10 Reasons to Use QuickBooks
QuickBooks is the ideal business accounting software for small businesses
- QuickBooks is very easy to learn and extremely forgiving
It is designed to be used by small business owners who are not accountant but who want to or have to do their own bookkeeping. QuickBooks wants to make it easy for you: from the set up to the reporting. It is also very powerful, which is great, however its power is only revealed when useful accounting data is entered.
- There are very few parts of QuickBooks that can’t be changed
No matter what the set up or how long you have been using the software, you can continuously customize it to fit your business needs better. However, retroactive changes may be time consuming because each transaction may have to be adjusted individually. Whether this is true for you will depend on what change you need to make.
- Almost all mistakes can be corrected - But beware...
Unlike traditional accounting software, QuickBooks makes it easy to do your daily tasks – even if you know that you are not entering the data correctly. At a later date, the entries can be fixed. However, this amazing ability can also be the source of many problems: that is when you make a change you did not mean to make. Again, it can be fixed relatively easily.
- It is quick!
To most small business owners who do their own bookkeeping, saving time is crucial. QuickBooks has many shortcuts that make the data entry faster and more accurate.
- The search engine is wonderful
The software gives you great search capabilities. Once you know how to use the “find” button, you’ll agree it is your best friend – in the accounting world that is.
- It has great reporting capabilities
Once the data is in QuickBooks, it can be used in multiple ways: by the reports already in the system, by new reports you can create yourself, and best of all, downloaded into excel. Most small business owners never use the reports because they don’t know that they exist.
- QuickBooks is inexpensive
There are several versions of the software (Basic, Pro, Premier, Enterprise, and on-line), and versions that are industry specific. Most businesses can function very well with the Pro ($200) or Premier ($400) version. In addition, they can keep using the same version for two or three years without any harm. After 4 years, it is wise to upgrade to a current version.
- QuickBooks has integrated payroll
Intuit, QuickBooks manufacturer, offers several payroll services from the do-it-yourself version to the all inclusive model which are competitively priced and save the owner a lot of time and energy. With the proper training and set up, the payroll can be done fairly easily.
- QuickBooks is plugged in
The software can process credit cards and has on-line payment capabilities through Intuit (extra charges apply.) It can upload many bank and credit card statements. It can email invoices and client statements. And it works great with Microsoft excel and word.
- QuickBooks is portable
The software can be installed on several computers (see license restrictions) so that you can work at different locations. Other QuickBooks users, such as your tax accountant, can upload your file onto their computer which makes it very convenient.
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Viviane I. Thompson, CPA
O: (520) 749-3546
C: (520) 481-8015
