Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I was going to take the plunge because I found "Quickbooks Simple" (or something like that) which was only $90 and didn`t have all the features I didn`t need ... but it`s PC only. So the only option for me is QuickBooks Pro for a Mac.

Isn`t there something simpler? All I want to do is: track expenses, track payments to my 1099s, track checks received, and generate sales reports. There`s no way I need some large program like QuickBooks for something so small ....

And I`d love to run it on my Mac. Because it`s a laptop, and if I have to make a special trip into the back room of my house to use the PC for every purchase I make, I`m never going to input the stuff.

Any tips and tactics you`d like to share for this stuff too? Like, do you input expenses as they happen? Or just shove it all into a folder and do them all at the end of the month? Bookkeeping has to be my worst trait. Is it time to hire someone to come over my house for 4 hours a month, input all my receipts, make out 2 checks? (I`m also looking for a mother`s helper, so that lends to a hilarious ad: "Mother`s Helper/Bookkeeper wanted. Must be good with toddler and QuickBooks." )

I love it when I answer my own questions.

Nikole,
I like Quick Books Pro..I think mine is Premier The top of the Line. I think I paid like 450.00. But it would be a good idea to purchase the whole version, I like quickbooks, I am also test running Accounting 2007 and I don`t see a difference, the only part would be setting up all my invoice templates ans Statements... But go head and buy it... In the long run you`re going to need it.

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

What is it that you do with QuickBooks that you find you need it for?

Honestly, it has about 7,000 features that I never use. I listed exactly what I use: track expenses, track payments to my 1099s, track checks received, and generate sales reports.
And every accountant and bookkeeper I have talked to has said that Quickbooks is serious overkill for my business. I can`t imagine ever needing something that big.

I use my quick books to generate monthly invoices for my customers ( I like the print and email feature) you can email your invoices to your clients via QuickBooks. I enter checks, Credit Card, and Cash Payments that my customers give me.
I`ve also entered all my services and prices. So whipping out an Estimate takes me about 2 minutes.
But you know what the best feature is: Being able to create your own fields, for example I have custom fields for FTP Host, IP Address, User Name, Passwords and login Information for my customers.

I love the way it Keeps track of all my expenses, and Sales, and if you configure it right, it will even tell you which side of the business all your sales are coming from. For example I ran a sales report for last month and 38% percent of my cash flow comes from Web Development and Design...
This is a cool feature if you plan on expanding your Business plan later on down the road. I use Business Plan Pro and it has a quickbooks Import feature.

So they go hand in hand if you ask me..

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

I don`t really have set prices for a lot of things, so it`s not entirely useful.

I also don`t know that I feel the program is secure enough to store all my passwords in. I have a laptop. I wouldn`t want that info getting out.

We`ll see. I`m not sure I would trust any of these programs to stop writing everything down on paper.

Intuit has gotten a lot of criticism about their Mac products. All I need is another non-native program to start causing problems for me!

You`re probably not going to like this answer, but I bought a separate no-frills laptop PC just for my Intuit program (they don`t make "Rental Property Manager" for Macs).

I figured I could write off this expense as being 100% dedicated for this business purpose, since I have my Mac for personal use. (And it`s actually worked out well to have a backup laptop with PC compatibility, on more than one occasion.)

As for your other question (should you hire out this service) ... I`d say YES! I`ve reached a point in my life where it`s worth it to me to pay someone to do those things I really hate to do. Especially when they`re important things that must be done one way or another. The price is worth it for the peace of mind, alone. Another idea would be to barter some service you offer with someone who can do your bookkeeping.

If your work is simple, you might want to try finding someone through a senior center (seniors are sterotypically very reliable and experienced folks, and there might be someone interested in doing bookkeeping on a part-time basis). You could also try to find someone through a community college (where there are bright students wanting to make extra money, but they`re not hired by full-time employers because of their school schedule or their lack of experience). Another potential source for your assistance would be through some agency that places people with handicaps. Some of the most conscientious and reliable workers I`ve seen have been individuals with vision or hearing impairments. I`m not sure why that`s the case, but I believe that people with physical handicaps are often overlooked and an underutilized resource of skills.

Forget quickbooks, use a spreadsheet!

I have used both, the spreadsheet is perfectly adequate for the very small simple business.

First of all, why would you want to use your laptop as your primary computer?
I would suggest you installing Quickbooks on a desktop rather than on a laptop. Anything can happen to a lap top, you can drop it, the motherboard gives out, your LCD stops working. Then what?
You`re going to loose all your information..

As for quick books being secure, Yes it is... very secure unless you give out your password.

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

I would of been interested in the Quickbooks and Homemaker position but unfortunatly I live in Texas.

 Their is a way to merge Quickbooks with another computer (laptop). So you can carry it around with you and make the entries. You just won`t be able to print until you go all the way to the back room I am thinking it had something to do with networking your computer to the laptop. Probably will have to read the guide for Quickbooks.

Natalie

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Natalie