Intuit has announced that it will be discontinuing QuickBooks Commerce (formerly TradeGecko) after August 31, 2023.
But perhaps announced is the wrong word. You’ll struggle to find a press release or even a tweet from Intuit explaining the impending QuickBooks Commerce sunset.
For many, the news was ‘broken’ by a banner on the software vendor’s website.
Some users turned to Intuit’s support forum and phone and chat support for clarification. However, this only served to increase the ambiguity surrounding the soon-to-be-exterminated inventory module as inconsistent answers surfaced.
In this article, we investigate the demise of QuickBooks Commerce as a standalone product. We’ll try to understand why the process has been so opaque, and what it means for existing users.
Key takeaways from the 2023 QuickBooks Commerce Sunset
In 2022, Intuit discontinued QuickBooks Commerce (formerly TradeGecko) for users outside the US. Users inside the US had to either move to a QuickBooks Online + Commerce bundle or leave the platform entirely.
In 2023, Intuit informed users that QuickBooks Commerce will be discontinued for all users after August 31, 2023 – including those that upgraded to the bundle package.
Existing QBC users are upset by a lack of clear communication from Intuit regarding what will happen to the data they’re currently storing within QuickBooks Commerce.
QuickBooks Commerce users are feeling frustrated by yet another sunset of the software they rely on for ecommerce inventory management.
But wait, what happened to TradeGecko?
Before we dive into the details, some context:
In September 2020, Intuit – the parent company of QuickBooks – purchased TradeGecko, a popular eCommerce inventory management platform.
And then they announced that TradeGecko, now QuickBooks Commerce (QBC), would be switched off.
Sound familiar…? This is what happened.
In June 2022, QuickBooks stopped accepting new TradeGecko customers. Existing TradeGecko users from outside the United States were cut off. Existing users within the United States were given an ultimatum: either migrate to an alternative commerce module embedded in QuickBooks Online; or, to put it bluntly, go somewhere else.
To make matters worse, even those US-based users willing to try the new in-app module by QuickBooks couldn’t keep their old accounting set-up. They had to migrate all their accounting, ecommerce, and inventory data into QuickBooks Online or hit the road.
As you might imagine, this wasn’t received too kindly by former TradeGecko/QuickBooks Commerce users.
Yeah, us too. Complete bullshit. Invalidates two years worth of work for my team, and now we need to scramble to find an alternative.
— PWA Menear (@PWAMenear) June 9, 2021
We know what you’re thinking: Intuit has already shut down QuickBooks Commerce; they can’t do it again.
Well, apparently they can.
Not this again: A breakdown of the (latest) QuickBooks Commerce sunset
So, what lessons did we learn from the sunsetting of TradeGecko?
For one, Intuit probably never intended to keep TradeGecko as a standalone product. The most likely reason for this acquisition was to gain immediate access to the inventory software and customer database.
It’s likely that TradeGecko was purchased so that Intuit could introduce an inventory management module that could then be bundled with QuickBooks Online and upsold to existing QuickBooks users.
This was a major inconvenience for TradeGecko users, particularly those outside the US and those that weren’t already using QuickBooks Online for their accounting. But almost a year has passed since they cut users off.
The dust eventually settled.
Ex-TradeGecko users either found reliable inventory software from another vendor or bit the bullet and upgraded to the QuickBooks Online + QuickBooks Commerce bundle. TradeGecko’s discontinuation became a distant memory.
Until now.
QuickBooks Commerce sunset 2.0
In 2023, a banner on Intuit’s website vaguely implied a second QuickBooks Commerce sunset.
This came shortly after a separate sunset announcement from Intuit: The discontinuation of its point-of-sale module, QuickBooks POS.
At the time of this writing, QuickBooks are yet to release an official explanation of the latest discontinuation of QuickBooks Commerce.
We could speculate that they want to avoid scaring away existing customers.
But if they’d thought reticence around the matter would help them avoid customer backlash, it doesn’t seem to be working. Conversely, a lack of clear communication has QBC users seriously worried – and confused.
So, what’s being discontinued this time?
The closest we’ve gotten to an official answer is this response, to a querying customer, in the QuickBooks Support section of their website:
“We previously discontinued TradeGecko and offered a standalone QuickBooks Commerce inventory management system as a bundle with QuickBooks Online. But we’ve made the strategic decision to discontinue QuickBooks Commerce as a standalone product and focus on building e-commerce capabilities directly within QuickBooks Online.”
If you’re wondering what this somewhat ambiguous message is trying to say, you’re not alone.
Other commenters in the thread appear unsatisfied with this response. Many claim to have received contradictory messages when consulting with QuickBooks phone and chat support.
The question being referred to here is the one on the minds of many QBC customers: “What exactly is Intuit doing with QB Commerce?”
Customers that have been around since the TradeGecko days are naturally fearful of what this QuickBooks Commerce sunset could mean for them. And without any formal announcements or clear communication from Intuit support, those concerns become increasingly real.
Users outside the US who will need to find a whole new platform for ecommerce inventory management are the worst affected.
What will happen to years’ worth of inventory data? Can we afford to migrate to a new platform? Do we have the time to train staff on another system?
Unless Intuit offers an official statement, these questions will plague QBC users right up until D-Day (August 31).
Who will be affected by the QuickBooks Commerce sunset and what can they do?
The impending discontinuation of QBC will affect all existing users of the QuickBooks Commerce module. It also means that non-users intending to sign up for QBC in the future will need to find an alternative.
For current QuickBooks Commerce users, you have two options:
- Continue using Intuit for your ecommerce inventory management (and pray for no more sunsets).
- Find a new ecommerce inventory management platform.
Note that, should you choose to remain with QuickBooks, it’s still unclear which QuickBooks Commerce features and historical data will be transferred to QuickBooks Online.
Now, let’s talk about alternatives.
Alternatives to the QuickBooks Online + QuickBooks Commerce bundle
It’s not all bad news.
Whether you’re getting booted out of QuickBooks club or you’ve simply lost your faith in Intuit, reliable alternatives are waiting with open arms.
QuickBooks Online & Unleashed
While QuickBooks Commerce is on its way out, QuickBooks Online is still a powerful piece of business software for accounting and payroll.
Our native Unleashed QuickBooks integration will easily replace any features lost in the QBC sunset.
With over 10 years of expertise, unparalleled customer support, and 950+ five-star reviews across leading software review sites, Unleashed isn’t just a comprehensive inventory management system – we’re a team you can trust to help you grow.
Xero & Unleashed
If you’re fed up with QuickBooks altogether, then a Xero Unleashed integration is the perfect alternative for all your inventory, ecommerce and accounting needs.
Xero provides a powerful alternative accounting and payroll solution to QuickBooks Online, with similar pricing. You can send and pay invoices, reconcile transactions, and understand your cash flow at a glance all within the Xero dashboard.
And when you pair it with Unleashed inventory management software, you’ll get:
- Compassionate customer support and easy onboarding from the top-rated support team in the industry.
- A complete inventory management solution that’s always evolving and improving.
- Unlimited capacity to scale with multiple warehouse capabilities and sales channel integrations.
- Access to powerful add-ons like Business Intelligence reporting, a B2B ecommerce store, demand forecasting, and a mobile sales app.
- A robust inventory system with advanced manufacturing capabilities, including BOM production, assembly kitting, batch and serial number tracking, and production planning.
Interested in learning more? Check out a detailed list of Unleashed features here.
