Simply Accounting Pro 9.0 review: Simply Accounting Pro 9.0

It's true: there's no accounting for taste. But if you're a dedicated Simply Accounting fan, your taste must be pretty good. Simply Accounting Pro is a comprehensive small-business accounting solution that harnesses much of the power of its maker's (ACCPAC's) enterprise-level solutions. Most small businesses, including retail, service, and manufacturing concerns, will find a lot to like about Simply Accounting, including its top-notch reporting and task management features. But since its feature set still trails behind those of industry leaders QuickBooks and Peachtree, small businesses should stick to Simply Accounting for specialty needs. It's true: there's no accounting for taste. But if you're a dedicated Simply Accounting fan, your taste must be pretty good. Simply Accounting Pro is a comprehensive small-business accounting solution that harnesses much of the power of its maker's (ACCPAC's) enterprise-level solutions. Most small businesses, including retail, service, and manufacturing concerns, will find a lot to like about Simply Accounting, including its top-notch reporting and task management features. But since its feature set still trails behind those of industry leaders QuickBooks and Peachtree, small businesses should stick to Simply Accounting for specialty needs.

Easy jump-start
After you finish Simply Accounting's speedy installation, a setup wizard prompts you to enter company profiles and data. More than 100 different industry templates let you match your new accounting interface to your business's needs. If you prefer, you can create a company from scratch and manually import either QuickBooks files or text with values separated by commas. Microsoft Office aficionados will appreciate Simply Accounting's Office integration, which lets them customize invoices, reports, and other documents using applications such as Microsoft Word.

As with past versions, you should have little trouble navigating Simply Accounting's straightforward interface. The program's main screen displays labeled tabs--General, Vendors & Purchases, Customers & Sales, Payroll, Inventory & Services, Project, and Time & Billing--and columns of related-task icons sit logically under each tab.

Something new; something old
To keep on top of your daily accounting chores, Simply Accounting's new Daily Business Manager lists all of your day's accounting tasks, such as collecting an overdue invoice or completing account reconciliation. It also lists the tasks you schedule on the calendar, such as when to send a specific quote to an important customer. In addition, the Daily Business Manager batch-processes multiple transactions or documents.

Even more exciting is Simply Accounting Pro's mature Time & Billing module, which helps services that bill by the hour choose set-payment timers. While we appreciate these attractive features, we can't cheer too loudly--Peachtree has sported such a module for years.

Simply Accounting Pro 9.0 also beefs up preexisting features. For example, businesses with inventory can now retain up to 100 years of inventory data. Simply Accounting Pro's improved payroll module provides the latest tax calculators and customizable income and deduction records. Employers can link employee records with expense accounts and track employee work hours from within the program. And customers doing business in more than one state or country can take advantage of the updated sales tax tracking.

The all-important report
Report handling is perhaps the most important aspect of any accounting program. Simply Accounting Pro won't fail you here, either. It offers 15 new reports, including a financial ratios report, general-ledger-listing journal reports, inventory price lists, payroll remittance reports, and insurable earnings. Simply Accounting also lets you complete multiple year reporting (up to 100 years) without burdening your processor or creating a file too big to manage. You can even print reports with the names of the users who made individual entries, and you can e-mail reports, invoices, quotes, and other documents from the main menu.

Accounting for cost
Before you run out and buy Simply Accounting Pro, however, keep in mind that ACCPAC's technical support policy doesn't come cheap. You get 30 days of free tech support but only for installation issues. After that, you can sign up for SimplyCare for $139 annually for one user, a subscription service that offers the latest payroll tax tables, an e-mail newsletter, and regular updates to ACCPAC EFT (electronic funds transfer) Direct. SimplyCare Plus, which costs $199 annually for one user, adds priority-response technical support for up to 100 minutes per year.

Simply Accounting Pro is stuffed with high-end features and competent, everyday ones. Its multiple tax codes, multiple currencies, and ability to handle a variety of accounting functions makes it a real boon to small businesses that have an accounting team of two or more and serve more than one locality.