e.g. different payment options, or a change in the checkout process – are available. 

Not only do you need to plan a migration from the tech perspective, but you also need to provide training to employees. A new system comes with a learning curve. To help prepare, organize training sessions for your staff and develop quick reference materials to help employees troubleshoot on the fly.  

In some cases, you may want to run the old system and new system in tandem to provide an opportunity to practice on the new system, with your existing system in place.  

Alternatives to QuickBooks POS  

The big shift for companies will be to cloud POS. Since discontinuing QuickBooks POS, Intuit is now offering Shopify POS to its customers. However, that system is a big change, and it doesn’t offer many of the same features for brick-and-mortar first businesses.  

FTx POS is an all-in-one retail suite that includes an advanced retail POS system with a variety of helpful integrations. Key POS features include: 

• Low credit card processing fees 
• Custom interfaces  
• Built-in inventory management tools  
• Convenient price book syncing  
• Cash reconciliation tools 
• Lottery inventory management tools  
• Tobacco scan data integration 
• Gift card processing  
• Built-in employee time clock functions

Not to mention, we offer a range of integrations including Customer Loyalty Programs, Digital Signage, and Ecommerce Integration. Our retail software suite helps businesses  

Let Us Help You Make the Transition 

Need some help? Contact FTx POS today to learn more about moving off QuickBooks POS. We offer a team of experienced IT professionals that can help you migrate quickly and start growing your business with our advanced retail tools. Schedule a demo today. Or send us your migration questions