QuickBooks 2015 Announced – Important System Requirements

QuickBooks 2015 was announced and release to Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors yesterday – which means that end users will have it made available to them either the end of this month or the beginning of October; there are no firm dates as of yet.

opening quickbooks Before I start talking about some of the new features that I think are ok, good, or great – I want to address system requirements, which I feel is very important.

QuickBooks 2015 does not support Windows XP

As  Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and 3rd party desktop developer, I still have clients and customers using Windows XP and I’m betting that you do too – and that’s why I think this is important.

Also, if you are running QuickBooks 2012 and need payroll or access to online banking – expect to see QuickBooks 2012 “retired” by the end of May 2015.  I can help you obtain discounts on QuickBooks 2014 and get a free 2015 version – but you have to act fast.

For anyone out there reading this post, if you are still running a Windows XP machine – or have clients running XP – DO NOT UPGRADE to QuickBooks 2015 until you’ve purchased a new computer!  And in my opinion, you should spend the extra money and buy a Windows 7 machine and skip Windows 8 – but that is just my opinion.

System Requirements:

The following requirements are specific to the Pro and Premier versions, I don’t have any information on Enterprise requirements yet.  You should read these requirements VERY carefully.

  • Windows Vista SP2, 7 SP1 or 8.1 Update 1 (32-bit & 64-bit)
  • Windows Server 2003 SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, 2012 R2 or Windows Small Business Server 2008/2011 (64-bit) recommended for multi user
  • 2.4 GHz processor
  • 2 GB of RAM
  • 1.5 GB disk space recommended
  • 1024×768 or higher screen resolution, extended monitor is supported
  • 4x DVD-ROM drive
  • Online features require Internet access
  • Product registration required

Integration with Other Software

This information is for all versions of QuickBooks – Pro, Premier and Enterprise; again read this carefully, because it is confusing; especially the Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Outlook) parts.

  • Microsoft Word and Excel integration requires Office 2007, 2010, 2013, or Office 365 (32 and 64 bit)
  • QuickBooks Statement Writer requires Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 (inc 64-bit)
  • Synchronization with Outlook requires QuickBooks Contact Sync for Office 2007, 2010 (downloadable for free at: www.quickbooks.com/contact_sync
  • E-mail Estimates, Invoices and other forms with Microsoft Outlook, Windows Mail, Gmail™, Yahoo! Mail ®, and Hotmail®
  • Compatible with QuickBooks Point of Sale version 10.0 – 12.0
  • Transfer data from Peachtree 2009 – 2011; Microsoft Office Accounting 2006 – 2009 using free tool available at https://quickbooks.intuit.com
  • Transfer data directly from Quicken 2013 – 2015, QuickBooks 4.0-14.0 and Microsoft Excel 2007-2013

What About QuickBooks Integrated Software Applications by Other 3rd Party Vendors?

At this time, QuickBooks Developers (such as ourselves) do not have access to QuickBooks 2015, just like the last several years.  Make sure that you contact the developer to verify that their program is compatible with QuickBooks 2015 before you upgrade.  We will be announcing our compatibility update later this month after final testing.

Are your or your clients still running Windows XP machines and how do you feel about the fact that 3rd party developers don’t have access yet?