Comments on: Tech Review: Finally an idiot-proof, free accounting software

By: OneWhoKnows

OneWhoKnows — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:25:32 +0000

You’re committing the error that most new business owners commit – demoting the importance of financial record keeping and reports. That is until you get into cash flow issues and can’t understand why or until your taxes are due. Then you will finally send all the paperwork to an accountant and want it done yesterday.

By: Tim Tav | Quickbooks Pro

Tim Tav | Quickbooks Pro — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:49:51 +0000

As with any software package, you can learn so much by trial and error but I would recommend training as you can’t afford to make mistakes with your accounts hey!!

By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:01:32 +0000

Aaron,

I’d be the last one to sing praises for Quickbooks. Years of using it and I still find some things difficult and frustrating. I’m quite sure the bloated program was responsible for bringing down one of my computers several years ago.

However, you do need to keep closer track of your numbers than you may be inclined to do. Business may be simple, but taxes aren’t. Neither is the time element of business. You would be surprised to find out how many businesses fail because they have to pay before they get paid. I think there are alternatives to QB, but I haven’t been sold on one yet.

By: Paul @ Outright.com

Paul @ Outright.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:18:23 +0000

What a great review Aaron thank you. I love the point you make, “Business is simple” – It really is; it’s the work involved with being an entrepreneur that’s a pain. I like to think we’re in the business of helping keep it simple. At the very least, I hope we make the back office a little easier; if we’re doing our job, you won’t have to worry about taxes at all.

One of the ways we’re trying to keep it simple is to use familiar language. Dawn is right, the profit/loss or P&L is the income statement; we’ve found most business owners think of it as a profit & loss, with an “income statement,” foreign to them – technically, the same thing but for the sake of the business owner, keep it simple.

Worth adding Dawn, we keep an eye on the garbage-in-garbage-out too. Outright automatically categorizes most imported transactions; and while we don’t get everything, you can pull a report of duplicates or uncategorized transactions to reduce the amount of actual bookkeeping you need to do. Not perfect yet but we’re trying!

Let us know what else we can do. You can send me an email directly to my name @ outright.com

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:42:14 +0000

Wow, yet another “accounting” package that’s not! If you’re just looking at transactions from bank and credit card statements, you’re not getting the full picture. Also, this will suffer from “garbage-in-garbage-out” of the highest order. Much will depend on the mapping of transactions to “categories.” And, FYI, “profit/loss” is just another name for an income statement.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:58:29 +0000

Another good option for online bookkeeping to consider is http://www.freshbooks.com Wichita plays nice with many other great web based services & plugins. Also offers instand hard copy invoicing in a few clicks, iPhone access and developer’s API’s an modules.

By: Suzi

Suzi — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:46:34 +0000

It sounds as if you are doing exactly what QuickBooks does in the accounting software you are speaking about. What QuickBooks doesn’t mention is that it is more than helpful to have some training. Their TV commercial says you can set up a company in 15 minutes. That’s a bit misleading if you want to set it up as a CPA firm would like it to be setup. The QuickBooks website can lead you to QuickBooks Pro Advisors, like me, to guide you thru the process and provide training. It takes a couple of hours, but then you, the business owner or bookkeeper, are on your way. And we won’t leave you stranded as your knowledge progresses. Don’t rule out QuickBooks so fast!