Quickbooks – Page 2 – Schulz Consulting

Has Intuit quietly doubled the price of QuickBooks Pro 2009 for payroll users?

April 2, 2009 by Wayne Schulz

Update 4-3-2009: Nope – it doesn’t look like Intuit doubled the price. The confusion stems from any number of issues – not the least of which Intuit’s web site is vague over what “payroll” processing means within older versions of QuickBooks Pro.

Turns out on at least QuickBooks Pro 2008 and 2007 there was a separate fee charged for 3 user and unlimited payroll processing. Sure, you could use Payroll within the older versions – so long as you didn’t mind manually entering many of your calculations. This information was nearly impossible for me to find on Intuit’s own site. Their 2008 “what’s new” guide seems to indicate that their QuickBooks Pro 2008 does indeed do payroll (with no mention of having to subscribe to a service that in many cases doubles the price of the software). Only once I made a trip to the Barnes and Noble was I able to pull out older reference guides stating that QuickBooks indeed offered an added fee payroll service at least for the 2007 and 2008 versions (and Inuit states that it has always been that way).

So how do people without a CPA degree and 20 years of accounting industry experience figure this stuff out? Beats me.

Caveat Emptor!

One of the emails that arrived in my inbox this morning was from Amazon advertising some software deals.

Amazon had a “special” on QuickBooks Pro 2009 plus QuickBooks Payroll “3 user” for $169.

Perhaps I’m a little out of touch with Intuit’s product line (I have an email in to them so they can straighten me out) — however last I knew you could run payroll from within QuickBooks Pro without limit on the number of employees.

Now if I read their marketing literature correctly, an end user wanting payroll and accounting within QuickBooks would be expected to pay:

QuickBooks Pro 2009 – $119
QuickBooks Payroll 3 Employee – $199/year
QuickBooks Payroll Unlimited – $279/year (this is, I believe, what used to be included in QB Pro)

By my quick math this is a 100% price hike.

Certainly there will be the explanation that it’s not a hike for people who don’t use payroll, (insert blah blah) — however comparing apples to apples you have a street price that was being offered previously of $99 to $149 for the QuickBooks Pro with Payroll versus the new pricing which appears to break out the accounting and the payroll (Note: Limited payroll functionality seems to be included in the QB Pro version but to get the SAME functionality it appears you now must buy a separate Payroll subscription).

The best way around this (for now) is to license the QuickBooks Pro 2009 plus Enhanced Payroll through Amazon’s $129.99 deal which is cheaper than renewing the annual payroll ($199).

Anyone have better information on this than me?

What can users expect next from Intuit?

Limits on the number of customers?
Limits on the number of vendors?
Limits on the number of transactions?

As Sage Business Partners we are very obviously not independent with our thoughts as to the above. We also don’t offer Peachtree or Businessworks (two of Sage’s lower cost offerings) and have not taken a complete study of whether Peachtree has a similar policy (they may). This information is merely an observation that after having seen the QuickBooks Pro product drop in price via online merchants that suddenly I’m now seeing it “bundled” with another product for Payroll when so far as I’m aware the prior versions included the Payroll without limits.

Set me straight if I’m wrong or you know more- in the comments below.

Sleeter Group Accounting Software Consulting Conference 2008 Gets Underway

November 11, 2008 by Wayne Schulz

Arizona Cardinals

Day one of the Sleeter Group’s Accounting Software Consulting Conference 2008 gets underway today. I’m speaking on Thursday with the Sage Software follks about MAS90 and how it’s a next step up for anyone formerly using QuickBooks who may need a little more horsepower in their software.

The picture above is from the Monday Night Football Arizona Cardinals vs San Francisco 49ers football game. The hotel the speakers are staying in is a short 20 minute walk to the stadium -which allowed us to avoid the happy masses of football fans exiting the stadium after the 29 – 24 Cardinals win (I had to look the final score up because I left the game early to get some rest after having been up since 2am traveling to Arizona).

I’ll update the site with relevant keynote information and I will be talking to many of the QuickBooks consultants and vendors who make add ons for QuickBooks products .

If you’re at the conference – here’s my session titled Sage MAS 90 and 200: Easier To Use And More Affordable Than Ever.

Link: Sleeter Consulting Conference Schedule (Nov 11 to 14, 2008)

QuickBooks vs MAS 90 comparison guide now available

October 20, 2008 by Wayne Schulz

Outgrowing QuickBooks?

Thinking about switching to Sage MAS 90 or Sage MAS 200?

Unsure about what the differences between the products are and whether you’ll get enough of a benefit from making the move from Intuit’s Quickbooks software to MAS 90? Then take a look at this new 86 page QuickBooks vs MAS90 document that goes into depth about the differences between these two products.

Here’ a quick breakdown of the included chapters:

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Chapter 2 – Price Value

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
Retail Limitations vs. Value Added Reseller Consulting
Integration
Customization
Enhanced User Interface
Flexibility to Add Modules as You Grow
Core Accounting
Distribution
Manufacturing
Resource and Project Management
Business Intelligence and Customization
Customer Relationship Management
Business Management Applications
Add Users as You Need Them

Chapter 3 — Feature and Workflow Comparison

Feature Comparisons
Available Modules
System Options
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
General Ledger
Inventory
Sales Order
Purchase Order
Payroll
Customizer
Bar Code
Job Cost
Visual Integrator
Workflow Differences
Real-Time and Batch Processing
Cash Basis vs. Accrual Accounting
Audit Trail
Adding Customers and Vendors
Working in More Than One Company
Memorized Transactions vs. “Copy From”
Data Entry
Navigation
Viewing and Editing Open Sales Orders and Quotes
Inventory Costing
Functionality That’s the Right Fit
Alerts vs. Business Alerts
QuickBooks Welcome Window vs. Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users
Business Insights Dashboard

Chapter 4 — Conversion Expectations

Conversion Specialist Program
Training Requirements
Before You Begin the Conversion Process
What Is Data Migrator?
What Data Can Data Migrator Convert?
Which Versions of QuickBooks Data Will Data Migrator Convert?
What Does the Migration Process Entail?
Printing QuickBooks Reports Before Migration
Data Migrator Checklists
QuickBooks Data Migration Checklist
Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users Pre-Data Conversion
Checklist
Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users Post-Data Conversion
Checklist
Data Integrity
Time Expectations
Downtime

Chapter 5 — How to Get the Most Out of Your Software

Implementation
Training
Tutorials
Anytime Learning and Instructor-Led Training
Authorized Training Centers (ATCs)
Certified Trainers (CTs)
Business Partner Training
Support
Certified Support Specialists
Certified Support Centers
Sage Software Support Plans
Conclusion

From the guide:

What are Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)?

GAAP is a widely accepted set of rules, conventions, standards, and
procedures for reporting financial information that are established by
the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Sage MAS90
Special Edition for QuickBooks Users adheres closely to these
important industry guidelines.

For example:

In Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users, a user
cannot change or delete posted transactions without an audit trail.
With an audit trail of changes to posted transactions, you will
maintain a clean general ledger that will make your accountant
and the IRS much happier!

QuickBooks allows you to use either cash-basis or accrual-basis
accounting methods. Cash-basis accounting does not follow
GAAP. Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users uses
accrual-basis accounting, which closely follows GAAP.

Although this guide has been designed by Sage Software (developers of Sage MAS 90 and 200) and can understandably be considered a little biased toward their product – it still contains lots of helpful information.

Whenever I review a vendor provided guide such as this I will use it as a starting point. If you can get even one question from it to ask about a prospective new accounting system then it is worth it.

Even though this guide is designed by Sage Software, there is an unusual amount of fact checking that happens before it is published.

For example, there are plenty of charts like this which compare and contrast the available features in QuickBooks and MAS 90.

The guide is available now through your friendly local Sage Business Partner. If you don’t have a friendly (or a local) partner to ask – then hit up the link below for your very own free copy.

Depending upon the version of Sage MAS 90 or 200 that you are considering, you should be asking as well about any promotions that are available for owners of QuickBooks (or other competing products) who are upgrading. Sometimes the promotions are only valid on certain versions of MAS 90 – but you won’t get the discount unless you ask!

Link: QuickBooks Conversion Guide
(PDF)

Sleeter Group QuickBooks conference early registration closing October 15, 2008

October 8, 2008 by Wayne Schulz

sleeter conference 2008.jpg

If you’ve been thinking of attending the Sleeter Group Accounting Software Consulting Conference being held in Arizona later this year – hurry up and register. Early registration is closed after October 15, 2008.

The early registration cost for full conference participants is $736. Send 3 or more attendees and the cost drops to $552 each. Those of you who are already of Sleeter’s consulting alliance can pay the reduced rate of $552 as well.

Although traditionally Sleeter Group have focused on the QuickBooks line of accounting software, you’ll have more opportunities than ever to learn about other brands. Because this conference is not run by any one vendor, the opportunities to discuss competing products is wide open.

For example, I will be presenting a session on Sage MAS 90 and 200 for Sage Software and Microsoft will be well represented in sessions and as a conference sponsor as well.

There are even some bigger firms that will be presenting and discussing consulting opportunities in other vertical markets with those who may be looking to expand beyond QuickBooks consulting.

Professional Solutions Automation vendor Deltek will be represented by Taylor Macdonald who is giving two scheduled sessions (11/11 – Var Opportunities and 11/12 – Consulting in the Mid Market). For those of you don’t know Taylor, he formerly ran the VAR channel for Sage Software. Before that he was an owner of the #1 Sage Software consulting firm nationwide for several years. His speech alone is probably worth flying to the conference for as it is always candid, completely unscripted and has ample opportunities for questions and answers.

There are three pre-conference sessions as well (all held on November 10, 2008):

Taking Your Practice Online – Randy Johnston
Taking Your Practice Online is an in-depth session discussing how technologies are changing the whole paradigm for the accounting services business. Online applications and Web services were once considered to be a fad, but have now become integral to a number of business processes. Reliance on technology has grown at astounding rates, and the current generation of business owners demands an increasing level of mobility and access. You will learn about the various approaches to mobile computing, and why adoption of an online working model is no longer optional for most businesses.

QuickBooks POS Consulting – Leslie Capachietti, MBA
The QuickBooks Point-of-Sale Consulting session is an advanced level course designed for accounting professionals who help clients, or wish to help clients, with QuickBooks Point of Sale software. There are no prerequisites for this course but attendees must have a thorough knowledge of QuickBooks Financial Software.

Leslie Capachietti has been working with small businesses for over 15 years, helping them both streamline and gain a better understanding of their financial operations using QuickBooks software. Having successfully owned and operated her own businesses, Leslie has a personal understanding of the unique needs and resource constraints (both time and money) of business owners. Leslie is a national speaker and trainer for Intuit and is one of the country’s leading experts on QuickBooks Financial and QuickBooks Point of Sale software.

QuickBooks Point of Sale Outline:

Learn What’s New in QuickBooks Point-of-Sale Version 8.0
Is POS right for your client?
How QB POS interfaces with QuickBooks Financial Software
Setting up QB POS properly – the first time!
Developing end-of-day processes for your clients
Importing data from other vendors and other software into QB POS
How QB POS Items differ from QuickBooks Items
Setting up QB POS merchant account processing
Creating QB POS reports
Tips and tricks to make QB POS run smoothly and avoid problems
Troubleshooting common problems with QB POS
Expanding your practice with POS installation services
Becoming a QB POS expert
QB POS Certifications
Marketing your QB POS services
The importance of training clients
Pricing your services
Scheduling post installation follow-up sessions

eCommerce with PDG Commerce Software – Andrew Abrams
ECommerce with PDG Commerce Software will provide an in-depth understanding of the skills and techniques necessary to build a Web storefront for your clients using PDG Commerce. You’ll learn how to create a web store that provides the full online shopping experience for customers, plus you’ll learn how to properly integrate the Web store with a variety of accounting software. This course will focus on the tools and applications necessary to make the shopping experience secure for both the merchant and the buyer. You will learn about how PDG Software Ecommerce solutions can benefit both you and your clients, streamlining the processes that help save time and reduce errors.

PDG Commerce was a 2007/2008 winner of The Sleeter Group’s Awesome Add-On Awards.

Link: Register for Sleeter Group’s Accounting Software Consulting Conference

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