2012 Review of Intuit, Inc. – QuickBooks Premier Contractor 2012

Intuit, Inc. – QuickBooks Premier Contractor 2012
877-683-3280
www.intuit.com

From the March 2012 Review of Construction & Contractor Accounting Systems.

Best Fit: QuickBooks Premier Contractor 2012 is well suited for small or start-up construction companies that need an easy to use software product that fits into their budget.

Product Strengths

• Affordable for most budgets and easy to use
• Limited time/expertise needed for installation and setup
• Solid accounting capability with industry specific chart of accounts
• Good integration with third-party software and a wide range of add-ons

Potential Weaknesses

• Limited ability for product expansion
• Limited customization capability

As in previous years, Intuit continues to update its popular QuickBooks business management software with new features and product enhancements. QuickBooks Premier Contractor 2012 provides tools to manage and track jobs for most small and mid-sized construction companies.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS - 4.75 Stars

QuickBooks continues to provide users with a customizable, easy to navigate user interface screen. The application uses transaction cycle-based Home Page as the main navigation point. All controls are navigated by using a drop down menu at the top of the screen, as well as workflow diagrams that display the available options for each area of the business (customers, vendors, employees, banking etc). Data entry screens are consistent with earlier versions, and all screens include look up options for quicker data entry. The new Calendar View provides better calendar management functions and users can scan documents and add to-dos to further improve functionality. Company Snapshots provide users with comprehensive views of selected reports such as payment status and company aging reports. A QuickBooks add-on provides remote personnel with easy system access. Data entry screens are consistent throughout QuickBooks and contain the necessary look up options. Although there is a Mac OS version of QuickBooks Pro, as well as a separate Online Edition of the application, the Premier Contractor Edition is available only for computers running Microsoft Windows. Job costing and some other features needed by construction companies are not supported on either the Mac OS or the Online edition of the program.

CORE ACCOUNTING CAPABILITIES - 4.5 Stars

QuickBooks Premier Contractor 2012 contains solid core accounting functionality including GL, AP, AR, and Payroll functions. New in 2012 is the Inventory Center, which allows users to manage inventory transactions from a single location. Users can utilize batch transaction processing when invoicing the same item or service. Recurring billings and invoices can be automated, and users can set the intervals between processing.

The Premier Contractor edition uses construction related vocabulary and the chart of accounts that installs with this edition includes construction specific accounts. QuickBooks also offers numerous Payroll options, where users can either process payroll in-house, or utilize an outside payroll service. Solid banking functionality simplifies the import, tracking, and reconciliation of bank accounts and credit cards. QuickBooks contains a transaction audit trail, with an audit trail report available on demand. Managers can assign varying levels of access to QuickBooks, including full or specified access to each transaction cycle, and system areas can be made accessible or off limits as desired.

CONSTRUCTION/CONTRACTOR-SPECIFIC FEATURES - 4 Stars

QuickBooks Premier Contractor 2012 contains solid estimation tools, allowing users to create custom estimates and estimate templates which can be used in future jobs. Quotes can be easily modified if necessary, and users have the ability to create multiple quotes for each job in the system.