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These low-cost packages offer good value for the price.
The more accounting software changes, the more it stays the same. Disk-based products still have the most features, but Web-based products, moving up fast in comparable features, can be used on any computer with Internet access.
What should you look for in an accounting product? Any accounting product worth its salt should handle GL, AR, AP, and PR, print quotes, POs, sales invoices, and checks, and have lots of reports. There should be good documentation (printed and online). You can expect that packages will be network-ready, support multiple users, import and export accounting data in several formats, provide customer address books and to-do lists, and let you update tax tables and transmit data over the Internet. The product should also provide security for restricting access to selected features or classes of transactions (such as allowing a payables clerk access to just the AP options).
Web-based products should also display information and let you move from one screen to another reasonably quickly. ??\? may also want to check with the product's provider to find out how your company's data is stored and what kind of backup and disaster recovery provisions are in place.
This article reviews seven disk-based and Web-based accounting packages for Windows:
* EPeachtree;
* MYOB Plus;
* Peachtree Premium Accounting 2004 ;
* QuickBooks Premier 2003;
* Oracle Small Business Suite;
* QuickBooks Online Edition; and
* Simply Accounting 2003 Pro.
Evaluating the Products
Each product was evaluated using the following criteria: Overall ease of use. Is the product easy to install and configure? Did the product feel easy to use? Was it necessary to pick up the manuals or go to the online help? Did each step in the new company setup make sense? Was it easy to add invoices and pay bills?
Product features. How complete is the feature set? How many sample charts of accounts are there?
Documentation. Was the online documentation well indexed, useful, and clean? Were the manuals complete, and easy to read? Could I find information quickly?
Trial versions and money-back guarantees. Finding the right accounting package is a challenge. It's a little easier to determine which package is right for you by trying before you buy.