The debate never ends: QuickBooks or Quicken?
If you have been a small business owner for a period of time, you will find that there has been an ongoing debate about the best software to buy when setting up your small business. Presumably you are beyond the point where you are deciding IF you need software. Given the low prices and ease of use of many lines of accounting software, spending $ 100 or $ 200 on finance software really is a no-brainer, even if you’re on a very tight budget. Accounting software makes perfect sense and is affordable enough for everyone. If you doubt that statement, it is very likely that you are in trouble and wasting a lot of time figuring out “old-fashioned” accounting.
QuickBooks and Quicken are the two dominant software packages on the market right now. Of course, there are free knockoffs, but my general experience has been that the free knockoff takes a long time to learn and doesn’t save you much time in the long run. Yes, they are free, but how much is your time worth? Ironically, those two software applications are from the same company, Intuit, but for slightly different markets. Let me explain.
Quicken is for the single owner small business that doesn’t need a lot of forms, customer receipts, purchase orders, invoices, or other paper accounting documentation. You can print invoices, but it is not as easy to do as it is with QuickBooks. Also, between the two packages, Quicken has a smaller learning curve, making it easier to install, configure, and get started. If you simply need an easy-to-use check balancer, this is the product to get. You can track loans and repayment schedules. It also gives you the option to plan your finances and savings for retirement. Once again, its strong point is its ease of use.
QuickBooks, on the other hand, is ideal for a small business LLC, corporation, or limited partnership that actually employs people. If you need to keep detailed records of cash, inventory, or assets, you need QuickBooks.
This product includes robust capabilities to automate general accounting tasks such as customer statements, payroll, and finance charges. A great little-discussed (and underused too) feature that QuickBooks has going for it is compartmentalized security features that make it possible for your accountant or CPA to do your books without having them examine every area of your finances. It seems to be a rare feature.
Both products are good at what they do and are priced accordingly. You can even find coupons online to make shopping more enjoyable. Each app is packaged slightly differently with its own versions of Deluxe, Super Deluxe, and “We can’t put more features in this product without taking up a lot of hard drive space” Deluxe, so be sure to check each one to see the characteristics that will be important to you and your business.
