Product Reviews

Keeping your accounts in order can be a real trial, particularly if you are trying to run a business at the same time. What you need is a simple intuitive tool that can help you keep on top of your book-keeping. Intuit's QuickBooks is a small business accounting package designed to provide an easy way for users keep track of their business finances.

QuickBooks builds on the strengths of the personal finance tools that were available in its predecessor, Quicken, which is being laid to rest as new QuickBooks products are launched. Quicken was discontinued at the beginning of this year, but product support will continue until January 2006.

If you're looking for a personal finance application, the best bet is QuickBooks SimpleStart, which was released late last year. The target market for SimpleStart is single users who have little knowledge of accounting or technology, although it is designed with home-based or startup businesses in mind rather than personal finances. The other three members of the 2005 QuickBooks family are Regular, Pro and Accountant. We looked at the Pro version, as this covers the widest range of uses. It can handle businesses with up to 10 staff based in a single office, at home or at multiple sites, working in a registered or unregistered company.

QuickBooks

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is aimed at non-technical users and it is made to be as simple to use as possible. Navigating through the information is a matter of clicking on the section you want from the Navigator list on the left-hand side of the screen. You can then click on whichever function you want from the icons in the main window. Each option you choose is accompanied by a context-sensitive pop-up Follow Me Help window, which tackles common queries and offers explanations of complex features such as payroll and VAT returns.

There are interactive tutorials covering all the main features within the software, which guide you through all the necessary steps. Furthermore, an improved Find feature makes searching for information on clients much simpler. You can search for what you are looking for based on a whole range of criteria, including the date, job, transaction type and invoice number.

There are a few extras that you can pay for. Bottomline's BACSTEL-IP, for example, enables you to carry out electronic employee payments online, but costs £25 per month for up to 30 transactions; any further transactions attract an extra charge.

For incoming electronic payments QuickBooks now supports online card payments from WorldPay. This means your business can accept payment from all major debit and credit cards. However, you have to pay a £100 setup fee, £100 annual subscription and transaction costs. The final paid-for addition is electronic filing of payroll returns. This allows you to file your returns to the Inland Revenue online. It entitles businesses to benefit from a scheme worth £825 over five years. This costs £100 per year.

QuickBooks Pro is more than sufficient for a small business, but there is a more high-end version, Accountant, for growing businesses with over 10 staff. This can be used by professionals too, as it allows them to work on clients' books remotely.