Do you prefer Quickbooks, Microsoft or another small business accounting software?

sunybck

Do you prefer Quickbooks, Microsoft or another small business accounting software? Why or why not?
I am starting a small business. I need software to invoice and track payments, track income and expense and basically keep everything organized for tax time. I've read positive and negative on all small business accounting software, so now I'm really confused. Oh, my business is a service one, so I will be invoicing for hours not items, if that makes any difference. Can you please give me some advice?

Bluewednesday

I must admit I've started using microsoft office accounting and I really like it. However I don't invoice with it - only bookkeep but I have been really impressed with how easy it is to use.

I'm assuming you have some accounting knowledge so it might not make much difference which package you use, what's the price difference between them?

I use Quickbooks at a couple of clients and it seems to be very good at providing information for management accounts, I'm sure it will do what you need but I know some of my clients have found it difficult to find resellers and trainers.

Have you used any of them before? Is it worth looking at designing your own excel spreadsheets to track your records?

jiogoal

I would highly recommend QuickBooks for you. I've used Peachtree, Microsoft, and QuickBooks before... QuickBooks has the easiest "invoicing from time-sheets" feature which would be ideal if you are billing by the hour. You set up "jobs" and "customers" and fill in your time-sheet accordingly... it's really very intuitive and easy to use.

Small Business Accounting Software

JodieR

I would also recommend QBs (although I haven't used many other small business packages). It's really quite easy to pick up yourself, there's a 'follow-me-help' feature on the screen which is useful to begin with, so if you're entering a bill for example there's full instructions and hints and tips about bills in your help box.
There's also a useful forum www.quickbooksusers.com which is very helpful if you decide against paying extra for the technical support.
Jodie

>Michaela<

I would reccomend sage line 50. Quickbooks is too flexible and there is alot of room for errors in it.

LMW

I agree with Michaela, I work with both and I agree that Quikbooks is really easy to get on with but it is too flexible. Quikbooks does not work like a proper accountancy package and if you are not really experienced on your double entries it can get you in trouble. I have customers using both systems and I have to say that the ones using Quikbooks are paying me much more money to get it straight. Good for me, I don't want to complain so everyboby go for Quikbooks.

Elenasmi

QuickBooks is one of the most used and popular accounting software. And used by businesses of all sizes. QuickBooks can help small business in many ways:
1. Prepare Reports
2. Cash Flow Statements
3. Analyze Trends
4. Manage Data
5. Simplify Taxes
6. Migration support
7. Secure access.

You can use QuickBooks on the cloud to integrate with other third-party tax applications to suit your business needs. In addition, the cloud enables customers to work on any device at any time, and collaborate with their peers at any time, without any geographic boundaries.

Fackither68

For a service-based business, where you’re invoicing for hours and tracking payments and expenses, both QuickBooks and Microsoft options could work well, but I’d recommend taking a look at QuickBooks for its user-friendly design and strong invoicing capabilities tailored to services. It’s widely used for small business accounting, making it easier to find help or resources if needed, especially when tax time approaches.

On a related note, I personally use jira okr to organize and monitor business goals, learning objectives, and sometimes even accounting goals. This helps me keep track of overall business progress and ensures I’m meeting targets, which is useful for both project management and financial tracking in a small business context.

Thaturrouret96

It really depends on your business needs. QuickBooks is great for ease of use and scalability, especially for small businesses. Microsoft’s solutions, like Dynamics 365, are powerful but can be a bit overkill for smaller setups unless you're already using other Microsoft tools extensively.

That said, I’ve found that integrating accounting software with tools for overall business management makes a big difference. For example, pairing your accounting software with something like OKR App can help you align your financial tracking with broader business objectives. It’s a great way to ensure your financial goals stay tied to your company’s overall strategy.

What features are most important to you—ease of use, reporting, or integrations?