I made the switch to AccountEdge Pro as of the beginning of the year and it was the best thing I could have done for my business. I never realized how cumbersome QuickBooks really was until I got to see AccountEdge in action.
For a lack of a better way to describe it, AccountEdge Pro is just simpler and more straightforward about how you are supposed to manage your business. AccountEdge mimics how things are supposed to work in real life, so everything you learn in AccountEdge should reflect what you do in real life.
You will want to create a few company files to get a feel for the program when you first start learning AccountEdge. It’s also helpful to use the Widgets Inc. company file that comes with AccountEdge.
First, if you are moving from QuickBooks you’ll need to master exporting and importing information with AEP. You want to be sure to get everything you need into AccountEdge correctly from the start.
Entering Sales –AccountEdge is elegantly simple. Creating a sale is so easy and fast you may wonder whether you entered it incorrectly. You select a customer or add them quickly to your customer list. You just enter a company name or individual. Then you add items to the invoice or quote and record it. You can also receive payment and process a credit card, all on the same screen. Then print or email. For some businesses, this process can take the place of an actual point-of-sale system.
Bank Register – It was never obvious with QuickBooks how to best maintain your bank account information. Now with AccountEdge, one can easily import and review all the transaction from my bank by downloading a file. AccountEdge imports all the transactions and simplifies reviewing and add them to your register. This makes bank reconciling one of the easiest job instead of a dreaded one. QuickBooks didn’t seem to care if you ever reconciled.
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Custom Forms – Of course this feature is in both programs, but AccountEdge makes editing and creating new forms easy. Even on the fly, after creating an invoice, you can customize and create a new invoice for a unique sale or customer and then send it via email or the nearest printer.
Add-ons and Expandability – AccountEdge as itself is excellent for what it does for small business. However the folks at Acclivity Software go the extra mile and provide everything from Credit Card services to a Payroll Tax Forms service for larger companies to a full-time support staff, based in the US, to answer questions. They also have great mobile solutions like AccountEdge Cloud and AccountEdge Mobile, for iPhones, iPods and iPads for those of use that are always on the go.
AccountEdge Pro is available for both Mac and Windows, but started its life on the Mac and was known as MYOB. There are few differences between the two versions. The Windows version has a spell checker available when creating sales that the Mac does not. It would be nice to have on the Mac, but it can be an annoying feature if you don’t adjust its preferences to allow for un-capitalized words.
AccountEdge Pro is available for a 30-Day free trail and there is a Basic version for customers that don’t need to track an inventory or manage a payroll.
Give it a try today and soon you may be able to say good-bye to all your QuickBooks headaches.