Accounting & Bookkeeping & Small Business Forum

Hi all. First post here.

I'm currently a first semester bookkeeping/accounting student at my local community college. Next semester I start into financial accounting and get my first introduction to PeachTree. I recently got an offer to buy the Peachtree Pro 2008 for basically the cost of shipping . (free after rebate)
Is this program worth buying?
I know there's a lot of places out there that use Quick Books instead, and I won't get into Quick Books for about a year in school. (and IIRC, it's optional at that point)

I currently have Microsoft Office Accounting 2007 compliments of one of the MS roll-out events last year, but have never used it.

Thanks for reading.

Hello.

I've used Peachtree before and it was okay. I like QuickBooks but at first it can be kind of complicated to use but once you've gotten the practice, it's cool. I guess what makes it hard is trying to combine the use of accounting principles and the use of the software. Some people don't care about the principles though, they just plug and chug.

I think my bookkeeping instructor would have a coronary at that concept!
He keeps pounding the accounting concepts into us daily in the hope that SOME of it will stick.

I hate Peachtree! I prefer QuickBooks.

I hear that a lot.

Can you explain why?

I know many of the students in school who are using the supplied academic version of Peachtree hate it, but apparently, either there are some serious glitches in the program, or they just don't know how to use it...or both.

I've never used either of them, so I have no bias either way. I do know that in the Fall semester, I'll have to use Peachtree...it's part of the class, like it or not.

I love Peachtree....but that is the only software I have used as It used to be the only software that you had job costing....and I know it like the back of my hand.....I hear that quickbooks is much easier and I find that more people use quickbooks. I plan to go this weekend and buy quickbooks so that I can teach myself....I assume its like everything else in life....to each his own.

If you're going to buy Quickbooks, check Ebay first. I got it a bit cheaper on Ebay than going out and buying it. I believe it cost like $200 retail and I purchased it on Ebay for $115.00. I've been enjoying it ever since.

Yes, I think most people prefer QuickBooks.

Accountants usually like Peachtree since it is more accounting oriented. Accounting teachers/professors continue to teach it since that is what they know. However, 85-90% of the small business that use an accounting program use QB. So, in the real world, it is much more beneficial for you to learn QB. If you learn Peachtree and understand accounting, then you should be able to learn QB fairly quickly.

I would have to agree with QB. I've been using Peachtree since it was Peachtree Classic before Quickbooks. I picked up Quickbooks very quickly at a clients, without any views or hands on. Some of the disadvantages at that time with Quickbooks were: It had a limit to the inventory items you could track, had an impossible sales tax routine that was difficult to correct, had a limit to 5 users and if someone ran a system search - it shut down the whole network for up to a half an hour.

In both programs, they are easy to fix, delete, void, and edit checks. I've discovered a number of fraudulent accounting irregularities, some as much as $100,000. Very little control in either of these programs. Make sure you have a user audit trail.

MYOB is a good option as well. It runs on a Mac as well so a lot of media and design companies use it. Very user friendly product.

QB does offer ease of use. That's why so many businesses use it.
It does have a negative - transactions can be changed/deleted very easily.
From a control standpoint, you need to make sure you can minimize that from happening.
I would be interested to know what other people do to prevent QB data from changing.

It is my understanding that Peachtree makes it harder to change transactions. Better control but more work for the user.

Hi BoomerD

If you are planning to do some freelance bookkeeping you must master what your target customer are using, and QB dominate about 60 to 70% of the small business market.

If you want to get a cheap or a good deal Quickbooks software and maybe you can find an economical way to get your hand on one of the several software that Quckbooks have.

If you are targeting "just starting small business" or sole propietor business who are doing their accounting on a "shoe box, paper, or excel files" you can start them with "Quickbook simple start" and upgrade them as you get a complete hold of their business.

Regards

Are you trying to do cost accounting....is that why you mentioned Peachtree? EZJOB is a much more intuitive solution.....my 2 cents!

You should purchase the version of Peachtree if you can get it for Free. I would also suggest getting the Free online version of QuickBooks. As you go through the semester enter the information in Peachtree and QuickBooks. This way you'll have a head start next year when you start learning about QuickBooks.