QuickBooks
QuickBooks
 |
|
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Intuit, Inc. [1] |
| Stable release | 2010 / 2009 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows[1] Mac OS X (USA only) |
| Type | Accounting software |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | http://quickbooks.intuit.com |
QuickBooks is a line of business accounting software developed and marketed by Intuit.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
Intuit was founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx in Mountain View, California, USA. After the success of Quicken for individual financial management, the company looked to provide a similar solution to small business owners giving them a system that required little or no accounting experience, yet helping provide financial structure and compliance.
[edit] Initial release
The software was popular among small business owners who had no formal accounting training. As such, the software soon claimed up to 80 percent of the small business accounting software market. It continues to command the vast majority of this market.[2] Professional accountants, however, were not satisfied with early versions of the system, citing poor security controls such as no audit trail, as well as non-conformity with traditional accounting standards. (Such accountants often provide small businesses with monthly and year-end services that require data from the software used for day-to-day operations by the business.)
[edit] Subsequent releases
Intuit sought to bridge the gap with these accounting professionals, eventually providing full audit trail capabilities, double-entry accounting functions and increased functions. By 2000, Intuit had developed Basic and Pro versions of the software and, in 2003, started offering industry-specific versions, with workflow processes and reports designed for each of these business types along with terminology associated with the trades.
Options now include versions for manufacturers, wholesalers, professional service firms, contractors, non-profit entities[3] and retailers, in addition to one specifically designed for professional accounting firms who service multiple small business clients. In May 2002 Intuit launched QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions for medium-sized businesses.
A September 5, 2005 Business Week article said that QuickBooks had 74% of the market.[4] A June 19, 2008 Intuit Press Release said that as of March 2008, QuickBooks’ share of retail units in the business accounting category reached 94.2 percent, according to NPD Group. It also says that more than 50,000 accountants, CPAs and independent business consultants are members of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor program.[5] By then Brad Smith was the new CEO, though Steve Bennett (who remains a Director) had nearly tripled Intuit revenue and quadrupled earnings in eight years.[6] QuickBooks has become so dominant that there are now several QuickBooks wikis.
[edit] International versions
Versions of this product are available in many different markets. Intuit’s Canadian and U.K. divisions offer versions of QuickBooks that support the unique needs of each region, such as Canada’s GST or PST sales tax and the U.K.’s Value Added Tax (VAT). Reckon Ltd (Australian Securities Exchange (ASX):RKN) under licence from Intuit, publishes versions for the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore markets. Version 2008 has enhanced support for Irish VAT reporting. Note that the Quickbooks Ireland edition has a different underlying architecture than the USA edtion.
The Mac version is only available in the US.
[edit] General features and use
Small businesses use QuickBooks for most financially-related business processes, from entering sales receipts, tracking expenses, preparing and sending invoices, sales tax tracking and payment, preparation of basic financial statements and reports, purchase order processing, and inventory management. The program does not include MICR line printing, but does include check printing and options for employee payroll and time tracking. For most tasks, QuickBooks doesn’t require users to understand standard accounting procedures, including double-entry bookkeeping. Most transactions are recorded using on-line screens that closely resemble paper based forms such as invoices or checks.
[edit] Recent feature additions
Intuit has integrated several web-based features into QuickBooks, including remote access capabilities, remote payroll assistance and outsourcing, electronic payment functions, online banking and reconciliation, mapping features through integration with Google Maps, marketing options through Google, and improved e-mail functionality through Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. For the 2008 version, the company has also added import from Excel spreadsheets, additional employee time tracking options, pre-authorization of electronic funds and new Help functions. In June 2007, Intuit announced that QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions would run on Linux servers, whereas previously it required a Windows server to run.[7]
[edit] QuickBooks Online Edition
Intuit also offers a hosted solution called QuickBooks Online Edition (QBOE). The user pays a monthly subscription fee rather than an upfront fee and accesses the software exclusively through a secure logon via a web browser. Intuit hosts all of the user’s data, provides patches, and regularly upgrades the software automatically.
Until recently, the only browser supported by QuickBooks Online was Internet Explorer. However, Mozilla Firefox is now supported on PCs and Safari is now supported on the Mac platform. One may also access QuickBooks Online via an iPhone and BlackBerry web app and Android.[8][9]
QuickBooks Online does not offer all of the features of the desktop versions of QuickBooks, and has many features that work differently than they do in desktop versions. [10]
[edit] QuickBooks Point of Sale
QuickBooks Point of Sale is software that replaces a retailer’s cash register, tracks their inventory, sales, and customer information, and provides reports for managing their business and serving their customers.
[edit] Add-on programs
Through the Solutions Marketplace, Intuit encouraged third-party software developers to create programs that fill niche areas for specific industries and integrate with QuickBooks. The Intuit Developer Network provides marketing and technical resources including all SDKs.
Intuit’s Lacerte tax preparation software for professional accountants who prepare taxes for a living integrates with QuickBooks in this way.
Compared to other versions of QuickBooks, fewer third-party add-ons integrate with QuickBooks Online Edition.
[edit] Criticisms
The 1999 version of QuickBooks forced users to pay an additional fee for payroll table updates.[11] The 2000 version of QuickBooks tried to force users to pay an additional fee for payroll tax updates for each company file, but a QuickBooks boycott got this to be one charge per copy of QuickBooks.[12]
In April of 2006 Intuit disabled functionality of QuickBooks 2003 in the areas of Bill Pay, Credit Card Download, Do-It-Yourself Payroll, Employee Organizer, Merchant Service, Online Banking, Online Billing, and Support Plans and Services. Since then, Intuit disables equivalent functions for all QuickBooks versions, approximately 30 months after it stops selling them. [13] In 2009 Intuit also prohibited QuickBooks hosting companies from hosting older QuickBooks versions.
On 15 December 2007, the company released a version of its automatic updater for Mac OS X with a serious program error. The company fixed the updater on 17 December, but by then it had caused substantial data loss for a number of users.[14][15]
QuickBooks Online suffered an extended outage on February 2, 2009,[16] and again due to power failures on June 16-17, 2010. Many customers complained on the company’s forum, and threatened to leave the service for a competitor such as Sage.[17]
[edit] See also
- QIF format
- Comparison of accounting software
[edit] References
- ^ a b Elsa Wenzel. “QuickBooks 2008 Pro Specs”. CNET. http://reviews.cnet.com/accounting-and-finance/quickbooks-2008-pro/4507-6405_7-32631884.html. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- ^ USA TODAY Education – Careers TODAY
- ^ http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/accounting-software/nonprofit-accounting-software/
- ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_36/b3949090_mz063.htm
- ^ http://www.intuit.com/about_intuit/press_room/press_release/2008/0619qb.jsp
- ^ http://www.intuit.com/about_intuit/press_room/press_release/2007/0822cr.jsp
- ^ Intuit Press Release – Intuit’s QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Embraces Linux
- ^ http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/smartphones/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210200859
- ^ http://blog.quickbooksonline.com/2010/02/05/calling-all-android-users/
- ^ http://oe.quickbooks.com/converters.cfm
- ^ Foster, Ed. “Twist in Intuit’s crippleware techniques doubles the cost of its tax-table service”. Infoworld. http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/01/04/30/010430opfoster.html. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ Livingston, Brian. “Intuit products “phone home” more often than you may like”. Cnet. http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-281296.html. Retrieved 2000-03-31.
- ^ “QuickBooks Sunset Policy”. http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/DiscontinuationPlan.aspx. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- ^ QuickBooks Update Dropping Data for Mac Users, eWeek, Dec 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ QuickBooks for Macs causing data loss, Macsimum News, Dec 17, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10155708-2.html
- ^ System problems for Intuit give Sage a boost, The Times, London, June 18, 2010. Retrived 2010-06-18
