What do you use for accounting? Anyone use Quicken Home and Business? What Version QB

[cityview]

I used Quickbooks 2008 for 11 years, but I bought a new computer for the new year, and I can't install it on there... Quickbooks is nolonger activating 2008 installs.. urgh. So I kept my old computer running through now to finish up my books for 2018.

So I have my books done through the EOY 2018 in a QB file from my old PC, but QB is so complicated and expensive, it seems like overkill for a car wash... I don't write any checks ever, don't need any bank syncing, and I hired an accountant for my other businesses, so don't do any of the complex stuff anymore... I also do everything I can to avoid subscription services, although Quickbooks Desktop Pro isn't off the table.

I was going to just probably move over to Excel or quicken, but I thought I'd see on here if anyone else has any other recommendations.

QB plus is $720/yr... Is that really necessary if you have 1099 contractors? Desktop Pro is what I'd probably get, but thats somehow $200 and $300/yr to update?

10-15 years ago when I was first getting started I did a bunch of research, and I know now there's a ton of new software solutions I'd never heard of. I really just care to have monthly financial statements and EOY statements for taxes. I don't need anything else... No bill pay, no check writing, no magical anything else.

I searched on here and it looks like a few people piped up about using QB, but I thought I'd ask if anyone used something else... I even thought about just going back to Quicken home and business, since it can import easily into turbotax or Quickbooks.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[slash007]

Normal QB Pro is only around $100. You wont' have to update it for a few years. That's what I use just to reconcile and for EOY reports etc.

 

[cityview]

Slash- I see a 1 year subscription to Desktop Pro Standard for $149, or the actual software for your computer is $299.00 (Available for $199 "on sale" just about everywhere). Any idea where a $100 version is?

I even looked "back in time" and as far back as 2011 its still $150.

 

[slash007]

Sorry, just checked and I had gotten a deal on it. It's currently $149 at Sam's Club for the Pro desktop version.

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/quick...-software/prod22450383.ip?xid=plp_product_1_1

 

[mjwalsh]

I tried both Quicken & Quickbooks. If any of you have the time to get acquainted with a database program preferably OPEN SOURCE ... IMHO it is the most practical way. You can still output to spreadsheet from reports so it seems so much more future proof.

 

[Jeff_L]

QB online, not the cheapest solution, but I can access it from any device and updates are done on their end not mine. Been using it for a few years now. Also gives me an accountant login so mine can get in whenever she needs to and I don’t have to prepare a file and send over.

 

[cityview]

I tried both Quicken & Quickbooks. If any of you have the time to get acquainted with a database program preferably OPEN SOURCE ... IMHO it is the most practical way. You can still output to spreadsheet from reports so it seems so much more future proof.

Im a bit confused. I run a software development company as my day job... Are you saying to just use something like postgresql with spreadsheets? Or are you saying there is an open source offering you recommend?

 

[mjwalsh]

Im a bit confused. I run a software development company as my day job... Are you saying to just use something like postgresql with spreadsheets? Or are you saying there is an open source offering you recommend?

cityview,

I am just putting that out as a potential option for some of us. It is based on what I did & am still doing with some 2002 retail versions of Access that still works great in Windows 10. Being a software developer ... what is your educated opinion on how difficult to set up the most straight forward forms & reports tailoring them as simple as possible in mySql & some other open source database program. Maybe https://sqldbm.com/Home/ along with opensource free to use yet proven MySgl? If something would happen to the reliability of my retail version of Microsoft Access ... I would be tempted to give that combination a try.

I did make an honest effort to use Quicken after MS Money was discontinued. Not being satisfied... I then made an honest effort to use QuickBooks. I found that the only advantage to them was their ability to directly connect to financial institutions. After too many frustrating moments with even that portion of their software ... I went to just bringing in the data via the Bank etc export to CSV which we all know is spreadsheet compatible. For payroll ... it is not rocket science to put in the newly revised every year but very similar equations found in Publication 15 & found on our state's tax dept online instructions. That is best done with the more structured database program vs the less structured more risky spreadsheet approach. For example ... with a database program you have much less worry about saving your work during data entry. My CPA never had a problem using the database reports etc. ... but I have heard of some IMHO more mindless CPAs & tax processors who insist upon all their clients using Quickbooks.

 

[cityview]

cityview,

I am just putting that out as a potential option for some of us. It is based on what I did & am still doing with some 2002 retail versions of Access that still works great in Windows 10. Being a software developer ... what is your educated opinion on how difficult to set up the most straight forward forms & reports tailoring them as simple as possible in mySql & some other open source database program. Maybe https://sqldbm.com/Home/ along with opensource free to use yet proven MySgl? If something would happen to the reliability of my retail version of Microsoft Access ... I would be tempted to give that combination a try.

I did make an honest effort to use Quicken after MS Money was discontinued. Not being satisfied... I then made an honest effort to use QuickBooks. I found that the only advantage to them was their ability to directly connect to financial institutions. After too many frustrating moments with even that portion of their software ... I went to just bringing in the data via the Bank etc export to CSV which we all know is spreadsheet compatible. For payroll ... it is not rocket science to put in the newly revised every year but very similar equations found in Publication 15 & found on our state's tax dept online instructions. That is best done with the more structured database program vs the less structured more risky spreadsheet approach. For example ... with a database program you have much less worry about saving your work during data entry. My CPA never had a problem using the database reports etc. ... but I have heard of some IMHO more mindless CPAs & tax processors who insist upon all their clients using Quickbooks.

I do my own taxes and don't have payroll.. haha, so I think my needs are much simpler than some other people's.

My thoughts on setting up sql is that its going to cost more in time than Quickbooks. I'd be more tempted to run macros via excel VBA to populate reports.


Its starting to sound like the best bet is to just suck it up and buy quickbooks... but I think what you are suggesting could work, it just seems abnormally challenging.

We built an Excel-based system for a client that was kind of cool, but took about 80 hours, and an Access-system for a company that honestly didn't work all that well and took about 60 hours. If I price my own time at about $5/hour, which is about what I make at my car wash... haha... I think I'm better off just buying quickbooks.

I was thinking quicken Home & Business might work for some of us who are bringing in beans with small operations, but if no one has piped up with success on it yet, I guess I'll be teaching myself some Quickbooks! haha.

Good luck with your access system and possible transition to SQL.

Thanks!

 

[mjwalsh]

cityview,

One thing if an operator did do like I suggest & you somewhat re-affirm ... the time invested would tend to be more of a one time investment because the changes required from year to year would usually require only a minuscule additional amount of time. I tend to steer away from dependencies ... that is why I prefer to improve without being tethered to the digital cloud every second of the day. For example ... natural disasters can incapacitate data transmission towers longer than many of us would like to think. Too much dependency on the "cloud" can IMHO turn out to be a problem!!!

I also dislike it when software companies so drastically change on a newer version so it is mandatory to cough up more money & sometimes worse yet the "learning curve" for those changes are atrocious. Sometimes the changes to their new version are a bit dubious in terms of gains for their end customers. Like I said Bank Export=>CSV & not needing to worry about compatibility issues cropping up.

 

[mjwalsh]

cityview & others,

Something tells me that it was a lot easier to customize MS Access than with Quicken or Quickbooks. As in when we connected with serial cables to our two 600EF Standard ChangeMakers & to our Cummins 2000 Coin Counter. There is no question that some productivity was gained there & also in the case of the two Changemakers some worthwhile remote control abilities besides just tracking & logging! In the case of the counter directly into what we start over fresh every year on ... our Receipt Database ... so we see what categories of our business is doing the best. Non manual entering does tend to help prevent typos! Replenishment is more accurate for the hoppers of the changers with that type of customization. These MS Access adventures did not get into the logging minutia of our Nautilus Hyosung ATM but that needs that because of all the parties in the "cloud" that need more verification.

 

[washallday]

I use Quick Books, I do write checks. What I like is during the year or comparing this year to last year you can see where you stand with costs. You can make your own forms, like i do for sales tax and each month I pull up that form and right there is the sales for that month that I use to pay sales tax on. I have more than one wash and it allows me to separate the locations and I can keep track of each one. What is nice is I use a Credit Card to buy everything, (getting cash back on card) and when I write a check to the card QB allows me to write one check but separate what expenses, (purchase) gets put to what wash.

 

[wash4me]

Don’t use quick books online. It is a totally different program it just shares a name with quick books so plan to relearn everything. For what you need quicken would be fine.

 

[MEP001]

I hate Quickbooks Online. Not only is it more expensive per year than just buying the software, and you'll be paying it for as long as you use it, it's very limited in a lot of ways. I've also had a number of times where I couldn't access it when I needed to. The only upside is that I can do stuff from my phone, and the app is even more limited than the standard online format. If I needed to invoice on the fly on a regular basis, I'd need a laptop and internet access or a tablet with 4G.