Better Start Reading That ToS

[WildWestDesigns]

That's exactly why people don't switch. They generally started with a particular software or system for ease and compatibility and it becomes entrenched in their operation. Then when people are reliant on it, like with illustrator, they change the terms so you either deal with it or are forced to make a slow and costly changeover to something else.

I know all to well the teething pains, no only did I switch programs, but OS as well (and to one that doesn't even have 5% of the desktop market share). Not only that, but have written some of my own in house tooling (and I by no means have the same amount of resources that some companies, even on here, have). However, most people don't consider what it's going to cost them sticking with it especially long term (now if close to retirement etc, so what).

I don't think people make an honest assessment of the C/B of it all and I have seen some (on here) that try to look at alternatives, I'll see them claim that some things (functionality) don't exist, I'll mention how to do it and they will go "I don't like that way, so it may as well not exist". That's fine, but I have little sympathy when they get raked over the coals.

Companies aren't going to change unless one uses their wallet to let them know. Still paying the monthly fee and grousing isn't going to do much, they have your money.

As to Google, I have seen way to many times Google kill something even if it was a hot item. I wouldn't trust them for anything that I truly was dependent on. I don't even trust them that much to use Go for some stuff and I kinda like it (GC aside), but I digress.

More and more, I'm glad that I never was entrenched in program specific workflows and when I did teach people, I always did it in the more program agnostic way. I grew up still doing things manually and even with software, I still like doing that.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I know all to well the teething pains, no only did I switch programs, but OS as well (and to one that doesn't even have 5% of the desktop market share). Not only that, but have written some of my own in house tooling (and I by no means have the same amount of resources that some companies, even on here, have). However, most people don't consider what it's going to cost them sticking with it especially long term (now if close to retirement etc, so what).

I don't think people make an honest assessment of the C/B of it all and I have seen some (on here) that try to look at alternatives, I'll see them claim that some things (functionality) don't exist, I'll mention how to do it and they will go "I don't like that way, so it may as well not exist". That's fine, but I have little sympathy when they get raked over the coals.

Companies aren't going to change unless one uses their wallet to let them know. Still paying the monthly fee and grousing isn't going to do much, they have your money.

As to Google, I have seen way to many times Google kill something even if it was a hot item. I wouldn't trust them for anything that I truly was dependent on. I don't even trust them that much to use Go for some stuff and I kinda like it (GC aside), but I digress.

More and more, I'm glad that I never was entrenched in program specific workflows and when I did teach people, I always did it in the more program agnostic way. I grew up still doing things manually and even with software, I still like doing that.

I try to implement free or cheap options on the front end and no subscriptions. Once you get going on a system, it's really hard to change and takes a ton of time. Quickbooks taught me that lesson and I get more and more irritated with that whole situation as time goes on. It's hard to switch away when you have years and years of financial data tied up in it with no good way to migrate it. AFAIK, you'd have to start from scratch with journal entries. We are always looking back so that method is a problem.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I try to implement free or cheap options on the front end and no subscriptions.

It doesn't have to free/cheap either. Not ubber expensive, but alot of times, people think that's what I mean, because I'm all about open source if one can go that one (ironically open source, for those that may not be aware, doesn't in of itself mean free (or that everything that is free is open source), not saying that you said that, just putting that out there as that has caused confusion)

Once you get going on a system, it's really hard to change and takes a ton of time. Quickbooks taught me that lesson and I get more and more irritated with that whole situation as time goes on. It's hard to switch away when you have years and years of financial data tied up in it with no good way to migrate it. AFAIK, you'd have to start from scratch with journal entries. We are always looking back so that method is a problem.

When it comes to financial, I expect either a sqlite or CSV(s) to help migrate one from system to the next. Since it's mainly online from what I can recall, it may be one of those online database over sqlite, but for migration, that's what I would expect).

I never used Quickbooks, the wife is accountant, she was always using Peachtree (but none of my stuff was on that, I think they have gone to something in house now).

One thing that people should also think about is that I think most people assume that the vendor is choice is always going to be around as well. That's not always going to be the case, it seems like that's more true now compared to ever before, see a lot of people being gobbled up by others.

Bottom line is that a tool is to solve a problem, not be a problem. If one is beholding to a specific tool, as we are finding out now, that can be a problem, one that keeps on costing and the longer that one stays on that option without going elsewhere, the more the cost of switching will become.