Upgrading to Windows 11? Check For Tech Support First!

Windows 11 debuted to the public on October 5. So far, most of the upgrades to Microsoft’s newest desktop operating system have proceeded smoothly. Yet, that does not translate into a blanket “go for it” policy for accounting and financial professionals. Therefore, as discussed below, we urge caution before upgrading to Windows 11 due to technical support availability.

Availability of Technical Support is Critical

As every business professional knows, ensuring the availability of technical support for all essential line-of-business (LOB) applications is critical. Notably, without tech support, how can a business get back up and running quickly if an application runs slowly or crashes? Therefore, situations such as these require that technical support is available for all critical applications.

To illustrate, imagine a public accounting firm attempting to generate tax returns during the height of tax season. In that environment, time is of the essence! Assume the firm upgraded to Windows 11, but their tax software publisher did not support the software in that environment. How would the firm complete all necessary tax returns if the tax software frequently crashed? Further, would the firm be able to file extension requests electronically on behalf of its clients? For such reasons, before you upgrade, please verify that the publishers of your critical applications support them on Windows 11.

A Sampling of Accounting-Oriented Applications Supported on Windows 11

Of course, not all Windows applications presently offer technical support if you install the application on a Windows 11-based computer. To illustrate, consider the table below. It shows the system requirements published by each company as a proxy for the availability of technical support. Specifically, you will note the simple fact that many publishers do not yet support their software on Windows 11. Of course, this information can change quickly. Therefore, you should verify the availability of technical support in Windows 11 environments with your software publishers.

Application	Supported on Windows 11?	Click for More Information
CCH ProSystem fx Tax Software 2021	No	ProSystem fx
Drake 2021 Tax Software	Yes	Drake
Intuit Lacerte 2021 Tax Software	Yes	Lacerte
Intuit ProSeries 2021 Tax Software	Yes	ProSeries
Intuit QuickBooks 2022 Desktop	No	QuickBooks
Sage 50cloud Accounting	No	Sage 50cloud
Spire Desktop	No	Spire
Thomson Reuters UltraTax 2021 Tax Software	No	UltraTax

Fortunately, there are many similarities between Windows 11 and Windows 10. Therefore, it is improbable that most users will experience any problems when running unsupported software on Windows 11. However, can you afford to take that chance? Keep in mind, if you run any unsupported applications on Windows 11, you will likely be on your own for technical support. Moreover, you may even find that you need to roll back to Windows 10 – a time-consuming and unpleasant task!

Summary

Just over six weeks since its introduction, Windows 11 generally receives very high marks for compatibility, speed, and security.  Accordingly, these accolades may tempt many into wanting to upgrade as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Obviously, for many, that can be a good decision. However, for those who need to run software not yet supported in a Windows 11 environment, the upgrade could be very costly in terms of slow processing, downtime, and technical support. Therefore, although we are generally bullish on Windows 11, check for the availability of technical support on your critical applications before you choose to upgrade.

You can learn more about Windows 11 and other technologies by participating in a K2 Enterprises training session. 

Tommy Stephens