Reviews (9)

A GREAT software for small businesses
I have worked with over a dozen accounting packages over the last 15 years, including beta testing such products as Open Systems, Great Plains, and Profit. I have used Peachtree versions 2 - 2002 for my own company and I have set up the program for innumerable clients over the years. Peachtree is the BEST program for smaller businesses - bar none. It has a terrific payroll module, good a/p and a/r, and the ability to evaluate your business standing right now, not next month when your CPA finishes the books.

The key to the program is to have the program set up by an expert and to have occasional maintenance on the system. After setup, my customers have me out about twice a year to perform updates, create permanent backups, fix minor problems, and answer questions.

Just because the software costs less than [$] (multi-user versions), doesn't mean that you can get by with only spending [$] for a class to become an expert. Look for someone to come in and tailor the program to your exact needs. This is a more expensive process, but considering that Peachtree's real competitors (NOT QuickBooks) start at thousands of dollars, you are still better off financially-- and you will have REAL financial information to boot.

Longtime User
I've been using computerized small business accounting systems since the early 1970's... After going into business for myself (in a field unrelated to computers) I was reduced to a manual system until I found an excellent DOS system for the PC - a system that went through several owners, eventually winding up as the ACCPAC system from Computer Associates. ACCPAC, was slow to move to Windows and so when I began to look for a Windows accounting system I had to look elsewhere....

I've looked at all the most popular "off the shelf" accounting software as well as a number of shareware programs. I'm convinced Peachtree Complete is superior, in almost every respect, to all the rest of them. I've used every version since the first (which curiously was Version 2.0). Some of the early versions were buggy but the last few versions haven't had serious problems...I'm currently using version 7 and have ordered Version 8.

Each succeeding version of Peachtree - which come about every two years - comes with a little more integration with Microsoft Office. Version 7, for example, has an Excel icon on most report screens. Clicking on the icon opens Excel and dumps the report into the spreadsheet. The formatting on the resulting spreadsheet is pretty good - but there are no formulas.

As I understand multiuser capability (which I don't use) has been part of the package until Version 8 where it costs extra, depending on the number of users.

One of the grumbles about Peachtree is that you have to know something about accounting to use it. That should be true whether you are keeping books on Peachtree, Quicken or a Big Chief tablet and No. 2 lead pencil. If you are running a business where accurate records are required and where the financial statements are relied upon for the management of the business and you don't have some knowledge of proper accounting methods, then you BETTER seek some expert assistance. If all you really want is a check writing program or a billing program, then a full featured accounting program may be overkill and simpler software may be sufficient. Just keep in mind there tends to be an inverse relationship between ease of use on the one hand and flexibility and scope of features available on the other hand (though exceptions abound).

All the major functions such as General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Payroll, Inventory, a really cool Job Costing feature, etc., are fully integrated; a payroll check is immediately accessible in the G.L. without having to do any intermediate journal posting. The Fixed Assets program which will interface but IS a module that runs separately.

Peachtree is a General Ledger based system in that the full detail of all journal entries affecting a particular account is available in the G.L. Double clicking on a particular entry "drills down" to and then displays the check, invoice or other journal entry source document. Two fiscal years of detail are maintained. By changing the "accounting period" to the period (month) of interest, you can edit, add or delete transactions within this time period.

One of the strongest areas of Peachtree is the reporting capabilities - probably the part I like most about it. Almost everything that goes to screen or print is highly customizable. But be advised, taking advantage of this flexibility WILL require some time and effort to learn how to do. This is exacerbated by the fact that there are actually three different kinds of reports - Financial Statements, Forms, and Reports, each of which has its own system of modification. Financial statements can be designed with up to 30 columns with a myriad of date range possibilities and subsets of data (such as departments, enterprises, regions, etc.) The structure of financial statements is not tied to the order of the account numbering scheme.

Payroll is quite complete for software in this price range. In addition to the basics, you can set up 401k deductions, maintain important dates, track vacation time etc. Peachtree aggressively markets its Payroll Tax service but it is easy to update the tax tables yourself. There are default tax tables but you can also specify tax tables that are specific to one business. (Peachtree permits using the software to keep books for multiple business entities.)

For most of the common data entry tasks you can use either the mouse or the keyboard for navigation and entry. But it is somewhat inconsistent - for example if you are posting invoices and come to a customer who isn't on file you have to use the mouse to access the options on the screen that allows you to enter a new customer "on the fly".

Data entry can be assisted by optional features such as drop down screens in fields where you have lists - customer ID, inventory ID for example, "smart fill in" that completes the entry for you among others. On data entry forms you have the option to hide certain fields that you don't use so you don't have to skip over them as you are making entries. For example, in recording invoices if you don't use Customer Purchase Orders, alternate "ship to" addresses, sales reps, etc., you can hide these fields in your input form.

Of course there are things I don't like. The General Ledger requires more paper to print than necessary. I'm not keen on the fact there is only a single field for names (employees, vendors, customers) which makes it difficult to get an alphabetical list unless you design ID numbers in such a way as to approximate alphabetical order - or enter names in the Last Name, First Name reverse order. Mailing label options are limited You can, for example, assign a "type" to your customers, say Doctors, Fishermen and Golfers and generate a mailing list for any type. But you can't specify a customer is a member of the Doctor type AND the Golfer type (except maybe on Wednesday afternoon). Nor can you quickly go through your list of customers and check off a subset to receive a special mailing. You can develop a report of your customers that shows the amounts of inventory items each customer bought but you can't get a report of inventory items listing which customers bought that item. (You CAN dump the former report into Excel, sort it to get the latter order and then clean up the result.)

...I have set up a number of businesses which included sole proprietorship, partnership, charitable organization and corporation structures. I would recommend Peachtree Complete as an accounting solution to almost any business.

Peachtree Complete Accounting 7.0
After using Peachtree 7.0 for a year now in my manufacturing business, I still can't get the checking account to show an accurate balance! We still have to manage some features by creating spreadsheets in Excel that we use in parallel to Peachtree. Also a drag to have to purchase modules, forms, tax tables, and additional use licenses separately (and repeatedly) at such a high price...I resent feeling like I'm being bled by the manufacturer now that I'm 'locked in' to using the software. I REALLY wish the initial purchase had included two use licenses, since I have to buy an additional one JUST to write occasional quotes from home on my laptop.

I used three different accounting programs before purchasing Peachtree, all less comprehensive, but more accurate. I'm still wrestling with forms that print differently than they display on-screen, and so on. Nevertheless, I'm planning to buy version 8.0 and plod on until I learn it all, since it is the one program I know will serve me years into the future.

Great for accountants
The most feature-rich product in its price range, but it has asteep learning curve...

Powerful but not user friendly
I have used Peachtree Accounting for about 5 years now. I am happy with it's capabilities, but it is not particularly user friendly. The interface is not at all intuitive and there is a lot of redundancy. It is a very mouse intense program (five mouse clicks to complete a task when two would have sufficed). The account reconciliation program for balancing your checkbook is cumbersome and difficult to use.

I have an MBA and a strong accounting background and it definitely helps in using this program. I think this is more of a useful tool for accountants or professional bookkeepers than your average entrepreneurial Joe running his own small business. For that type of user, I would probably recommend QuickBooks.

Peachtree is far superior for keeping track of inventory and its payroll features are excellent. It also has a job costing feature that I use that I don't think can be matched by any other software in its price range.

Overall, if you are an intermediate to expert computer user and have a strong knowledge of accounting, or do a lot of job costing or work with inventories, this is an excellent tool. But it is clearly not for everyone. If you don't need some of these features, or if you want the program to demystify accounting and make it easy, you might want to look for a product that is easier to use or more appropriate to your accounting needs. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

this product is a joke--ftake it rom a CPA
forget the name--this is quickbooks in sheep's clothing.it has NOTHING to do with nonprofit accounting.either it's FASB compliant or its not.there's not one piece of changed functionality in here--they didn't even try!you might as well buy quickbooks and save [$$$] or check out...which is nonprofit specific add-on to quickbooks.

Don't be fooled!
You may be thinking you should invest in your non-profit by paying the premium for the NonProfit Edition of Quickbooks. Well, Intuit has damaged their reputation by daring to call this a custom edition. They have slapped on a few screens and menus to serve the non-profit market but, unless you are a seasoned Quickbooks user you will be mired in numerous screens designed for the for-profit market, using irrelevant terminology. What's worse, they haven't even included appropriate non-profit terminology in many of their basic screens. Think the manual should help? No, they give you the manual for the for-profit version as well as a little guide to installing your non-profit version. If you are a non-profit and must use QuickBooks, think twice before paying the premium for the custom non-profit version. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Waste of time
This product was bad when it was new, about five years ago, and is really not worth it. The worst thing is that you get this one to save a few bucks and what you get is wasted time, when the decent ones are still under $$$. Business planning software does work when you use it right, but what a shame to spend time with this one when there are good ones out there.

VERY HELPFUL
If your small business needs a business plan for loan purposes this is great. Very concise and easy to use. I would recommend this to all sole proprietors. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

NO TECH SUPPORT WHATSOEVER!!
I purchased this product and could not even install the program. One month later I still cannot get an answer on how to solve the problem. I would not recommend this product to anyone. ... Read more

Features

• Work with all kinds of desktop publishing applications -- from office document templates to flowchart makers and mail list managers
• Wide range of business tools -legal forms creator, contact management & customer relations tools, plus a full-featured accounting system
• Anti-virus and firewall tools, spam blockers and pop-up stoppers
• Work with a full selection of CD and DVD burners
• Multiple backup tools and cache cleaners to keep your system running optimally

Features

• Robust, automatable accounting system for up to six users
• Make purchases, sales, pay staff, manage projects, and more
• Support for online banking and electronic payments
• Support of more than 3,000 currencies
• Create and customize an unlimited number of reports with Word, Excel, and Crystal Reports

Reviews (2)

Easy to use. The prefect choice for small businesses.
I've been using Simply Accounting for the past 3 years now. The product is excellent! Easy to use, it does about 90% of what I want it to do - not bad for any off-the-shelf package.

Poor customer service
I downloaded the trial version of this product, entered some sample data and it seemed ok. I bought the product then tried to import the data from the trial version without success. I rang and spoke to the customer support, first person was no use to me and generally uninterested, second person I spoke to wanted to help but referred me to technical support. Technical support just wanted me to go away.

It's not a bad product for basic accounting but if support is anything to go buy I would go for something else. ... Read more

Features

• Comprehensive tools for fast and easy financial management
• Boost profitability with Expert Analysis, cash flow projections, and budgeting
• Password protection, permissions, and advanced journal-entry options
• Inventory tracking, fixed asset tracking, time tracking, and more
• Create business plans and forecasts; achieve better results

Features

• Financial management system for retail businesses
• Easy menus help set up invoicing, recordkeeping and more
• Easily manage accounts payable and receivable
• Integrate financial systems
• Advanced accounting, inventory and asset tools

Reviews (2)

Simply Doesnt Work
Worked fine on Windows 98, but when loaded into WindowsXP, it wouldn't launch. The developers don't provide any support, so they were no help either.

It's unfortunate, because it did the job that needed to get done, it just didn't do it on a computer newer than 1997.

buy something else
i bought this kit to make my company business checks, but this software is poorly made by a visual basic intermediate-level developer, probably, and it is somehow impossible to arrange address name payee etc boxes nicely as i want. "MyCheckBook"database is not well connected to "BusinessDesigner"database, all graphics are dated(feels like using 90's software). My recomendation is you better buy pre-printed business check by mail order and use Microsoft Money to print out decently. ... Read more

Features

• Improves quality, better control of multiple job sites means things get done right the first time
• Save money, by eliminating duplicate time entry m JobTime pays for itself within weeks
• Save time, no more faxing time sheets from the job site or waiting days for them to be delivered
• Improve accuracy, allows you to record labor, equipment, and expenses from the job site
• Improve Communication, remote users can enter data in the field and sync it to the office via a cradle, modem or wireless connection

Features

• Network Compatible
• It allows you to work in up to 2 different currencies
• Easy-to-use checkbook feature
• Modern and even easier-to-use interface
• Built on industry-standard Microsoft Access database format making your data easily accessible

Product Description

A fast, easy and complete way to file your taxes. Answer simple questions and TaxAct does the rest! TaxAct Alert system works to steer clear of problems and E-filing gets you your refund instead waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Over 13 Million returns filed with Tax Act! ... Read more

Features

• Advanced, multi-user, accounting solution for small distributors
• Meet daily and long-term goals more effectively; pricing management
• Advanced drop shipping; ability to buy/sell items in different quantities
• Customizable reports designed to address needs of distributors
• Crystal Reports for Peachtree included for even greater operational analysis