Any Quickbooks Users

[FarminCy]

Once again i am turning to CF for feedback on a topic. I know we have some accountants on here and I'm sure there are others that have used Quickbooks so I was just wanting some general feedback.

I have always done our farms financial tracking through some excel spreadsheets that I had made years ago. It has worked but I"m not sure it has made tax time, bill paying, etc any easier. My accountant and a farm manager friend of mine has recommended I start using Quickbooks for our farm financials and could also use it for personal use as well.

Since I started using the Excel sheets we have bought more ground through traditional ways as well as private contracts etc. and I am also doing more custom work as well. Tax time has gotten very complex and my Excel sheets don't cut it anymore.

I am wanting to use Quickbooks for it's flexibility in setting up multiple entities, categories, etc as well as using it for writing checks as well.

For those of you who have used it what have your experiences been. I know there is a learning curve but my accountant has agreed to help me set it up and help me through the process.

TIA

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

I use Quickbooks but I don't have any "employees" for my stuff. Just freelancers that I put into the expenses tab.

I like it, it is very easy to look at my expenses and revenues for my very small business (~10k a year).

 

[isufbcurt]

I am a CPA and I use it. I have my CPA bookkeeping and my Motorsports business on QB's. I also do bookkeeping for a used car dealership and 2 Plumbing companies and they are all on QB's (the 2 Plumbing Companies use QB online version). It is pretty easy to use and yes you can keep multiple entities and switch between them pretty easy.

 

[FarminCy]

I am a CPA and I use it. I have my CPA bookkeeping and my Motorsports business on QB's. I also do bookkeeping for a used car dealership and 2 Plumbing companies and they are all on QB's (the 2 Plumbing Companies use QB online version). It is pretty easy to use and yes you can keep multiple entities and switch between them pretty easy.

Do you feel the online version is decent or would you rather use the installed version. Using programs like logmein i can always access my computer through my ipad or any other computer so the portability isn't really a concern. Plus I"m not working with weekly invoices, revenues, etc. I mainly have only a couple times a year where I will be working heavily in it.

 

[FarminCy]

I use Quickbooks but I don't have any "employees" for my stuff. Just freelancers that I put into the expenses tab.

I like it, it is very easy to look at my expenses and revenues for my very small business (~10k a year).

How hard was it for you to learn the program. I have no problems learning new programs but sometime struggle with the accounting part.

 

[IcSyU]

Accountant here. I hate online quickbooks. The desktop version is great software but the limitations of online drive me nuts.

When it comes to the learning curve, a quick e-mail to your accountant will be in your interests. Getting it right the first time > getting charged in the middle of tax season for getting your file fixed. Things like loans/equipment/etc. can get messy quickly.

 

[SwirlingFloater]

I am not an accountant but have been using QB for the past 6 years running our small business. We have 8 employees and have three store locations. Before that I had a logistics business with 4 employees and also used QB.

It has been easy to learn and use. We do use an accounting firm to prepare our taxes for us, but I just give them a copy of our QB file and they have everything they need. I have been happy with QuickBooks overall.

We use the desktop version.

 

[FarminCy]

Accountant here. I hate online quickbooks. The desktop version is great software but the limitations of online drive me nuts.

Thanks for the info. I have heard that from someone else as well. But they aren't an accountant so wasn't sure if it was just them just struggling or the program itself.

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

How hard was it for you to learn the program. I have no problems learning new programs but sometime struggle with the accounting part.

I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty difficult for me to get it all set up. Though this was before I had any real accounting knowledge (was 16 when I started using it). But now that it is all set up, it is a breeze. (I have the Desktop version btw)

 

[isufbcurt]

Do you feel the online version is decent or would you rather use the installed version. Using programs like logmein i can always access my computer through my ipad or any other computer so the portability isn't really a concern. Plus I"m not working with weekly invoices, revenues, etc. I mainly have only a couple times a year where I will be working heavily in it.

I agree with IcSyU with online not being as good as the actual software. The online thing works for my Plumbing clients because they keep their own books (for invoicing and payments purposes), but I can log in quarterly to figure if they need to make estimated payments and fix things they might have messed up. The thing that drives me nuts about the online version is they are always messing with the setup and when i log in I spend most of the time I am in there trying to figure out where they moved things.

 

[JY07]

It is pretty easy to use

The desktop version is great software

it gets the job done, but i'm not sure if non-accountants would describe it as 'great software' or 'pretty easy'

 

[IcSyU]

it gets the job done, but i'm not sure if non-accountants would describe it as 'great software' or 'pretty easy'

I won't go as far as to say it's easy but it isn't difficult to use.

Of course if you have zero background in accounting everything is going to be difficult.

 

[FarminCy]

Thanks for all the info on this I really appreciate it. I am by no means someone that is proficient with accounting and jumping into something like this will take me some time to catch on.

One final question and I'm not sure anyone on here can answer it. Is there a difference between the Mac and PC version. Our main computer at home is a mac mini that I have parallels on so I can run some other farm software. Since I can run both on the mac is the PC one any different to where it would be better for me to install it through parallels instead of a mac direct install.

 

[isufbcurt]

it gets the job done, but i'm not sure if non-accountants would describe it as 'great software' or 'pretty easy'

I would describe it as pretty easy. My 2 plumbing clients who never did any bookkeeping prior to starting their business picked it up really quickly.