Item: QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Rating: 10
Author: Erika Neilson

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use QuickBooks Pro as our main accounting software for handling our business. We produce invoices, patient statements, and manage our financial reporting through it. I am able to easily see a snapshot of our financial status when I log in as well as find quick access to reports that I need generated. It is fairly user-friendly and allows me to accomplish all the financial tasks needed to run my business.

Pros and Cons

QuickBooks Pro does invoicing well; I am able to customize my invoices to my company's specifications. The templates allow options for the design to be personalized to the needs of my company, including guides for making it easy to use windowed envelopes.
It gives me a quick snapshot of where my financials are. I always have an idea of the financial in's and out's with just a click or two of my mouse.
QuickBook Pro reminds me when bills are due, and records easily when payments are made. I never have to worry about missing a payment because of the flag reminders.

It is software on my desktop computer at work, therefore, I cannot access it away from my office. This has been somewhat inconvenient, but I am aware that there are online options with QuickBooks that we are strongly considering for the future.
Sometimes it is difficult to edit a list item. There is some inconvenience of not being able to right click and permanently edit a list item within an invoice. Instead you have to go to a menu item, look it up and then edit the item instead of being able to edit the original item within an invoice. You can, however, change the information within the invoice, you just aren't able to make permanent changes to the line item without going into the line item menu.
When I am paying bills, I am not able to attach a receipt or list a notation about a payment confirmation number. That usually has to be done in the invoice itself, instead of in the 'pay bills' screen, which, at times, can be a hassle.

Return on Investment

I am able to keep track of my books with decent accuracy. Most of the issues I have had have been because of not knowing how to use the software, but it has the features needed to keep things going.
I am able to quickly see which invoices I have as outstanding, which makes keeping vendors paid on time. This is SUPER helpful for keeping track of the outgoing expenses.
I am also able to track Customer balances and statements easily.

Alternatives Considered

I haven't used other accounting software.

Other Software Used

Microsoft Access

Likelihood to Recommend

QuickBooks is perfect for a small business. I have been using it for several years and it is simple enough for a start-up company to be able to figure out how to use it. There are also usually classes offered in local communities to help teach the basics of QuickBooks - which I took, that helped me become familiar. It may work for a larger business, but may not have the ease needed for managing multiple locations as it is somewhat cumbersome to switch between sets of books.

Users and Roles

1 - President, billing, AR/AP

Support Headcount Required

1 - As I am a small business owner with little background in accounting, we were able to get started with only basic accounting concepts. The software allows you to edit transactions if you find that you have made any mistakes in your accounting/bookkeeping. Nothing is permanent, which can cause issues if you delete the wrong thing; but it is nice to be able to edit everything.

Business Processes Supported

Billing clients
Managing vendor invoices
Keeping track of monies coming and/or going from the company.

Innovative Uses

Creating packing lists
Monthly stats for staff meetings
Tracking financials for more than one business

Future Planned Uses

Adding and tracking financials for additional providers
Merchant transactions
Employee payroll

Likelihood to Renew

10

The software is pretty straight forward, it does what I need it to do, and there is no-deal killer issues creating a need for other software. Continuing with QuickBooks makes sense as being familiar with QuickBooks Pro prevents the need to try to learn a different software, and knowing how to use this software already is a big reason to stick with it long into the future.

Products Replaced

No

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability

We had heard from other users that is a fantastic software for small businesses/start-up businesses. My financial business adviser highly recommended it for it's ease of use and flexibility. These were super important as a new business owner has many responsibilities; simplification of keeping financial records is a huge bonus!

Evaluation Lessons Learned

If I were to buy QB again, I would probably not have started with the Payroll version that is included as we were able to outsource our ability to do payroll; however, I was happy to know that there was an option for handling it in-house if we chose to take that route.

Implementation Rating

9

We implemented the software ourselves. The training we received on the software was done by taking a community course teaching us how to use QuickBooks. It allowed me to get started with some basics of how to use the program and have not needed much assistance since completing the course work.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

No

Change Management Lessons

Not sure - N/A

Implementation Issues

The learning curve - how to do what I wanted to do and where to go to do it.
Setting up items was and can be a bit cumbersome.

Support Rating

8

I haven't had any major issues or complaints. I think there is always room for improvement; the software isn't flawless, but it has been super helpful in creating manageable financials for our start-up business. When I have needed support help, which hasn't been real often, usually the problem is resolvable. I have occasionally had to pay extra fees for help, but nothing unreasonable.

QuickBooks Desktop Pro Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Knowledgeable team Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

No - I haven't needed it since the software is pretty user friendly. All you need is a basic accounting background to get started and the software functions well enough that you can figure most things out with very little training.

Bug Resolution

No

Exceptional Examples of QuickBooks Desktop Pro Support

I was locked out of my system, and wasn't sure why. I contacted support and they were able, through logging in to my desktop, search, find the problem, correct it, and get me back working again. I only lost a day or two of accounting, which could have been much, much worse!

Usability

9

QBP is easy to use, somewhat easy to learn and runs fairly smoothly when using it. It tells you automatically that you need to save, and helps delete old backup files so that your PC doesn't have too many old copies of previous backup storage.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None

Easy Tasks

Posting transactions
Attaching invoices
Daily snapshot reports

Difficult Tasks

None - after the learning curve, it's pretty easy to use.

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

No

QuickBooks for Small Businesses

Overall Satisfaction with QuickBooks Pro