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Pros and cons of QuickBooks for business finances
QuickBooks is an accounting software package. It was written by Intuit. It has been around for quite a while, more than fifteen years, and sells more copies of the software than any other off the shelf accounting software system. It runs on Microsoft Windows and also has an Apple version. It is popular among small businesses. There are several different versions of the software so that the small business can buy a version that is suitable to their business needs. Depending on the version, the price of the software varies, but is relatively inexpensive. It starts at just $100. There is also the option of subscribing to the online version of QuickBooks for a monthly fee of about twenty dollars a month.
Why is QuickBooks so popular? Is it the best software for the job? Let's look at the pros and cons for using QuickBooks begin with the pros.
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- QuickBooks is affordable. If you only have one accountant or a few employees who keep the books, then QuickBooks is a good affordable solution.
- It has basic accounts payable and accounts receivable functions such as creating checks, invoices, reports, inventory, payroll, time entry, setting prices and processing credit cards. QuickBooks is user friendly and intuitive.
- There are different versions and price ranges so that you pay for only for what you need.
- It works with Microsoft Office, which are the most widely used word processing and spreadsheet programs.
- You can use ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) to access your data with third party software, or your own applications.
- It is customizable so that you can use the software to work that your business works.
- You can try it before you buy it.
- Because there are so many QuickBooks users, there is lots of community support on the internet.
- QuickBooks runs on Windows and the Mac, so you don't need to buy special or expensive computers.
- You have the option of using the online version if you travel a lot and need to access the system from the internet.
- There are lots of training resources available for QuickBooks.
What are some of the cons?
- For larger businesses with more than twenty accountants, it may not be the best fit. Although QuickBooks has customizable functionality, it is still limited in what you can customize.
- If you use the online version quite a bit, then you need to keep paying the monthly fee. Your valuable data will be in the hands of a third party company, and this creates additional data security concerns. You also need to beware of hackers.
- QuickBooks is made for ease of use, and does not have all the accounting methodologies that some accountants use to calculate and analyze.
- There are limits on the number of entries that you can enter into the system. For example, the number of products that your company offers is limited in QuickBooks.
- Like any software, QuickBooks cannot be all things to all people. You may find that the version that you bought does not have a particular feature, and you may need to spend a whole lot more money for the enterprise version in order to have that feature.
Overall, QuickBooks is a good solid accounting system for a small business, but with a few limitations.
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