Review of Quickbooks
April 26, 2011
The makers of America's dominant home finance software, Quicken, have done the same thing for small-business operators that they did for budget-weary householders with Quicken itself. QuickBooks offers non-accountants an easy-to-use front end while the software produces industrial-strength spreadsheets behind the scenes. The spreadsheets then handle the bulk of bookkeeping needs. To set up the books, the software lets a user select from a variety of business types, ranging from attorneys to doctors, plumbers to publishers, contractors to consultants. It then asks questions that lets it set up a payroll, prepare invoice forms, create an accounts receivable/accounts payable budget and handle payroll taxes, sales taxes and other legal requirements. The software then prints out a blizzard of paperwork, including bills, W-2 forms, 1099 tax forms, 1040s, and Rolodex-type cards for every customer. It prints out payroll checks complete with withholding, Social Security deductions, etc.. It even writes the checks to pay the business' bills. Finally, it includes wide-ranging advice on such matters as how to obtain a federal tax number and how to avoid lawsuits when firing employees. Great!
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
