PierVantage vs QuickBooks Accounting Software: Why QuickBooks Isn’t Enough for Marine Businesses – How PierVantage Fills the Gap

Introduction

Running a successful boatyard, boatbuilding, or marine business requires specialized tools, processes, and software solutions. While QuickBooks is a popular choice for accounting software, it lacks the industry-specific functionality marine businesses need to operate efficiently. That’s where PierVantage comes in.  

Purpose-built for the marine industry, PierVantage empowers marine businesses with features that streamline operations, improve project visibility, and provide robust customer support.  

Here’s a closer look at why PierVantage is the right choice for marine businesses that are outgrowing QuickBooks. 

Is QuickBooks Holding Your Marine Business Back? 

QuickBooks may be popular, but it’s a one-size-fits-all accounting software. Many boatyards and marine businesses find themselves limited by its capabilities.

Here are a few common pain-points our marine clients have shared: 

• Lack of Industry Terminology and Customization: QuickBooks isn’t designed for marine-specific tasks, making it hard to customize fields or reports to suit your boatyard’s needs. 

• No Project Tracking for Boatyards: Managing work orders, tracking estimates, and creating change orders are critical for boatyard operations, but QuickBooks doesn’t support these features. 

• Limited Reporting Capabilities: QuickBooks has basic reporting features but lacks the in-depth operational reports needed for real-time job profitability, project status, and financial analysis. 

PierVantage Marine Accounting Software: Built for the Marine Industry 

Unlike QuickBooks, PierVantage was designed with the marine industry in mind. With input from leading boatyard operators, PierVantage addresses the unique challenges marine businesses face. 

PierVantage Outpaces QuickBooks in Key Areas: 

• Project Management from Start to Finish: Build an estimate, convert it into a work order, and track every step, including change orders and job profitability, right through the life of the project. 

• Comprehensive Reporting: With PierVantage, you can monitor work-in-progress, track expenses by project, and get visibility into job profitability—insights QuickBooks can’t provide. 

• Inventory and Purchase Orders: PierVantage lets you manage inventory across multiple locations, track special orders, and tie inventory costs directly to specific work orders. 

• In-Process Billing: Keep your cash flow healthy with in-process billing—essential for boatyards that need to bill clients throughout large projects, a feature QuickBooks lacks. 

Seamless Scheduling and Technician Management 

Scheduling is a critical part of managing any marine business, yet QuickBooks offers no way to organize technicians’ schedules or assign them to specific projects.  

With PierVantage, you can streamline your entire scheduling process, assigning tasks, tracking progress, and ensuring that every job is staffed and organized for on-time delivery. 

Customer Support Designed for the Marine Industry 

For marine businesses, generic support doesn’t cut it. PierVantage provides industry-specific support that goes above and beyond typical software assistance. 

PierVantage Support Highlights: 

• Deep Expertise in Marine Operations: Our support team includes our implementation experts, meaning the same team that sets up your system will also support you. 

• Industry-Leading Response Times: With an average first-response time of less than 90 minutes, PierVantage support is dedicated to keeping your business moving. 

• Commitment to Continuous Improvement: PierVantage releases updates every 6-8 weeks, driven by feedback from our marine industry clients. We’re constantly enhancing features to keep your business ahead of the curve. 

Don’t Settle for Generic Accounting Software – Choose a Solution Designed for Your Industry 

Marine businesses have unique needs that can’t be met with general accounting software.

Here’s how PierVantage marine accounting software stacks up against QuickBooks accounting software:

Conclusion: Time to Consider PierVantage Marine Accounting Software? 

If you’re ready to enhance your marine business operations with software designed specifically for the marine industry, PierVantage is here to help.

With specialized features, dedicated support, and continuous improvements tailored for the marine industry, PierVantage offers boatyards and marine businesses the tools they need to succeed.  

Contact us today to schedule a demo and discover why so many marine businesses are making the switch from QuickBooks to PierVantage.