Small Business Software

[condorguy]

What is the best small business software to use out there? I want a simple program to create invoices, track my A/R and prepare reports for tax time....

[Bullseye]

I'm an accountant and I use Quickbooks for all my small clients, it's cheap, and works very well for most businesses. Simply Accounting is similar, and also decent.

QB basic is $99 now for 2006.

[Kurtz7834]

Simply Accounting is very good if a bit hardcore for the average person. They have awesome deals on it at Staples every now and then, I got Pro 2006 2 user for under $40 after rebates last week. That deal is now dead though.

From what I've heard, most accountants do not like Quickbooks as it does not adhere to proper double entry accounting rules (unless this has changed with newer versions.) Simply Accounting does.

[Bullseye]

From what I've heard, most accountants do not like Quickbooks as it does not adhere to proper double entry accounting rules (unless this has changed with newer versions.) Simply Accounting does.

It uses double entry, and always has, as long as I've been using it. Not sure what you mean by 'proper rules', can you explain?

It doesn't have any audit controls, though, so any accountant who does audits dislikes it for that reason.

[Derek]

I vote for Quickbooks. It's just easier to use compared to Simply Accounting in my experience.

[condorguy]

Thanks for the replies...it looks like Quickbooks is what I'll get...

[AnginMJ]

I started out with Simply Accounting as that was recommended...with no accounting knowledge I found it extremely difficult.

I was then recommended by a friend to try Quickbooks as it was very user friendly. I have been using it for the past five years with no problems EXCEPT, the two different accountants we have used in the past years have told me that they do not like Quickbooks...different reasons.

Our charted accountant know has informed me that he would take me on this year with Quickbooks in use but only if I promised that I would switch back to Simply Accounting.

So, basically it is up to you and your accountant. I loved Quickbooks, but due to the recommendation from our accountant now...I am switching back to Simply.

If you will be doing all year end work I would recommend Quickbooks as it was very user friendly. IF you have an accountant consult with him/her.

[Bullseye]

What are these reasons, I wonder? The audit trail issue?

One of my clients is a mulit-million dollar corporation, with over 30 employees, and they still use Quickbooks for all their accounting. KPMG even audits the statements produced with QB that I give them.

[st7860]

accpac

[Bullseye]

accpac

That is not a simple program, it's designed for accounting professionals, not lay people. It's also much more expensive.

[Canucklehead]

Does accpac even exist anymore? I thought it got rolled into Sage (which owns Simply Accounting and ACT! CRM software).

SA is the most popular in Canada but you will find that older accountants or those that worked in companies for a long time before striking out on their own prefer quickbooks.

[cdnNick]

I have Simply Accounting here, I don't really know how to use all the features thankfully my office admin knows it inside and out. I found the price to be very reasonable and the software is pretty solid.

[tragu]

If you would like to send invoices through the web, take a look at Blinksale at http://www.blinksale.com. I haven't tried it, but I've heard great things about it.

Best regards,
Thuva

[TotallyKiller]

What are these reasons, I wonder? The audit trail issue?

One of my clients is a mulit-million dollar corporation, with over 30 employees, and they still use Quickbooks for all their accounting. KPMG even audits the statements produced with QB that I give them.

I perform audits and Quickbooks is fine for small businesses, but because it can't control access (anyone can use it if they can get to the computer) and proper segregation of duties (can't stop one user from doing something that another user can) it would not stand up to audits for large companies. If it's just for a small, few man operation, then it should be fine. Any audit firm will perform the audit with what you give them, but I'd probably indicate to any large multi-million dollar company that they have a significant defficiency in their audit controls via the use of quickbooks. If they were publicly traded, they'd pretty much be forced to upgrade to a better piece of software.

If it's just you or a few people, this will do.

[Bullseye]

I perform audits and Quickbooks is fine for small businesses, but because it can't control access (anyone can use it if they can get to the computer) and proper segregation of duties (can't stop one user from doing something that another user can) it would not stand up to audits for large companies. If it's just for a small, few man operation, then it should be fine. Any audit firm will perform the audit with what you give them, but I'd probably indicate to any large multi-million dollar company that they have a significant defficiency in their audit controls via the use of quickbooks. If they were publicly traded, they'd pretty much be forced to upgrade to a better piece of software.

If it's just you or a few people, this will do.

Agree with pretty much everything you wrote. Access, though, can be blocked by setting up logins, and there is some limited control of who can do what. This is with the Pro multi-user version.

For the company I referred to, it is indeed a private corporation, so no reporting requirements. Audits are just for the bank. Believe it or not, the entire accounting for this company is done by myself and a controller, and neither of us is full time, or very busy when we're there. Only a handful of big clients, not very much overhead, so it cuts down on accounting work. If we had more users, we'd definitely need a more sophisticated system.