Features

• Free e-file and free TaxCut State after mail-in rebate
• Access IRS publications and the H&R Block interactive video library
• New convenient paperless payment options for taxes due and e-filing fees
• New tax-saving tips on saver¿s credit, overlooked deductions, and more
• Updated Tax Law Assistants help get the most from tax breaks

Reviews (77)

Disappointment after TurboTax
After having to put up with all kinds of TurboTax registration B.S. last year I read the reviews of TaxCut purchasers who said it was a 4-star product with less hassles. This made me swear off ever using TurboTax again (couldn't use on more than one computer and I originally installed the software at work on a laptop that was leased etc. long story).

This year I made certain to buy TaxCut and avoid any registration hassles at all. What I received was a half-rate basic version of a tax program. This review wouldn't be that bad if I had purchased TaxCut Standard, but for the extra $20 I bought Deluxe. TaxCut Deluxe was a waste of money. No deduction help was included and the "extra features" were merely tax advice sections that mostly talked about preparing for next year.

As much as I hate to say it, I will be returning to TurboTax deluxe next year. It's ease of use, more intelligent screens and comprehensive deluxe version are all worth paying the extra $5 and dealing with the registration issues.

I recommend TaxAct for anyone who recently purchased this product. TaxAct is free and has 100% the functionality of this program.

Not as polished at Turbotax, but better value!
I have been a loyal Turbotax user for years and decided to tryout TaxCut this year. I was EXTREMELY unhappy after last year's fiasco where Intuit installed Spyware without users knowledge in order to cutdown on copyright infringement of their product. Unfortunately, they ticked off the loyal users like myself. I believe they have lost/will lose more sales based on that fiasco than they could've possibly saved by catching a few people trying to copyright infringe!

Anyway, I was impressed with TaxCut especially for the price. I paid about 40% less for TaxCut Deluxe & TaxCut State than I would have paid for Turbotax Deluxe & Turbotax State.

For the most part, the programs are very similar. TaxCut does the usual interview process just like Turbotax and it makes it very easy to work with. Where TaxCut needs a bit more polish is in the fine details. Missing was the ability to save your tax returns into Adobe Acrobat format. I love that feature in Turbotax and really missed it.

In addition, I had a little trouble with form 4767 because I claim deductions for a home office and sold my house/moved this year. It worked out after some reading of the help file and IRS.gov site, but it could've been more intuitive.

Other than those couple of items, I was very happy with the program(s). I ran my return through Turbotax's website (without purchasing or filing it) and the numbers came out the same so I am satisfied with the accuracy of the software as well. Overall I'm glad I switched to TaxCut this year. I doubt I'll look at Turbotax in the future.

TaxCut Deluxe and DeductionPro
I had none of the problems that several have complained about using TaxCut Deluxe 2003. I have used TurboTax before. I switched to TaxCut last year because of the many complaints TurboTax was getting about their registration program, spyware, etc. I had no problems completing my taxes, no duplications of W-2's, no problems getting updates. I found my experience with using this tax program not much different from TurboTax. I do have a problem with H&R Block though. TaxCut Deluxe offers a rebate for DeductionPro. The tax program will even take you to the H&R Block website to give you an opportunity to download the product to help with non-cash charity donations to calculate what should be claimed. The problem with downloading DeductionPro is that the rebate for the product is not honored if it is downloaded. It has to be purchased at a retail store to get the rebate. No where on the website, on the rebate coupon, or in the program does it state that the rebate is not good if the program is downloaded directly. It does indicate to send in the UPC code from the box of the product, but if I downloaded it directly from their website, they should have a record that it was purchased legally. They gave me some bogus excuse "that due to customer buying habits, we have elected not to honor rebates unless purchased from a retail store", or something to that effect. I think the product is good, but I don't like their business practices. I may well go back to TurboTax next year. I am giving the product two stars because of their business practices. Overall, I thought the way it handled my taxes was acceptable.

Tax Cut Doesn't Cut it
Tax Cut imported an 1099 DIV form that wasn't mine. It doubled my Schedule C income by including last year's 1099 MISC income when I ran Error Check (This generates errors rather than fixing them). The 2-year comparison sheet wasn't even close on last year's numbers. To get a useful return, I had to delete all previous depreciation expense and then enter it by hand. Depreciation shows up on the worksheets but not on my tax form. This product increases your taxes, makes all kinds of errors and doesn't explain anything so it hard to tell if something that doesn't look right is another Tax Cut goof or really should be there. Give yourself a break (tax and otherwise), don't buy this product.

buggy
I used TaxCut last year, and had no problems, though it was a bit more difficult to use than TurboTax. This year the interface is much slicker, but bugs prevented me from efiling.

I'd started doing my taxes a few weeks ago, and gave up when I got to the State section and was told to enter the information directly into the forms. Tomorrow is the deadline, though, so I went back, worked through the forms, and ran the error check - all was fine. Then when I went to efile I was told I couldn't because I hadn't entered information about investment income from a dependant. There was nothing in my return about dependants, so I don't know where that came from, and I can't turn it off.

There was also a problem with a 1099-MISC. It passes the initial check, but not the efile check. There isn't enough information to help me decide if there's a mistake in the return or whether the efile option just isn't available for me. If I "fix" the problem, I'm pretty sure I'm classifying the income in the wrong way. So now I'll just have to print everything out and go stand in line at the post office. ... Read more

Features

• Create Invoices & Estimates
• Generate Purchase Orders
• Manage Receivables & Aging
• Automatic Tax Calculation
• Track Product Inventory

Reviews (4)

As bad as it sounds
I wish that I had paid more attention to the critical reviews above. Instead, I thought a Mac product had to be good. Unfortunately, though it advertises great things, one can't even save changed versions of the forms it provides. There is no call in number for initial free tech support. The email advice their tech support people sent me failed to solve the problem. I am sorely disappointed and ready to return the product to Amazon, which sold it to me.

Oh what a dissapointment!
I purchased First edge last year right after I bought my new I Mac. Love my Mac hate this software program! I agree with the other reviewers, no tech support whatsoever! I had use Quickbboks on my old PC but never could figure this thing out so I returned it! I wonder how much business MYOB has lost due to the no tech support rule. They could use a crash course in customer service. Will never purchase any products from this company again unless they change their policies!
Marcus Allison

A Good Product that Could be Better, but POOR SUPPORT
This product is probably OK for its target market, but could stand some improvements. I use it almost every day for bookkeeping purposes for both my small businesses (web design and book publishing).

HOWEVER, I was infuriated that there was NO tech support for this program. Instead I was told I had to PURCHASE tech support, and this would have cost me half as much again as I had paid for the program.

MYOB should charge a higher price for the product, instead of deceiving people into buying something that definitely needs tech support--at least for the first couple of weeks--and then trying to force them to pay extra for support.

I didn't pay for the support, and have made it thus far (about six months). I am planning to upgrade to either QuickBooks or MYOB AccountEdge at the end of this year.

Mixed Reviews
I was excited to install First Edge on my MAC and get busy setting up the accounting for my small graphic design business. The install went without a hitch. MYOB includes a lot of information about accounting in the box and after reading it all, I think I finally understand what double-entry bookkeeping is all about. Definately a plus.

The program provides most everything you need for a small business if you can figure out the somewhat weird interface you are presented with. Could stand improvement.

The biggest drawback to this product is the complete lack of tech support that ships with it. You get NO!!! support without paying [money]. I could not get it to link with my mail program to send email invoices and when I called, I was told I would have to spend [money] to sign up for 90 days of tech support. That [essentially raises] the cost of the program.

I am sorry I bought it. I have never purchased a piece of software where the manufacturer provided no help initially. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Manage both your home and business finances in one place. Quicken 2001 Home and Business includes the complete Quicken Deluxe for your personal finances, plus tools for your business. Quicken Home and Business will also track accounts payable and receivable, create estimates and invoices, track jobs, and more.

Quicken 2001 Deluxe helps you better manage the seven key areas of your finances: banking, investing, taxes, planning, spending and saving, loans, and insurance. It’s packed with powerful features and enhancements across the seven areas to help you see the complete picture of your finances.

Easier Smart Reconcile helps you find and fix common mistakes. More powerful portfolio analysis tools give you greater insight into how your investments are really doing. And better ways to track and optimize your 401(k) help insure you’re on the right path to retirement.

Write checks, print checks, or even send payments online. Schedule payments and receive proactive reminders for when they’re due. Bank online conveniently, downloading your data from the Web. Access your account balances, transfer funds, and pay bills. Quicken works with over 1,200 banks, credit card, and brokerage companies.

See where it all goes with reports and graphs--get quick and easy answers to questions about your spending, budget, net worth, and more, and then create a budget you can realistically follow. Track your investments and then compare them, downloading prices on stocks and mutual funds right from the Web.

Additional tools for your business:
• Prepare estimates (new): Prepare an estimate or bid for clients without altering your financials. Easily convert it to an invoice when you’re ready, or save it as a template for future bids.
• Create customizable invoices (improved): Create and print professional invoices with your logo or on your letterhead. Even e-mail them as HTML files.
• Track jobs (new): Track more than one project for each customer. Create a job list with all the estimates, invoices, and customer payments for each project.
• Know where your business stands at a glance: Create business reports and customer statements, including cash flow forecasts, unpaid invoices, and payment reminders.
• Simplify taxes and payroll: Automatically track expenses and assign categories like Schedule C. Handle your payroll needs with an integrated payroll service, and even download updated tax tables and federal forms (paid subscription required).
• Manage accounts payable: Easily set up accounts payable on either a cash or accrual basis. Prepare reports, pay bills, even set up reminders to let you know when bills are due.
• Access integrated services easily: Access valuable services for your business. Print postage from within Quicken, or securely back up your Quicken data over the Internet.

  Note: Online features require Internet access and are subject to change. Additional fees may apply for online banking and bill payment. Services vary among financial institutions and are subject to their terms and conditions. $20 mail-in rebate for upgrade customers only. ... Read more

  Reviews (9)

  I threw it away and reinstalled my old version from 1994
  The title basically says it. I experienced major hiccups in this program, some that I couldn't fix (like trying to reconcile my statements but finding automatic enteries like my paycheck showed up in my register but not in the reconcile deposits list...that one can't be solved...) I didn't want to integrate everything.. i just wanted to keep accurate track of a few accounts. I REALLY dislike the ads that solicit me at the bottom of the screeen...."No I don't want to find out how to save more money on my mortgage by clicking there... I'll turn on my tv if i want commercials... and you want to charge me 70$ for the viewing rights?" save yourself the hassle and stress and stick with your old program... at least you know already how to handle it when it goes haywire. I even got a manual with the old 1994 program. Something I learned I'd have to purchase seperately for this new quicken 2001. I bought this to get me away from my computer. Having been a personal computer user since 1982 I am not impressed that this is what we've progressed to 20 years later. If however you love spending hours monkeying with poorly designed computer software you'll love this!

  buggy
  Lost my data a few times with this one. Since I know my way around a hard drive, I've been able to recover. Wouldn't buy this one but what choices do you have....MS Money. Same ballgame.

  Nice program, but...
  This is a wonderful program which performs MOST everything I require...BUT, there are (as is usual) occasional bugs or problems (like all software) and Customer Service at Intuit is probably one of the least responsive I have ever seen. Usually this isn't a problem (as I said, it's a very good program), but even a small bug in your accounting program can have severe consequences, and without a decent Customer Service Dept. you can end up with a financial disaster unless you pay close attention.

  Disappointed
  I have used quicen deluxe and Quick books products since 95 and have loved them. I made the horible mistake of upgrading to Home and Business. After a week I have not had any success integrating my online bank accounts or brokerage accounts. Intuit has cluttered the interface with pay for services that you do not need. This software seems to be driven from the marketing department and not the engineering department. I am dissatisfied.

  Unpleasantness
  1. The manual is a shill for spending more money on web services you don't need. It is among the most vague things I've ever tried to use.

  2. There are obvious glitches in the file management tools. This frightens me -- this is my livelihood, after all, and not some game. The IRS will not let me blame Quicken if I make a major mistake.

  3. Very disappointing, grinding experience on the learning curve. Extremely un-inutive, Intuit. ... Read more

Features

• An easy-to-use, complete accounting solution for small businesses
• Get up and running in minutes using wizards
• Over 100 industry-specific templates to choose from
• Handle payroll in-house; prepare invoices; write checks
• Track projects; manage inventory; build a Web store; and more

Reviews (3)

Back it goes!
I bought this software because it's cheaper than Quickbooks, and actually rated better (or so it says on the box). Although I hate several things about Quickbooks, I will be returning this and shelling out for it. The description you read here, and on the box, makes it sound like converting from Quickbooks is a breeze. Not so! I was under the impression that you would back up your QB info and then transfer it to SA. Nope...you actually "export" every little file from QB onto a disk, then "import" it to SA...and that just includes lists and your chart of accounts, that doesn't mean that it loads an up-to-date Accounts Receivable or Payroll ledger. That's all stuff you get to do by hand! Sorry, but I just don't have that kind of time, and to be honest with you, this software doesn't even seem worth it. Now, if I was just starting up a business and had never used a higher-end software like QB, or if I had a few weeks to do nothing but enter info from QB to SA, that would be one thing, but please! Consider this more of a low-budget accounting software...and remember, you get what you pay for!

Be Ware
After purchaing this software to change from Quickbooks, I learned the information in Quickbooks is not as easy to convert, and only converts names, etc. Also the customer service is also non-existant. After sitting on hold forever. I could get the software to work, kept giving me errors, keeping me in a continual look to keep entering information and than giving me an error. I sent the software back since I was unable to use and was unable to get the software update and tax update refunded. Be careful

Better than Quick Books
Beats Quick Books hands down at a much lower cost. ... Read more

Features

• Customer information system for small businesses
• 1-click access to customer data and project management tools
• Respond quickly and accurately to customer needs
• Integrates with QuickBooks and Microsoft Outlook
• Easy to set up, learn, and use; FAQs on every screen

Reviews (7)

It worked for us
We are using Customer Manager, to build out customer database. We all submit customer contacts names, titles, phone numbers, and e-mail address. We have not experienced any of the bugs the other have mentioned. One thing is Intuit provides automatic update to the software in the same fashion as it does for Quickbooks. Meaning, as corrections are made you get them uploaded.

I periodically take my copy of the database file, and update our Quickbooks file.

Like Quickbooks only 5 users can share one database "file". But Unlike Quicbooks, the database file called the "depot.file" is a community file which each user syncs and updates to in order to get the other community memember additions; one at a time.

You can also use Customer Manager to set-up To-do's and set assignments and for other users. It track of open and closed jobs, set deadlines, provide alerts etc.

You can customize the data your keep by adding fields to track customer by.

You can also group what you are managing, just not customers. You can group by customer, vendor, supplier, employee, etc.

For the price it worth exploring.

Just awful...
The feature which allows one to sync between different running versions of Customer Manager is cumbersome and full of bugs. The software uses a 'sync depot' to share information. Each copy of Customer Manager shares any changes it made with the 'sync depot.' Each other version then receives any changes from the sync depot and sends its own changes back to the sync depot. Each sync must be initated manually, and it is a bit slow. Customer contact information often get corrupted via this sync depot, usually resulting in Customer Manager crashing. According to Intuit Customer Service, they are still working out the bugs in the sync system, and a new release won't be out until next year.

Customer Manager also allows you to keep track of 'projects.' However, it would be nice if these projects were imported from Quickbooks' Jobs list. Instead, one is left with double the work of typing project information.

There are many other quirks with this particular software, but they are too many to list here.

The idea behind this software has a lot of potential (i.e. sharing information with Quicbooks). However, it seems more like a beta release, and the programmers at Intuit have a lot more work ahead of them. I would steer clear of this one for now.

Skip It
This product has great potential but nothing more.

It's basic to say the least and while the project management and notes-keeping capabilities are useful if you don't want something at the other end of the scale like Act! or Maximizer, it's probably going to serve your needs if you're running an even moderately busy business.

I bought Customer Manager because I found everything else I tried (see above) to be overkill and frankly cumbersome. Customer Manager seemed to be (from the product information on Intuit's site) exactly what I was looking for, a lightweight contacts database with the awesome bonus of synchronising with Quickbooks.

The reality is that the database leaves much to be desired as far as organising contacts and my version of Quickbooks Pro 2003 does NOT synchronise with it because it's the Canadian version. Intuit's Web Site still does not specify that only the US versions of Quickbooks are compatible and I have never even had the courtesy of a reply from Intuit about it, despite three very polite requests for an update.

LOL ...it doesn't do anything!
I have used ACT! and Qbooks for years. I needed an upgrade to ACT! but received very poor reviews for ACT! 6.0. Intuit always gives a quality product so I bought This Customer Manager.

The advertising makes it sound so powerful but I cannot find much to do with it. It is like Intuit sold a shell they were developing to recapture development costs.

Its kind of funny in a sick sort of way .. but I can't find much functionality in this product at all. It really doesn't do anything except list your customers and... nothing!

QuickBooks Customer Manager
The product is available with a coupon for $20 off from Office Depot, but they don't see since it says discontinued. Could that be because it is filled with problems that need to be worked out including that it didn't work past 12/31/20043??? Sounds like the old y2k problems except it isn't 2000 anymore! ... Read more

Features

• Advanced, multi-user ready, accounting solution for accountants
• Effectively serve clients; review client entries via journal reports
• Create and modify files in any Peachtree 2005 format
• Easily handle company consolidation and file restoration from backups

Amazon.com Review

Whether you work from home or run a small business, Microsoft Money 2003 Deluxe & Business helps you keep track of your income and expenses. A full-featured, easy-to-use financial management solution, Money 2003 has a complete set of personal and business finance tools to keep you in the game.

Installation is simple as a wizard takes you step-by-step through the process. If you're upgrading, the steps are fewer and more easily traversed. Want to switch from Quicken? Money 2003 can do that, too, with a handy file converter. Audio and video help is readily available as well, making the experience even easier for first-timers.

As for features, few things have changed from Money 2002, making upgrading less of a necessity and more of an option. With a new portfolio-customization toolbar and portfolio highlight and analysis reports, most of the added features for personal finance management are aimed at investors. A new online research center is also included, giving you fast access to tools and information such as company reports, earning estimates, market reports, quotes, news, and charts.

On the business side, Money now has payroll support powered by PayCycle, making paydays a little simpler. Some new tax features allow you to get a better handle on things with side-by-side comparisons, capital gains scenarios, and loss carryover features.

What Money continues to do best though is Web integration. Whether you're downloading bank statements, checking stock prices, or paying your bills, all of it can be accessed right in Money. As an additional incentive to take advantage of its Web features, Microsoft has thrown in one year of their online bill paying service, one free online tax preparation and filing, an Equifax credit report, and a consultation with a financial planner.

Money 2003 Deluxe & Business is a great software package for managing your personal and business finances and goals on your Windows PC. While there are only a few reasons for upgrading from 2002, Microsoft continues to give you more bang for your buck. --Josh Goldman ... Read more

Reviews (10)

MUCH Better Than Quicken
Let me first say that I have been a diehard Quicken user for the better part of 9 years, and I am not a particular fan of Microsoft. But I have to give credit where credit is due. I decided to try Microsoft Money because Quicken's interface has recently become so cluttered with advertisements and nonsense that it has become almost impossible to navigate. In addition, my experience with Quicken Deluxe 2003 has been so incredibly bad (support, bugs, crashes, etc.) that I had to try some alternative.

At first I was going to buy Microsoft Money Deluxe 2003. But, for just a little extra, I decided to try the Deluxe & Business version instead. I have a small internet side business and I thought this would be a perfect fit.

First, let me address the home portion of the program:
This is an incredible step-up from the equivalent version of Quicken. The interface is simple, the program is not "buggy", and the online help is more than comprehensive enough to get you through even the toughest of problems. Because I was already using the 2003 version of Quicken, I was not able to automatically transfer my Quicken file, so I cannot comment on how that particular feature works. But I can certainly tell you that setting up all of my accounts from scratch (and I have quite a few) was more than simple. All of the online banking features worked flawlessly, and I was up and running in about 3 hours - start to finish. And with much less frustration than with Quicken.

As for the business portion of the program:
This area is, admittedly, not very advanced. It is good for very small side businesses (such as mine), but for anything more comprehensive, you may want to look elsewhere. I think the problem with marketing these two features together is that a lot of people may be expecting too much out of the business portion of the program, so they tend to write-off the whole thing. This program is intended only for the very smalest home business owner. If you are looking for anything more comprehensive than that, my advice would be to invest in the standard or deluxe versions of Micrsoft Money for your personal finances, and look elsewhere for a more comprehensive accounting program for your business finances. But if you decide to go the frugal route, expect to get what you pay for.

In conclusion, Microsoft Money is, in my estimation, 10x easier to use than Quicken and is laid out in a much nicer fashion. In addition, there are no bugs that I could find, whereas Quicken was giving me constant problems (browser conflicts, lock-ups, etc.) Take it from a long time Quicken user - It's not too late to switch. Go buy Microsoft Money today.

save your money, buy a different program
Frustrating program, frustrating help system. Most features do not work. Worthless for business.

Money 2003 Deluxe& Business weak for business
I purchased Money 2003 Deluxe & Business to include my wife's self-employed service business. The regular 'home' part of the program is fairly good and has lots of feature. The business part lacks quite a bit in several areas. The invoice designer wouldn't save a modified version on my Win 98 machine but works on Win Me on my notebook. Modification are rather limited. Certain fields have to stay in a certain frames within the Invoice. Worse, payment of invoices doesn't allow to enter a check number. When a payment is received and put into an account it becomes divorced from the invoice. The invoice shows having been paid but it is no longer associated with the actual payment entry. Makes it very hard to look and and figure out when problems arise. Also the business reports are almost un customizable except in a few minor things. Very frustrating. Accounts can't be designated as business accounts, distinguished from home accounts. Also 'project' information can not be put on invoices. Fields (such as customer name) are limited in size. Some Businesses have more than 20 or so characters in their name!
Anyway, it looks like we will be buying the Quicken equivalent. From the 'tour' of the Quicken site at least we can enter a check number against an invoice!

Quicken vs. Money: and the winner is...
Well, I don't either program wins on all counts. I tried both and experienced frustrations with each. In the end, I stuck with Quicken only because Money couldn't import my Quicken data as promised.

Both just seem too hard to learn. I am a computer wiz and found them both hard to use -- I can't imagine others trying to get the hang of it. They really need to stop adding features and focus on the usability of the programs. But overall, I would have to say Money did have a cleaner interface that was easier to master.

However, both really fail at invoicing. They both claim you can create custom invoices, but the customization is extremely limited and messes things up so much that you eventually just end up using the defaults.

So why did I stick with Quicken? Well, Money guarantees that it can import your information from Quicken, but it failed to import my data. Microsoft technical support tried a few simple solutions, but then told me "tough luck." I wan't about to reenter a years worth of info, so I retreated back to Quicken since Money wasn't that much better to make it worth my while.

Product not as promised
As a new treasurer for simple homeowners association, I purchased this product to manage the homeowner's fees and to keep track of association bills. I decided to try Money Business 2003 because it advertises that you can create or modify the invoice templates to taper to your business. (I wanted to change the fields from hours to months and quantity to rate... a simple request) No matter how I tried to modify an invoice it would not save. It appears this function does not work, I have read all the help areas, went to the website and all information states you need to click on modify a template to save. A "modify button" does not exist anywhere on the program. In order to get technical assistance from MS you have to pay ...So, I say forget this and buy a copy of Quicken. ... Read more

Features

• Save calculations for later review; print calculations for your own or your client's files.
• Carry a single computer for all your needs without losing your calculator's functionality.
• Calculate the way you prefer: RPN, order and chain input modes; quick access to routine functions.
• Templates appear like mini-spreadsheets, making it easy to verify your information, show clients, and work with colleagues.
• Add on or create your own templates to match the way you work.

Features

• Reminder System showing tenants who are late paying rent, lease expirations and to do list
• Send mailings to tenants with merge fields, keep record of letters sent
• Complete Work Order System included
• Extensive Reporting features for every important aspect of property management
• Keep track of Late Rent -make a list of tenants that have not yet paid

Amazon.com Product Description

Peachtree Accounting can help you better manage your accounting, business, and Internet presence. Packed with all the basics--invoicing, bill paying, in-depth inventory tracking, payroll, order entry, and more than 100 customizable reports--Peachtree Accounting helps you get insight into your numbers.

Get a quick financial snapshot of your business, along with other features, with the My Business Page in Peachtree Today. And with several new Web-related features, Peachtree Accounting can help you establish and capitalize on an Internet presence for your business. Peachtree Accounting can be the perfect tool to help manage your accounting and get the insight needed to make better business decisions.

New features include: customer and vendor credit memos, direct deposit capabilities, online backup, and Peachtree Contact Manager powered by ACT!. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Spend hours doing what should be the simplest tasks
Only an account could love this package. For the rest of us, who find double-entry bookkeeping a bit cryptic, Peachtree does not a bit to shield you from the sharp edges of General Journal Entry. You simply cannot use this program without a solid knowledge of debits and credits and what account flows to where. And while Intuit's marketing is a tad intrusive, Peachtree will charge you for EVERYTHING. Want to graph expenses? Buy the optional Crystal Reports for $200. Much of the clumsiness of the Peachtree interface transcends the requirement to know the details of accounting. If, for example, you wish to enter a Visa receipt from last Tuesday, which happens to be the end of last month, plan on a half a dozen clicks to change accounting periods back and forward again. Along with a couple of "are you sure you want to do this" popup screens. And reconciling now takes more than twice as long as it used to, at least in part because Peachtree will show you only three transactions at a time, and not let you edit transactions during the reconciliation process!

For accountants, this may well be the best small business package-I presume they need the powerhouse accounting features it offers. I shifted away from QuickBooks it lacked the inventory sub-assembly capability that Peachtree has. QuickBooks has since added that feature, and I look forward to converting back to that package. Overall, doing the books for my small business took about half the time with QuickBooks.

Great Product - Beware of UPC Removed Copies
The product is great if you understand accounting principles. It's not for the faint hearted.

I bought a copy on eBay with the UPC removed for the rebate. Guess what. Peachtree registers the software to the person who sends in the rebate and WON'T transfer it to a new user.

I had to return it and buy it new.

Peachtree Accounting 2003
Well designed program, fairly easy to use. Helps to know more accounting than the average person, or to know someone that can help you through the accounting jargon.

Good accounting software for small business.
I find this software very useful to run my small business and it tracks and alerts me about payable and receivable invoices due. This is my first accounting software I have started using. I have not used other accounting softwares to make a comparitive review. ... Read more

Features

• Financial management system for businesses
• Import data from popular office software
• Easily manage accounts payable and receivable
• Customize reports, prices and more
• Licensed for five users

Reviews (1)

"Multi-user"??
I have a small business where 3 people need access to Invoices, POs and inventory. It seems, If you want to do anything of any impotence, you have to go to single user mode. For example; importing customers, anything with inventory, anything with vendors. All anyone can do in multi-user mode is create invoices and POs. It was a waist of money for us as we still find ourselves in single user mode most of the time. Oh, and the there are tuns of "OK" buttons to press. Every time you tell it to do something, expect to press at least 2 "OK" buttons before it will do it. Don't tell me "QB is now ready to..." do something, JUST DO IT. All in all, it's pretty much the same thing as the QB Pro. If you are like us, and need more people to access information, I suggest upgrading to something else. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Packed with accounting basics plus powerful business management andInternet tools, Peachtree Accounting helps you better manage youraccounting and gives you insight into your numbers. Just minutesafter installing Peachtree, helpful features such as navigation aids, wizards, and an online tutorial make it easy for you to hit the ground running. To make your startup even faster, you can choose from among 75 examples thecompany profile that most closely resembles your own, and your books areinstantly customized to fit your business. There are also plenty of onlinetutorials.

With Peachtree you can set up to 13 periods in a fiscal year, and keeptransaction detail open for two fiscal and payroll years. You can easilymaintain and report on budgets, and you have the option to show or hide your GLaccounts on task screens. Quickly and easily provide your customers withestimates for their orders by printing quotes. Your quote does not update your accounting information until the quote is converted to a sales order or invoice.

Get a snapshot view of the overall financial performance of your business withPeachtree Accounting's Financial Manager. Unlike other accounting systems that requireyou to create special reports to review your business performance, Financial Manager gives you both a business summary and key balance information so you see the full picture in minutes, without creating reports. You'll review such popular ratios as cost of sales, profit margins, and more, as well as up-to-the-minute balances on cash, accounts receivable, and other vital information.

With the new e-mail alert feature, you can set the system to monitor keyelements of your operations and have a notification e-mail generated when certainconditions are met, to keep you operating efficiently. For instance, yourpurchasing manager can be notified by e-mail when an inventory item dropsbelow a certain level, or your payroll manager can be alerted when anhourly employee exceeds a certain number of hours. Access your Peachtreedata from both your desktop and the Internet using Peachtree WebAccounting. You and your off-site personnel can quickly and securely viewkey desktop accounting data and perform daily tasks such as enteringtransactions and running reports, all from the Internet. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great except for the Payroll
The peachtree accounting program is rich with features, but it also lacks some very basic features as well. You vitrually cannot use the payroll feature without spending 150.00 more per year for a "optional" tax service.

The program severely restricts your ability to create tax tables on a global basis and it is time consuming to do this be each company set up.

I see this "flawed" marketing approach as the largest weakness. No this is not software for a Fortune 500 company. But it will do the routine bookkeeping functions of a good size company.

But when you add the cost of the "annual" tax service. There are better programs in the 300 to 500 price range that will give you more felxability.

So for the price its a good value if you dont have a large payroll.

Feeble and Buggy
PeachTree Accounting has been a disappointment on a number of fronts.

To start, it has bugs. The program has made GJ entries on its own. The entries are locked in some way. I can not open them to view, edit, or delete them. As a result, my numbers are not accurate.

Secondly, the documentation is atrocious. For example, there is a button labeled "prepayment" on the receipts window. There is no explanation anywhere, in PeachTree documentation or otherwise, describing how this button works. In fact the button is very counter-intuitive and seems to have nothing to do with prepayments/deposits. I have yet to figure it out. Unfortunately, the program doesn't let me reverse entries that have been made using this button. Again, my books are not accurate.

Thirdly, the search function does not allow seaching by Payee. It only allows searches by Vendor, which is a separate field. Therefore, if you write a check to Pep Boys, but do not enter PB as a vendor, it is not easily possible to find the transaction.

Fourth, the program forces you to close all windows and change accounting periods every time an entry for a month outside of the current period must be recorded.

Lastly, it is obvious that this company is trying to make its living selling support contracts. Every time you call while under warranty, they push the extended support is pushed hard. The lack of documentation and general opaqueness of the product make it hard to use without the support contract. There must be a better product out there.

Sincerely,

Gary Kulp

Inexpensive professional accounting package
In the quest to find a decent accounting solution for my sole-proprietorship (start-up), I tried and evaluated several trial versions of accounting software. Of the commercial accounting packages I evaluated, Peachtree accounting 2002 is most inexpensive, given the features. Unlike QuickBooks, it uses heavy-duty double-entry accounting.

Unfortunately it is not always the most intuitive accounting package to use. I would go so far as to say there is a degree of difficulty in using this package. Luckily, Peachtree includes a tutorial and several help files. I found myself referring to them often in the beginning, then less frequently as time progressed.

Using the included setup wizard, I was able to setup the books in about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, my business doesn't neatly fit into the example companies, so I had to do some customization. In any event, I was soon able to generate purchase orders, with a minimum of effort. Like QuickBooks, it can print out deposit slips.

Peachtree Accounting 2002 is a full-featured accounting package, with better inventory management than QuickBooks. It has good scalability and can grow with your company, but be warned, time will have to be invested in order to conquer the learning curve before you can become productive.

But don't take my word for it. You can download a trial version from (...) to try it out yourself. I would recommend spending a day putting in the numbers and seeing if it is right for you.

An Easy-to-use Integrated Management Software
I first encountered Peachtree Accounting (then called PAW) in 1995 when I started off a company. Being NOT an accounting major, I found it pretty handy and was pleased that it provided us with good info about the company (so were other shareholders). I pulled out from the company shortly, and my partner, an engineer by training, picked up the accounting work with my several hours' tutoring and several sheets of additional manual. He survived and got not much problems with auditors.

This year I started my own company distributing appliances. I chose Peachtree Accouting 2002. With 2 weeks' dedicated working (to back tracked two months+ of transactions), I finally set up the system, putting all company activities, including inventory movements, into the system. It went very well. Now that I felt truly comfortable, knowing I can get timely and meaningful insights of the company. Truly a worthy-of-praise software. If they are talking about ERP, I think that's it. We tried to use some ERP software in my former company, we bumped onto difficulty just trying to work with one module.

Like any good software, Peachtree Accounting is great. What causes failure is the implementation. In my last company, I asked the financial controller to use Peachtree with a newly established subsidiary. She and her accounting manager tried to persuaded me to wait for a soon-to-come heaven-sent ERP system. I stood firm, nominating an accounts supervisor to champion the project. She ended up giving us the year end financial report two working days after closing. So don't let your kingdom-builder accountant talked you out. How good it is you can get timely information from the system, without having to ask your accountant who could store his/her precious numbers down in scattered Excel files? Ask them,"If they can make it, why can't you?"

Lession learnt: if possible, always go for Peachtree Complete. It allows multi-user access. You could have someone input customers' info, then another staff line up servicing schedule from another workstation. The best is the value pack which allows unlimited users' access. You've got to planned for growth and division of labor - with you overlooking the big picture using such an integrated software. I gave it a 4-star because it didn't support Chinese characters input in my area. Otherwise, 5-star is truly beyond doubt. ... Read more

Features

• Create and print your own custom business and personal checks -- including bank code number on the bottom
• Manage your finances to view your net worth, upcoming payables and receivables, schedule your bill payments, exchange transaction files and synchronize your financial data and bank account information
• Obtain your customer's bank details via the Internet, phone or fax to create a check draft for immediate deposit
• Automatically collect recurring payments or service fees
• Built-in payee database, address book and contact manager for keeping important information at your fingertips

Amazon.com Review

Managing your personal finances always has been a game of give and take,and Intuit Quicken 2001 Suite gives you all of the players in one user-friendly,fully integrated package. New and improved features such as Smart Reconcile,better 401(k) tracking, and integrated Web browsing make this software acomprehensive way to organize your personal finances. Plan your investments andfinances with Quicken 2001 Deluxe, prepare and file your taxes with TurboTaxDeluxe, and protect your family's assets with Quicken Family Lawyer 2001.

Quicken 2001 Deluxe is designed to control seven major areas of your personalfinances: banking, investing, taxes, planning, spending and saving, loans, andinsurance. Improved Activity Centers link these sections together, whileenhanced Alerts let you stay on top of investment opportunities. Travelers willappreciate the ability to view banking and investments online through a secureWeb page at Quicken.com. However, if you are new to online banking or feeluncomfortable with the idea of being able to access personal information on theWeb, you might need some time to adjust to this new feature.

TurboTax Deluxe will guide you through the process of filing your taxes withstep-by-step interviews, careful checks to catch errors, and personalizedmoney-saving features. A TurboTax State manufacturer's rebate lets you file yourtaxes electronically (one free State program per rebate, along with a freeFederal return). If you prefer to file the old-fashioned way, you also can printyour return onto IRS-approved forms that are integrated into the software.

Finally, Quicken Family Lawyer 2001 will walk you through the preparation oflegal documents from start to finish. Get help deciding on the documents thatyou need and preparing them (based on step-by-step interviewing), then prepareand print your legal documents.

People who have not used personal-finance software in the past should beprepared to spend a few hours entering relevant financial data. However, QuickenSuite 2001 comes with a slew of handy setup assistants and a formidable helpsection. All things considered, this is a comprehensive, relatively easy-to-usesuite of products that is designed to make planning of your finances easier,which is always a good investment. --Gisele Toueg ... Read more

Reviews (7)

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME
I am incredibly disappointed with Quicken. I am a first time quicken user and was expecting far more from this software. In fact, it seems to me to be the poorest software i have ever seen. When you open the box, there is no instruction manual. The program is slow and crashes continually. The screen and options are redundant and set up in no logical way, giving you the feeling, as you are fooling around, hitting every button (because there is no instruction manual so you are on your own), that there are about 50,000 things quicken can do for you, where really there are only about 8. Preferences and customize options are annoying, and for anyone adept at computers, this program will drive you nuts because it is so rigid -- there are so few options for REALLY customizing quicken to satisfy your needs -- and my needs are the most basic -- i am still a student!!!!!!!!! I wish i had never bought quicken and just set up a spreadsheet on excel for my finances. you can do more on excel than you can do on quicken, and make all the same charts, and do what you want without waiting 8 years for the program to respond every time you push a button and without having to go through a rigamarole to set up loan accounts. use your time learning how to use excel's beginner and advanced features, NOT quicken's useless ones!!!

A quicken user since version 2.0
I've used Quicken since 1994 when I bought my first computer and Quick 2.0 came preinstalled. Since then I've tried MS-Money twice. I keep going back to Quicken. It's intuitive, logical and makes reconciling the check book a breeze. I admit that my finaces are fairly simple and others may need the deluxe or small business versions of the program, but I think for the average person the basic program is perfect. I don't upgrade every year. I don't think there's a need to. I moved from version 2.0 to Quicken 98 to the current version. The program is very stable. I haven't had problems with bugs or crashes in any version. I recommend it.

Intuit does not stand behind its product anymore
Having been a Quicken user for many years I upgraded to Quicken 2001 for the internet downloading features. Be very careful if you do this! Although the regular banking seems OK, the investment price history updating puts in the WRONG NUMBERS. Mine even added security prices for the year 2003! All the software support options are charged for at ~$10/query.

Intuit has hit on a good way of making money: write a sloppy product, don't test it and charge your customers for finding the problems. Oh, and make yourselves very difficult to contact.

Check out the forums on the Quicken web site to get a flavour for what to expect if you are seriously considering a purchase.

A Very Good Suite of Products For Home
All three of these items have proven very useful for home use. I have been a Quicken user for years, and the 2001 edition is well worth the purchase. Turbo Tax Deluxe is worth the extra cost over standard Turbo Tax because one electronic filing and one individual state filing is included. You have to pay additional money in the standard package for those features. Plus, in the deluxe version there is great and useful tax information and assistance. The Family Lawyer is also well worth the investment. My wife and I saved the expense of hiring a lawyer to draft our wills, plus we were able to develop a few other legalese forms for childcare and the like. No telling how much money that saved us. This suite is worth dishing out a few bucks to have in your office.

Quicken Basic is very basic
The Basic version of Quicken 2001 appears to be a tickler only. This version was purchased for the simple task of printing checks (due to my poor handwriting), but there is insufficient flexibility in formatting the print to (1)change the memo, and (2)align the fields on my checks. I am sure that with Quicken check forms it would do better, but that should have been mentioned in the specifications. The Help instructions seem to be written for a different version of Quicken, as they mention course and fine print-field adjustments that were not available on the Basic version of 2001. E-mail help, which is now fairly standard at other software publishers, is not (yet) available. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A bargain at half the price!
As a result of the low price I was not expecting much but sadly I was still disappointed. I had the opportunity to see the product's package at a local store. If the product only delivered the functionality displayed on its package it would be worth the price. Add in free tech support, how could you go wrong? You start by missing one of your primary objectives then you add some bugs and weak tech support. The package displays a beautiful printed bid, the product doesn't. The bid lacks formatting, has no grand totals and can't be tied to the customer database. Tech support acknowledged that the developers were unable to get the customer data on the bid but that they hoped they would be able to figure it out at some time in the future. As for bugs, if you try to print with your printer off you get a runtime error and the program ends. If you have a broadband Internet connection and you attempt to update the database you will spend some time closing a multitude of update complete message boxes before you can exit the program. Tech support couldn't answer questions about the product and despite promises never called back with the answer. There are other strange things such as "drop and drag" functionality that is implemented by selecting a record and clicking a button on the tool bar. On the bright side I guess it will save wear and tear on your mouse. ... Read more

Features

• Turns your handheld into an entertaining tool for children ages 3-7
• Requires a password to exit application, ensuring your data stays safe
• 6 classic childhood games help kids learn and encourages creativity
• Games include Match, Paint, Draw, FollowMe, ScratchOff, and PuzzlePath
• Perfect for car trips, waiting rooms, or unexpected snippets of time