Features

• Entry-level automated accounting for small businesses
• Bill paying; check writing; invoicing; bank reconciliation
• Basic inventory; payroll; 100+ customizable reports
• Peachtree Today for an instant snapshot of business financials
• New-company setup wizard; 20+ demos; multiple help options

Reviews (1)

DON'T BUY: requires "activation"!!!!
I guess Best Software is ignoring all the flack that happened with
other companies (remember Intuit's TurboTax 2003?) and decided to
implement an activation scheme with their software. I, as a
legitimate purchaser, am being punished. If I want to upgrade my
computer, it is unknown whether I will be "allowed" to do so by
Best. If I'm still trying to use this application in a few years
when Best no longer supports it, I can't imagine them allowing me
to reactivate it in case my computer crashes, I want to upgrade,
etc.

Note that this activation scheme is not noted anywhere on the box.
You first find out about it when you break the seal and read page
TWENTY-TWO of the "Getting Started Guide" (probably because they
know if they'd lose sales if they put on the box "You can only use
the software once you register with us, and then if you crash or
up upgrade your machine you might not be able to use it after
that, depending").

As I do much work in the field, I need to have a copy on my laptop
in addition to the one on my desktop. I do not use the two copies
simultaneously, yet this appears to be prohibited. So, for a
program I *PAID* for, this is turning out to be a poor deal.

I will now look at other business accounting packages to see if
they offer similar features as PT, without a brain-dead revenue
maximization scheme (i.e., activation). I'd prefer to stick with
PT, as I like many of the features they provide and have been a
customer for many years, but if Best insists upon treating EVERY
ONE OF ITS CUSTOMERS like THIEVES and CRIMINALS, then I'm
switching. Fortunately, they offer a no-risk 60 day money-back
guarantee, so they WILL be giving me my money back. ... Read more

Features

• Financial management system for manufacturing and wholesale 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

Features

• Financial management system for businesses
• Import data from popular office software
• Tools for invoicing, paying bills and tracking expenses
• Easily create forms and reports
• Simple guides for most common business procedures

Reviews (5)

sad
Poor support. No support, even the free stuff without handing over your credit card first. Updates are just charges for new version numbers. You can't use the payroll system without paying for their monthly service. Irritating pop-ups trying to sell you more stuff while you are trying to do book work. And yes I still own it and have for a few years. It has its good points. Pretty easy to set up and use. Kinda stuck at the moment. Believe it or not I switched to this from a worse program, Peachtree. My only salvation is I only need it for two more years then it goes in the trash.

QuickBooks - 2004 release is just a waste of money
It's amazing that a company can sit for 3 years and add SO little innovation.

Having used quickbooks for over 5 years i am really dissapointed with the the 2004 release. It's basically a re-wrap of a product from over 4 years ago. Definately NOT worth the value. Consider other options unless you are absolutely stuck.

Nothing to look forward to in this version.

A RIP-OFF!
I will be sooooo glad when some other company besides Intuit comes up with a quality accounting program. Intuit's greed is really getting out of hand. I was basically *forced* to buy this new 2004 version due the "sunsetting" (their own stupid term) on Business Services for the 2001 version. Business Services is crucial to my job, because I'm constantly e-mailing invoices, which, of course (!) has to be done through Quickbooks Business Services. I was totally happy with my 2001 version and did not have any other need to upgrade! This should be against the law. I used to just enter paycheck amounts by hand (I did not want to shell out for tax tables, because we only have 2 employees, and let's face it it's not that hard to do yourself for just 2 employees), but not anymore! Now I'm being *forced* to subscribe to a payroll service! And I can only presume that this is the way it's going to be every few years...shell out a few hundred bucks for this garbage even when you don't need it, otherwise they won't provide Business Services to you...like I said, a RIP OFF!!

Overpriced and underperforming.
Buyers beware! QuickBooks will not even allow you to write a simple paycheck! Intuit makes you sign up for their "Do-It-Yourself Payroll" and charges you an additional $169. That's what Intuit calls a "Great Value".
If you run a really small company, look somewhere else for your accounting software. You'll be purchasing a new version of Quick Books every year as well as their "great" overpriced services.

Prospective Purchaser Alert
Prospective purchasers of this product would do well to read the customer reviews of Quickbooks Pro 2004 before making their purchase, as many of the same issues should apply. ... Read more

Features

• Create a forecast of income and expenses for the year ahead, based on your existing QuickBooks data with the click of a button.
• Build a professional, accurate business plan more easily than ever.
• Track inventory assemblies and finished goods.
• More easily apply payments, such as overpayments, underpayments, credits and refunds.
• More easily merge QuickBooks data into Microsoft Word [2000, 2002 or 2003] letters and envelopes for quick, professional mailings to customers, vendors or employees.

Product Description

Peachtree Simply Accounting 2005 Basic.Simply Accounting 2005 Basic was designed for fast moving businesses. It's easy to learn and use, yet powerful enough to keep up with all your accounting needs. Whether you sell products or services, Simply Accounting Basic has all you need to run your business. It automates everything from making purchases to making sales and everything in between. It's even flexible enough to meet the most demanding payroll requirements. ... Read more

Features

• Track projects; over 100 industry-specific starter templates
• Easy-to-use accounting tools for running a business
• Manage customers and suppliers; run business reports
• Handle employee payroll; generate checks and invoices
• Productivity tips and advice for 100+ business types

Reviews (2)

Accounting Idiot
I currently use Ver. 2004 and have not upgraded to v. 2005 but I can say that I love this software.It is inexpensive and does everything you need it to do.

I only took one accounting class (hated it) almost 15 years ago so I knew very little about how to keep my own books.I just started my own business and thought I should have some formal record of my financials even if my accountant would have to clean it up later.Simply accounting had wonderful tutorials on CD (included) and I was able to go directly to what area I needed help with.I have to admit that I had to start over with a new company a couple of times because I messed up some entries, but that was because I am not an accountant and didn't want a bunch of adjustments to correct entries.

I read the other review and yes, you do get a pop-up window that asks if you are sure you want to enter something older than 7 days, but you can change that in the options.I don't have a lot of paperwork yet so I probably enter documents in maybe once or twice a month and I have NO problems with these infrequent entries.

I even created my own personalized invoices, POs, receipts, etcthat match my letterhead.I can email or print these out for clients.It sends emails through Outlook.

The best part is the wizard.When you set up a new company, the wizard will ask you what type of business you are running and then develop an account list based on that.I was able to add and delete my own as I went along.

If you believe you can be taught accounting, give this program a try.

Hard to use and unforgiving of errors
I've used Simply Accounting for my small business for 12 months. It is a decent basic accounting package with all the features you would expect. However, it is hard to work with and extremely unforgiving.

The first problem is that Simply Accounting assumes that you will always enter all transactions in ascending date order, and that you use the program at least every week. The root cause is Simply Accounting's concept of the "current session date". The program complains if you enter any transaction that is more than 7 days before or after this date. It also complains if you then try to move the session date to another date more than 7 days away -- as if this were some major accounting heresy. So if you are going through your paperwork catching up on your accounts at the end of the month, this gets incredibly annoying very quickly.

Secondly, if you ever have the temerity to enter one transaction that precedes any other, you get another warning that the earlier transaction will affect any reports you might have run. Gee, there's a surprise. There is no way to turn this annoying warning off. So you'd better order all your paperwork by date, or else suffer death by a thousand clicks to dismiss this warning message every time.

Thirdly, if you make a mistake entering a transaction, there is no way to go back and correct the transaction. You can reverse transactions, but this means adding a second transaction to back out the old one and a third for the corrected transaction. I understand that this is important for audit trail purposes, but make it possible to collapse the audit trail into a single transaction. If you're just fat fingered like me or forget to change the date from the last transaction (this happens to me a lot), your accounts become littered with incorrect transactions and their reversals -- three transactions for each mistake. If renders any kind of reporting on account transactions almost useless, because the debit and credit columns are swelled by (irrelevant) transaction errors and their corrections. I'm a one-man business -- I don't need an audit trail to show that I messed up the date of a payment or invoice. It obscures the view of how well/badly my business is actually doing.

The user interface compounds these problems. For most transactions, you want to enter the date, the payee or payor, the amount(s), and the account(s) to book the expense/revenue against. However, the forms are not laid out in this order on the screen. You'll need to navigate by mousing and clicking extensively to get to these fields and enter the relevant information. This is why it's so very easy to get the wrong date for a transaction -- not only is the date field not the first on the form, you need to press Tab more than 6 times to get there from the payee/payor field. To enter the account efficiently, you'll need to have memorized its 4 digit code. No, you can't start typing the first few characters of the name of the account and have the software auto-complete. If you click on the pick-list of accounts, they are ordered by account code and not alphabetically, which makes it vastly harder to find the account you want to use.

Finally, the software assumes you are fluent in accounting jargon, terminology and practices. It claims to have a mode where it uses "non accounting terms" but this is more confusing than using the actual terms themselves. There's no help for novice business owners -- you'll need to get a basic grounding in account-keeping because the software and manuals offer little to no help. ... Read more

Features

• Financial management system for businesses
• Import data from popular office software
• Easily manage accounts payable and receivable
• Create business plans using existing data
• Advanced accounting, inventory and asset tools

Amazon.com Review

For most small business owners, keeping up with the accounting is the worst part of the job. A small investment of effort--installing QuickBooks Pro 2002 or a similar accounting package--will almost always save time and hassle in the long run.

QuickBooks is best for those with fairly simple needs--while it's comparatively inexpensive and easy to install, its breadth of features and technical support don't quite stack up against Peachtree or MYOB. That said, there are still plenty of businesses that can make good use of QuickBooks; consultants and others with little or no inventory, for example.

The 2002 version doesn't bring a brand-new paradigm, but does offer some new and helpful features: improved form customization, better report functions, and customer tracking, to name a few. Easy integration with Microsoft Office, Act!, and other key software packages makes QuickBooks attractive to many users; data transfer is especially straightforward. Invoicing, cutting checks, projecting next year's revenue, and just keeping the books in order is much easier with a computer doing the drudge work.

QuickBooks Pro 2002 is the best bet for budget-minded sole proprietors and microbusiness owners. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Don't waste your money
There are reasons to buy Quickbooks. For instance it's a lot cheaper than accounting software for professionals. But why not buy it on Ebay for a fraction of the price from one of the many dissatisfied users trying to get rid of it ?

I recently upgraded my business from Quicken home & business 98 to Quickbooks. I've always hated Quicken for it's array of annoying idiosyncrasies but I'm now locked in with years of transactions. I've spent several days worth of time on Quickbooks, so I'm no expert. However I've run into problem after problem trying to get my accounting practices set up. For instance it simply won't let me enter transactions directly into my foreign account register, despite the help file telling me that I can. And my invoices come out with missing lines and text.

The real problem though, is that these bugs aren't Intuit's problem. They're Intuit's profit. Tech support is not available without paying. Strangely, searching the online help gave me no hits for my problems.

I cannot compare this product with Microsoft Money since I haven't tried that one. Perhaps Quickbooks Pro is still your best bet, but don't pay full price !

I purchased A Product From Inuit Software and Scanning
I purchased the software at Stapples (Hamilton Ontario) the software with the cashbox and scanning software for barcodes came to $4,000.00 now I did not know that the suport was for 30 days and that after that I would have to pay over $130.00 per moth (yes I did get a credit for $800.00 not in cheque) but for technical support and after those $800.00 are over my staff told me that we have to pay for it (I was amazed) that a product that cost over $4,000.00 does not even have more extended technical support, correct me if I am wrong but when you purchase a computer and some computers are dirt cheap lets say $1,500.00 you would get technical support for a year or sometimes more. I am not impressed at all with there so called "customer service" I am in the process of opening more stores and I will go look at other providers for software and scanning bar code mechanism.

Probably very powerful but needs some simplifying
This may be the best small business accounting software available, but it could still use some streamlining. I started a small corporation on a limited investment. I am not an accountant, so I didn't expect to ace the software on the first day. That said, this version of QuickBooks probably only has about 18 features that I have any use for out of hundreds of available features. The screen is not laid out in a way that is self-explanatory, so finding those features is not automatic. Even those who have used Quicken (Intuit's home finance software) in the past are unlikely to find the interface self-evident. Efficiency is also a concern. QuickBooks opens too many internal "windows" without closing the source window, thus the software eats up memory very quickly. It would be as if every last time you click on a hyperlink while surfing the internet, a new browser window opens automatically. Not good.

How much does QB intimidate? Well, it is April 14th, and I've been putting off doing my taxes because I don't want to have to find and decipher all of QuickBooks' tax related features, side notes, suggestions, and other fringe information.

All of this said, it is fairly powerful software, and I am probably remiss for purchasing one of the more advanced versions of QuickBooks for such a small business. If you have tens of thousands of dollars in extra cash and can afford to automate your accounting processes (such as payroll) through QB's add-on-for-an-additional-investment options, this is probably the software to buy. It is established, it is advanced in its abilities, and it is the industry standard. However, if you're small potatoes, (even if it's hard to admit it), then you might want to consider something a little less involved, like a "dumbed down" version of QuickBooks or maybe MYOB.

Horible Support, Even Worse product
Do not buy this software unless you have deep pockets and don't mind spending lots of money on support. I don't want to sound paranoid but this software has bugs built into it to force you to call support. (did I mention the software come with 0 support) not 60 days not 30 days not even 1 day of support is included with the purchase.
And all the great services that the product tells you about cost additional with monthly fees.

If you like fustration you'll love this
Quickbooks 2002 is a halfway decent accounting program for small business. Unfortunetly Intuits ridiculus company policy of releasing buggy software and then charging you for them to fix it is most fustrating. Then there are the yearly upgrades that you have to pay for. No , you don't HAVE to pay for a new version each year... it's just that your old version stops working if you have to reinstall it. It will then ask to for a special activation key that you can only get if you ring them up and then fill in a 10 page document( and get it signed by a j.p!!!).
When you vent your fustration and anger, the ever so helpful phone support person will suggest that it would just be easier to upgrade to the latest version for a large sum of money. Yeah, thanks... ... Read more

Features

• Improves every step of even the most complex billing cycle
• Create alerts to keep from overlooking important information
• Easily design professional-looking bill templates
• Customizable control panel; 2-way integration with Microsoft Outlook
• User-friendly interface; ideal for anyone who bills for their services

Product Description

Quicken WillMaker Plus 2004 provides you with the legal forms you need to help protect your family's future. Each interactive form takes you through a step-by-step interview - Quicken WillMaker Plus assembles the documents you need based on your answers. Includes Wills and Living Trusts, Healthcare Directives, Powers of Attorney, Child and Elder Care Agreements, and more! ... Read more

Features

• Create a will that reflects your needs, to make sure friends and family are provided for
• Avoid expensive probate fees by creting a living trust, including an AB(bypass) that saves you from heavy estate taxes
• Name a trusted family member or friend to care for your finances in case you can't do it yourself
• Save money for your survivors by handling your final arrangements in advance
• Create executor documents that make sure your estate is handled according to your wishes

Reviews (1)

2004 Quicken Willmaker
This software thinks of every form you'd ever need, whether you're the person drawing up your own will or the executor of someone else's.The only drawback - it doesn't download to a Word doc for easy transport.It also stores vital contact info + provides options for different states. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

needs a little help
I've been using MS Money for my personal accounts for years. I like it, and now after starting my own business, I especially like the price of Money Small Business compared to alternatives.

The user from Western North Carolina (mmj...) pointed out correctly that the except for printing, the Invoices are not very professionally looking. He's absolutely correct unless you have the FREE PrimoPDF (from download.com) utility installed.

This extremly handy utility (did I mention it is free!) allows you to save your invoice as a PDF file, that looks just the way you layed it out!

Just select PrimoPDF as your printer, select the name and location of your desired output file, screen or file quality option and you're ready to rock and roll!

This just made my day!!!

MS Money Small Business 2004 -
Was I excited that "MONEY" was finally going to make the transition to the Small Business Community?

Absolutely! I have been too busy to want to learn a REAL Accounting program. And I have been using "Money" since the early 90's to balance my checkbook and surely one of the first to use online banking; so the idea that I could integrate invoicing was icing on my cake.

Now for the disappointing reality. While you can make and email invoices and they will be tracked in a receivables account, you will need to create a cash account to receive the money into and then transfer that amount into the account that you download your banking transactions into if you deposit more than one check at a time. Otherwise, you will have double entries in your account. This makes for many extra steps, shuffeling payments here and there.

I would have appreciated this information prior to purchasing yet another version of Money, I could have done this without the Small Business edition. (I think this puts me in the position of Beta testor, and I had to pay for the job.)

Also, I was very disappointed not to find ANY information in either the help files or online. That search in itself was exhaustive.

The help from Microsoft was indeed good. But, I was required to sign up for a "PassPort Account" to communicate with them (not opting for the toll call).

They indicated that it was indeed a problem, and they are working hard to fix it. My wish is that the repair is not a "version upgrade" as this is a definite flaw to a Business package.

Effectively, the only thing that was added to the previous version of Money (I was using Deluxe) was an invoice template, and the ability to change your fiscal year end. (This is something I complained about in Money in the 2002 version.)

I will, of course, continue to use it and I am quite sure that eventually it will be a great ENTIRE solution for a small business, since it already integrates with Excell and TaxCut.

It just needs to do it sooner...

"Report" functionality sucks
The reporting feature does not always reflect accurate information. Say, I selected ALL categories to be reported on my Monthly Income and Expense Report, the report came out missing including several categories, and so the total on the report were all screwed-up. If I were not paying attention to that details, I would have been sued by clients for inaccurate billing.

Get Quicken Home & Business 2002 or 2003 instead
I tried this software for the first time after getting tired of Quicken's quirks. But after four months of infuriation, frustration, and wasted time, Quicken seems like heaven to me. If this is common for Money, I'll never use it again.
As other reviews have stated, there is no customization at all. If it isn't a selection, you don't get it. Just trying to set up a simple home budget is infuriating enough. You cannot select your catagories if they do not appear in their selection. Instead of being able to make layers of catagories like in Quicken (for detailed budget breakdowns), you are stuck with only one. As for downloading account information, it decides what account and where the download should go and refuses to let you change it--even though it is very wrong. You have to search out where it went and remove every single incorrect transaction one at a time. In sum, I hate this software and it has cost me more lost time than it was ever worth.

Business functionality lacking
I run a small consulting company from my home. (Small meaning, just me.) I purchased the Small Business version of this software to help with my business as well as manage my personal finances.

My business is consulting, I sell my time to customers. Although the software supports creating time items for customers, there is no reporting for time items other than create an invoice to print out the current uninvoiced time activity for a customer. This is unacceptable to me. I need to provide detailed time reporting to my customers, as well as a summarized invoice for payment. I'll have to continue to track my time in a spreadsheet.

Regarding invoices, although the software offers "emailing invoices" as a feature, what it emails is a text invoice, and there is no way to print the invoice to a file or word document to email something a bit more professional. Being in the computer consulting business, text invoices would appear a bit tacky.

So, for me, the two main things I do, track my time on consulting projects and invoice my customers via email, are not possible in this software. I have to continue to use spreadsheets to track my time, and word processing to create the invoices to email to my customers.

The personal finances functionality seems to be the same as previous versions of this software, but be very wary about paying the extra $ for the small business feature set. It seems quite lacking to me. ... Read more

Features

• Robust, automated accounting features for small businesses
• In-depth inventory; over 140 reports; customizable forms
• Serialized inventory and departmentalized reporting
• For up to five users; easy setup wizard; multiple help options
• Crystal Reports for Peachtree included

Features

• Accurately value donations in compliance with IRS guidelines
• Values based on extensive research of resale outlets and market data
• Powerful search tool provides value based on condition and style
• Instantly transfer into TurboTax; auto-fills donation tax form
• Easily access IRS publications; prints reports and receipts

Features

• Tax software guides users through state tax returns
• Interview-based wizard system
• Up-to-date with latest state tax law
• Checks math and audit flags
• Contains all the forms users will need

Reviews (14)

If you TurboTax for Federal, you have to try this!
If you use TurboTax to assist you with your Federal income tax return and haven't yet tried the State version, you have to try it. It is definitely worth it!

The State version will automatically read in everything you've already done for the Federal version - which cuts down your time immensely! You have to answer a few State-specific questions, like your county of residence - but you'll be done with the whole thing in about 5 to 10 minutes. Well worth the price to save me that much time and hassle!

A word of caution, however: Although it is labeled "multistate" you actually only get to use it for one state for the license fee; if you want more than one state you will need to call Intuit, pay another fee, and they'll give you a code for the next state.

TURBO TAX STATE FOR VIRGINIA ROCKS!
You're a fool if you don't use Turbo Tax State in Virginia. This is my second year using TT and it was even easier the second time around. The new addition imports everything you punched in the year before and therefore takes less time to complete. Since you can't do state without having loaded TT Deluxe, the video on the CD walks you through the process and sends you to the answer if you type in a search. I had absolutely no trouble using TTS in Virginia and had my state and federal refunds within a week of e-filing. Yeah, within a week. (...)

Additionally, by going through the step by step questionnaire TTS reminded me to include charity work and charitable contributions, which increased my refunds. You don't even need to buy the physical product. Once you've loaded TTD or the federal variation, you can download states off the internet.

This product is better than last year. I highly recommend it. You won't be sorry.

My only criticism of TT products is you can only e-file one time per purchase. (...)The secret to fast returns is e-filing.

Piece of cake!
Flawless and no problems. I have switched to Intuit because prior programs (Tax Cut and Tax Act) would not allow me to e-file my state return (Arizona), because they did not contain a form I needed for a state credit. Turbo Tax solved that issue last year and this year as well. State program installs with a blink of the eye, and complements Turbo Tax Deluxe beautifully. This was only my second year with Intuit, but plan to 3-peat next year.

correcting information in state tax form not possible
I did my federal tax with turbotax delux and my state tax also with turbotax.
I made some errors entering information. The federal form allowed me to make corrections after I was done.
However, the state interview denies me access. Maybe I need to start all over or do it by hand.
The State program is grap. I send an email to the company but did not get any reply.

New York Commuter / New Jersey Resident Still Wrong
ATTENTION INTUIT: A BAD free state download is worse than no state download.

Unfortunately, this year's version still does not know how to back out taxes paid to NY State (where I work) and apply them to New Jersey (where I live).

Will you guys just fix this already?!?!?!!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Worst Version of Quicken ...........EVER!!!!!!!
I have used Quicken since the DOS versions, this one is the worst! You cannot change any colors, period, end of discussion! You cannot remove unused, useless toolbars/frames, period, end of discussion! You will have to call tech support! You will have to endure repeated uninstalls/reinstalls! Download a trial version before you upgrade, if you can't configure it the way you want, delete it and move on!

Displeased with discontinuation of support
I have a very minor problem with Quicken 2000. It is very functional for all my needs and I am quite perturbed that to get technical support, I am forced to update. I don't need an update. I do need a very minor fix to my present system. Quite simply, the system somehow changed the opening screen and I can find no way of putting it back where it is when you first start using Quicken. I reloaded with the old disc and got the screen I want, but I have to the accounts list under the old load to find prior transactions. As for help, even the 900 number has been changed, so I can't even pay to get this rectified. What a rip-off.

What a Piece of Garbage
I have been using Quicken since "Quicken 4" on my Mac. It WAS a great program. This version is okay except for the investment portfolio. It is full of bugs, and is not at all intuitive (ironic, eh?). Further, you cannot simply "fudge" and enter your historical transactions ... so my cash balance is wrong, and impossible to correct. After researching online, it is clearly a bug that Inuit will not even acknowledge.

Hopefully they will get their act together for 2005, otherwise, I'm out of there!!

Patch this
I am done with Intuit. Every time I upgrade to a newer version it is full of bugs. Then, when I call Intuit customer support to discuss THEIR bugs, they want a credit card number before giving out any information. HOW ABOUT ENSURING THE PRODUCT WORKS CORRECTLY BEFORE SELLING IT TO THE PUBLIC. I don't care if they EVENTUALLY offer a patch that can be downloaded. I have more important things to do with my time.

I was a loyal Quicken user for more than 8 years; BUT NO LONGER ... their idea of customer service is PATHETIC. I am going to give Microsodt Money a try

Stick with Quicken 2002 (maybe from Ebay?)
I was warned!! Instead I thought I could put up with all the small inconveniences of 2004. Every one of the negative reviews is correct and then some. I've been using (and promoting) Quicken since 1996 and updating every other year. 2004 regularly crashes on Windows XP. The investment register is useless for record reviews. The help topics are not useful. I was excited the first time it took me directly to Intuit's knowledge base, until I found nothing in the knowledge base that applied. Their Indian customer service can barely speak English. Not that it matters much since they haven't a clue how solve problems other than uninstall and re-install. The final straw however came today when, during an online update, Quicken corrupted my data files. The only fix for this is to uninstall the program. My fix is to reinstall Quicken 2002 and wait until I see some positive reviews on a new version before buying another Intuit product, even though I'm in for a couple days re-entering data that won't transfer from version 2004.

Laughably, a couple years ago Intuit was used in marketing case studies as a better way to treat customers than Microsoft. Where did those managers go? They now make Microsoft look positively brilliant. Since I have loved Quicken for so long, I really hope Intuit is monitoring these site reviews and will Quickly correct these myriad problems. I'm just glad I didn't post a high recommendation on this product and have to eat those words now. ... Read more

Features

• Automated accounting for small businesses
• Easy invoicing; convenient check writing; 35+ customizable reports
• Provides fast start-up; 20+ instructional demos; multiple help options
• Peachtree Today for an instant snapshot of business financials
• Includes 30 days of free support for first-time customers

Amazon.com Product Description

QuickBooks Premier 2003 features the most comprehensive set of tools for small business financial management. In addition to the benefits and features of QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier provides you with tools to help your business achieve better results.

Discover innovative tools to create a customized business plan. Instantly analyze your historical QuickBooks data and answer simple, step-by-step questions to automatically create a three-year projected balance sheet, profit and loss, and statement of cash flow. A new forecasting feature helps compare your forecast to your actual income and expenses.

Greater customization helps you meet the unique needs of your business. With QuickBooks Premier 2003 you have the ability to create sales orders and track back orders to manage inventory more accurately. And, now you can create a finished good as its own inventory item by specifying which pieces of your current inventory you need to produce to increase your inventory-tracking accuracy.

Discover anywhere, anytime flexibility with QuickBooks Remote Access in QuickBooks Premier 2003. Now you can work on your QuickBooks files from home or the road.

Be sure to visit our QuickBooks Software Add-Ons Store fo\ r software products that have been developed by members of the Intuit Developer Network. QuickBooks software add-ons are \ applications that integrate with this and other packages of QuickBooks financial software to save you time and increase you\ r productivity.

Reviews (4)

Best Accounting Software for Business
I am a professional accountant who worked with all kinds of accounting software. Quickbooks Accountant Edition 2003 has all the functions that both small and medium size business can use. It even has contractor functions, not much different from Timberline that is 100 times more expensive. With basic understanding of accounting, almost anyone can use the software. All other drawbacks such as necessity to purchase additional software to process payroll is negligible compared to the cost of more expensive accounting software. The quality of this software is excellent. Never pay the software producer for consulting, because Quickbooks is very simple to use and almost self-explanatory.

Quick! QuickBooks Premier Contractor Edition 2003
An interesting introduction to Accounting software. I had been using quicken and the jump in user knowledge needed was tremendous. Intuit is decidedly unsupportive when it comes to product instructions and support and I will be looking elsewhere for my next software package. It is possible that I will use continue to use QB but I would reccomend that new QB users start out with a less expensive version. The "more accurate estimating" is all user inputed and while better than anything you find in quicken I believe QB Premier advertisement overstates its usefulness.

I cannot emphasize enough that Intuit charges you for support with regaurds to its product which is costly to begin with. That came as a particularly nasty surprize.

QB premier contractor series contributed in many positve ways to how my business runs and the job costing procedures are excellent, helpful, and informative.

A great program if you need all of its features
I've been using Quickbooks in its various forms since version 1.0 (for DOS!). So by now I consider it indispensable. But Quickbooks 2003 Premier Contractor's Edition is quite pricey, even with the rebates. I would only recommend it for larger companies with at least a few employees. Many smaller contracting companies (such as mine) would manage very well with just Quickbooks Pro 2003. Also, if you haven't used previous versions of Quickbooks before, (when it had less features) it might be best to start out with the simpler versions. Its help systems are very extensive but if you need any assistance from Intuit be warned that they charge for it either per request or by a yearly subscription, which I feel is a bit of a slap in the face considering the cost! The extra features such as the Change Orders and Contractor specific Job analysis and reports could be helpful but for me at least that remains to be seen.

PERFECT for ALL Accounting Functions
This package is perfect for the Accountant, the Bookkeeper or the Owner of a Small to Medium Size Business that likes to use most Accounting functions/reporting etc.

As the "QuickBooks Guru", I use this particular version for all my clients no matter if they have Pro, Basic, Contractor or Premier Version. The reporting functions are built in, so there is very little modifying if at all.

Between the new templates, add on features, invoice functionality (much better)---and naturally the remote access feature that makes a great training feature between my clients and myself !

The people that are disgruntled either have had poor set up,or are not understanding the ease of the program. I customize every client specifically to their business, and I have had NO complaints when they get their Income Statements, updated books, Bank Reconciliations...cash flow reports, Job Costs, Time tracking etc.

If you KNOW QuickBooks, this is the program to BUY! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

QuickBooks Pro Edition 5.0 for Mac provides advanced tools to manage your business finances. Enjoy the convenience of having all your financial information organized in one place. It's fast and easy to create reports and invoices, track expenses, and more.

QuickBooks is now designed and built to run on Mac OS X. QuickBooks windows and controls, including a revised icon bar, are also designed to be consistent with the Aqua user interface. QuickBooks also works with Mac OS 9.2.2.

Now it's even easier to customize the appearance of QuickBooks forms, such as invoices, cash sales receipts, estimates, and purchase orders. Change fonts, add a company logo, or modify the layout of your forms to suit your needs. Customize reports by modifying the content based on report filters you choose. The new Report Finder helps you quickly select the report or graph you need, with sample onscreen reports. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Getting Better
I currently use Quickbooks Pro for Windows at my day job, at home I use Quickbook Pro 5.0 for Mac for my home based business. The mac version doesn't have all the features that the windows version does, but I believe that they will continue to upgrade (in fact the 6.0 version is just coming out with the ability to convert data back and forth between windows and mac) I have tried Myob for mac, it is ok, but I still believe Quickbooks to be the most intuitive and easy program with very strong features for tracking everything assosiated with running a business. I am on Quickbooks for Windows more than 12 hours a day, so I know very well what features need improving, yet I still prefer to use the mac for my home business. And I will continue to provide them with my feedback for future upgrades. At this point the biggest would be online banking. I can't imagine they would leave that out for much longer. The 6.0 version already has the Windows to Mac and Mac to Windows data conversion which is what everyone in these reviews have been screaming about.

Disappointing, very, very disappointing
I am a small business owner, happy using Macs and a long time Intuit user. I was delighted Intuit was again "supporting" the Mac platform and was one of the pre-purchasers of QB Pro 5 for the Mac. I assumed, perhaps naively, that since it was the hot new thing, it would have all the old features I associated with Quicken and all the QuickBooks options for which my accountant had been begging so he could play with my files on-line. Instead, I find that this product just doesn't do these things. No, you cannot export data in PC format. No, the accountant cannot enter the program to organize data his way. No, on-line banking is not supported. This is 2003. What small business wants to be without access to on-line banking?

Huge Omission Makes QB for Mac Virtually Useless!
I was thrilled when I heard that Intuit was once again planning on reentering the Mac market with a new version of QuickBooks Pro. It's here, but the thrill is gone.
I was looking forward to getting rid of the Windows PC that's taking up valuable space on my desk; it's sole reason for existence is to run QuickBooks. Everything else in the office is done on Macs.
Software arrived, installation went well. I went to my PC and exported my QuickBooks file to a Zip disk, popped the disk into the Zip drive on my Mac and then tried to tell QB on the Mac to import the file so I could get down to business on the Mac. But what's this... a message that says that QuickBooks for Mac cannot read QuickBooks files created on a PC!
As far as I can see, there is no reason for this application to exist. My accountant has a PC and we email my QuickBooks file back and forth on a regular basis. Therein lies the problem.
If Microsoft, Adobe, even Quark files can go back and forth, then why not QuickBooks files? Until true multi-platform accessibility is writtin into QuickBooks, I'd recommend holding off on the purchase of this otherwise solid product.

Using OS 9.2.2
Constantly crashes in OS 9.2.2. Will stick with Quickbooks Pro 4...

Mac users ...
Any mac user who can afford accounting software [such] as Quickbooks is probably a professional who uses their Mac for their business. Most professional business use accountants. Most accountants use Windows.

QUICKBOOKS 5.0 FOR MAC CAN NOT CONVERT DATA FROM THE WINDOWS VERSION. Thus rendering it useless for anyone on a mac who uses an accountant and needs to transfer data back and forth.

... ... Read more