Works as a bookkeeping tool for a mom & pop business. Confusing for a trained accountant.
Updated March 18, 2015

Works as a bookkeeping tool for a mom & pop business. Confusing for a trained accountant.

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

2012

Modules Used

  • Basic standard module

Overall Satisfaction with QuickBooks Pro

I have a small start up recruiting business, which has some initial balance sheet set entries and then a low volume of monthly activities. I was looking for a general ledger and reporting application to meet this need.
  • The ability to attach documents and files to transaction is great. IT is nice to have all of the relevant documentation in one place. This eases subsequent review, such as in an audit.
  • The ability to easily download reports into excel, either new or existing files is simple and effective. It facilitates having information is more than one place, which goes against the goal of having everything resident within QuickBooks, but I may be overthinking the situation.
  • I had used QuickBooks about 7 years ago when I was accounting for the wind-down of multi-million dollar corporation after a merger, and it easily met all of the ledger and reporting needs in that case. I'm an accountant by training, and am experienced setting up closing routines, schedules, entries etc. The ability to initiate, track, summarize and report on recurring and adjusting journal entries in QuickBooks Pro is confusing at best. I didn't have this issue with the previous version.
  • The downloading and updating of bank data especially, I use the free version of interface with PNC, is more confusing than seems necessary. I have used Quicken since it was introduced in the late 90's and the ability to load transaction data from banks/credit card systems is critical, and Quicken's interface is much more straightforward.
  • It is more of a bookkeeping product than an accounting product. Maybe that is all I really need, but its flows are not intuitive to me.
  • The cost of acquisition is nominal, and it provides much more structure than a series of spread sheets, so if your alternative is using a spreadsheet it is a great improvement.
  • This version is not cloud based so you can only work from one desktop, and you have backup issues. If I were to start all over, I would have explored the online SAS version which I believe is also available.

I received QuickBooks Pro as part of my franchise start-up. It was not a critical element for the operations of the business. I had come across Intacct through the AICPA, and noticed their affiliation. I am separately working with a new business start-up, and like the fact that Intacct is cloud based and is more of an accounting application versus a bookkeeping application, and as such I view it as having much more upside, based upon where we plan on the business going. I'm glad that I have had exposure to QuickBooks Pro, so I can make a more informed decision on systems for this new business.

I believe that QuickBooks Pro is an appropriate tool for a mom and pop business, but probably not for a larger more complicated business.


I suspect that if you are looking for a basic bookkeeping solution, and don't have any background in accounting, it is probably a fine product. My concern is that if the business grows in size and complexity it may soon run out of capabilities, at which time you will have to convert to a more robust system.

Using QuickBooks Pro

It is the 2012 version and I have not been forced to upgrade to a more current version yet, so can't answer.

Using QuickBooks Pro