Would love your advice!

[greyhound rick]

Hello everyone,

Longtime Mac user and find ourselves having to run QuickBooks Windows version due to our business requirements.

Just ordered a 21.5" iMac which will be used mostly for business (Mac and Windows platforms) and was wondering if you would recommend running Windows via Boot Camp or Parallels.

I would be happy to provide you with any information you would need in order to make the recommendation to us and appreciate your time and expertise very much!

We would be using this machine during the day for running Windows and in the evenings for OSX. We do not need to run the two operating systems simultaneously and do not mind rebooting to change from Windows to Mac.

We have no idea which approach would be best and would love to hear what you think as we need to make our decision relatively soon.

Thanks so much for your time,

best always,

rick

 

[chscag]

It depends on which Windows programs you intend to run. If you're just going to run business apps such as Quickbooks or Office, then Parallels would be the better choice. However, if there are any graphic intensive apps that you need to run such as games, setting up Boot Camp as a dual boot is desired.

Since the 21.5" iMac has no optical drive, setting up Boot Camp can be a bit daunting since you'll have to work with a Windows ISO bootable on a flash drive in order to install. Installing Windows via Parallels is easier as a legal copy of Windows can be downloaded direct from Parallels.

 

[lclev]

Or you could get Quickbooks for Mac but you did say it was for business and if that is not an option I get it. I will throw in that you can take a Quickbooks Windows file and convert it to the mac version of Quickbooks. I am currently running 2013 for mac and I converted from the PC version.

Lisa

 

[greyhound rick]

It depends on which Windows programs you intend to run. If you're just going to run business apps such as Quickbooks or Office, then Parallels would be the better choice. However, if there are any graphic intensive apps that you need to run such as games, setting up Boot Camp as a dual boot is desired.

Since the 21.5" iMac has no optical drive, setting up Boot Camp can be a bit daunting since you'll have to work with a Windows ISO bootable on a flash drive in order to install. Installing Windows via Parallels is easier as a legal copy of Windows can be downloaded direct from Parallels.

Thanks so much for the great comments! Looks like Parallels will be the best option for us!
take care, rick

 

[greyhound rick]

Or you could get Quickbooks for Mac but you did say it was for business and if that is not an option I get it. I will throw in that you can take a Quickbooks Windows file and convert it to the mac version of Quickbooks. I am currently running 2013 for mac and I converted from the PC version.

Lisa

Thank you Lisa! Is it difficult to convert QB files to Mac version? Also, what do you think of Boot Camp vs. Parallels for running QuickBooks?

thanks again,

rick