• Track sales & expenses for up to 20 customers.
• Instantly create invoices, pay bills, & print checks.
• Organize your finances in one place, tax ready.
• Organize data on customers, vendors, and employees all in one place.
• Manage payroll & payroll taxes with Direct Deposit offering (paid subscription required).
• Accept credit card payments right in QuickBooks
• Easily create a professional website with customizable templates and drag-and-drop tools.

The main competitor of Intuit QuickBooks Simple Start 2009 is probably Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2009, which is also available for free.

QuickBooks Simple Start 2009 is available for free download from intuit.com, or download the setup loader: Setup_QuickBooks_SimpleStart_Direct_2009.exe.

The initial executable downloaded is a smaller installer file that will continue to download the actual installation file (320 MB). So, user has to online when installation.

There are TaxCalc products for all major returns: the SA100 for individuals, SA800 for partnerships, SA900 for Trusts, CT600 for companies as well as the R40 repayment form. TaxCalc 2009 Personal 6 (£28.95) reviewed here contains six Personal Tax Returns (SA100) and all the supplementary pages including self-employment, foreign, land and property, capital gains and non-residence, making it perfect for individuals.

New features
In addition to numerous small improvements and updates required because of HMRC changes, Acorah software has added a few new features to TaxCalc 2009 Personal 6 which make the software even easier to use. If you have a question, one way you can now get help is by sending an anonymous version of your tax return directly to the support team without having to use e-mail. TaxCalc can do this for you directly from the program using a secure encrypted connection.

Multiple rows can be sorted by clicking on the heading of the appropriate column so you can, for example, sort your bank accounts into alphabetical order. Where there are repetitive entries, the new ‘auto-complete’ function assists you when adding further entries. Lastly, TaxCalc automatically populates the Memorandum report with information about capital and trading losses carried forward.

Ease of use
TaxCalc’s simplicity is largely due to its unique method of entering your information. Thanks to a process called SimpleStep, the software guides you through the data that you will need to input to complete the self-assessment tax return. Alternatively, you can enter your data directly onto HMRC ‘identical forms’. Once complete, you can then either file online or print a paper copy of your HMRC form and post it. TaxCalc’s Secure Online Filing using the official HMRC gateway and also confirms that the return has been received by HMRC.

The ‘My Returns’ screen is the start point for Personal, Partnership and Business users. From this screen you can import files from TaxCalc 2008 (useful for static data, such as contact details and tax references) and create or edit existing 2009 tax return files. You can choose which type of tax return you need to work with, and if your licence does not include that type of return then you will be prompted to upgrade. There are two ways to enter information in TaxCalc and you can switch between the two methods at any time using the Mode Chooser.

SimpleStep is designed to remove the anxiety out of completing the tax return and hides all the complex forms and calculation behind a user-friendly interface. Simply enter the information requested and you are only presented with questions that are relevant to you. You do not need to worry about which HMRC forms you require, or the calculations, as TaxCalc takes care of all of that for you. Forms Mode enables you to complete the tax return directly. However, it does not have all the advantages of SimpleStep. For example, in Forms mode you need to attach computations of each disposal for capital gains tax in 2009. However, SimpleStep automatically creates these and attaches them to your tax return as you enter data.

A neat usability touch is that as you work through a return, you will find that TaxCalc changes the colour of some boxes that you can enter information into. For example, a white box is an ordinary box that you can enter information, whereas a pink box means there is an error in this box. You can find out what is wrong by holding the mouse cursor over it and reading the pop-up text that appears.

You’ll also find wizards everywhere in TaxCalc, which are used, for example, to list individual amounts which are totalled up and put onto the tax return, as well as take information from you and perform any number of difficult calculations. TaxCalc lets you compare 2008/09 data with 2007/08, assuming you used the software last year. Hovering your mouse over a comparison icon next to each tax return box displays last year’s value and shows the variance between them. You can drill down by clicking a Notepad icon next to it, which is perfect for catching potential omissions or errors.

Conclusion
Accounting isn’t fun at the best of times, but TaxCalc makes light work of filing SA100 individual returns. Having said that you’ll still need to have a solid understanding of core accountancy terms such as capital allowances, net business profit and losses, in order to prepare a self-assessment form correctly. The software’s Help system does a good job of explaining this gobbledegook, but it does not shelter you entirely. The only criticism is that personal and business versions of TaxCalc 2009 restrict the number of tax returns you can prepare to just six (either SA100 individual returns or R40 Repayment forms). If that’s not a problem, TaxCalc 2009 Personal 6 is just the ticket for individuals wanting to cut down on expensive accountancy fees and missed filing deadlines.

The trouble with typical PC-based accounting software is that double-entry journals and other features that appeal to experienced accountants make it overly complex for budding entrepreneurs who want something simple to help them control their finances as the business takes off.

Like other “starter” packages based on cut-down versions of big brand accounting applications, MYOB’s BusinessBasics needs to overcome this hurdle. Using the accounts of a local sports club as a test bed, I put the application through its paces during the Christmas break.

MYOB BusinessBasics: Key points
Entry-level edition of MYOB’s small business acounts package, providing bank, sales and nominal ledgers only. Those seeking time/billing, foreign currency accounting, jobs management and specialist accounting tools should investigate or upgrade to MYOB Accounting or Accounting Plus.Strengths

• Fast, easy installation with good Set Up wizards 
• Command Center graphical navigation “launch-pad” 
• Easy to use journals, invoicing and payment routines 
• “Extra” features including budgeting and bank reconciliation tools 
• Straightforward, no-nonsense help  Weaknesses Installation
  Installation and set up are fast and easy, as one would hope. A New Company File Assistant walks you through the creation of a new company in five steps, including selecting a readymade chart of accounts. Options are also available to import what MYOB calls an “accounts list” either from Excel, or from a Quicken Import. Navigation
  Like its more sophisticated siblings (Accounting and Accounting Plus) MYOB BusinessBasics is designed around a Command Centre window that points you towards Accounts, Banking and Sales centres, which display a simple graphical hierarchy for each activity, with options below to list reports or find transactions. The Command Centres emulate the graphical flow charts that are becoming popular to guide users through more complex accounting applications such as Sage Line 50 and QuickBooks. Ease of use
  It was also no problem to go ahead and record sales to my motley collection of members – or customers. Raising invoices and receiving payments came easily – especially with an option to settle an invoice as it is raised to account for weekly collections of members’ fees. Each invoice also included the option to record the sale against a job – which was also mirrored in the Bank Register. It might be overkill for a non-profit sports club, but would be extremely useful for a consultancy or other service-based or project/contracting organisation. Extra features: Budgeting and bank reconciliation
  MYOB BusinessBasics features a number of interesting “extras” not always found on budget price systems. These include a tool to set budgets for each account, with and controls to apply automatic increase options. It looked good, but was a little too sophisticated for my organisation and was not fully explored in this review. Error correction
  Due to some initial set-up errors, my own efforts at bank reconciliation were an embarrassing mess. How could I eliminate all the initial payments that I had mistakenly directed into the bank account rather than holding with undeposited funds before I compiled them into a bank deposit? User help
  As with many other tasks, the program steps users through period- and year-end processes (backing-up data files and locking previous periods) and the user guide provides useful advice about about working with an accountant and dealing with their adjustments. Conclusion
  MYOB BusinessBasics seeks to ease users into accounting tasks via the Command Centre screens. But there is no gettting around that this is a typical Windows XP generation business application. The BusinessBasics interface feels “bitty” and, allowing for the MYOB terminology, it is usually quicker and easier to navigate around using the standard menu command bar across the top of the screen than going back through the Command Centre.  

  Pricing

  • £67.23+VAT, a very good deal for such a comprehensive, but easy to use application.

   

  The Excel import feature is a nice touch, often found in grown-up applications. But a few experimental import attempts confirmed the advice of MYOB’s no-nonsense user guide that this task is best done under an accountant’s supervision.

  In the absence of a suitable accounts list, the Accounts module of the BusinessBasics Easy Set Up Assistant includes an Edit tool makes it possible to add and group new accounts, with the option to create hierarchies with up to three sub-levels. The tools work, but are very much a one-at-a-time option, which could make major changes somewhat laborious. The Accounts Set Up Assistant is also where you enter opening balances for each account.

  The Set Up Assistant Customise options for data entry, enquiries and help are also basic, but include time-saving features such as “easy-fill” menus that instantly recognise accounts, suppliers or customers from the text you type in. Or you can select them from a pull-down list. Another useful option allows the user to select accounts by their names rather than nominal code numbers.

  The Sales Set Up Assistant has the most options, including invoice templates for service, professional, part-based and “miscellaneous” sales types. It also sets up the VAT codes you will use and the accounts that will receive money paid by your customers. As with the Accounts List, the set up tool has a quick data-entry screen where you can enter names by typing them in, or importing and editing/correcting an existing list.

  As the user guide suggests, first-timers will need to set aside around 30 minutes to create a new company file – although more time (30mins in my case) might be needed if you wish to customise your accounts.

  The Sales Command Centre is simple enough to use, and offers good facilities to add and edit customers as you go along. The Sales Register keeps a record of all sales, with options under different menu tabs to create new quotes and invoices, or to convert a quote to an invoice. Similar facilities are available to raise credit notes and settle invoices against them.

  Pretty quickly it became apparent that my customer list import had gone wrong, with some inconsistent formatting of customer names and several rogue entries in the telephone field. But where was the list so I could fix it? There is no such thing as a customer list in BusinessBasics. I tracked down summary of customer list details from the Report menu, which is where I learned that they were held on cards. It’s simple enough to edit the records once you find them via the Lists-Cards menu option, but the MYOB terminology proved to be an irritating stumbling block for several minutes.

  The Reports Index screen provides lots of standard templates under five main headings (Accounts, Banking, VAT, Sales and Lists) plus a basic customisation filter tool.

  Banking is also very strong. The Bank Register is the key screen in the banking module, providing an instant overview of transactions in and out of bank accounts, with a handy payment generator/check writing form at the bottom of the screen, which also included a button to set up recurring payments. There is also a convenient on-screen button to record bank entries such as interest and overdraft charges.

  The BusinessBasics Bank Reconciliation module lets you choose the date of accounts you want to reconcile (for example to go back and re-do a reconciliation if you need to check it) and allows you to drill down to the individual transactions that go into each entry. You can also import bank statements to carry out the reconcilation.

  It was actually quite easy, as the Set-Up-Preferences Security menu includes an option allowing users to change/delete transactions. The default option was to allow changes, so whenever you view a transaction, the Edit menu conveniently includes a Delete option for misposted payments and invoices. What may be a boon for the ham-fisted amateur could be a source of potential concern for the user’s accountant.

  This summary is typical of the user guide and help files installed with the program, whcih describe the application in a similarly straightforward, step-by-step style. If you need more assistance, a telephone helpline is available during office hours for customers who buy an MYOB support plan. The user help is admirably succinct, but given the target market of very small and start-up businesses, MYOB may have missed a trick by failing to include some simple overview information about why you need to do particular tasks, what the different elements of the package are intended to do, and how they work together.

  Each of the program components is presented in a separate screen window. On a good-size monitor, these can appear a bit mean and more often than not, the default views of reports and enquiry screens fail to display very much meaningful information, so a lot of time is spent dragging window corners to enlarge them. It is easy for the screens to get buried underneath each other and on several occasions BusinessBasics complained when too many windows were open simultaneously. During the review, it became apparent why the latest generation of business applications tend to be structured around two or three big window views, with Outlook-like task panes and icon signposts.

  But given the relative ease of tasks such as data entry, making/receiving payments and producting reports – and more specifically extra features such as the job analysis, budgeting and bank reconciliation tools – the quibbles about screen layout and design are very minor. Aside from the potential lack of a proper audit trail, MYOB BusinessBasics is a durable accounting package that strikes a good balance between functionality, ease-of-use and value for money.

  The program costs £67.23+VAT, a very good deal for such a comprehensive, but easy to use application.

 

Aimed at the small business with little or no bookkeeping expertise, the latest version of Sage Instant Accounts is designed to make life easier for the accounting novice. There are no big changes, more a collection of minor improvements in the way the software works, including a new welcome page giving access to a range of sources of help and support plus a practice company that lets you experiment without affecting your own data. It’s also easier to fix errors in the new version, although we still found it hard going in places.

All you need to run Instant Accounts is a PC running Windows 2000 or later. Installation takes just a few minutes, and there’s a step-by-step wizard to guide you through the process of entering your company information for the first time. Alternatively it’s possible to open a demonstration company or work on your own practice data, with much the same interface used throughout, which we found clear and, in the main, pretty easy to master.

Bookkeeping jargon is kept to a minimum, which is good, although you do end up having to get to grips with concepts like ledgers and account codes as you delve deeper into the package. To this end the basic implementation offers support for sales and purchase ledgers with facilities to bill for both products and/or services. VAT accounting is another standard feature, with everything to do with VAT now collected into one area plus support for online reporting to HMRC.

Here’s a marketing story: a small UK design company couldn’t find any bookkeeping or accounting software suitable for its Mac-only work group.

Undeterred, the plucky team knuckled down and developed its own application, and did such a good job that it ended up with a commercial release. And what do you know? It started selling like hot cakes. This is the story behind Kashflow.

This spiel struck us as odd as there are some accounting packages for the Mac that do an excellent job – MYOB’s suite and MoneyWorks to name but two.

The main difference between Kashflow and these betterknown products, however, is that Kashflow is a hosted service with an online interface. There is no download and install – you sign up online and manage your accounts. So we embarked on the free 60-day trial.

Clearly, MYOB’s features go into much more depth. In Kashflow you can’t download and import bank statements, there is no foreign currency integration, the customisation of invoices and correspondence is clumsy in comparison, and so the list goes on.

That said, Kashflow is perfectly adequate for just £14 per month or £150 per year, especially for freelancers who don’t need an overkill of features. It also has a refreshingly visual interface, rather than the staid layout found in some other packages.

Adding in elements such as new customers or suppliers is a simple process, as is invoicing and generally managing cash books. The reports section is particularly useful, with oneclick pie charts and guides underscoring the good visual communication of this app

People thinking of buying a new accounting package are probably going to mull over the online aspect of Kashflow. We suspect some users might find it hard to entrust their accounts to a program residing anywhere other than their desktop.

Delve further, however, and you’ll find plenty of more subtle enhancements designed to make this already accessible product even more user friendly.

One of the most obvious additions is support for Windows Vista. The previous version could be made to work with the latest Windows OS, but the workarounds were imperfect and it wasn’t an officially supported platform ­ a crucial consideration for companies just starting out and buying a new PC to run their accounts.

New users will similarly welcome the enhanced Easy Step interview process, which enables the software to be customised for use with up to 29 industry types. Previous versions featured a similar setup interview but the new one is much shorter and requires even less knowledge of accountancy terms.

The user interface has also had a major makeover, starting with a new home page. From here it’s possible to perform the most common tasks needed to run a business and do so without having to navigate lots of menus and dialogue boxes. This is a lot easier for new users and those upgrading will need to spend time finding out where the various tools have been moved to. However, as the new interface borrows heavily on the one introduced in the previous version, it doesn’t take too long to get to grips with.

Other new features include customer and supplier centres, designed to bring together all the tools and information related to key business areas. It’s possible to assign multiple postal and email addresses to each customer or supplier and set default cc addresses when electronically mailing invoices and other documents.

Likewise there’s a new self-contained centre for managing employee data and, if you subscribe to the payroll service, a payroll centre with new facilities to automate payroll runs, as well as pay employees

There’s lots of scope to customise the interface plus improved integration with Word and Excel. For example, you now turn an invoice into a personalised letter in just a few clicks. The ability to synchronise customer information with Outlook contacts is another new option, using a free plug-in available from the Intuit website. Google Desktop can be used to find information in this release of Quickbooks.

It’s not all good news, however, particularly if you are upgrading from a previous version of Quickbooks. Existing company files are easy to upgrade for use with Quickbooks 2008 but changes to the way Vat is now processed mean that you may need to keep copies of old files and software in order to access some historical Vat information. The forms designer has also been enhanced and some of the standard data fields either dropped or renamed, which will mean having to rework invoices and other forms if they’ve been customised.

These are minor quibbles and overall we found the improvements in Quickbooks 2008 well worth waiting for. We tested the core Quickbooks Pro version, which is available with or without Payroll (£99.95 a year) and in multi-user formats.

In addition there’s a cut-down Simplestart implementation for start-ups (£49.95), while for larger businesses, Quickbooks Premier (starting at £499.95) adds financial planning tools plus remote access facilities and can, similarly, be bought with payroll and multi-user support.

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