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Ken Maxwell
12-05-2007, 4:50 AM
My Epilog is on it's way, what quoting software to use
I would like input on what quoting and business software people on here use. What is the easiest to use and least expensive.

Thanks

Mike Null
12-05-2007, 5:25 AM
Ken

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your purchase.

You can go back to bed for awhile--nobody delivers at this hour.

I use or mis-use a program called Quickbooks on the recommendation of my accountant. It is not too difficult to learn and although I use only a few of its features it's a rather complete software package.

The version I have is Pro 2007 that I bought at Sams for under $200. Because it lets me email invoices I save postage envelopes and printing which nearly pays for the program.




If you use the Google toolbar there is a built-in spell checker.

pete hagan
12-05-2007, 6:29 AM
I use Quickbooks Pro 2007 for three different businesses and it's great. I ship direct from QB which saves me time and money (time is money) Both FedEx and UPS. Also the emailing of invoices is nice and I signed up for the Innovative merchants credit card processing by negotiating the fees to the same as I was paying at my local bank! I process the cc in Quickbooks and it eliminated me having that stupid terminal and printer AND double the work. I do not have a store front but if you do then buy a mag stripe reader for your PC (about 60 USD) and you can swipe a card directly into QB for authorization.

My 2 cents.

Pete

You are on your own for pricing your work so spend some time determining that and set up EASY "items" in QB or you'll run the risk of creating a gazillion items and slow the system down. Think restaurant and keep it simple. Also if you sell products with UPCs then invest in a bar code reader, enter the items as the UPC number and inventory item. That way you can simply pick the item up off the counter, scan the barcode and bam it's there like a real business. I bought several barcode scanners on ebay for less that 50 each and these are the heavy duty commercial scanners you see at the major retailers. Since I serialize every item we machine, unique serial number common item number, I scan the item number and then add the serial number in the description field with the barcode scanner.

John Keeton
12-05-2007, 7:37 AM
My wife and I have used Quickbooks in another business for over 10 years. It has many functions that can be used, but are not required. It can be dumbed down, or you can utilize as many features as you want.

It is a "double entry" (records debits and credits) system, and better for a corporate environment where your tax return will require a balance sheet. If you want something more simple, there are versions of Quicken, which is the "single entry" system. Both are Intuit products. Intuit has been in the business for years and has nearly all the kinks worked out. The only negative is that if you are doing payroll on Quickbooks, you will get locked in to mandatory upgrades to support the tax table downloads. If you aren't doing payroll, then you can use the version you purchase for many years without updating.

Stephen Beckham
12-05-2007, 8:26 AM
I too got it as Sams. I tried to use all of it at first - inventory, bills, invoicing etc... Now I've dumbed it down to use it only for expenses and invoices.

KY has funny sales tax laws (maybe similar to other states - my first time)... After dealing with four different catagories and hand-jammin each for quarterly taxes, I now have the invoice section set up for four different sales tax codes. All have 6%, and all total correctly, but I love the fact that I can click on that total and it gives me the breakout of the four different sub-totals when filing. Should also make taxes easier at end of this year...

I guess the best way to state it - the software is either as smart as the operator, or as dumb as the operator.... Mine is still in elementary!!! :eek:

Nancy Laird
12-05-2007, 9:40 AM
I've used various versions of QuickBooks since 1996 and find it to be just about the best accounting software out there. I now have QB2007, purchased at Sam's. The best thing about it is that I can back up my work onto a flash drive (or two) and carry one in my purse, leave one at home, and duplicate my PC information onto my laptop for when I'm traveling.

Another good thing is that it keeps all of my customer information in one place--no need to generate a typewritten list, just press a few buttons and get a list printed.

Nancy (16 days)

Bill Cunningham
12-06-2007, 7:41 PM
I use a standard cash register on the front counter, but it's only really used to keep track of the daily cash flow. For the main stuff, I have a custom lotus spreadsheet that I developed, and updated over the last 20 years as needed.. I have a spot for everything, and every process is separated. That way I know what makes me money, how much and what doesn't and how little. Expenses are also tracked by type and $ value. All the taxes are calculated sorted, and kept away from whats 'mine' . At the end of the year, I push a button, and my ins and outs are listed, sorted, catagorised and printed to a single legal size sheet which I fax to my accountant to do my taxes. 'simple'