Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best accounting package available at the moment, 5 Aug 2008
I run a small business, designing and developing software and have tried many different accounting solutions including Sage; this package is so much simpler to use and does it without losing any functionality.
What you get is exactly what you would expect to see in an accounts package aimed at the U.K. market including VAT and corporation tax calculations, Stock control functions, Customer credit management and even payroll functions. If used in conjunction with Outlook Business Contact Manager the customer management feature is much closer to a full CRM package. This package also integrates with banking functions allowing you to pay invoices directly using BACs and to import electronic bank staements and reconcile your bank statements.
As this is part of the Office suite there is a great deal of integration between this package and the rest of the suite. Creating custom invoices, quotes and letters is so simple using word. any infomation can easily be exported to excell for manipulation. If the functionality is not available in the package the solution uses a SQL server backend so it is a simple task to export the exact infomation you need and to extend the solution where needed.
The use of a SQL server database means this is a fully scaleable solution that can be installed as a 2-tier solution with the database sat on a server and muliple clients all accessing the same database.
In conclusion I can highly recomend this accounting package to anyone who runs a small to medium sized business who want to keep upto date with their account without having to spend too much time managing there accounting software.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Superb integration with Microsoft Office software plus a years subscription to 'Payroll' accounting, 23 Jul 2008
Accounting 2008 has finally arrived. There are two main versions: Accounting Express is free and best suited to the self-employed and very small businesses, while this Professional version is aimed at businesses of up to 25 people. There isn't a huge functional difference between the two versions; Express is only missing higher-end features, such as stock control, support for BAC payments, and multi-user and multicurrency support. You can download the UK version of Accounts 2008 Pro for a free 60 day trial from Microsoft, plus there is that powerful `lite' version: Accounts 2008 Express that is free to download and use forever. This Professional version of Accounting is a better option than the more expensive Intuit QuickBooks Pro 2008. Accounting 2008's main competitor is accounts software giant Sage though, and freebie Accounting 2008 Express is probably there to draw 'start-ups' into the Microsoft fold - when they grow, Accounting 2008 Pro will be the logical next step. Also many small businesses simply plump for Excel and pen and paper for their accounts, so there is a lucrative market for a cheap integrated Office accounts product that easy to use by anyone who's already MS Office savvy. That said the Accounting 2008 is no pushover to learn to use correctly. It took me nearly 20 minutes to work out how to import data from a MS/Sage .ofx file for the first time [I'm PC literate and not an accountant], but there is plenty of help on-line and within the program. So you will naturally have to invest a few evenings time to begin to use the program effectively.
With this Pro PLUS version you also get a years subscription to payroll accounting included: to calculate your payroll, print checks, and file tax forms for 12 months, i.e. run payroll in just four easy steps from within Office Accounting. If you just buy Accounts 2008 Pro, this UK service would cost £9.95 a month. In the US this subscription also allows you to do list inventories on eBay and download sales into Office Accounting [but at the time of writing this isn't set up for eBay UK].
Highly rated by PcPro [5* out of 6], Microsoft Accounting 2008 predictably scores highest for it's superb integration into MS Office. You need a modest PC minimum spec [1GHz, 512Mb RAM, 2Gb free hard drive space, 1024x768 VDU], plus Windows XP/Server 2003 with SP2 [probably also OK with Vista but check first]. You ideally need Office 2003/2007 - although XP Office gives almost as much functionality. Extra features require Outlook [email attachments], Business Contact Manager [share financial data], IE 6.0, and XP Pro/Server 2003 [share data amongst multiple computers]. Word [2002 or later] is needed to create customised invoices, sales orders, quotes, memos, customer statements, and purchase orders. Word or Outlook 2007 is needed for emailing attachments in pdf or XPS format. Save as pdf is available as a free download [Adobe took exception to it being included on the Accounting 2008 CD]. However Accounts 2008 does need a decent modern PC to run smoothly [it's very sluggish on a minimum spec PC]. Also some lists and reports don't distinguish credit and debit balances that clearly, which might confuse new users
Connecting more than one user to Accounts 2008 at any time requires additional licences (there is a three licence pack boxed set available that literally saves you a few pounds). This version is tailored to the UK market, so there's full support for UK VAT [both accrual and cash-based schemes] plus payroll control, the subscription for the latter being included in this Plus version. However, there's no direct banking integration, but you can download OFX-formatted files and reconcile them with Accounting's bank account. The [British] Institute of Chartered Accountants have accredited this software, but they advise you to try before you buy to ensure it does what you want.
Accounting gives you a list of 20 predefined reports in Express, and 40 in Professional - not a lot, but MS Office integration more than makes up for this. Reports can be quickly exported to workbooks, with column headings and formulas intact. You can build your own Pivot Table-based reports or run Access-based reports inside Accounting, tweak them and return them to the list of reports inside the program. It's also easy to amend reports to add custom fields and layouts.
Freebie Accounting 2008 Express is obviously superb value, and the price of the Pro version makes it very attractive for larger businesses. It's also likely that this Plus version will save you money for the 12-month integrated `Payroll' subscription, but that check before you buy.
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by Karen S. Fredricks
