Mike Block, Accounting Technology magazine cover article
James Gaskin wrote, at Networkworld, “MILLIONS of small businesses that use accounting products from QuickBooks... are AFRAID to make the jump into more complex and expensive software.” http://www.networkworld.com/
As a CPA, specializing in QuickBooks, and managing other QuickBooks users and QuickBooks ProAdvisors since inception, I know this is obviously not true. QuickBooks 2009 upgrade? YES! Outgrowing QuickBooks? NO! Shrink Files!
QuickBooks had a total of only about four million users, though it recently had 94.2% of small businesses accounting software sales at retail. The vast majority of these users have absolutely no interest in or need for more complex AND EXPENSIVE programs. Many even question the cost of QuickBooks, though there is a free version and the most popular versions sell for $80 to $160. Quite a few are very unhappy about extra charge for payroll, which adds $99 - $249, depending on number of employees and features. Only a small fraction of QuickBooks users are large enough to consider if they are outgrowing QuickBooks, not millions. Only a still tinier fraction are really outgrowing QuickBooks, NOT MILLIONS. Most of those who may be outgrowing QuickBooks should say QuickBooks 2009 upgrade? YES! Outgrowing QuickBooks? NO! Shrink Files!
I previously detailed that companies with less than 500 employees, and many business units in larger companies, should use QuickBooks, especially with an integrated payroll program or services. To summarize, the Census Bureau had 25 million firms in 2004. http://www.prlog.org/
The QuickBooks 2009 upgrade is, by far, the fastest, easiest, most complete and most accurate QuickBooks ever. It will improve the number of QuickBooks ProAdvisors (50,000+) and the industry-high ratio of QuickBooks (Intuit) Net Promoters (see Google). These Promoters use QuickBooks and recommend it to colleagues and friends. Their large numbers strongly predict continued Intuit success. The flip-side of this success will be continuing rapid failure of competitors. Quicken initially had 45 competing home checkbooks program, but few survive. Unless users can find new companies with consistent profits and high user satisfaction (NetPromoter)
Mr. Gaskin now suggests Cougar Mountain ($999 - $20,000); Sage Accpac ($760 - $45,000); Sage Mas 90 ($1300 - $45,000); Microsoft Small Business Financials (less than 25 employees, $995 - $4,595); and SAP Business One ($4,250 per user). These costs are a small part of the real costs of these programs. Add the big data conversion costs, consultant costs, training costs, higher priced staff salaries, the considerable delay costs, and much more. Mr Gaskin cites the free CTS Guides. Their last review was for 2006. Three of their 10 packages were from companies that seem to have massively falsified their public financial statements. 8 of the 10 were from companies that sold out to Sage or Microsoft, rather than apparently being able to prosper on their own. Sage, in fact, publicly justified the price paid for Peachtree based on its expected ability to switch users to more expensive packages. Its later actions made this clear, to the distress of Peachtree users and add-on developers. Microsoft acquired bought several of these companies after repeatedly failing with internally developed programs and prior purchases. It has been beaten by Intuit at least nine times, including the recent withdrawal of Microsoft Money from retail sales. These new purchase initially produced massive losses. They also produced the initial $150 version of Microsoft Accounting, a so-called “QuickBooks killer (Microsoft's label, not mine) It soon became a free download. Microsoft is still not #2 in retail sales with its paid version. It gives away about $15,000 of software for $299 a year to professional accountants. However, it recently listed only two professional advisors in the New Your City area, where QuickBooks had more than 400 (200:1). Therefore, unless users can find stability and solid accountant support, with large numbers of accountants who agree on a product, they should say QuickBooks 2009 upgrade? YES! Outgrowing QuickBooks? NO! Shrink Files!
If Mr. Gaskin really wants to see MILLIONS of small businesses AFRAID of outgrowing QuickBooks he can give them his CTS Cost-Justifier (trademark) Excel sheets. These 9 Excel sheets include many long and complex ones, with about 14 pages of needed help. That should really make those who think they are outgrowing QuickBooks say QuickBooks 2009 upgrade? YES! Outgrowing QuickBooks? NO! Shrink Files!
The big reason many feel they are outgrowing QuickBooks is speed, especially as files grow bigger. I will soon discuss the many ways to Speed Up QuickBooks, updating my article by this name. This article has been on my http://blocktax.com/
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