QuickBooks Attached Documents is a new extra-cost service introduced with QuickBooks 2011 and Enterprise Solutions 11.0 that allows users to attach documents to QuickBooks lists or transactions from within QuickBooks. It replaces the Document Management service introduced with QuickBooks 2010.
Versions of QuickBooks prior to QuickBooks 2010 don’t support attaching documents to list items or transactions from within the QuickBooks program itself.
The storage-based limits used by the older Document Management service have been replaced by limits on the number of items that can be attached to a list item or transaction. Users of the older Document Management service can continue to use that platform at pricing levels previously agreed to, even if they upgrade to QuickBooks 2011.
Pricing for the QuickBooks Attached Documents service is:
- $9.95/month for 1 attachment per list item or transaction
- $14.95/month for up to 5 attachments per list item or transaction
- $19.95/month for unlimited attachments per list item or transaction
The principal advantage that Attached Documents provides is the direct integration from within the QuickBooks program. For example, a PDF copy of a vendor bill can be attached to the transaction that records the bill in QuickBooks. Documents are stored on Intuit’s secure servers and are accessible over the internet. For organizations conducting business in multiple locations or that need to exchange documents with an accountant, such as during an annual audit, the direct association of an attached file with an accounting transaction can provide significant productivity improvements because the association is made once and saved. Other storage systems, even cloud-based systems, require a user to independently maintain the linkage between a file name in a folder and an accounting transaction, something that becomes progressively harder with changes in personnel and increases in the number of filed documents.