QuickBooks for Mac 2019

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Yes, Mac lovers, that is what I said. Intuit has re-released ‘QuickBooks for Mac’ for 2019 with enhancements to boot. 

Even though the last updates to QuickBooks for Mac were back in 2016, and we didn’t even see a ‘2017 or 2018 version’ of the Mac product, you now have a new and improved version for 2019. 

This isn’t a ‘fool you with a box’ and only give you the Mac App for QuickBooks Online… this is the real thing to run locally on your Mac computer under the Apple-Mac-OS.

Speaking of the OS, the requirements for this version are at least Mac OS X v10.12 (Sierra), but also supported are Mac OS X v10.13 (High Sierra), and Mac OS X v10.14 (Mojave). You will need a Mac with an Intel Core 2 Duo (or higher) Processor, a minimum of 2GB of RAM available to the application (4GB is recommended), at least 250 MB of available disk space for the application, and a CD/DVD drive or Internet connection for installation. You must use a 100% Macintosh-compatible printer if you plan to print invoices, check, deposit slips, lists, purchase orders, mailing labels, reports or graphs.  You will need Intuit (QuickBooks-for-Mac-formatted) checks if you plan to print checks.

As you can see in the image below, when the QuickBooksMac2019.dmg file is downloaded it opens to allow you to simply copy the QuickBooks for Mac program into you Mac 'Applications' folder. It takes only moments to then activate the software, register your license and be set and ready to go with the QuickBooks for Mac you always loved, plus more.

Now not being a QuickBooks for Mac (regular) user and not having anything but a 'sample file' provided with QuickBooks for Mac to play around with, there wasn't really any data supporting the new features... but I did my best to capture some meaningful images that will show you the variety of new and/or enhanced features in this 2019 version including:

  • Bank/Credit-card Reconcile Discrepancy Report which identifies changes made to reconciled transactions since the last reconciliation. But note, this will only impact transactions created in this version, it won’t track transactions entered into older versions of the software. (Might be a reason to think about starting a new file when you transition to this newest version of QuickBooks for Mac.)
  • Email Tracking from the new Email tab in both the Customer and Vendor Centers allows you to track the dates when emails (including emailed transactions) are sent to either your vendors or customers.

As you can see, this new tab gives you the ability to not only see who (your customers) you send the emails to, but also any CC and Bcc recipients. It also provides details of the Date, Subject, type of transmittal (Invoice, Sales Receipt, etc.), the number of each item along with the amount and the QuickBooks User who sent the Email.

Similar information is available within the Vendor Email tab, as shown below.

  • iCloud Document Sharing provides a way for sharing your QuickBooks for Mac file using the iCloud sync feature. You can work on your file while at home, sync via iCloud, and then continue working on your Mac computer at work.

Please note that this feature is not intended for multiple users to be working on the same file by syncing copies simultaneously while other users are still in the file.

For more details about ‘file-sharing’ using iCloud, consult the official Apple website regarding iCloud Drive and file-sharing functionality.

  • Passwords will now be required if your file contains any sensitive information. All such information including social security, tax identification, bank account, and other identifying information is now encrypted by QuickBooks. Complex passwords with a 90-day reset requirement will be required for access to such files for each user account. (Note: I was required to create a complex password (even in this sample file) the moment I started to open it initially.)
  • Report Windows have been re-sized for improved readability and enhanced spacing. I could be mistaken, but in spending a short time with this feature, it seems closer to the way that sizing works in ‘QuickBooks for Windows’ versions than in prior ‘QuickBooks for Mac’ versions. I wonder if QuickBooks for Mac users will really like that?

[By the way, I do realize that this isn't the entire Balance Sheet (or even the entire first page)... but you get the idea.]

  • Square Import feature allows users to incorporate their sales data from Square by means of a .csv file import. Since I don't have a Square account I didn't have a way to test this feature, but it seems pretty straight forward. When you click on the little 'Square' icon at the top of an import transaction window (like the one for Sales Receipts as shown below), you are presented with a dialog box from which to select the .csv file for import. Pretty straight forward stuff.

To me this seems like the 'good old Mac' product that most QuickBooks for Mac users liked so well. It offers these, and perhaps a few more enhancements and improvements we were not made aware of. Without spending a lot more time with the product it would be hard for me to say what else users of the Mac version may find to their liking.

Undoubtedly, the thing the Mac users will find most appealing is that what they thought was an 'abandoned product' back in 2016, with notice that it would not be supported as of 2019, is now 'back' with a new version.

So, from all of us here at Insightful Accountant, "welcome back, Mac!"

Notes & Disclosures:

Graphics or other illustrations used in this article have either been prepared using an early-release version of QuickBooks for Mac 2019 software, or were furnished and/or adapted from Intuit source content. Be aware that certain aspects of features described or illustrated herein may have changed between the pre-release software version we used and the release of QuickBooks for Mac 2019 desktop products scheduled for September 11, 2018.

This article is intended to serve as a summary of QuickBooks for Mac 2019 product feature reported to us by Intuit as being new to the software. This article is not an in-depth review of QuickBooks for Mac 2019, nor has it been written to provide instruction in the proper use of the software, or any of the specific 'new' features within the software.

While the writer or editor may express a personal opinion within this article regarding this feature and/or the software as a whole, such personal opinion does not constitute a formal endorsement by Insightful Accountant or the publisher regardless of any phrasing used by the author.