Quickbooks or alterantive?

[senorbonifas]

I am starting up a business (eventually through the Web), but for now I am staying with eBay to get the word out. My worry right now is that I wont be able to stick to Microsoft Access and Excel for all my information. I need something that can convert (especially for eBay) PayPal transactions into sales receipts without me having to manually enter every bit of information like I do in Access. Can quickbooks do this? Also, I do need a software program that will still help me just as much when I put the website up (by then I will accept most payment forms). I understand that Quickbooks is the most popular SBM program, but it does cost quite a bit. I may be willing to pay for it, but is it worth it? And what edition would be best suited for my needs (as some editions have functions I may never use)?

Thanks again.

[roban]

I have been fortunate in being a Beta tester for Quickbooks for the last 3 versions (7, 8 and 9) and I cannot live without it. I understand your concern about it having more functions than you could possibly use and you are probably correct in this since Intuit has been adding even more Internet functionality. These are not needed by some but once you use them you'll wonder how you ever got along without it as I did.

It is important to note that the shopping system you use should have the ability to export for Quickbooks. Cs-Cart does and that's the one I use. If you are going to be a serious e-commerce user I would strongly suggest using a cart system. The advantages are payment gateways, shipping modules, tax configuration and a database to name but a few.

[senorbonifas]

Well I would eventually need a cart system (I'm assuming this is what I would need for my future website so that consumer's can buy their products somewhere obviously). That is a must, but I need most of all: a program to easily turn my transactions into sales receipts without me entering them manually, or some form easier considering I will have so many purchases that I cannot do them all manually within a day's work. Do you see what I mean? I assume quickbooks would be more useful when I have the website, but I don't want to have to switch versions inbetween using ti for eBay and the website so I need something that work well, now.

Thank you.

[RonnieGaylord]

I have been a PC user for years and have just sold my business to start a new one. I throughout all the PCs and went MAC. Love it but now I have this issue with QB. When I read all the reviews it seems to read that the cross over product is not the same and many disappointed people are frustrated with the program. OK but now what?I need to go live by December 1st.. I need a program that will track my invoices, inventory and clients... I looked at Quicken but its just not the same... can any one who runs a business let me know what to do? thanks!

[anuddercanuck]

Several of the things I tell my clients looking for a book keeping system is:

(1) pick the type of computers that suit your business first. Don't let the limitations of accounting software you know about dictate your choice of computer or operating system. There are excellent accounting packages out there for just about every popular operating system, including Mac, Linux and Windows.

(2) your accountant works for you, not the other way around. If you're going to be doing your own accounting, get a system that suits your needs, not your accountants needs. Don't pick a piece of software just because it's what your accountant uses. They're accountants, you're not (well, if you are, you don't need this advice). Their needs are different than yours. Several reputable accounting software software firms will provide "accountants" versions for free to your accountant, so that they can read and manipulate your records. If your accountant won't adapt to your needs, get another accountant, because you don't want one that's putting their interests ahead of yours.

(3) if you're going to do your accounting, GET TRAINED in basic accounting principles. It's dangerous for a business owner to do their own accounting if they don't know what they're doing. It's a good way to fail an audit. Training is easy and straightforward, but needs to be done. You can even train yourself with a couple of books, but please do it.

(4) THEN talk someone who knows what packages are out there that will suit how you want to do things. From GNUCash (a remarkably full featured free and open source - meaning if you don't like what it does you can change it - accounting package) to MYOB, SAGE, and others, there's a whole range of products available. QuickBooks has a good reputation - but it also has serious limitations. Talk to a knowledgeable consultant who doesn't sell any particular package about what your real needs are.

If you're doing online retail, it may also be worthwhile to see if your accounting software/database (or an upgrade to your first package) can be linked to your online ordering/inventory database, to allow for proper BI (business intelligence) analysis when your business grows up.

You're going to probably be stuck with this accounting package for YEARS. It pays to put a bit of thought up front to avoid much much pain later. Most packages make it really difficult to switch to another accounting package once you've started with them. So consider yourself locked in, and if you think you're going to switch, make sure you're aware of the costs involved in transferring ALL your information from one software package to another.

Also note that if you have "special" requirements, like automatically converting paypal requests from one format to another, a half-decent programmer can probably write a program for you that does this if your chosen application doesn't do it "out of the box". Typical conversion routine like this should only take a couple days of work for an experienced consultant. The routine may also already exist out there if you know where to look.

[signboard]

I will go for Quickbook, it's easy to use for me