March 2013

Getting small clients to be diligent about their bookkeeping is a challenge that all accountants face, especially those who specialize in the smallest businesses.

From the March 2013 review section of Small Business Accounting programs. eTEK Accounting for Microsoft Office 2010 www.etek.net 800-888-6894 eTEK offers several accounting systems for businesses of different sizes and for specific industries. The include the smaller-business eTEK for Microsoft Office, eTEK for SQL Server for larger organizations, eTEK Fundamentals for government entities and non-profits, […]

Wave Accounting212-334-9753www.waveapps.com Wave Accounting is part of Wave Apps, a suite of free or low cost apps which can be used by micro-businesses to run their business. The product is set up to work with business and personal accounts, and will automatically classify business expenses to accounts based on the payee information downloaded from the […]

Xero800-411-XEROwww.Xero.com Xero is an online client accounting system which has the goal of “zero data entry” by the accounting professional. The Company has made a number of strategic investments over the last year, and has significantly enhanced the headcount of its US operations with a number of accounting software industry veterans. Updates are released and […]

FreshBooks877-262-5122www.freshbooks.com FreshBooks is a cloud accounting application which started as a tool for managing invoicing, collections, and revenue tracking for small businesses. The product has grown over the last ten years to include time tracking, expense management, bank imports and integration with the BaseCamp Classic project management tools. The company now boasts five million users […]

Intuit QuickBooks Online800-286-6800www.quickbooksonline.intuit.com Intuit QuickBooks Online was one of the first SaaS accounting software applications for small business, and has released many enhancements (including some designed for accountants) in the last two years. New features like QuickBooks Online for Accountants (QBO4A) and third party apps available in the Intuit Marketplace (IPP) make it possible for […]

Kashoo888-520-5274www.kashoo.com Kashoo is a Canadian based SaaS accounting software company which pitches itself as a “real, simple cloud accounting solution for small business, with anytime, anywhere access via your iPad or Web Browser.” The product has a strong following in Canada, and is currently used by users in over 130 countries. Key features include a […]

Monchilla802-445-5288www.Monchilla.com Monchilla is a new SaaS accounting software platform which launched in October 2012. Monchilla has three major components to its small business management suite: Money (e.g. accounting/general ledger), Time (time tracking), and Payments (electronic payments to customer and suppliers). This review will focus on the Money module, and will not evaluate Time and Payments, […]

Sage 50 Complete Accounting 2013866-996-7243na.sage.com Sage 50 Accounting 2013—U.S. Edition is the new name for Sage Peachtree. During 2012, Sage renamed most of its products with a new naming scheme aimed at increasing awareness of the Sage brand. The Company is also rolling out connected services like credit card processing and e-Marketing tools which can […]

QuickBooks Premier 2013877-683-3280www.quickbooks.com Intuit’s QuickBooks is a product most accounting professionals work with at some level, and there are a number of different versions to the product, which is confusing to many users. Major versions of the product include: QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions, a product aimed at companies who want an on-premises product with industry-specific reporting […]

CenterPoint Accounting(800) 732-9464www.redwingsoftware.com CenterPoint Accounting is one of two accounting software product lines offered by publisher Red Wing Software. Both product lines (CenterPoint and TurningPoint) are sold and implemented by value added resellers or sold directly, and are targeted at the high end of the small business space or the lower end of the mid-market […]

A-Systems Visual Bookkeeper800-365-6790www.A-Systems.net A-Systems Visual Bookkeeper is a Windows-based general accounting application which has its roots in A-Systems JobView solution for the construction industry. The product has been on the market since 1978, and the company has released two significant updates to the product since our review in July 2012. The product has enough sophistication […]

Sage One (www.sageone.com) is a business management application targeted at micro-businesses, or those with zero to nine employees. Although the product is hosted on a global platform, with different versions for the U.S., United Kingdom, and Ireland, the U.S. version of the product was designed and created after significant local market research and consultations with […]

Addsum — Advanced Accounting888-923-3786www.addsuminc.com Addsum Advanced Accounting 7i r3 (release 5) is an accounting software product designed to work with Addsum’s popular point of sale module. The application is utilitarian, and its appearance appears somewhat dated compared to some of the other products included in this review, but the application is designed for speed, not […]

Many small company owners and managers already know the benefits of maintaining the business’ books correctly. They also fully realize just how time intensive it can be.

Acclivity — AccountEdge Pro 2013800-322-6962www.accountedge.com Acclivity’s AccountEdge Pro is a U.S. small business accounting software application for both Windows and MacOS which originated as the U.S. version of global small business management system MYOB. Two former MYOB executives purchased the exclusive rights to sell the application in the U.S. in 2005, and then set up […]

For years, small- to medium-sized companies have outsourced specific niche functions of their businesses, such as tax preparation, legal assistance, financial portfolio management and actuarial services.

Finding a suitable small business accounting application continues to be a challenge for many practitioners. While some choose to install a single solution for all clients, many accounting professionals are moving clients into cloud-based accounting applications, whether they are true Software as a Service applications (SaaS) or hosted versions of on-premises software. The summaries of […]

Business owners are advised to craft their mission statement. Yet once developed, few refer to them, fewer live them, and worse, some mission statements hurt your position more than help it.

The cloud continues to be the center of great debate. Supporters focus on the long list of benefits ranging from freeing up internal resources to focus on more strategic initiatives to smoothing the monthly IT budget.

Roman gives his update on technology from the 2013 CES trade show.

I’ve had the privilege of helping developers of many of the mainstream accounting software products in use in the U.S. market and the opportunity to follow many more over the last 30 years.

The ability to check on the status of cash, receivables, and payables from anywhere is a critical business need.

Picking the right software platform is an exceptionally important decision in every accounting firm. As you may know, I am the managing partner of an 11-person CPA firm in Bloomington, Indiana.

From the March 2013 review section of small business accounting systems. Intacct is a SaaS accounting product which really doesn’t fit the definition of a small business accounting application. Although it can be used for small businesses, it is more of a mid-market product, with features and pricing which make more sense for a larger […]

61 percent of CPA firm partners are now over age 50 and succession planning is one of the top issues of almost every firm.