Accounting software

[VertigoCycles]

I know...boring...but important.

I've been using QuickBooks for years, I've always hated it, still hate it and can't help but think that there's a more efficient way of doing things. There are several online options out there that also have apps for your phone. Does anyone have a recommendation from one that they've liked?

The automatic connection to bank accounts is nice. If they can learn what expense accounts are associated with specific vendors, that's a bonus.
Year end file transfer to something that CPA's actually use is a necessity.
a phone app is a necessity, bonus is you can snap a photo of a receipt and save it in an appropriate file.
tracking order line items and being able to associate them with a client is also a necessity

Hit me.

[Tristan]

I think whatever your accountant uses / can use is important.

We made the switch to Xero a few years ago and I haven't looked back. It's cloud-hosted so you can use from any computer, and your accountant has live info, however it does require an internet connection. Easy to use for basic day-to-day tasks and seems to be reasonably powerful.

Online Accounting Software | Xero | Beautiful Accounting Software

[e-RICHIE]

I have Quicken 2003 installed and it works well atmo.

[Rody]

Holy crap, there's something better than a shoebox? :)

Looking forward to a definitive answer, as I am obviously behind the times.

[VertigoCycles]

Holy crap, there's something better than a shoebox? :)

Looking forward to a definitive answer, as I am obviously behind the times.

we live in 800 sq/ft. I don't have room for a shoebox!

[Rody]

we live in 800 sq/ft. I don't have room for a shoebox!

Sean, you gotta move back to the middle, you could slide into a 2000 sq foot house with a shop for the same price your shoe box in Portlandia would bring.

r

[Dallas Tex]

I used Peachtree for years, back in the day. That was waaaaay easier / better than QB.

[VertigoCycles]

Sean, you gotta move back to the middle, you could slide into a 2000 sq foot house with a shop for the same price your shoe box in Portlandia would bring.

r

yeah yeah...my mom sends me listings all the time.

I'm going to give Xero a shot to see if it'll work for me.

[GonaSovereign]

Sean,

I work for Intuit, so my opinion is biased. Use QuickBooks Online. It's completely different from the desktop version you've been using. It's clean and easy. You can transfer all your data existing into it. It's got apps for iPhone, Android, iPad, etc so you have your info with you everywhere. I'll happily get you set up with a trial so you can see how you like using it with your data. If you want to talk with some other manufacturers using it, let me know. -Geoff

PS: do you have an accountant? Use what they recommend.

[adarn]

I've only tried quickbooks, all of the "business people" I have talked to told me to use it too and it seems to do pretty well.

[suspectdevice]

Holy crap, there's something better than a shoebox? :)

Looking forward to a definitive answer, as I am obviously behind the times.

There is actually something great called Shoeboxed



It's pretty amazing. It'll even dump your stuff into Quickbooks for you.
Works awesome with Evernote too.
If you're not already using Evernote, you're missing out.

[GonaSovereign]

Shoeboxed is great! Snap a paper receipt w/ your phone and it's in QuickBooks. Works with email receipts as well, obviously. The Shoeboxed guys are great to work with as well.

Most bookkeepers and accountants I work with help set their clients up with the tools and then there is very little tech or accounting work to do. Receipt capture, integration with your bank, estimates, invoicing and payments tend to be the big items. Good software will also give you data that helps you improve your cashflow (which customers pay you quickly; who your best suppliers are, etc).

[Ken C]

I am a CPA who used to work in public accounting in tax, although I now work for a public utility. The firm I worked for had both QuickBooks and Peachtree. There were plusses and minuses to both, although I preferred Peachtree.

QuickBooks is nice because it is so prevalent for small business that many companies (payroll, banking, etc) have compatible interfaces for it. It is also very user-friendly which makes set up a breeze. The online version does work pretty slick for passing off an accountant's version to your CPA who can use it for your tax return, make adjusting entries and then import the changes back into your working version. Most mid and small CPA firms have QB because of how many clients use it. Now the bad. It is almost too user friendly and this causes issues. It will allow you to set up accounts without account numbers, you can delete transactions without going through the sub ledgers, this can cause your AP aging to not match your trial balance, etc. Overall it is a pretty easy program for someone without accounting knowledge to make a disaster for your accountant.

Peachtree requires a little more set up for the reports, but otherwise, in my opinion is a better program. It operates like a general ledger program should and does not allow for as much user error. It also has a much better inventory module than QB if that is important. Keep in mind that the last time I really used either program was three years ago so QB may have made some strides to catch up. If it were me I would use Peachtree.

Either program should do more than enough. I would second the recommendation to make sure whatever you choose to make sure your accountant has it at their firm as well. This may be where QB has the advantage.