QuickBooks Pro 2003

Choose from over 100 ready-to-use, professionally designed invoice, estimate, statement, and other form templates conveniently available on your QuickBooks CD-ROM. Now you can add color text, shaded boxes, multiple text comments, logos, and images, anywhere and in a variety of sizes. You can automatically create your budget using actual income and expense data, and enjoy greater flexibility and confidence when backing up your data.

With improved customer statements, you can now print the statements you need with the information you want.

Be sure to visit our QuickBooks Software Add-Ons Store for software products that have been developed by members of the Intuit Developer Network. QuickBooks software add-on s are applications that integrate with this and other packages of QuickBooks financial software to save you time and increase your productivity.

Before I get to that, however, let me make a couple of disclosures. First, I am the author of both QuickBooks for Dummies and Quicken for Dummies (so that might make you think I'm going to pander to Intuit), however, I am also the most prolific computer book writer in the world. (More than 150 books, most of which aren't on Intuit products.) Second, I'm a CPA (in Seattle area) and what I do is help small businesses do their taxes and get going with QuickBooks. Enough on that.

Here are my considered comments:
1. SUPPORT...Tech Support from Intuit does, to me, seem kind of expensive compared to the old days when support was free. And I, too, have had the experience of calling with what I'm sure is a software bug--but then having Intuit say, "Dude, you got to pay." So that .... But I also know that many, perhaps most, of the problems that people have with QuickBooks stem from inadequate accounting skills or QuickBooks knowledge. In my opinion, then, the blame goes both ways. Yes, Intuit should be better in the way they manage their support programs. But customers should expect to pay for what often amounts to consulting and training.

My suggestion? Buy a support program (they have several) and just consider that support program cost part of the cost of owning QuickBooks. You're still getting a great deal.

2. PAYROLL... As I've written about in my books, payroll has been a less than satisfactory component of QuickBooks. Part of that, again, is QuickBooks. But you have easy and relatively inexpensive payroll solutions that you can use in place of QuickBooks payroll if you have troubles. E.g., you can go to outside payroll service bureaus (like ADP and Paychex) where you're almost guaranteed to get good service. You'll pay probably several hundred to a couple thousand dollars a year for this service (depending on the number of employees and the frequency of payroll). But you know what? If you're having trouble getting your payroll done correctly, the service bureau route is a good approach.

Tangential comment: If you add a good support program and work with an outside service bureau, your accounting costs do go up. But you know what? If you're running a small business with employees, you got to have a good accounting system. And a good accounting system costs money.

3. BUGS AND SUCH... I haven't found QuickBooks 2003 to be particularly or uniquely buggy.

4. FEE-BASED ADD-ONS... I agree with this point. But it's a bit like complaining your kids won't pick up their bedrooms. Yeah, it's an annoyance, but truthfully it's not really much more than that..

5. FINAL COMMENT... OK, even considering everything said here and all the problems one has, QuickBooks is still a GREAT PRODUCT! It's easy to use. It's inexpensive (even after you add costs for support and payroll) as compared to the old days where you needed to hire a bookkeeper or CPA to do your books. And it can be a powerful tool for better managing your business.

Steve

P.S. If somebody has a quick question about QuickBooks, it's okay to email me. I don't know if it's kosher to stick my email address into this post so won't. But you can easily search on my name and locate contact information...


QuickBooks Pro 2002   May 23, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Well, I have just spent 2 hours reading reviews on various Quick Books products,and was very supprised at the number of negative reviews. I have used Intuit products for years. I was using tax software back in the days of Mac-in-tax (before Intuit owned it). I do income tax preparation and keep my business records on Quick Books 2002 for windows. I don't know how I could survive with out their products. I also use Pro Series for income tax preparation, as well as Turbo tax for all the "freebes" I do for family and friends. (All of which are Intuit products). I can not recall ever having any of them crash.

In another life when I was Controller for a large Corporation, we had to buy new software to solve the Y2K problem. The company purchased the Great Plains Dynamics package. The up front cost with trainning and set up was $50,000! That's right, 50 THOUSAND, and I was never able to get a financial report from it. I had to "run" the general ledger, then pick the data out and enter it in Excel to get a financial statement. Then, I discovered Quick Books when I started my own business. I was amazed that for a few hundred dollars I had a very compent accounting program that gave me INSTANT financial reports in almost any configuration I could think of. I will admit there is a learning curve to using the software, but you have that with any new software. I was able to teach myself how to use the software,(no calls to tech support though there were times when I really wanted to). With a little work, I was soon very proficient with it. The information is availible in the documentation. However, that route is not for the faint of heart. I would recommend that new users who can afford it get some tranning before striking out on your own.

All in all I must say that all of Intuit products, or at least the ones I have used are excellent,and very inexpensive when compaired to many alternatives. But that is only my personal opinion, but one that comes from experience, and I don't even own the stock, but that is another story.


Response to QuickBooks Pro 2003 Negative Reviews   April 29, 2003
Darryl S. Abrahms (Redmond, WA USA)
72 out of 101 found this review helpful

I am surprised to read how virulently anti-Intuit many comments in the QuickBooks Pro 2003 customer reviews there are, how low the ratings of the product are, and the lopsided number of negative reviews. The emotional outcry seems to have taken a life of its own. Doug Sleeter, a QuickBooks expert of renown says, "These reviews certainly do not reflect the general opinion of users. If it did, the product would not be nearly as popular in the market."

I recognize the frustration and anger the reviewers expressed about using QuickBooks and many of their concerns are compelling. I would like to address some of the criticism and clarify several issues that they mention. I have been a full time independent QuickBooks consultant for over ten years and during this period I have worked with and trained hundreds of clients one-on-one.

The complaints about QuickBooks generally point toward its design and utility, payroll fees, and the cost and quality of support.

BASIC NECCESSITIES

Complaint: Several people said that they want a basic business program that deals with the "real necessities" of a small business. They described QuickBooks as "bloatware" and too complicated.
Response: What are real necessities for one type of business could be redundant and too complicated for other types of businesses. The basic tasks and simple layout of registers and forms (invoices, checks) in QuickBooks have remained the same since the early Windows versions. User preferences are customized to turn on or off functions and displays.
Historically Intuit has had a philosophy about QuickBooks of "one size fits all." It has been remarkably successful because of its versatility and is used in many industries. Now Intuit is bringing out various editions of QuickBooks that is designed for specific businesses, for example the new Contractor Edition is very popular. Many good business software programs are able to exchange data with QuickBooks.

PAYROLL FEES
Complaint: Reviewers complained that now they have to pay extra for QuickBooks to do payroll and buy an upgrade if their version is QuickBooks 2000 or older.
Response: Intuit has offered a payroll tax table service for at least seven years. There has always been a charge for the service. The original service was called TTS (Tax Table Service). The company later came out with Basic Payroll Service, which has since been renamed Do-It-Yourself Payroll Service (DIY Payroll). Users do not have to upgrade their QuickBooks every year to do payroll. Although owners of version QuickBooks 2000 and older are required to pay for a new upgrade if they want to continue using DIY Payroll, the benefit of new features like emailing invoices, report enhancements, 3rd party software integration, remote access, and sales orders makes upgrading to the latest edition of QuickBooks worthwhile.

SUPPORT
Complaint: There are many comments about the cost and quality of support.
Response: Paying for software support is a fact of life in today's economy, the same as expenses are incurred in maintaining a car. The cost of QuickBooks is inexpensive and if you factor a support plan into the purchase price, the savings by reducing your accounting fees and better financial management is still a good deal. QuickBooks has made finding "how to" information easier by including links to answers in most of its windows and with a comprehensive support database that can be accessed from within the program. Attending a QuickBooks class and visiting support groups on the internet like at Yahoo! help reduce the financial outlay for support.
My experience is that by showing patience and respect to the support specialist at Intuit, and by defining the issue well often brings good results.

Intuit can and will make many improvements to QuickBooks. The fact is that the vast majority of users appreciate the many benefits they gain by using QuickBooks because it simplifies complex accounting tasks and it is one of the most user friendly software products ever made.


QuickBooks Pro 2002   May 23, 2004
8 out of 10 found this review helpful

Well, I have just spent 2 hours reading reviews on various Quick Books products,and was very supprised at the number of negative reviews. I have used Intuit products for years. I was using tax software back in the days of Mac-in-tax (before Intuit owned it). I do income tax preparation and keep my business records on Quick Books 2002 for windows. I don't know how I could survive with out their products. I also use Pro Series for income tax preparation, as well as Turbo tax for all the "freebes" I do for family and friends. (All of which are Intuit products). I can not recall ever having any of them crash.

In another life when I was Controller for a large Corporation, we had to buy new software to solve the Y2K problem. The company purchased a BIG NAME accounting package. The up front cost with trainning and set up was $50,000! That's right, 50 THOUSAND, and I was never able to get a financial report from it. I had to "run" the general ledger, then pick the data out and enter it in Excel to get a financial statement. Then, I discovered Quick Books when I started my own business. I was amazed that for a few hundred dollars I had a very competent accounting program that gave me INSTANT financial reports in almost any configuration I could think of. I will admit there is a learning curve to using the software, but you have that with any new software. I was able to teach myself how to use the software,(no calls to tech support though there were times when I really wanted to). With a little work, I was soon very proficient with it. The information is availible in the documentation. However, that route is not for the faint of heart. I would recommend that new users who can afford it get some tranning before striking out on your own.

All in all I must say that Intuit products, or at least the ones I have used are excellent,and very inexpensive when compaired to many alternatives. But that is only my personal opinion, but one that comes from experience, and I don't even own the stock, but that is another story.


Exactly what I ordered   September 23, 2005
R. Smith (Cape Cod, MA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Received product less than a week after ordering. Excellent condition as advertized. I would recommend this seller to other buyers.