Posted: 11/10/2014 1:04:45 AM EDT
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I need a program to keep track of my business finances. Biggest concern is simplicity/speed of entering data. It's a small manufacturing business and I've just had some people come in and set me up to produce their product. Not being a hobby business any more due to this, I need to keep meticulous track of every dime.
Cost is an issue too, but I'm flexible. Having inventory tracking would be great as well. It's a gun business and paper bound books are starting to suck. |
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My dad has used quickbooks for the better part of a decade (pretty close to 2 decades now)... I believe it may be the best option out there, but it isn't very good. It's like when election time comes around and you have to pick between a democratic and a BS career politician republican that comes from a super liberal area (may as well be a democrat). Yes, you normally vote for the republican but it's not because he is good, or that you like him, it's just that he's better than the other option.
Dad always has problems with it, especially if he recently upgraded versions etc. It's not uncommon to log on one day and "look at that, every single scrap of my business financials has disappeared for the last 6 months". Often that last day of information that is still there can be traced to be the day before an update, change, etc. For some reason after time has passed it just seems to make stuff disappear from that date to present. You'll be going fine, entering data as normal for months and everything is there, and then the next day everything from XYZ date that you made an upgrade etc will be gone... He has to make frequent backups due to this, and it's extremely frustrating. Unfortunately, he can't find a better program that serves the same purpose. |
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Quoted:
My dad has used quickbooks for the better part of a decade (pretty close to 2 decades now)... I believe it may be the best option out there, but it isn't very good. It's like when election time comes around and you have to pick between a democratic and a BS career politician republican that comes from a super liberal area (may as well be a democrat). Yes, you normally vote for the republican but it's not because he is good, or that you like him, it's just that he's better than the other option. Dad always has problems with it, especially if he recently upgraded versions etc. It's not uncommon to log on one day and "look at that, every single scrap of my business financials has disappeared for the last 6 months". Often that last day of information that is still there can be traced to be the day before an update, change, etc. For some reason after time has passed it just seems to make stuff disappear from that date to present. You'll be going fine, entering data as normal for months and everything is there, and then the next day everything from XYZ date that you made an upgrade etc will be gone... He has to make frequent backups due to this, and it's extremely frustrating. Unfortunately, he can't find a better program that serves the same purpose. Sounds like operator error. Quickbooks is an EXCELLENT product. Is your conclusion that "it isn't very good" based on the upgrade issues that your Dad has had, or are you an accountant, and you don't believe that it is a good accounting program? |
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Quoted:
Sounds like operator error. Quickbooks is an EXCELLENT product. Quoted:
Sounds like operator error. Quickbooks is an EXCELLENT product. That's entirely possible. But if there is/was an error made it wasn't an intuitive, easily understood thing. And his most recent problems are NOT an isolated case. He has fought with problems on it for years. He runs 3 different businesses with it and it's always giving him fits. It could be operator error, I don't know. But an accounting program that is targeted to small business should probably be a bit easier for a small business owner to use to prevent operator error. Quoted:
Is your conclusion that "it isn't very good" based on the upgrade issues that your Dad has had, or are you an accountant, and you don't believe that it is a good accounting program? My conclusion is based upon the fact that it isn't an intuitive program and that it seems to be buggy. It is getting better; the program was HORRIBLE in the mid-90's when dad first got it. It's a lot better now, but still not without issues. As far as the accounting part of it goes, it works well if you don't have any glitches. Like I said, it's very likely the best thing out there, its just the lesser of evils IMHO. |
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Quoted:
Zoho Books, Xero are both good. I detest Quickbooks. Objectively, Peachtree (or any other Sage product) blows it clean out of the water, and I curse Sage's existence daily. I like Sage 50 (used to be Peachtree). But we have used it in our family business for 25 years, so we have quiet the handle on it. We only curse it 2-3 times a week 
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Quoted:
That's entirely possible. But if there is/was an error made it wasn't an intuitive, easily understood thing. And his most recent problems are NOT an isolated case. He has fought with problems on it for years. He runs 3 different businesses with it and it's always giving him fits. It could be operator error, I don't know. But an accounting program that is targeted to small business should probably be a bit easier for a small business owner to use to prevent operator error. My conclusion is based upon the fact that it isn't an intuitive program and that it seems to be buggy. It is getting better; the program was HORRIBLE in the mid-90's when dad first got it. It's a lot better now, but still not without issues. As far as the accounting part of it goes, it works well if you don't have any glitches. Like I said, it's very likely the best thing out there, its just the lesser of evils IMHO. Quoted:
Quoted:
Sounds like operator error. Quickbooks is an EXCELLENT product. That's entirely possible. But if there is/was an error made it wasn't an intuitive, easily understood thing. And his most recent problems are NOT an isolated case. He has fought with problems on it for years. He runs 3 different businesses with it and it's always giving him fits. It could be operator error, I don't know. But an accounting program that is targeted to small business should probably be a bit easier for a small business owner to use to prevent operator error. Quoted:
Is your conclusion that "it isn't very good" based on the upgrade issues that your Dad has had, or are you an accountant, and you don't believe that it is a good accounting program? My conclusion is based upon the fact that it isn't an intuitive program and that it seems to be buggy. It is getting better; the program was HORRIBLE in the mid-90's when dad first got it. It's a lot better now, but still not without issues. As far as the accounting part of it goes, it works well if you don't have any glitches. Like I said, it's very likely the best thing out there, its just the lesser of evils IMHO. Quickbooks was originally (maybe still is) marketed as an accounting program for non-accountants. It's a big fat lie. While simpler than many other packages, it is EASY for a non-accountant to screw stuff up. Usually over time, and it often gets so bad it requires expensive professional help to get it fixed. Hiring an accountant/QuickBooks expert to get things properly set up, and to do some training for the user(s) would be money well spent. |