Quickbooks 2010 Review

Since it was founded in 1983, software giant Intuit has dominated the market as far as personal and business finance is concerned. While its Quicken program – designed for individuals and used by clients all over the globe – revolutionized the way average people organized their finances, the later-developed Quickbooks has found its niche in helping small businesses to keep on top of their cash flow. In fact, the latter product has become so synonymous with small business financial management that in 2005, Business Week suggested a market share of 74%; an Intuit press release in 2008, on the other hand, put the figure at over 94%. Either way, as the 2010 edition hits shelves, it’s clear that Quickbooks is here to stay. However, at a minimum of $159.95 for PC and $199.95 for Mac users, is it worth the outlay?

In its efforts to appeal to a much wider market base than ever before, the new Quickbooks has dramatically improved and polished its user interface. Everything from document management to spreadsheet use to the install has been tweaked and simplified in order to make the finished produced that much more user-friendly; while the install took fifteen separate steps in past releases, it now takes just six. It’s this desire to really open up their products to as many people as possible that sets Inuit software apart from its competitors. If this is still too complex, however – or the Professional package offers you more than you need – Quickbooks offers a $99.95, stripped-down package called ‘Simple Start’, designed to give you the bare bones of the program. On the other end of the line is the $399.95 Premier package (currently selling at $319.95, or a 20% discount), designed for professionals who really want to push the Quickbooks software to its limits. If neither of those meets your needs, however, there’s also the option to use an online-only service for $34.95 per month. As you can see, the folks at Intuit have really gone all out to personalize their services as far as possible, culminating in the latest trend sweeping the world of technology: an App Store, where additional widgets and gizmos can be downloaded (some free of charge, others for a small fee) to help you redesign your Quickbooks to meet your business or personal needs.

Additionally, there are problems for Mac users. One of the most commonly-cited complaints about the new software is that, despite the associated previews looking slick and professional, the reports Quickbooks puts out are distinctly old-school, and wouldn’t look out of place as part of a program from a decade or more ago – a design flaw that’s missing in many other (often less-expensive) alternatives.

Although you might consider checking accounts to be a thing of the past, your clients might not, and Quickbooks’s new Check Scanning feature is a great new way to save time. It allows you to pay checks into your bank through the Quickbooks software itself, cutting down on time spent in a bank queue or at a teller window. While this might sound ideal for everyone, you might want to think about doing a cost-benefit analysis beforehand: every check that goes through this system incurs a small fee, plus a monthly fee for access to the service in the first place. If, on the other hand, you frequently use checks yourself, the new check signing feature could help you cut your workload down to size, as it allows you to authorize your checks automatically and instantaneously – all of which adds to up man hours per week that could easily be spent on something else. Another plus point is the inclusion of merchant services, allowing users to accept credit card payments online right there in the program. Again, this is a fee-based service, with a $60 initial outlay for setup costs plus a $20 charge on top, but if you can afford the extra it’s a great way to streamline your incoming cash and your accounting all in one go.

That’s not to say that there aren’t problems with the software: they’re there, and they’re often pretty major. Take online bill paying, for example. While it’s present in the PC version, it’s conspicuously absent for Mac users; similarly, multi-user support doesn’t seem to have been high on their list of priorities either (although Intuit has said they’re looking into it). It’s not an ideal situation for Windows users either, as shared editing of files from two different terminals requires the purchase of an additional license. Similarly, if you’re still working with Quickbooks 2007, there’s a word of warning for potential buyers: the payroll service (available for a separate fee) requires you to upgrade every three years as the service is gradually phased out and discontinued.

If this seems like an attempt by the company to get as much money out of you as possible, you may not be entirely thrilled by the pitchy tutorials and ‘product recommendations’ that pervade the software – tutorials that, unfortunately, can’t be turned off completely. It’s these little things that stop Intuit’s latest entry into the Quickbooks catalogue from feeling quite as good as it might otherwise; instead of coming across as a fresh and interesting new product, there are times when it seems to have been rushed through in order to have something for the company to have on the shelves for tax season.

If it sounds as though I’m being unfairly harsh on Intuit and their latest offering, it’s not in comparison to many of the other products on the market today. The navigation is slick and easy to use; similarly, its ability to work with not only Microsoft Excel but also Quicken and Microsoft Office Accounting makes transferring files across a breeze. It’s also on the lower end of the scale as far as costs are concerned, with the Pro model coming in sometimes as much as 50% cheaper than other leading products. There are also dozens of reports available (more than many of its competitors), and the option to back up your data online – once again, a service that most other companies haven’t included (although the storage is an optional extra; beyond a set limit, a small additional monthly fee is charge).

So is it worth it? It depends. If you’re trading up from the 2009 edition, perhaps not; although there are changes between the two, shelling out upwards of $200 per year (especially once you consider the cost of apps and other add-ons) might not seem like a shrewd business decision. However, if you’re new to Quickbooks, or looking to upgrade from an older model, there’s a lot to like about the new software, and it should come as no surprise that Intuit maintains their foothold on personal accounting software. Although it isn’t perfect, their many years providing financial software has taught the company more than a few things about what the average customer is looking for. The fact that they significantly improved its user-friendliness for the lay community (while at the same time keeping it useful for more advanced users) is probably Quickbooks 2010’s biggest triumph.

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