One of the main items that many entrepreneurs forget when starting their business is what kind of accounting program to use.

In my company we bounced on a couple of programs throughout the years before settling on Peachtree Distribution. We used some spreadsheets when we first started, then went to Quickbooks for a little bit, then to Simply Accounting and finally to Peachtree.

I`ve been pretty pleased with Peactree. Stable, powerful, cost is pretty decent, and it will allow us to grow with it.

What do you use? and feel free to post suggestions for new folk looking for solid accounting programs for their business.

~Allen

I think we tend to use the product we are most familiar with.  We are currently using Quickbooks.  However, we own a license for Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006 (from our action pack). 

When this product first hit the market it was absolutely horrible.  However, Microsoft has clearly responded to the market and released several service packs that dramatically change the software for the good. 

I think this product is a contender and would look to use it in the future.

You can read about it here:  http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/products/office/accou nting/detail.mspx

If you all buy the software, PLEASE, update it with patches from the Microsoft Website.  The product is a 360 from the original release.  There is a straight port from Quickbooks to this software.

Hope this helps.

 

I use quick books but I am thinking of changing to something else.  I can`t seem to get the right numbers for my profit from the retail that I sell.  When I do it in quickbooks, then do the same numbers in Excel, the difference is astounding!

 

Tony,

You can get a trial kit here:  https://www.accountingtrialkit.com/store.asp

If there is anything I can do to help you let me know.

I tried Peachtree Complete 2006 and switched without ever really using it.  By the way, I bought it for over $300 and if anyone wants to buy it from me for $55, send me a message.  It`s new in the box and comes with everything.  I bought it at Office Depot.

I use Microsoft Small Business Accounting.  It rocks!  When I get a new customer over the phone, I can enter all their info into contact manager, then hit link to accounting.  I go to SBA and enter in the quote I just gave them, and it already has their address and phone carried over.

I have been very against Microsoft until lately.

You have installed all the service packs for SBA2006 correct?

You can read about it here:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/920115

 

Yes, why?  Was I not supposed to?

Absolutely not.  The product was horrible without the service packs.  I was thinking if you loved it without service packs.......

The latest service pack, 3, was just released in June. 

See my messenger information to add me if you want to chat some...

One excellent alternative I have found for small-mid sized business is from e-Tek.  The software has won several awards from CPATech and has a familiar GUI that most bookkeepers & accountants will recognize immediately.  I really like the management reports and analysis that is available in the basic package and it has additional modules that can add more functionality.  Also, be sure to check out the article entitled "10 Mistakes to Avoid" for some practical considerations.  (Note: this product is best suited for rapidly growing companies that have outgrown QB, Peachtree, etc.)

I use a service we built for professional service oriented companies (consultants, free lancers, web designers) because we wanted something to help manage our receivables that was better than excel, but much simplier and more streamlined than QuickBooks.  It`s called FreshBooks and it`s web based and I automate the collection and sending of invoices with it because my clients can pay online.

We have about 80,000 people using it now and we just released a service so you can send invoices in the US Post for about $1( including a return envelope).   Sorry this post turned self/informational...it somehow seemed appropriate.

Here is more info from another post I wrote in case you are interested:
"Honestly we do not compare to QuickBooks or MSB.  We describe our services (they are all web based) as UnAccounting Services...i.e. we are NOT accounting software.  Why? The Sloan Brothers were hinting at it in their article.  There are a HUGE number of business that do not need, nor do they desire, the the features and complexity associated with traditional accounting software.  They want something simple that just works and helps them manage and track and collect payments from their clients.

So we built for them a service (we built it for ourselves originally) that does invoicing as simply as possible.  As a result we are currently serving the under-served - those who were using Word and Excel to invoice, or those who were using QuickBooks, but who found it a pain.

If you are familar with the concept of "long tail", you can apply it to markets as I am sure the folks at MicroSoft did with MSB. What does that mean?  It means there are many more businesses who are very small (i.e. 1-2 staff) than there are who have 50-1000 staff.  These one and two person shops have simple accounting needs, and priority number one is getting paid...that`s where we help out."

Does anyone have any suggestions for a non-profit!? It seems like the options are so limited. I need general accounting software...but then I also need charity/contribution/grant tracking accounting software. I am thoroughly confused because there doesn`t seem to be any software solutions that incorporate both into one. At the moment all I can see is that I am forced to work with two seperate software programs! Any thoughts?

Hey Leah,

Here I am again. Did the balance sheet work out for you?LOL

I know that when I used Peachtree I saw them advertise an edition of their software just for Non-Profits. I found the link to their site for this version.

I hope this helps!

http://www.peachtree.com/peachtreeaccountingline/nonprofits/

James

And to reply to this poll...

I used to use Peachtree and I liked it except that it did not have a very strong customer management system. I ended up switching to a program call ManageMore from Intellisoft, Inc. I have really liked it.

I am looking at Microsoft SBA for next year...I tried a demo of SBA and it was horrible, I couldn`t even get it to work, it kept failing. But Jake says there are new service packs, so I might order a new demo and give it another try! We use Microsoft Office and I want something that can integrate better than ManageMore.

James

JAMES!!! Once again...thank you thank you thank you!!! Hmmm....are you following me! HAHAHA!!   Thanks again! I will check out Peachtree.

I`ve tried SBT (which was way too complex and hard to understand) and QuickBooks (which was equally incomprehensible). Also had a bookkeeper, but I had to keep correcting her work.

But that was then, this is now. These days, I`m a very satisfied user of MYOB.

Well, I finally made it back to the site after a few long work weeks.

Great responses everyone!

I am also trying out MS SBA (action pack) and after installing some of the Service Packs it looks pretty slick. I have a new business that I`m starting and might use the SBA software to try it out.

Peachtree is definitely powerful. Lots of options and pretty stable overall.  Make sure whatever accounting software you use to make DAILY BACKUPS of your data! Last thing you want is corrupted data and an old (or non-existent) backup. I learned the hard way. hehe

Quickbooks has a very good non-profit version.

 

 

Thanks Kate...I am looking into that...I am pretty sure it is what I will be going with...but I have to get the money first...the non-profit version runs around $600 I think.

It is important that you try a software before you invest a lot of time on it. It must not only meet your needs but feel right for YOU.

Try SBA by RealEasyBooks it is fairly new and designed for the busy entrepreneur. It has LESS features than any of the well know accounting software and that is what makes it so easy to use and understand.

Take a quick tour and then download it and test-drive FREE for 30 days.  Call or email if you have any questions.

www.RealEasyBooks.com

 

I`m a really big fan of the new Microsoft Office Accounting 2007.  The Express version is available for free from their website at www.ideawins.com.  This is not a trial version.  It`s fully functional and just doesn`t have some of the more advanced features (fewer forecasting reports for example).  It`s very easy to learn/use. 

Ryan Jenkins
www.StarPointeMarketing.com
Website Development, Hosting, and Marketing Consulting