A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about 'QuickBooks and Graphics Cards.' That article actually arose out of a webinar presentation I made about the relationship of RAM Memory to QuickBooks Desktop (QBD); however, during the webinar I mentioned that QBD performance could be enhanced if it were running on a computer with a 'graphics card with VRAM' because the graphics subsystem (GPU - graphics processing unit) would no longer be using the RAM otherwise available within the computer. When a graphics card has built-in VRAM (video RAM), the GPU subsystem is reliant upon the card's VRAM, not the RAM allocated by the computer's OS.
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Posted By iPad Admin on Dec 28, 2017 in Business, Mac. QuickBooks for Mac is the small business accounting app, in which you can manage your business effortlessly. Download QuickBooks for Mac Free. QuickBooks for Macbook Pro has everything you need to run a small business. QuickBooks for Macbook Air provides you with an interface manage your expenses effortlessly.
A question was posed concerning 'memory-resident graphics cards' in virtual environments like QuickBooks, running on a remote server, or being hosted,' and the natural progression was then, 'what about QuickBooks Online.' So, in my article referenced above, I discussed the implications of Graphics Cards for all the various 'QuickBooks Environments.' Near the end of that article, I discussed the Windows and Mac App for QuickBooks Online saying:
- Intuit developed the Windows App to give you a ‘dedicated internet browser’ for QuickBooks Online. The intention was to be able to call for ‘dedicated memory’ to run the App rather than QuickBooks Online sharing the total memory dedicated to your Chrome (or other) browser among any and all open browsing windows. Some other features regarding decompression and refresh rates were intended to help improve the computing experience when using the App with QBO.
Source: Intuit
QBO_Win-Mac_App
- The ‘Windows App’ can, like a browser, make use of the dedicated memory and processing capabilities of your graphics card, you should experience enhanced QuickBooks Online operations over running the App with only ‘on-board’ graphics and your computer’s standard memory.
I then concluded the article by saying:
- Perhaps now you can see why not only the recommended (minimum) RAM requirements related to QuickBooks are essential to your successful use of the application, whether you are using the Desktop or Online version, but you can also recognize how a high-quality graphics card with dedicated memory can only enhance your experience regardless of the environment in which you are operating.
QBO App System Specifications
Well, in response to my article I received another inquiry about 'the system requirements' for the 'QuickBooks App for Windows or Mac,' and honestly it got me thinking that I didn't recall ever seeing such requirements even though I downloaded, installed and used (and still do) the Windows version of the App when I work with QuickBooks Online. After some research, I finally got the system requirements from Intuit, so here they are (along with my commentary where applicable):
Processor
- 2.4 GHz
- 4 GB of RAM
- Support for Streaming SIMD Extensions 2 (SSE2) instruction set or higher
Hard Disk
- 1 GB
- Solid State Drive (SSD): SSD may speed up the performance
Network Speed
- As suggested by QuickBooks Online
- Minimum Internet speed 512 KBPS
- Recommended Internet speed 1MBPS ('the higher the better')
Machine types supported (some machine types may not support optional graphics)
- Desktops
- Laptops
- Ultrabook/tablets
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Operating System Supported
Windows
- Windows 10
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 7
Mac
- Mac OS X 10.14 (Mojave) ('Intuit compatibility unspecified for this new OS')
Apple_Mac
- Mac OS X 10.12 (Sierra)
- Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan)
- Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite)
- Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks)
Display
- Best optimized for 1280 X 800 screen resolution or higher
- Between 1200*800 and 1600*900
- Between 1600*1200 and 1920*1200
- Between 1920*1440 and 2560*1440
- Up to 200% DPI
- Extended monitor support
Summary
As with the System Requirements for QuickBooks Desktop, or QuickBooks Online (via the recommended 'Chrome Browser'), Intuit never tells you that you might get improved performance if you use a 'memory-resident graphics card (of at least 2 GB)' for video support.
Despite that, I will reaffirm my previous conclusions... The ‘Windows App’ (for QBO) like a browser, can (will) make use of the dedicated memory and processing capabilities of your graphics card. As such, you should experience enhanced QuickBooks Online operations with such a graphics card over running the App with only ‘on-board’ graphics and your computer’s standard memory.
The principle holds true for the 'Mac App for QBO' itself. Of course, there is one big difference. Apple has always been ahead of most 'Windows computer designers' and they have for some time provided 'graphics with on-board memory' in all but their lowest-end desktop machines, laptops are a different matter. There are simply too many variations in the Mac 'lineup of products' to talk more specifically in an article like this, so consult your Apple Store or Apple Support regarding your present or future graphics requirements if you are using or considering a Mac purchase.
With that said, I will also repeat my prior concluding remarks: '...no folks, I am not going to recommend or even suggest a specific 'graphics card'.' Consult your local computer-professional or computer-manufacturer (Windows-based or Apple-Mac, as the case may be) regarding your graphics, if you are unclear as to what your current graphics capabilities are, or you wish to upgrade your graphics technology to insure full compatibility.
×QuickBooks App for Mac
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Change Company Feature
Change Company Feature
×QuickView Feature
QuickView feature for QuickBooks App for Mac
×QuickView Feature Access
Access Bank Transaction from QuickView
×Detached Windows Feature
Multi-window capabilities
So I must admit that I have not been a big fan of QuickBooks for Mac, but I do support it, and I have a lot of clients who use it. But when I heard that Intuit was launching a Mac App for QuickBooks Online I predicted that it could well be a ‘game changer’ with the QuickBooks for Mac community, and by all appearances in its’ first 30-days since launch that prediction may be coming true. I checked with my friend who recently started using the App to access QBO from her Mac and she says, “it’s the bomb.” (I’m kind of new to all this slang-stuff, but I think that means she likes it; and she accuses me of talking over her head….’what’s up with that?’)
In the past, I like many other windows users’ have struggled with the differences between QuickBooks (windows) desktop products and QuickBooks Online, and while the new (Harmony) version of QuickBooks Online has come a long way in terms of both capabilities and performance, most windows product users still consider it ‘behind the times’ from a feature standpoint. But QuickBooks for Mac has also always been behind the windows products, and in many ways the feature set of QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks for Mac have been much closer, and continue to be. For this reason it is probably much easier for QuickBooks for Mac users to migrate to QuickBooks Online, with one exception. That exception was, until recently, the fact that QuickBooks Online, even when accessed from a Mac browser looked and felt like a ‘windows product’, it didn’t feel like ‘Mac’. That lack of Mac friendliness (or ‘nativeness’) was a deterrent until recently.
But now, with the QuickBooks App for Mac, (shown in Figure 1 above) the look and feel of Mac is available, with the feature set and anytime-everywhere access that only QuickBooks Online provides. Like almost any App for your Mac that accesses a cloud based resource, this App acts like a specially optimized browser caching and buffering data resulting in enhanced performance. In the product demo I was privileged to review the App performed admirably with windows opening lickety-split and data populating ‘at the speed of Mac’. So besides performance, I know you are probably asking ‘what did Murph really like bestabout the new App?”Well I won’t bore you with all the details, but give you just my ‘top 3 favorite things’; so counting down to # 1…
# 3.The new App provides great support for users that have multiple QuickBooks Online accounts, or accountants who work with different QBO clients. You can access the multiple companies either from the File dropdown on the menu bar, or from a drop-down window next to the forward/back navigation buttons. (Figure 2 above) By the way, Yi Ng, Intuit’s Product Manager for the new App, confirmed for me that the Mac App for QuickBooks Online will also work with QuickBooks Online-Accountant (QBOA).
Quickbooks Online App For Pc
# 2. The “QuickView” option sits on your Mac menu bar and provides a wealth of capabilities. (Figure 3 above) You can not only get alerted of items needing your attention (like a Bill to pay), but you have easy access to the various functional areas within QuickBooks Online via the App. (Figure 4 above) You can even use QuickView to launch the App if you don’t have it running already with the ‘stay signed in’ option, just whatever you as a Mac user want to do is pretty much ‘doable’ from this one central access point. Lucky, lucky, lucky, we can’t even do that with QuickBooks (windows) desktop products.
And my # 1 pick is:
The ability to use ‘detached windows’, which has to be the ‘whip cream’ on the desert in my opinion.(Figure 5 above) You can have reports, estimates and invoices all open at the same time. For example, you might have an Invoice open in one detached window, while you have the Vendor Center open in another window. Then open a Balance Sheet in another window to check your cash on hand. Now just drag them around to work on what you need, put them temporarily out of the way while you do something else, and then drag any of them back into your central focus. It’s like Captain Kirk having the forward looking, rear looking, port and starboard view screens all clustered around him in any order, any place, and any size he wants, while then launching another App so he can watch re-runs of previous Star Trek episodes on the same viewer. “Holy cinema Mr. Spock, is that great or what?” (No that sounds more like something Robin would have said on the Batman TV series, than Star Trek, doesn’t it?) But you get my point!
I may just have to go rob an Apple store to get me a Mac so I can play around with this new App, it’s ‘way cool’, or should I say ‘hot’ (whatever).