QuickBooks Service Discontinuation Plan

Each year, we strive to deliver the best products to our customers by investing in technology that makes QuickBooks better and easier to use. One of the ways we are able to do that is to manage the costs associated with supporting older releases. We believe this enables us to provide you with the right level of service, while still providing leading-edge business solutions to our customers at the lowest cost.

Our practice is to support the most current version of QuickBooks, plus the prior two years' versions. If you are currently using an older version of QuickBooks and do not need live support or do not use certain business services (such as payroll), you can continue to use the software as you have been. However, if you would like to continue receiving live technical support or use other services, you will need to install and register a supported version of QuickBooks software.

As services to older versions are scheduled to be discontinued, Intuit provides affected customers with advance notice in a variety of ways, including mail or email notifications, in-product notifications, or through this Web site.

Discontinuation Plan FAQs

How can I prevent my services from being discontinued?

What happens if I don't upgrade my QuickBooks by May 31, 2009?

• If you choose not to upgrade to QuickBooks 2009, your product will continue to work as it does today. However, after May 31, 2009, you will no longer have access to live technical support or some business services.

Which services will be discontinued on May 31, 2009?

• The chart below shows which products and services will be discontinued.

Products	Services
QuickBooks 2006 for Windows	Bill Pay Credit Card Download Employee Organizer Merchant Service Online Banking Billing Solution (formerly QuickBooks Online Billing) Basic Payroll Standard Payroll Enhanced Payroll Assisted Payroll Support Plans and Services QuickBooks Email
QuickBooks 2005 for Windows	QuickBooks Email
QuickBooks Pro 2006 for Mac	Online Banking (Web Connect) Support Plans and Services
QuickBooks Pro 2005 for Mac	Support Plans and Services
QuickBooks Point of Sale 5.0	POS Hardware POS Support
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions version 6.0	Support Plans and Services

Which services were discontinued on May 31, 2008?

• The chart below shows which products and services were discontinued.

Products	Services
QuickBooks 2005 for Windows	Bill Pay Credit Card Download Employee Organizer Merchant Service Online Banking Billing Solution (formerly QuickBooks Online Billing) Standard Payroll Enhanced Payroll Assisted Payroll Support Plans and Services QuickBooks Email
QuickBooks 2004 for Windows	QuickBooks Email
QuickBooks Point of Sale 4.0	POS Hardware POS Support
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions version 5.0	Support Plans and Services

How do I know which version of QuickBooks I have?

• Click here for instructions on how to determine which version of QuickBooks you are using.

What happens if I try to use my add-on services or support without upgrading my QuickBooks after May 31, 2009?

• You'll find the specifics for each service below.

QuickBooks 2006 Bill Pay

• After May 31, 2009, if you attempt to use QuickBooks 2006 Bill Pay, you will first receive an error message that will instruct you to contact technical support. This will be followed by a message advising you that your financial institution information cannot be obtained. In order to connect to a financial institution again, you will need to upgrade to a supported version of QuickBooks.

QuickBooks 2006 Credit Card Download

• After May 31, 2009, if you attempt to download QuickBooks Credit Card data, you will get a message explaining that the service is no longer available through QuickBooks 2006. This message will include instructions for upgrading to a newer version of QuickBooks and directions for migrating your existing account to your new QuickBooks software.

QuickBooks Employee Organizer

• After May 31, 2009, Employee Organizer Compliance Updates will no longer be available for QuickBooks 2006 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions version 6.0. You may continue to receive Employee Organizer Compliance updates by upgrading to a more current version of QuickBooks prior to May 31, 2009.

Merchant Service for QuickBooks 2006

• After May 31, 2009, if you attempt to use QuickBooks 2006 for Merchant Service, you will get a message explaining that the service is no longer available through QuickBooks 2006. This message will include instructions for processing credit card transactions outside of QuickBooks, upgrading to a more current version of QuickBooks, directions for migrating your existing account to your new QuickBooks software or terminating your QuickBooks Merchant Service account.

QuickBooks 2006 Online Banking

• After May 31, 2009, if you attempt to use QuickBooks 2006 Online Banking, you will not be able to successfully complete your online session. You will receive an error message during an attempt to download transactions, send online payments, or send online transfers. The exact error message depends on your download method. For example, you may receive, “QuickBooks is unable to verify the Financial Institution Information for this Download.” In order to connect to a financial institution again, you will need to upgrade to a supported version of QuickBooks.

QuickBooks Billing Solution for QuickBooks 2006

• After May 31, 2009, if you attempt to use QuickBooks Billing Solution for QuickBooks 2006, you will get a message explaining that the service is no longer available through QuickBooks 2006. This message will include instructions for upgrading to a more current version of QuickBooks and directions for migrating your existing account to your new QuickBooks software.

QuickBooks 2006 - QuickBooks Payroll

• On May 31, 2009, we are discontinuing Payroll and Payroll with Direct Deposit for QuickBooks 2006.
• If you are using QuickBooks Payroll with QuickBooks 2006, you will need to upgrade to a more current version prior to May 31, 2009. After you upgrade, your payroll subscription will renew automatically at your next bill date.
• If you do not upgrade, your payroll service will be interrupted and QuickBooks will no longer automatically calculate payroll taxes or provide payroll tax forms. A prorated refund will be issued for the unused portion of your payroll subscription if you do not upgrade.

QuickBooks 2006 - QuickBooks Assisted Payroll

• On May 31, 2009, we are discontinuing QuickBooks Assisted Payroll for QuickBooks 2006.
• If you are using QuickBooks Assisted Payroll with QuickBooks 2006, you will need to upgrade to a more current version by May 31, 2009. If you do not upgrade, your payroll service will be interrupted and QuickBooks will no longer automatically calculate payroll taxes, provide payroll forms, or allow you to send your payroll data.

For QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Full Service Plan (FSP) customers:

• If you are using QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 6.0 and have an active Full Service Plan, you will continue to receive support until the expiration of your plan. However, it’s important to install the latest version of Enterprise Solutions (that you received as a part of the Full Service Plan) by May 31, 2009 to ensure uninterrupted support.

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 6.0 customers without an active Full Service Plan:

• If you are using QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 6.0, you will stop receiving live support and add-on service(s) after May 31, 2009. If you want to continue receiving support and add-on services after May 31, 2009, you will need to upgrade to a supported version of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions. If you need to upgrade please contact a sales representative at 800-624-1377.
• We do not anticipate the discontinuation of QuickBooks 2006 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 6.0 to cause any problems with the QuickBooks Compatible Software (listed at QuickBooks Solutions Marketplace) from the Intuit Developer Network. Be aware though, that replacement CDs, diskettes, and manuals for QuickBooks 2006 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 6.0 will no longer be available after May 31, 2009.

For QuickBooks Point of Sale Customers:

• On May 31, 2009, we will discontinue assisted support for Point of Sale 5.0. If you wish to receive assisted support for Point of Sale, you will need to upgrade to a supported version. If you have an active support plan for a supported version on Point of Sale (v 6 or newer) and you have QuickBooks 2006 software, you will continue to receive assisted support for your Point of Sale product. However, if you wish to receive support for QuickBooks, you will need to upgrade to a supported version.

For QuickBooks E-mail Customers:

• After May 31, 2009, you will no longer be able to use QuickBooks E-mail to send sales receipts, credit memos, purchase orders, reports and forms through your QuickBooks 2006 or earlier version of QuickBooks software. If you choose not to upgrade, you will still be able to e-mail forms and reports as pdfs, but not directly through QuickBooks. By upgrading to QuickBooks 2009 you will be able to send e-mail directly from Outlook or Outlook Express without ever leaving QuickBooks. Plus, you will be able to review and file items in your Sent folder for future reference.
  
  Note: Outlook integration requires Outlook or Outlook Express 2000, 2002, 2003 or 2007. E-mail applications are sold separately.

QuickBooks Support

On May 31, 2009, we will discontinue access to live technical support and other QuickBooks services for QuickBooks 2006.  If you continue to use QuickBooks 2006, here’s what this means to you:

• If you have an active support plan that auto-renews on a monthly basis (such as the QuickBooks Support Plan with Monthly Billing), your plan will be automatically canceled on May 31, 2009. In addition, any other services included in the plan, such as data recovery and free Online Backup service will be canceled as well. In order for you to continue using your QuickBooks Support Plan without interruption, you will need to upgrade to a supported version of QuickBooks, and we recommend QuickBooks 2009. If you prefer not to upgrade, your QuickBooks 2006 software will continue to work, but your Support Plan coverage will end on May 31, 2009.
• If you have an active support plan that auto-renews on an annual basis (such as the QuickBooks Support Plan with Annual Billing), you will continue to receive live support and any service included in your support plan until your plan expires 12 months from the date of purchase. At that time, your Support Plan will be automatically canceled and will not renew. In addition, any other services included in the plan, such as data recovery and free Online Backup service will be canceled as well.  In order for you to continue using your Support Plan without interruption, you will need to upgrade to a supported version of QuickBooks, and we recommend QuickBooks 2009. If you prefer not to upgrade, your QuickBooks 2006 software will continue to work, but your Support Plan and access to live support will end 12 months from the date of purchase.
• If you have an active non-renewing support plan (such as a 6-Month, 90-Day, or One-Year Support Plan) that expires after May 31, 2009, you will continue to receive live support and any services included in your support plan until the plan's expiration date.  However, in order to purchase another support plan, you must be on a supported version of QuickBooks.  If your support plan expires before May 31, 2009, and you want to continue using QuickBooks 2006, you may purchase a QuickBooks Support Plan with Monthly Billing until March 31, 2009 or pay for support as you go (One-Time Support).  Please note that all Monthly Support Plans will be automatically canceled on May 31, 2009 for customers using QuickBooks 2006.  You will need to be on a supported version of QuickBooks to get access to live support and support plan coverage after that date.
• If you want to receive live support on a pay-per-incident basis (One-Time Support) after May 31, 2009, you will need to be on an upgraded version of QuickBooks. Although live support will no longer be available after May 31, 2009 if you choose not to upgrade your QuickBooks software, you can still get answers to frequently asked questions by searching the QuickBooks knowledge base or the QuickBooks Knowledge Archive.
• Support for installation, upgrades, error messages, and product defects is only available for currently supported versions of the product.

Additional Support Information

Replacement CDs, diskettes, manuals and live support will only be available until May 31, 2009. Intuit provides customers with registration and keycode data for discontinued versions of QuickBooks under Intuit's standard terms and conditions, if that data is available. However, Intuit cannot assure that it can register, provide keycodes, or offer data and password recovery for discontinued versions of QuickBooks. For these reasons, we strongly recommend that customers use supported versions of the software.

If you decide to continue using QuickBooks 2006 instead of upgrading, you can still access the QuickBooks knowledge base archive to get answers to frequently asked questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.**