Is QuickBooks Right For Your Business?

QuickBooks has been the most popular off-the-shelf accounting software package for small businesses since the mid-1990s. There are many versions of QuickBooks available for small businesses to choose from, including Simple Start, Pro, Premier, Premier Industry Specific versions, and Enterprise Solutions. Okay, now which one is right for your specific business?

Is your business a start-up business, where you are running the business part-time from your home? Do you have a lot of inventory or services that you provide to your customers or clients? What type of business do you have? Service? Retail? Construction or Contractor? Professional? Non-Profit?

Is your business a going concern? Are you switching to QuickBooks from another accounting package? How many employees does your business have that will need to access QuickBooks simultaneously?

Opps. I bet you didn't think of all these questions when you purchased QuickBooks from the office supply store, did you? You purchased QuickBooks Pro when you really needed the Premier version (with industry specific versions). Or did you need the Enterprise Solutions version because you have more than 5 simultaneous users?

What features does your business need to run efficiently? Do you know which version of QuickBooks best meets these needs? Each version of QuickBooks adds more features, more usability, more security (Enterprise Solutions). Each version of QuickBooks is also more expensive. How many users will be using QuickBooks simultaneously? The number of user licenses needs to be taken into account when purchasing the software. Simple Start only allows one user. Pro and Premier allow from 1 to 5 users. You MUST purchase Enterprise Solutions for more than 5 simultaneous users (up to 30 maximum users).

Did you consider the online version of QuickBooks? Does the online version meet your specific needs? The online version is the only version that does not require updates. But the online version does not offer some of the features available in the desktop version.

If your business is considering using QuickBooks, you need to sit down and analyze all of the features that you will require, including the number of users, how many list items (this includes customers, vendors, classes, inventory/non-inventory/service items, etc.). You also need to know whether or not your business might need additional software that will work with QuickBooks - such as a retail or manufacturing business that has a lot of inventory.

Another consideration to remember is this: Does your accountant know and use QuickBooks? If not, you may need to change accountants or consider using another accounting program.

If you need help in determining whether or not QuickBooks is right for your business, please contact me by email at mastertype@mabspc.com. I will be happy to consult with you on which version of QuickBooks is right for your business. If it is determined that QuickBooks is right for your business, I will even help you install the software and get it setup properly so you can begin using the software.