Accounting Software?

What do you use?

[werty]

My partner and I are looking to get some accounting software and have no idea which one to use.

We do some consulting, but the main feature we want is the ability to track a projects overall earnings and expenses.

Up until know I have just been using excel. I have looked at MS Money, PeachTree, Simply Accounting and Quickbooks, but I have no idea which one to get. I would like to keep it under $300 if possible.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks!

[rogerd]

I use Peachtree and like it fairly well, but Quickbooks seems to have broader support among CPAs, other software, etc.

[stuntdubl]

None of them make accounting more easy or fun I don't imagine. I have quickbooks, and it's pretty straightforward.

[sugarrae]

I asked my dad werty and he said to go with quickbooks... he said it definitely isn't the easiest of the three, but "you internet types" should have a better curve to learn on than most.

[txbakers]

I use Quickbooks.

I used to use Peachtree about 15 years ago and liked it a lot. But the latest version is just about a copy of Quickbooks.

MS has a Small business Accounting package, after they bought out Great Plains Software, but I haven't tried it yet.

[Receptional]

I use Quickbooks on one business. Sage on another. I LOVE Quickbooks and HATE Sage. Our accountants, however, hate Quickbooks and love Sage.

[rogerd]

Dixon, do you have a love/hate relationship with your accoutants? :)

I went accountant-shopping last year, and of the several I talked to all were geared up to handle Quickbooks and only one routinely ran Peachtree. I've stuck with Peachtree because I know it, I own it, it works, and converting multiple companies to Quickbooks would be a pain. Starting fresh, I'd probably go with QB.

[lorax]

Quickbooks here. Many more QB consultants available to help you get set up. I hired a local QB consultant a couple of times to come in and help me get my company books straightened out after I had been running with my own setup for 3 years. She showed me how to make things much easier and how to streamline the more common tasks that I use - like sales reports and budgeting. It was well worth the few hundred extra bucks I spent on her time.

[coopster]

QB here as well. We setup categories of services and categories of expenses. QB has Quick Reports that show pie charts of Income and Expenses. It's nice to be able to see where the $$$ are coming in and going out at a glance. I'm certain the other packages have similar features. Another main reason we use QB is the same as others, our accounting team supports it.

[Receptional]

Dixon, do you have a love/hate relationship with your accoutants? :)

Doesn't everyone? For the accountants, the problem with Quickbooks was the ability to change something that happened in the past. For me the problem with Sage is the inability to change something that happened in the past.

I mean honestly... working out how to put that flight over the Grand Canyon last year through the books is NOT something you want to discuss in length with the taxman. Being able to think it through to have a meeting in Colorado just after the conference needs recording just right ;)

In seriousness, Quickbooks is more versatile.

[rogerd]

The ability to change old stuff is really important for a small biz - mostly to fix screwups you make, or when you realize you omitted something major. Peachtree lets you do that, too - just go back to the period in question, and add/delete/edit as needed. It's got to drive accountants who think like auditors wild, though.

[coopster]

re: accountants

I'm still trying to get our accountants to find a way to write-off dog food as an energy expense for our office security system. I'm having trouble selling the idea to them.

[pageoneresults]

Quickbooks here too. I use the online version which is a little bit different. My CPA also uses Quickbooks and it makes life much easier come tax time. Everything I do get's an entry in QB.

[lorax]

>> write-off dog food as an energy expense

plug the dog in - via flexible hose - to your space heater the next time they come over

[Xoc]

I've used Quickbooks since 1996. Straightforward and easy to use.

[rogerd]

I think dog food falls under the "meals & entertainment" category. Only 50% deductible. Be sure to perform a billable service for the pooch.