Posted by Commie B on March 25, 2008 at 1:31 am
The first part of this article discussed the things that needed to be a part of a small business accounting package, and what help the existing software in the market typically needs, and whether or not a small business can actually do without the help of an accountant or book-keeper. Let’s put all of that aside, and now simply talk about the accounting software available in the market as is. The packages I have used, and most of my clients use, and ones that are available almost globally will be the subject of discussion here.
Of the four packages mentioned here, QuickBooks and SAGE are scalable from small business to medium business. So before I dwell into which is superior and which is not, if you think you have a business that will grow or develop at a rapid pace, and will outgrow the circa definition of a Small Business, maybe you’ll have to stick to one of these. That’s not to say that Peachtree or Microsoft Office accounting cannot support medium size business. It can, with intelligent, creative (but legal) accounting.
QuickBooks – The Good
In my opinion, QuickBooks is probably the most comprehensive of out of the four packages (QuickBooks, Peachtree, Sage & Microsoft Office Accounting). It provides relatively efficient functionality, with a standard interface, customizable reporting, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Feature-wise, it probably contains more than any of the other three pieces of software; it will do the basic accounting, invoicing, payroll subscriptions, credit card transactions, GL, PL & SL, prepaid (well, sort of), customer statements, financial reporting, etc. etc. etc. Quickbooks ALSO has some concept of drill down functionality, which can be relatively insightful at the click of a button.
Another area that QuickBooks has a big plus in its wide market area and availability of support. It is relatively easy to find QuickBooks consultants (certified or not). The support network is out there, and their own web site can guide you on where and how to find support. Plus, if you’re in the US, QuickBooks is the software of choice for many US Universities, making most accounting graduates QuickBooks literate, if not experts.
In addition to the friendly interface, QuickBooks is relatively self explanatory. The titles in the menus, the screens, the interface, the ease of use, all makes it a very efficient piece of software, especially if you’re a computer literate accountant. Even if you’re not, the learning curve is not too high.
QuickBooks – The Bad
From my position, I really don’t have much bad to say about QuickBooks. I’ve been using it for several years, and functionality wise, there’s really not much wrong with it (in comparison with other accounting / bookkeeping software in the market). The only possible drawback is that it’s ultra feature richness may make it confusing for the not so computer literate accountant/bookkeeper.
Technically, QuickBooks has one pitfall. From year to year, newer versions come out, and compatibility has been an issue in the past. If you upgrade, you have to convert data, and although it’s not that tedious with the new version, it would be much simpler if Intuit simply made Quickbooks backward compatible, which it probably doesn’t for reasons of profitability.
Sage – The Good
Really, I don’t have much to say here. In the near future, you will see me as both a QuickBooks Pro Advisor and a member of the Sage Accountancy Club, and that’s because it is good for business, and the UK is infested with Sage Line 50. It’s an okay piece of software. The interface is relatively standard, and it can pass off as a bookkeeping / accounting software, although all the others will give it a run for the money, and probably beat it.
Sage – The Bad
There’s a lot to say here, but I won’t bad mouth them too much. No drill down functionality, unfriendly interface, unfriendly usability, restrictive, poor layout, etc. etc. Clearly, you can tell that this is my least favourite software, so I’m going to stop talking about it now.
Peachtree – The Good
Peachtree is a fantastic piece of software. Although I trained on QuickBooks Pro in university, the first piece of accounting software I used on the job was Peachtree Accounting 2006. I was pretty reluctant about it first, but as it turns out, Peachtree is a wonderful piece of software.
It’s a less dull, less serious looking version of Quickbooks, and offers virtually all the functionality of QuickBooks. There’s less gray (unlike Quickbooks & Sage); the interface and layout are very clean, the different templates are customizable (as they are in QuickBooks), and it offers all the supplementary functionality (credit cards, good journal layouts, invoicing, POs, SOs, etc. etc.). All in all, this is a great piece of software, and is a wonderful place to start for any small business. It’s not to heavy on the pocket, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how it works. Oh, and Peachtree offers some drill down functionality like QuickBooks (unlike Sage).
Peachtree – The Bad
Peachtree is only US compliant. The software is not available for purchase or use outside the United States, and it doesn’t support multi-currency. What’s worse is that Sage has bought Peachtree from Best Software, and it has become Sage’s way into the US market. As long as they don’t make drastic changes to Peachtree, it is a fantastic piece of small business accounting software.
Microsoft Office Accounting – The Good
Okay, this is Microsoft’s first step into the Accounting domain. Originally termed Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006, the software was renamed to Microsoft Office Accounting, and rightly so. It’s a sharp mixture of QuickBooks and Peachtree functionality the Microsoft Way. What’s good here is that this is one of the very few small business Accounting Packages on the market that will support multi currency without any issues, and it can probably pass off as a software that doesn’t necessarily require you to be very accounting literate. Why, you ask? It shares a striking resemblance to Microsoft Office, hence the name Microsoft Accounting. The idea here is that if anyone can use Microsoft Office Products, they should be able to use Microsoft Accounting.
Frankly, I have been impressed with Microsoft’s first try at Accounting Software. It may need some bug weeding, but all in all, this is a good starting point for Microsoft, and after months and years of using QuickBooks, Peachtree & Sage, it didn’t make much for me to get comfortable with Microsoft Office Accounting; just a couple of hours. This is a very affordable software for most small businesses, and provides the BASIC functionality of Quickbooks & Peachtree, without passing off as a complex, confusing or difficult to use accounting/bookkeeping package.
Microsoft office Accounting – The Bad
At this point, since this is something that is actively being developed my Microsoft, credit card processing, payroll etc., though existent, are slightly limited. Although most small businesses don’t use these features from within the software, they are useful considerations, as a small business truly sees the use and efficiency of the software if functions like payroll are managed from within the software. This software is certainly scalable, but at this point it’s a very good basic package for small business, and scalability is yet to be seen.
I’m sorry I’ve had to cut this article short. I had intended to write very detailed reviews, but I just haven’t been able to find the time to do it.
If you’re in the UK and looking for help with any of the above products, feel free to contact me or VAFTA Solutions Limited. Ultimately, what’s best for you depends on your business habits, practice, requirements, and your accountant/bookkeeper.
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Posted by Commie B on March 22, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Over the past 7 years, I’ve served in various accounting-related positions, and I have seen all different kinds of people throw around different kinds of words pertaining to accountants and bookkeepers. The three most common ones are bookkeepers, accountants, and beancounters. Well, some might say nobody really gives a damn what people say, but in a world where corporations rely solely on image to get business and ruin the economy, classifications in your field followed by the right subsequent designation/job title can be very important to the success of an accountant.
So, what is a Bookkeeper?
Let’s start off by saying that all accountants need to know how to do bookkeeping. Bookkeeping, without getting into too much of the history, is simply the act of keeping books using the Double Entry System. As a bookkeeper, you maintain ledger accounts in all the different ledgers, and maintain all subsidiary documents like the cash book, etc. Sounds similar to what an accountant might do, right? Well, yes, it is. However, the role of a bookkeeper ends at the Trial Balance. Once your accounting period ends and the ledger accounts are closed to produce a trial balance, and once the trial balance is produced, it is ideally handed over to an accountant to generate the statements or reports.
So, what is an Accountant?
An accountant is an advanced bookkeeper, who is familiar the typical financial statements: i.e., Profit & Loss Account / Income Statement, Trading Account, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, etc. etc. But keep in mind that being an accountant does not mean that you are familiar with the statement. The key is to know what goes into producing such a statement. Income Statements and Balance Sheets are relatively simple and standard, but then the cash flow is a statement most accountants struggle with, and its not their fault. The typical cash flow statement isn’t exactly designed for efficiency, and that’s where the roles of different accountants come in.
So, to sum it up, an accountant uses the information produced by a bookkeeper to generate meaningful financial statements and reports. An accountant MUST have comprehensive bookkeeping knowledge, and must continue to practice his/her double entry/ T-Accounts skills, or really, he/she won’t make for a very good accountant.
Public Accountants will NOT be covered in this discussion. They are also known as auditors. We all know they don’t warrant much discussion.
Financial Accountant vs. Management Accountant
Okay, this is an unusually fancy difference between Accountants, and I think it exists primarily because of the politicization and commercialization of institutions like CIMA and IMA.
Financial Accountant is basically classified as someone who prepares financial statements and reports, i.e., your standard P & L, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, Aged Receivables, Aged Payables, etc.
A Management Accountant is supposed to be someone who converts these financial statements into reports that management needs for their analysis, which should ideally make a management accountant a mix of a corporate finance expert and a financial accountant. As interesting as it is, almost ALL good financial accounts have the knowledge needed to for the role of the Management Accountant, if you are an Accountant who can’t understand what the needs and requirements of management are reporting-wise and you cannot deliver them, well, then you should rethink your career.
Let’s be clear on one thing: Bookkeeping and Accounting are complimentary work; one cannot exist without the other. In Small Businesses, you typically only have one person doing everything (as unwise as that may be for a multitude of other reasons).
I’m going to write another article on typical job titles / designations very soon, because in the Accounting field these have become extremely diverse and confusing. It’s more fancy work, ultimately the commercializtion of the profession, but then that’s what the world loves most.
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Posted by Commie B on March 7, 2008 at 1:58 am
Lots…
Last few days I have kept pretty busy, and I think it’s going to get like that, but I’m going to work Asifism.com into my schedule too.
I’m currently setting up a new business (more information on that will come soon). I’m also in the process of working out with a franchise issuing organization to purchase an accounting/bookkeeping franchise (more information on that will follow too). In addition, I am studying for CIMA and actively working on DesignerPottery.com (http://www.designerpottery.com/blog). I need some help on this, so if this even remotely sounds like something you can help out with, please visit the blog and give me insight, feedback, or simply contact me for how you can help.
Of course, business is my priority. As part of marketing my accounting/bookkeeping consultancy, I am launching, in conjunction with VAFTA Solutions Limited (http://www.vafta.com) an accounting blog, which will start with me completing the second part of the accounting software article, where I will discuss and compare various accounting software. Consider it a QuickBooks Vs. Peachtree Vs. Sage Vs. Microsoft Office Accounting. Oh, and for the record, Sage sucks. Don’t buy it if you can avoid it. Get Quickbooks or Peachtree or Microsoft Accounting. They’re all three about 10 times better than Sage.
Basically, this new blog/section is about the following: many modern accountants/bookkeepers are able to use accounting software, but really, when you have a complex issue at hand, you always need to go back to your basic T-Accounts, i.e., the debits and the credits. I’ll start off with the basics, and as I study for CIMA, I’m also getting a refresher of all the basics. In addition, and this is probably going to be extremely productive and useful for some accountants or professionals, as I embark upon this journey to discuss accounting in hopefully an unambiguous way, unlike any other damn book (published by CIMA or Gleim or Kaplan or anyone else), I will point out the differences in the way the accounting is done under US GAAP and the way it is done under UK GAAP / IFRS. This itself is a bit of gap bridging activity for me, since almost all of my practical experience is US GAAP driven, and now I have to adjust to the IFRS. Please note that the differences arise at the basic level, and are carried through to the final stages, and there are problems if you hold a reluctant frame of mind about how the accounting needs to be done. Consistency past borders is hard to find in this profession, and that can get frustrating.
In addition, I will discuss some of the certification processes along the way. I am a member of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) in the USA, although I never really got a chance to sit for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exam while I was there. In the UK, CMA doesn’t mean much, but CIMA means everything for good financial & management accountants. So, I’m indulging in CIMA now, unfortunately, from the basics, and I’ll explain why when discussing the certification.
However, stay put for this new set of articles and lessons in the Accounting & Finance Category of Asifism.com. In addition, these lessons may be reproduced on http://www.vafta.com/blog, but I’m not so sure of that. If anyone is interested in writing on accounting, please be sure to email me at asif[at]asifism.com for more information.
For those of you who come here for QuickPlay. That will keep coming, as will more information regarding it that comes irrelevant. I’ve had some new problems with my HP dv2415, and I haven’t really had time to key that in, but I’ll be discussing that too. More Memoirs of the HP dv2000 series! Please, the offer for the DVB Card/Software article is still on the table, but unless people are serious about it, we won’t be spending time putting that together. Please vote on that:
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In addition, if you have hard success or failure with HP QuickPlay via Asifism.com, please let me know and leave comments on what needs to be changed.
Of course, as I get time inbetween, I’m also dying to give my cynical political insight on things like the triple victory of Hillary Clinton over Obama (in Texas, Ohio etc.). And of course, I’m dying to put down a few lines on Bush backing up McCain, and John McCain being very happy about it. Like anyone cares what George Bush thinks anymore!
Well, that’s all for now folks! Let’s get this rolling!
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