Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

As a CPA, I only use QuickBooks because my client`s purchase it before they get to me.  QuickBooks is easy for day-to-day bookkeeping, but I have found that if a professional has not set it up correctly before it is used, the entire company file is a mess.

For that reason, I do not recommend the software to clients unless they agree to allow me to set it up, they let me set the admin password, and let me create user ID`s for them with permissions that only allow the to perform functions that I both they and I are comfortable with.



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Michael W. Crosby, CPA
(832) 693-2711
http://www.michaelwcrosbycpa.com

As a fellow CPA I can certainly understand your concerns with your clients using QuickBooks with out it being set up properly.  95% of my business is setting up, and training clients of other CPA`s to use the program properly. Not because the CPA can not do what I do but because the rate I charge for this is more in line with the rates, computer people charge for their services.  My overhead is a lot less as I work out of my home. I have geared myself to help the client via the internet and it has resulted in my having a national practice.

I might as well stir this pot also...Quickbooks is used to do your bookkeeping not your accounting. Here is a way to look at the difference between bookkeeping and accounting.  Bookkeeping is like an x-ray.  It is a picture at a point in time.  The doctor (Accountant, CFO, CPA or whoever) looks at the picture and the real accounting begins.  Most business owners don`t know the difference between the two and should most likely not be doing either themselves.  After selling my last venture, I swore with this one I would go back to paper checks and hire a good bookkeeping/accounting firm to do the work.  We should go over 500K in sales this year without software.  Every month I put everything in an envelope, send it to the bookkeeping company, they compile it (within 10 days) and email me and my CPA a copy.  He and I then go over each part of the financial statement (each month) and I either get a pat on the head or a kick in the pants. My CPA then forwards that information to my banker as a requirement for my line of credit. I have been Quickbooks/Peachtree/MyOffice/Excel free for over 3 years and I will not go back!  I and my staff spend less than one hour per month doing bookkeeping and payroll (have a service for that also) and we concentrate on SELLING the stuff we do and not screwing up quickbooks.  Life is more simple and I never liked messing around with my books anyway.

Hi!
I`ve been using QuickBooks for almost 5yrs now and i found it user`s friendly. I agree with others that if you setup your accounts correctly and you fully make use of every functions and enter transactions correctly then every reports you need is just a click away.

I prefer QB (I currently use Pro 2008) and am a Certified QuickBooks User.  I find it is a great program IF IT IS SET UP PROPERLY!  I have spent lots of time and been paid lots of money to fix client QuickBooks accounts because they hired someone with no accounting background to set it up.

Once fixed, however (or if they had it set up properly in the beginning), I have been able to teach small business owners how to interpret the reports (which can be switched from cash to accrual basis or vice versa very easily) so that business owners can make intelligent financial decisisons.  And no, I am not a CPA, just a bookkeeper.  I DO, however, turn all records over to a CPA at the end of the year to handle the taxes. I stick to the day-to-day accounting basics (A/R, A/P, invoicing, etc.)


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Lily E. Chambers CPS, CQU
"Why hire a mere mortal when you have access to a Goddess"
www.virtualofficegoddess.com

From my own experiance with both, you can never go wrong with quickbooks pro 2008, its designed with everything in mind starting from creating invoices and reports also has the most options when you need to buy quickbooks checks  and think about it this way, so many people are using quickbooks with so many help fourms out there, how many cpa`s have knowladge in microsoft money? but they alldo in quickbooks

What I would do first is seek out the help and advice of a client freindly accountant in your area. Then go with whatever they recommend. Or even better, I would get the advice of several accountants. Software is a great tool to use in your business, but it is only as good as the operator and it may depend on the ins and outs of your business. Bottom line you will still need to rely on the advice of a professional preferrably one that you pay a flat fee to and not by the hour. Don`t make the mistake many business owners have made by thinking that a powerful accounting tool suddenly makes them an accountant or their own tax advisor. Let the professionals do that and you own your business not the other way around. Choose a prfessional that cares about their clients more than the average bear.

Just have to add my me-too for Peachtree Accounting. They have products at all the same price points as QuickBooks and are better suited for a business that starts small and then grows. The migration from one level of their product to the next (for more features and users) is relatively seamless, and their product is GAAP compliant.