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Accountant editions of Simply Accounting and QuickBooks were worth the wait.
FROM: JAN-FEB 2006 ISSUE | BY FRANCO ALFIERI
Simply Accounting by Sage Software (formerly Best Software) and Intuit's QuickBooks have become the industry standard in small business accounting software. In recent years, these two companies have released three versions of each application (Basic, Pro, and Premium), and, with the exception of the now-defunct Basic version of QuickBooks (replaced by EasyStart), they have remained virtually synonymous.
Accounting professionals, bookkeepers, and management consultants can benefit from the accountant editions of these products that are now available — each product is a premier version with special enhancements and features.
Simply Accounting 2006
When you open client data in the Accountants' Edition, it detects which edition (Basic, Pro, or Premium) of Simply Accounting your client is using.
The program allows you to export client ledgers in an easily imported format with the import records wizard. Records can also be exported for accounts, vendors, customers, employees, inventory and service items, and projects. In addition to being able to adjust and create transactions for all accounts in the general journal, you can re-number client accounts from within the general ledger, which must be within the current number range of the account's class.
For larger client organizations, you can consolidate any number of companies (up to 2GB of data) created with Premium or Accountants' Edition into a single consolidated parent company. The Consolidation wizard guides you through the process of creating a consolidated company by setting up a chart of accounts for the consolidated parent based on the parent company's chart of accounts. It allows you to match subsidiary company accounts to the consolidated parent's chart of accounts for accurate reporting. Changes made in the subsidiary files will automatically be reflected in the consolidated file.
Creating departments is a great tool for reporting purposes, such as preparing an income statement according to location, division, or any other allocation. It also applies to balance sheet accounts and works best when segregating accounts receivable and accounts payable ledgers.
Accountant's Copy, a new feature in all versions, now allows you to create a copy of company data to give to your accountant to make general journal entries, while you continue to work with your original company data. When your accountant finishes working with the accountant's copy, you import the modifications into your company data.
Any program that can handle Open DataBase Connectivity such as Crystal Reports, Microsoft Word, or Microsoft Excel, can open the Simply Accounting database directly. You can then use the data to create customized reports.
Other notable improvements include a more intuitive hierarchy of menus and settings, flexibility to the payroll module (including T4 and RL-1 slips income and expense allocations), and enhanced financial statement reporting through the addition of a "Notes to the Financial Statements" page. There is also a remote access service available for an additional fee.
Prices range from $149 to $999 depending on the version and number of users required. As of this writing, accounting professionals wishing to obtain Business Partner status will pay $249 (Simply Accounting Premier Advisor) or $499 (Simply Accounting Certified Consultant) and will receive a full working copy of all versions of Simply Accounting including payroll updates as part of their membership. Current partners are automatically enrolled in the Sage Software Accounting Network.
QuickBooks 2006
Overall, QuickBooks 2006 does not boast many new enhancements to its 2005 predecessor. Some features that are new or improved in Simply Accounting have existed in QuickBooks since its inception, such as multi-user functionality, accountant's copy and customizable forms and reports. However, significant strides have been made to make this software ideal for public accountants and bookkeepers. You are now able to access 2004 and 2005 data into the current version without conversion or upgrade. This compatibility means you don't have to keep multiple copies of QuickBooks on your system in order to access client data.
A neat little feature is the adjusting entry toggle switch which differentiates year-end adjusting entries from daily adjustments made into the client file. When customizing a report, you can actually see a preliminary balances column, an adjustments column, and an adjusted balances column, much like a typical trial balance worksheet. I was able to create this report along with the necessary lead sheets by customizing reports to my specifications within the program itself.
For a fee, you can use the QuickBooks remote access service to access a QuickBooks company file on another computer. With remote access, you can check something in a client's file, enter changes, or even set up a new company file without being at your client's place of business. To use remote access, both you and your client must have an Internet connection (and client's permission, of course).
QuickBooks is more flexible when it comes to reporting capabilities for in-house financial statements. New for 2006 is the Financial Statement Designer, which gives unlimited customization of financial statements directly linked to the client's QuickBooks data. Since you don't have to export the data to other programs (i.e. Excel) to customize financial statements, you can produce exactly what you want faster and more efficiently.
The Financial Statement Designer contains a large selection of customizable financial statement templates, including multiple balance sheets, income statements, statement of cash flows, statement of retained earnings and financial ratio calculations, as well as compilation and review letters. It's not meant to be a replacement for CaseWare, but I like the initiative that Intuit has taken to "think outside the box." The financial statements created here can also be exported to Excel or as a PDF document.
Other notable features include the Fixed Asset Manager and Loan Amortization schedules to keep track of capital assets and long-term debt, respectively. Prices range accordingly from $99 (Easy Start), $199 (Pro), and $399 (Premier). Accounting professionals wishing to obtain ProAdvisor status will have to pay $199 (QuickBooks ProAdvisor) or $399 (Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor) and will receive the QuickBooks Premier — Accountant's and Bookkeeper's Edition including payroll updates as part of their membership.
Wish List
In both applications, I would like to see CCQ Payroll integrated in the Pro and Premium versions. Sage and Intuit promote their respective applications as ideal solutions for the construction industry in terms of job costing, time tracking, and departments/classes. The inability to process CCQ calculations in the payroll module for Quebec enterprises is a bit disconcerting, and, in this respect, this makes its functionality incomplete. Third-party products can alleviate the void, if necessary, but the objective here is to have an all-in-one solution.
Simply Accounting could be a little more flexible in the realm of customized reporting directly from the software itself. Not everyone wants to learn Crystal Reports or Microsoft Query to get the ultimate reporting benefits. In all fairness, they have made dramatic improvements over the years, and I'm glad Sage is listening to their customers. Notwithstanding that notion, Simply gives the kind of bare-bones reporting that I've come to appreciate and require, not eye candy.
QuickBooks, meanwhile, would benefit greatly if the software was available as a bilingual version. The Pro version is available in either French or English, but the Premium version is only available in English. It's a little tedious to set up a chart of accounts or financial statement template in French from scratch, unless I perform a quick import/export of data originally created in French. For external engagements, if that audit trail is off, good luck trying to trace what you want to find.
And the Winner Is...
Actually, Sage and Intuit are both winners: I can't honestly say I prefer one brand over the other, nor do I want to push a particular product. If setups and procedures are performed accordingly, both applications will perform exceptionally well. For a complete list of current specifications, system requirements, and prices, I suggest checking out their Web sites or obtaining a trial version of the software.
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