Peachtree vs. Quickbooks accounting software

[etouchware]

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[InfoSourcing]

Hi,

If you are a small business owner requiring 2-3 user license then I would suggest Quickbooks as it is very easy to use, you get plenty of accountants who know how to use quickbooks and get you started.

If you are looking to have e-commerce websites then make sure to go for hosted solution to keep your cost at minimum and the decision should be based on whether that e-commerce software has capability to integrate with Quickbooks for orders export.

You can also consider to evaluate MS small business accounting (coming soon) but I wouldn't go live with it just to make sure that it is "bug free". Once you outgrow this solutions then you need to re-evaluate for integrated software like Net Suite ...

Your best bet would be using Quickbooks to get started, also check this website http://www.2020software.com for evaluating accounting softwares.

[bpjsurf]

I would agree with most elements of the last post except the part about going for a "hosted solution". How does a hosted solution offer any advantage over a solution that is not hosted?

To be honest there are a number of rants in communities about "hosted solutions" Basically you put all your eggs in the "hosters" basket and leave your entire business to potential disaster should the hoster "go out of business", "be purchased by a competitor", "discontinue support for the solution as they migrate to new technology" there are a number of reasons why a small business should not go with a hosted solution. Its not a feature its a potential disaster.

Hosted solutions do not cost less to operate then other non hosted solutions and consider that when it comes to cost a merchant is at the mercy of the hoster for many items. An example would be Merchant accounts which many hosted solutions insist that you get a merchant account through the hosted solution provider at a rate which is much higher then the normal. I personally have seen hosted solutions chargeing 2.5% higher then what a merchant could have received had they shopped for their merchant account. In many cases that is a tax on profit which can amount to many thousands of dollars in a year. Also Many hosted solutions charge by transactions, charge by number of products, charge by month and charge by volume of orders.

So be aware that there are many great solutions available to a merchant. Some work with accounting software, some with shipping providers and others with merchant account providers. IF your going to be a successful merchant you have to think through all aspests of a tranaction including the costs for a transaction and then choose a solution which matches your business needs.

Beware of hosted solutions that dump their license fee costs to cut a deal. They only cust their license fees because they know they can recover that cost and make more off a customer from other hidden fees.

I hope that helps.

Brian

[InfoSourcing]

Hi,

Well I agree with your points on hosted solution, let's assume a business owner buys a in-house hosting e-commerce solution and in order to do so he has to plan for the following.

a. Hardware
1. Server - $$$$
2. Internet connection - atleast DSL/Cable with dedicated IP address - $$$
3. Network Management - $$$

b. Softwares
1. OS - $$$
2. Firewall - $$$
3. Backup plans - $$
4. Maintenance against virus, spam, hackers etc - $$$
5. Credit Card softwares such as Payflow Pro/Authroize.net etc - $$$

Oops I forgot to add the most important thing "Time" the business owner got to find some valuable time to setup the hardware and software mentioned above (remember he is just 2 employee size company OR he has to spend $$$$ for hiring consultants to setup the above)

Now should the business owner figure out all of this OR should he focus on his core values, i,e business ?

So there is Pros and Cons in both ways, identify what you have and what you can afford and then move forward. I have worked on both kind of solutions, of course "one size doesn't fit all" and hosted solution may not fit all business owners neither hosting at your own location may not fit everyone ...