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General discussion

Quickbooks vs. Quicken

May 31, 2005 2:50PM PDT

I'm looking for a little insight from those in the know. I have used both Quicken and Quickbooks, but it has been a considerable number of years.

We have a small business that is growing at a very rapid base. We have different accounts for each major project, and basic ledgers are simply getting out of hand.

For these needs, do we need something as advanced as Quickbooks, or is Quicken enough. I imagine that the numerous bank accounts will necessitate Quickbooks.

Also, as we get more versed in the nuances of each program, will Quicken prove to be too limiting?

Discussion is locked

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QB
May 31, 2005 7:04PM PDT

Use QuickBooks, or QB Pro for job tracking. Either one offers good account tracking and reporting. Simply Accounting is also a very good program for $50. These programs have good payroll tracking and reporting, if needed.
Quicken has a lot of built in "clutter" that businesses don't normally need. It is designed to help Joe & Jane track finances.

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Quickbooks vs Quicken/Others
May 31, 2005 10:04PM PDT

Definitely Quickbooks for business. It is user friendly, has excellent reporting flexibility and the help menus are easily understandable.

As the other post says, Quicken is for personal finances, especially for someone who wants to track stock investments.

A plus for these products is the ease of importing/exporting data and accessing prior years' data. Reports can be easily exported to Excel.

However, I don't like Intuit's current support policies (they are dropping support for older versions and for the old QIF format which was so helpful).

I would never recommend Simply,MS Money or MYOB (Mind Your Own Business). I'm a retired accountant, and I have found these are not as user friendly, have less flexibility in reports, and making normal accounting corrections can require creative genius to work around the fixed logic of the program.