Business Accounting with QuickBooks
I admit, ever since I started my own business the accounting has been a sore spot for me. I tried and used different products to get the job done and for the last few years I used a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet as my accounting system. Given the fact that my business is not very complicated and I do not have to deal with sales tax or employees Excel did the job Ok. But still – it was always a pain to update and my motivation to do it was definitely not the best one, too. I had all necessary numbers in my head (I know that this is a common mistake many small business owners do and I admit I made the same mistake) – why would I need a complicated bookkeeping software or even “worse” an expensive accountant?! If this sounds familiar, then read on.
When I did my taxes for 2009 just a few weeks ago it became clear to me that I needed to change something, because transferring the data from my spreadsheet into TurboTax and the proper tax forms was just painfully slow and frustrating. I also realized that my business had grown over the years and that it was time to make changes. There had to be a better bookkeeping solution for me and so I started researching.
My business is an online business and many of the tools I use are software-based and many of those software applications are Internet-based. Working online has many benefits for me and in the end that’s what I went with. I knew QuickBooks from many years ago. I actually bought a version of the desktop QuickBooks Pro when I had started my business, but found it to complicated and overkill. My research started with QuickBooks Pro and then I discovered the online version “QuickBooks Pro Online”. There is also a basic QuickBooks version available online, but in the end I went with the Pro version.
Being upset and frustrated as I was, I decided to give it a try. QuickBooks Pro (and Basic) Online come with a 30 day trial and a money back guarantee + you can export your data into a desktop version of QuickBooks as needed. I had compared the charts between online and offline QuickBooks and the different versions of “QuickBooks Online” (Basic and Pro) and signed up for the Pro version accordingly.
I chose the online version of QuickBooks for several reasons. While the feature list itself is long, a few more personal reasons made the me do what I did.
1) Using QuickBooks Online allows me to work from any computer and any location as long as I have Internet. I am very mobile and so this is a very important deal for me.
2) The monthly fees are not out of the ordinary and a 12 month online usage is only a few bucks higher compared to buying a boxed version of QuickBooks Pro. And since I am not that motivated to do my accounting all the time, the monthly service charge on my credit card will definitely motivate me to use the product (I hate paying for something I do no use). This motivation is definitely worth it for me.
3) No data is stored on my hard drive. I cannot lose the data nor do I have to fear a hard drive crash. Of course I still need to do a backup of my data, but I would have to do that no matter what. So, this makes me feel much more secure about my data.
4) I love how intuitive QuickBooks Pro Online is. The starter interview was very good and I was up and running within minutes. When I started configuring accounts and categories I ran into 2 issues and found a solution in the QuickBooks help library within moments. With my minor bookkeeping knowledge I was able to completely customize the environment easily. I was impressed.
5) The Online banking piece is a very nice feature and QuickBooks Pro Online hooks right into my bank accounts and helps me to get transaction into the system. And the system is self-learning and so updating my accounts and registers is very easy. The only negative thing here are that PayPal is not yet supported (they are working on it though) and that my bank uses an additional security feature (security questions) which QB cannot answer. So, the bank account update is manually initiated, but then it goes and does the work. Most of my transactions are recognized and properly categorized (I like it a lot).
6) I love the company reports in QuickBooks. I had all the financial numbers in my head before, but once you see the reports in QuickBooks Pro Online it is an eye-opening experience in my opinion. Why did I wait that long to implement something like this?
7) Use the Free Trial (I did) + Money Back Guarantee (not needed for me – I am sticking to this solution).
So, I was not ready for QuickBooks when I started my business many years ago, but I am definitely now. QuickBooks Pro definitely has evolved a lot and the online version is exactly what fits my needs even being that non-accountant that I am and without the need for a accounting degree or training. There is still customization work to do (I want more categories that I need to create first as an example), but overall this turned out to be a great product for me.
Take a look at the feature list of QuickBooks Online here and compare. You can also sign up for the 30 Day FREE trial and check it out.
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