Replies

1. 
   Gary_Weisenburger | Apr 21, 2000 04:00am | #1

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   Mike,

   I've been using QuickBooks for a few years, and upgraded to QB Pro-2000 a couple months ago. As far as bookeeping goes, QB has been a lifesaver for this contractor who hates bookeeping.

   But like any software, you'll have to take time to learn it. Frankly, I think its the accounting principles that I stumble on.

   Intuit will give you the program for something like 30 uses or 30 days. If you decide you don't want it, you can send it back. If you keep it, you simply register the program to continue using it. I've seen it advertised lately for as little as $89 after rebates.

   Best part is that most accountants that deal with us contractors also know QB. So its simple to send them a backup file (I've attached them to email) for review and tax work.

   And if you do your own taxes, Intuit's TurboTax software can be linked to your QB files for near painless tax accounting. My accountant, who uses another, professional, tax preparation software, tells me that an upgraded for 2000 will allow her to upload my QB data file into her tax software. So it'll cost me less since she won't have to enter data.

   Intuit's web site is at http://www.intuit.com/

1. 
   kevin_wiseman | Apr 21, 2000 10:06pm | #2

   *I've used Quick Books -Pro for about 3 1/2 years now.For me it works fine, I'm a one man show and have had no problems figuring it out. The Journal of Light Construction has a site similar to this with a section for Quick Book questions (jlconline buildr to builder).

1. 
   Ron_Budgell | Apr 24, 2000 02:41am | #3

   *Can anyone advise me on whether Simply Accounting is worth learning for the type of businesses we run?

1. 
   blue_eyed_devil_ | Apr 24, 2000 04:35pm | #4

   *Gary, I'm using quick books. Why should I upgrade to QB pro?blue

1. 
   Gabe_Martel | Apr 24, 2000 05:07pm | #5

   *Hi Ron,The short answer is absolutely not.Simply accounting is a true accounting package for accountants.Quicken, Quick Books, MYOB are all bookeeping packages for the small business guy who has a job to do alittle time for anything else.I never recommend Simply Accounting to any of my clients.Gabe

2. 
   Gary_Weisenburger | Apr 24, 2000 06:17pm | #6

   *blue,I upgraded to QB Pro, because payroll is built in. Although I don't always have a helper, the Pro version sure makes payroll easy, right down to paying payroll taxes. And it has a neat time tracker. I use that to keep track of all those T&M projects at the end of long contracts.If you don't have employees, and you don't do T&M work, you probably don't need the Pro version.

3. 
   FredB | Apr 25, 2000 02:31am | #7

   *Check with your local Independant Accountant. My wife got her copy of their magazine "The NSA Sofware News" today. It has a very complete review of Construction Accounting packages. These are all dedicated software packages from firms that have at least North American support. From my experience only the smallest construction firm is BEST served by a general purpose accounting package like Quickbooks.Now I like and use Quickbooks but it isn't the best for certain businesses like construction. These are more expensive but pay for themselves over a couple jobs. Take a gander and you'll find what you need I bet.

4. 
   Ron_Budgell | Apr 25, 2000 02:43am | #8

   *Gabe,thanks for the simple answer. I won't persist. It has been a struggle without many rewards. And it's been taking twice as long as doing it on paper. Fred, What makes the difference? What is there about a program that suits it to construction companies? We sell skills and resell materials - just like the service station down the road.

5. 
   FredB | Apr 25, 2000 03:30am | #9

   *Ron:Got me before I signed off so here goes some of it.In construction it is common to set up separate accounting entities, and sometimes legal entities, for each job, there is a lot of bulk buying with costs allocated to different entities, your relationship with different customers may be different, construction does(or should do) extensive job costing, in some areas the taxes applicable to an employee will be different with different taxing authorities, workers comp rates change with different jobs a single individual may do, well you get the idea.Remember my goal is to maximize my profit(paycheck) in my business. To do that I need to know in detail what things cost. I also need to know what I owe other folks in taxes, payroll, etc.; and not pay them one penny they aren't due. With the right accounting package I can do that without driving myself up a tree with the paperwork and without too large overhead costs.

6. 
   blue_eyed_devil_ | Apr 25, 2000 04:38am | #10

   *Gary, I do have employees and we do the payroll on quickbooks. We don't do any T&M jobs however.Maybe I'll take a look at their website.blue

7. 
   Ron_Budgell | Apr 27, 2000 02:51am | #11

   *Fred,I found the NSA magazine article on the web and read as much as I could bear. I get your point about tracking job costs individually. It sure would be useful to be able to enter data once to track both general accounts and job costs. Don't the programs like QuickBooks do that? One problem I have with this bookkeeping is that I'm completely self-taught and so have trouble communicating with people who really know what they are doing. I don't know the language.

8. 
   FredB | Apr 27, 2000 04:00am | #12

   *Ron:I know what you mean about the language. Each trade has its' own jargon and half of learning the trade is learning that. Too often even though a person can do the job if they can't talk the language they are dismissed.My best advise is to contact the dealers for each of the packages. Ask for a demo. Then make sure the sales person does it in YOUR language. If they can't, deal with someone else. Usually there is a common account structure that does exactly what you want. In most of the good systems you enter the data once and it is massaged to produce whichever reports you are set up for. If a system requires multiple data entry pass on it. The better packages also allow you to copy the chart of accounts from one entity to another so you don't have to recreate everytime. The if you don't need a particular item you can either delete or just ignore it. But never underestimate the time and effort required to set up the accounting system the first time. Its' worth it in the long haul.I'm not a bean counter. But I've learned that having a VERY GOOD understanding of accounting is mandatory if you ever want to retire. I have a saying: "Anyone can make money. Good journeymen can make lots of money. But it takes talent and work to keep it."Now if you are not ready to do a proper job of accounting then do it out of your check book using one of those multicolumn check registers. Or, hire an accountant to do it for you. If you hire someone never,never,never, never give them check writing authority. Not if you want to keep your money that is.

9. 
   Ron_Budgell | Apr 27, 2000 06:28pm | #13

   *Thanks. Fred. Good advice. We have an accountant do the year-end and tax stuff for us. He says the way I do things on paperis not too bad. I want to computerize in hopes of either getting more usefulness out of the data or saving time. Collecting the information is probably the hardest part, but finding one or two areas where we are consistently optimistic in our pricing might pay for the trouble.

2. 
   Mike_Pinoges | Apr 27, 2000 06:28pm | #14

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   I'm having a heck of a time finding simple, stable accounting packages. I'm a small custom builder who swings a hammer and I don't want to spend my evenings with a complicated program. Is double entry necessary? Peachtree and Q-books are daunting.