QuickBooks is an accounting software package for small- to medium-sized businesses. Developed, sold and supported by Intuit — makers of the tax program TurboTax — QuickBooks has become a standard for people that want a simple way to track their business. It can be run on your home or business computers and is also available as an online option. QuickBooks is the number one selling accounting software for small to medium business.
Managing a small business can be exciting, but maintaining your company’s financials properly can be a daunting task. That’s where bookkeeping software, such as QuickBooks, comes in handy. QuickBooks is comprehensive business software you can either download onto your computer or access online that allows you to set up your company’s books and easily keep them organized.
QuickBooks has evolved into a powerful tool with many features like the larger accounting packages. It also was created to be a more intuitive approach to accounting, not requiring a degree in finance to run and understand.
The typical uses of QuickBooks include:
- Storing customer and vendor information
- Tracking sales and expenses
- Creating customer invoices
- Receiving payments from customers
- Analyzing sales and expenses
- Organizing financial data for tax purposes
There are several advantages to using QuickBooks over a manual accounting system, like a journal or spreadsheet:
- Calculations are done automatically so you don’t have to do the math
- Reduces or eliminates math errors or mistakes
- Data entry is consistent (e.g. state abbreviations, phone number formats, etc.) which makes finding or analyzing data much easier
- Changes are easily propagated throughout the system (e.g., changing the sales tax rate in one place will change it for all sales records)
- Searching for information is easy and quick with many options to sort and display the information
- Multiple report formats are available to view or print
QuickBooks can also download bank and credit card information into your system so you don’t have to manually enter them. This, again, reduces data entry errors and gives you different ways to run reports to see your company’s financial status.
The final benefit of using QuickBooks is that it will contain most of the information you will need for tax purposes. You can generate reports or even data files at tax time to send to your accountant. Or if you use the Intuit program TurboTax, it will pull the information it needs from QuickBooks.
Why Use QuickBooks?
Many small business owners think of using QuickBooks for one tool in particular. Some might want it to run their payroll, while others may want to use it for invoicing. You may end up purchasing the software for one tool and then discover its many other useful purposes.
These are the main advantages of using QuickBooks:
Save time on bookkeeping. With QuickBooks, many simple tasks are handled automatically, such as online banking and invoicing. You can even share data with multiple programs and other applications, such as Excel, Outlook, ACT, and more, to cut down on time spent inputting information and correcting common mistakes that occur with manual data entry.
Keep track of day-to-day business operations. You can easily categorize your revenue and expenses and see exactly where your business’ money is coming from and going.
Know the “health” of your business. Bookkeeping software gives you a great snapshot of what your business’ finances look like. By having all of your financial information in one easily accessible interface, you will be able to plan and prepare for the future with a high degree of accuracy.
Utilize comprehensive reporting. You can generate all the reports you need with the financial information entered into your company’s bookkeeping software.
Customize how you use it. Bookkeeping software is designed to be flexible and customizable. With QuickBooks, you can customize your software specifically to your industry or field, such as contractors, retailers, health care professionals, nonprofits, and more.
Cut accounting costs. If you maintain your company’s books properly with bookkeeping software, you will most likely be seeing less of your accountant. Bookkeeping software can easily take their place for your daily operations, such as payroll, writing checks, paying bills, and more.
Why We Recommend QuickBooks?
While there are many different bookkeeping software providers, such as PeachTree or AccountEdge, statistics show QuickBooks accounts for 94 percent of all small business accounting software sales. Sometimes it might not matter if you purchased the most well-known software on the market, but, because of QuickBooks’ popularity, most accountants and bookkeepers specialize exclusively in the software. Should you ever need help with your books, you will want a bookkeeper who is familiar with your software, and QuickBooks is the best way to ensure that. In addition, QuickBooks offers a ton of support through their expansive knowledgebase and QuickBooks-affiliated websites.
QuickBooks is also a great solution for small businesses because they offer so many different versions to fit anyone’s needs. Whether you’re just starting out and want to try their Simple Start version or you’re a seasoned pro that needs the advanced features of Premier, QuickBooks has a version someone at every level. And, with their online and hybrid services, you can easily upgrade or downgrade to a different version.
Who Should Use QuickBooks?
QuickBooks has a plethora of solutions for anyone who needs to maintain their business’ books. If you are someone who manages the finances at a business or one of the following, you should consider purchasing a QuickBooks product that meets your needs.
- Sole Proprietors
- Partnerships
- Contractors
- Manufacturers/wholesalers
- Professional services
- Retailers
- Nonprofits
- Accounting professionals
Anyone who has a business and wants to stay in business, or just wants to be able to deduct business expenses from their taxes, should invest in QuickBooks software.
