Review of Intuit — QuickBooks Premier 2011

Intuit - QuickBooks Premier 2011
800-322-6962
www.quickbooks.com

From the April/May 2011 Review of On-Premise Installed Accounting Systems for Small Business

QuickBooks Premier 2011 offers many new features and enhancements. With each new version, Intuit manages to add additional features that only enhance this popular software product.

Best Fit:
Targeted at accountants who support non-accountant business owners who maintain their own books.

Basic System Functions:
QuickBooks installation remains simple, despite the numerous enhancements and features that have been added to the product over the years. The QuickBooks interface has remained unchanged, as well, with Centers remaining the focus of the home screen. Several navigation options are available, including the menu bar at the top of the screen, clicking on the Center icons, or using the workflow areas that are located on the main user interface screen. Menus are easily customized to display as much or as little information as possible.

The Company Snapshot provides a quick view of vital company information, including payment status, receivables, AR by aging period and other receivables reports, and quick links to frequently used functions. During product installation, QuickBooks provides the ability to choose the industry that best describes the user’s business type, including templates for service businesses, nonprofits, construction companies and retailers. Industry-specific editions of QuickBooks are also available with custom reports in each version.

Once a business type is chosen, the chart of accounts that is installed is defined based on the respective template. Invoice, statement and sales order templates conform to the requirements of different business types, as well. QuickBooks for Mac is also available, although the Mac version has a more limited feature set.

Core Accounting Capabilities:
All accounting activity takes place in QuickBooks centers. Core functions such as GL, AP, AR, and Payroll are included within the program.

Some of the new features for 2011 include:

• A Batch Invoicing system that allows users to process multiple customer invoices simultaneously if they have received the same products or services.
• Users can now also process customer and vendor transactions while viewing historical data, rather than opening a separate window.
• A new Paid Date stamp allows invoices to be prominently stamped when paid, and all estimates, invoices and reports can be emailed to customers and vendors with a single click.