Best Accounting Software - Microsoft or QuickBooks?

Ever since Microsoft purchased Great Plains Accounting Software, they have been cleaning it up and integrating it more with MS Office, which can be both a good and bad thing. Their latest version, Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting Software 2006, continues to improve and now lets up to five simultaneous users access the accounting records. It all starts with a wizard program to set up the basic outlines and data for your business needs - accounts, customer data, product and inventory information, reporting, etc. MS allows substantial links to the regular MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) along with Access database feeds.

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And alas for poor Intuit, they also allow for easy importing of Quickbook accounting records for those customers migrating to SBA from Quickbooks. While the basic accounting functions of Small Business Accounting are robust and well designed, it is still lacking when it comes to inventory accounting and payroll issues - only FIFO inventory accounting is offered, which may not suit every business. Reporting is satisfactory, with a bevy of options to choose from, although larger companies may find themselves looking for more. In general, the basic accounting reports for accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory, payroll and headcount, P&L, Income Statement, etc. will meet most small business accounting needs. The actual screen layout is similar in design to MS Outlook, with paned windows. The left pane quick menu links to all common tasks while the right pane holds report and data entry and search results screen, as required. Accessing and updating accounting information and customer information can be done with just 1 or 2 clicks. Overall, the software still seems to run slow even on powerful PCs - perhaps typical of MS bloated programming that attempts to do everything..

Buying MS Small Business Accounting

MS SBA is available at all office supply stores and of course at all online computer and software retailers. Price is $199, with discounts for competitive upgrades if you are switching from Peach Tree Accounting or Quickbooks. Accounting software is one of those things most companies are reluctant to change, and with good reason. If you are happy with your current accounting software and don't worry about syncing to Outlook, there is no compelling reason at this point to move to MS Small Business Accounting. In the final analysis, our recommended solution is still Quickbooks Pro.

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