Feed: What Is Quickbooks - AggScore: 45.3

Quicken Rental Property Manager Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been managing rental property for about 15 years, starting with 2 buildings and 10 units at the beginning and now with 25 units in 5 buildings, containing a mix from studios and 1-bedrooms up to 4-bedroom apartments.
I recently decided to update from a very old version of Quicken, and since they had this program specifically for rental properties, I thought I'd found a perfect match. I couldn't have been more wrong.
You would think that a company that has made accounting software for this long would understand the most basic needs, like a running total alongside each transaction (which even my 7-year old edition of Quicken had). Nope. There is only a single running total. Make a mistake, and it is virtually impossible to backtrack and find. How about a field for your check number, the singular way to identify your checks/transactions? It doesn't have one. One of the 8 or so automatic fields they do give you is unit number. Problem is, it's a simple numeric assignment based on the number of units you input when you create each building's account, and it can't be altered. Apartments lettered instead of numbered, numbered in partial sequence, alpha-numeric, by floors, cardinal direction, etc? Tough luck. These are just a few of the problems or basic design flaws I've come across. It took several painstaking hours to transfer the entries from my old software and books into this new software, and now I'm stuck until I either find the time to transfer the data to something I trust, or I continue to use this program until the end of the year. It's half baked, and that's putting it lightly. I wouldn't recommend it for even the most entry-level rental property owners or managers. I can't imagine a big firm using it. Regular quicken costs half as much (though even that's getting horrible reviews on Amazon). The previous reviewer said it's no better than a simple excel spread sheet. I'd go further and say it's worse. Save your time and money, and just create a simple excel file.

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Organize your rental income and expenses in one place.New! Quicken Rental Property Manager, offers the easiest way to organize critical income and expense records in one place. We’ll help you eliminate the paperwork hassles, making tax preparation a much easier process. •Integration with Quicken® Personal Finance or Turbo Tax® software is not available.

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Checkmark Payroll Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)As a payroll professional, I have used payroll software products that range from basic to high-tech. I bought this product to replace a basic one I had been using at home to process payrolls for several small businesses. Within an hour of opening the box, I was creating paychecks. It is remarkably easy to use, comprehensive, and contains features that many of the more expensive programs do not offer. AND you don't have to pay extra to get the current tax tables installed before you can use the product (like you do if you make the mistake of buying Quickbooks). Another great feature is that if you choose not to buy the annual updates after the first year, you can manually change the federal and state tax tables yourself.

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CheckMark Payroll is a complete payroll system for companies with anywhere from one to 500 employees. It runs on its own as a standalone application, and also integrates with CheckMark MultiLedger, QuickBooks, and most popular accounting systems. Installation takes seconds and leaves users ready for any payroll challenge they can imagine.
Payroll lets users set up employees quickly with the employee template, and allows users to automate payroll calculations for each employee. It comes loaded with current tax tables for federal income tax and all 50 states. Using the MMREF-1 format, users can file W-2s electronically. CheckMark Payroll prints to a variety of forms, including checks, W-2s, W-3s, and the 941. It even has built-in Internet direct deposit capabilities.
Comprehensive management options are available: Payroll can distribute hours to departments or to jobs created in CheckMark MultiLedger. It can import employee hours from spreadsheet and time-clock software, and track sick and vacation time on a monthly, pay period, or per-hour-worked basis. Purchase of Payroll includes 60 days of free technical support.

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Versacheck Silver 2010 Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The GOOD: Versa check is an easy to use check printing program. It allows you to print checks with background pictures and various layout styles.
The BAD: Versa Check REQUIRES a licensing fee for every check printed. How does it do this? When you print you are required to input a serial number that corresponds to the number of checks in the box of paper that you purchased from Versa Check. What you want to use paper that you purchased from some other manufacturer? You MUST purchase a Versa Check paper license. They sell them in packs of 250, 500, etc. Cost is around 2-4 cents per check. If you don't purchase this license you CANNOT print. Additionally, Versa Check has nag screens that want you to purchase their printer and MICR ink.
CONCLUSION: If you want a good versatile check printing program that works with Quickbooks and other popular programs or stands on its own AND are willing to buy Versa Check paper and ink; this is your program.
If you want to use your own paper and printer, DO NOT BUY this program. You will be unhappy. Also, once opened, NO RETURNS.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Versacheck Silver 2010

VersaCheck Silver 2010 is the #1 Finance and Check Creation Software to create and print custom personal checks that comply 100% with ANSI X9 banking standards. This VersaCheck package includes the Silver 2010 software with 150 checks & deposit slips to get you started. Use VersaCheck Security Check Paper as your blank security check paper refill.VersaCheck Silver allows you to set-up and manage unlimited personal accounts. Use True Sign to digitize & password optimize signatures. Integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks, Quicken, and Money to exchange financial data and print directly on blank security check paper.With Check Designer Pro you can design and finish the look of your check face & stubs. Blank check paper offers extra storage security and the convenience of updating checking information at anytime. For automated check clearing to comply with bank regulations please use VersaInk or VersaToner in your inkjet or laser printer. Save 50-80% vs. buying pre-printed mail order checks. Vista Certified.

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Expensable 5: Single User License T&E Expense Reporting Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am happy with the software, it covers my needs and requires almost no user training!

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ExpensAble 5 is an expense-management solution for creating, submitting, and processing business expenses. Never miss a single expense and get reimbursed faster. Several integrated "genies" improve ease of use and simplify the process. Track missing receipts, ticket numbers, and ticket class from the main entry screen. Even access travel services online without leaving ExpensAble.
Prepopulate corporate credit card data directly into ExpensAble via ExpensAble.com. The Credit Card Reconciliation feature helps you find all credit card expenses you may have left off your expense report. The Trip Genie prompts you with questions to help capture all your expenses. The Hotel Genie automatically itemizes your daily hotel expenses and reconciles your hotel bill. The Foreign Currency Genie remembers the expense rate you set for expenses and applies it to your expense report.
Another key feature is the software's integration with Intuit QuickBooks. You can send expenses to QuickBooks Pro 2002 and QuickBooks Premier 2002. Easily assign expense types to QuickBooks Pro expense accounts by importing them into ExpensAble with the click of a button. Pass-through expense billing to QuickBooks Pro eliminates the need for rekeying billing information.
Note: This is a single-user license.

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G7 Productivity VersaCheck Gold 2010 - Windows Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I discourage anyone from going this route for printing checks. You may think it is cheaper than bank checks but it is not. I have had many Versaink Cartridges with problems being recognized in HP and VersaJette printers. By the time you are finished buying checks and dealing with faulty cartidges you may just as well use a form filler software to just type in what you need on a bank check. If the VersaInk cartridge fails before the ink is empty they, g7ps, will not give you a refund. g7ps customer service is awful.

Click Here to see more reviews about: G7 Productivity VersaCheck Gold 2010 - Windows

VersaCheck Gold 2010 is the #1 Finance and Check Creation Software to create and print custom BUSINESS & PERSONAL checks that comply 100% with ANSI X9 banking standards.This VersaCheck package includes the Gold 2010 software with 150 checks & deposit slips to get you started.Use VersaCheck Security Check Paper as your blank security check paper refill. VersaCheck allows you to set-up and manage unlimited BUSINESS & PERSONAL accounts.Use True Sign to save time by digitizing signatures for multiple accounts. Integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks, Quicken, and Money to exchange financial data and print directly on blank security check paper. With Check Designer Pro you can design and finish the look of your check face & stubs.Get paid via fax or phone using Remote checks & drafts!Blank check paper offers extra storage security and the convenience of updating checking information at anytime.For automated check clearing to comply with bank regulations please use VersaInk or VersaToner in your inkjet or laser printer.Save 50-80% vs. buying pre-printed mail order checks. Vista Certified. VersaCheck 2010 is now fully integrated with ProVision Payment Manager to streamline & expedite check approval and payment workflow. ProVision is subscription based and lets you: send checks via email for recipients to print from their PC, automate funding approval requests from account owners, instantly print e-mail checks from clients who owe you, view & approve checks from any internet connected computer, setup multiple check approvers, and setup vendors to receive & print e-mail check payments. ProVision's fee-based service can be instantly enabled from within VersaCheck. This VersaCheck package includes the Gold 2010 and 150 checks & deposit slips to get you started. Use VersaCheck Security Check Paper as your blank security check paper refill.Software driven security icons with validated p

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Marketcircle DayLite CRM for Mac OS X Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been using contact managers since the late 1980's. I've always been partial to Act! in all of it's incarnations because it was fast and flexible. Goldmine has a ton of great features but it's difficult to use and its interface STILL seems to be trying to break free from its DOS roots.
Until now, I've had to remain on the PC platform because it's been difficult for me to justify using a Mac because I couldn't find a program that could handle my contact management in a way that I was comfortable. Daylite solved that problem for me and I recently switched to the Mac.
For me, the "killer" feature was the ability to assign "roles" to various contacts in the database. I'm a real estate broker and can frequently have a contact who is a home buyer and a home seller -- two completely separate roles. I've never been able to find an off the shelf solution that would allow me to easily create a project or opportunity and assign the same contact to 2 different roles in the same database.
The depth at which you assign roles, categories, keywords -- and even create CUSTOM FORMS and data fields -- makes this program incredibly flexible! But it also means, as the previous reviewer stated, that there can be a bit of a learning curve. I'm the kind of person who never reads a manual -- I just plunk down and figure out a program. That wasn't the case here. So be warned that if you really want to experience the power, there's some book reading to do.
I'm giving this application 4 out 5 stars for a couple of reason. #1 - as was previously mentioned; you need to buy the DMI module separately. Linking your e-mails is ESSENTIAL in today's business world and not including that as part of the program just doesn't make sense.
The second reason I'm not giving Daylite 5 stars is because of its lack of easy import/export to the basic Mac OSX tools like the calendar and address book. It does have impor/export capabilities but not "seamless", automated procedures. You have to manually sync the Address Book (very simple, but should be automated!) and you have actually save an export file to import iCal items - a bulky chore if you update your calendar frequently.
I think this program should be able to be set up to use iSync and automatically sync the data I put into my contact manager with the rest of the iLife tools I use. I'd really like to be able to share my professional calendar with my wife via iSync and iCal...I have a life outside of business contacts!!
These are rather nit-picky points to lose a star over...and in my "gut" I'd love to give this program a 5. But 4 will have to do. :)

Click Here to see more reviews about: Marketcircle DayLite CRM for Mac OS X

DayLite is a powerful Mac OS X application designed to help individuals and small businesses grow their revenues, and increase customer satisfaction. DayLite is unique on the Mac! It goes beyond contacts and appointments to include projects, and introduces a powerful concept called opportunities. Opportunities offer a simple way to track details that help 'close the deal' on new business. Projects provide the user with the perfect way to stay focused on the big picture while maintaining control over small details. Appointments, tasks and contacts can be linked to both projects and opportunities, giving rich historical detail. DayLite helps both the individual and the small business owner to stay focused on the elements that are crucial for growth - opportunities and projects. It includes tools to help customers migrate from ACT 6 & ACT 2000 on the PC and offers sophisticated synchronization options.

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Timeslips 11 for Sole Practitioners Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)As a longtime user of Timeslips for my one-man consulting operation, the complete program -- networking many users and work stations -- was far more software than I needed. But it is the only game in town for time billing [QuickBooks just isn't up to that task]. So when the version for Solo (they call it Sole) Practitioners was announced, it seemed to be ideally suited to my needs, without cluttering the operating system with unneeded network routines. Since I have, over the years, collected quite a few entries for clients, invoices and payments, I wanted to make certain that my existing Timeslips database (Borland's Paradox) would transfer seamlessly to the latest version. Checking out the box, there's a blurb "Easy to get started, Easy to use", with the third bullet reading "Import your existing data with the built-in import tool". HAH! Trying to do just that, I got an error message that my existing data are from a previous TS version and cannot be converted to the version 11 format. Like the other reviewer, I called Tech Help and was informed that TSSP will NOT import the database -- the import function is only for text files (comma- or tab-delimited) exported by other database such as Access, FileMaker or SQL. And yes, I could export portions of the existing TS database as text files, but it would be more work than it would be to just get the upgrade to the full version 11 package. My advice: if you are starting from scratch, this might be neat software. But if you have an existing TS database, forget it. I've gone through the manual and installed the tutorials -- frankly, there's little or no reason to even upgrade; ver 11 looks and feels just the same as ver 9. Bells and whistles may have been added (a la Microsoft) but no substantive changes -- other than reworking the database engine for incompatibility with prior versions -- seem to have been made. FORGET IT!

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Timeslips 11 for Sole Practitioners is time-billing software designed especially for offices with one or two timekeepers. Simple, graphical menus allow you get started quickly, and a full set of features helps you maintain an efficient, professional billing cycle. Track all of your time and expenses in one easy-to-use interface. Create custom bill formats with the built-in design tool. Keep an eye on what's important to you with your custom Timeslips Today view. And you can select from a list of more than 80 predefined reports that give you the insight you need to make informed decisions.
With Timeslips 11 for Sole Practitioners you can reduce the work involved in completing your billing cycle, recapture more billable time and expenses, and get the critical information about your businesses that will help you become more productive and more profitable. Plus, Timeslips is backed with dependable customer service, mobile time-tracking solutions, and integration with partner products, making it a solid solution for turning time into money.

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Timeslips by Sage 2009 Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Overall a robust and reliable product, but:
Expect to spend another couple hundred dollars a year for support, either on a plan or at ~$50 per call.
Doesn't run on Linux. That's a huge downfall for a business product. If you want the stability of running on a dedicated Windows server instead of a user machine, it'll cost you an additional user license for the server in addition to each user.

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An industry-leading time and billing solution, Timeslips by Sage 2009 enables service-based businesses to manage the time and billing cycle efficiently. Easy to learn and use, Timeslips helps professionals to capture time quickly and accurately, which can lead to greater productivity and increased profitability. Timeslips offers simple bill creation and seamless payment tracking, and it integrates with popular accounting software and key practice management solutions as well as Microsoft, Outlook, and Excel. Timeslips reports present critical information that promotes better understanding of the business. And with improved billing access, Timeslips 2009 is better than ever at turning time into money.

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Wasp Countit Inventory Counting Application Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My company purchased CountIt in the summer of 2007. Six months later, we have been unable to upload our inventory data to QuickBooks, a feature claimed to be available by Wasp. In our case, we use an inventory description field in QuickBooks that is approximately 20 characters in size. CountIt will only allow approximately 9 characters. Wasp's original response to our complaint was to tell us to truncate our product descriptions. That change is not possible. Since then, we have been on a 4 month trail of tears in which Wasp supplies us with a failed patch; we notify them of the failure; and then three weeks later, they send us another failed patch. Clearly, the product is not compatible with QB as claimed. And, in general, the customer service has been slow and unreliable.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Wasp Countit Inventory Counting Application

Item #: J79063. Use QuickBooks or Excel to track your inventory? Tired of incorrect on-hand inventory levels? Fed up with the difficult and timely process of taking manual inventory counts? Let Wasp CountIt make your life easier and your business run more efficiently!Programs like QuickBooks, Excel, and many others don't use portable barcode scanners to verify the levels of on-hand inventory are accurate. As a result, businesses are forced to use a slow manual "pen and paper" inventory counting process. Only to return to QuickBooks or Excel and manually re-enter the correct the inventory levels. This manual process wastes time and money and leaves too much room for error. That's where CountIt comes in. Product Description: Wasp CountIt - complete packageCategory: Business applicationsSubcategory: Business - inventory systemsLicense Type: Complete packageLicense Qty: 1 userLicense Pricing: StandardPlatform: WindowsOS Required: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Customers also search for: Discount Wasp CountIt - Complete Package, Buy Wasp CountIt - Complete Package, Wholesale Wasp CountIt - Complete Package, 0633808341237, 633808341237, POS Bar Code Software

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G7 Productivity VC08-2791 Versacheck Gold 2008 Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've used VersaCheck for a long time, beginning with the 2000 edition. The product has always been extremely difficult to use and has almost no support from the publisher. I've managed to develop work-arounds for nearly all of the weird or frustrating behavior of the program, continuing to use it because it is a much lower-cost solution for printing small business checks than Quicken. The product also supports check safety features and [supposedly] postal address features that Quicken does not provide.
I've been locked in a totally unproductive struggle with Customer Support for almost four months over the matter of printing postal bar codes. It is my assertion that since VersaCheck does print bar codes when it is used as the checkbook for a business, it also should print bar codes when intercepting a print data stream from Quicken that contains a correct ZIP+4 code. It took nearly two months before VersaCheck Customer Support would acknowledge that the program would not print postal bar codes with Quicken check data. During that time, all responses to my support requests were the same: a brief tutorial on how to print from Quicken, totally ignoring my issue.
Eventually I developed a work-around that partially works, by importing a QIF file from Quicken (a function which receives several pages of treatment in the Help files!) Unfortunately, that also deletes entries from the VersaCheck address book, necessitating manual editing of each payee address every time a check is printed for a payee. Instead of acknowledging that QIF file importing was not working properly, it took six weeks to obtain a response that said "...newer versions of Quicken do not support QIF files." Duh! Quicken 2007 certainly DOES export QIF files for other programs. You'd think that for a product which is supposed to integrate with Quicken, the developers and Customer Support might actually have used the products.
Also in the 2008 version, there is a new metered usage scheme for printing checks... after you've exhausted the licensed count, you must pay G7 Productivity Systems a fee to unlock the program so you can print more! This seriously changes the economics of using the program.
Other annoyances include: A much-touted feature is the verification of US addresses against a commercial ZIP+4 code database--but without warning, the service was terminated in August 2007. Their high-capacity magnetic ink toner cartridges do NOT work successfully with several H-P printers in common use, as as the G85 All-in-One series and the DeskJet 870 and 890 series, but once the cartridges are opened and tried (unsuccessfully) in one of those printers, G7 will not accept returns. Once I received a package from G7 containing a purchased new version of the program which had an old CD in the package: G7 refused to accept a return as the CD envelope had been opened. In another instance the package label and documentation contained an INVALID serial number and G7 refused to accept a return. In both these cases, I had to pay an upgrade fee to get a current CD and serial number.
Summary: the program is difficult to setup properly to use with small business checks, especially if you wish to include logos. Help files are almost useless except for the simplest How-To entries. Despite misleading packaging and product descriptions, the product does not print postal bar codes for checks written with Quicken. Customer Support of the product is essentially non-existent, based on their total unresponsiveness to my issues. G7 quality control on software development, product packaging, and supplies is atrociously bad.

Click Here to see more reviews about: G7 Productivity VC08-2791 Versacheck Gold 2008

TrueSign digitized & and password optimized signature power, 4X UltraSaver software - print more checks & documents, NEW Supply Tracker - helps manage everything in your check writing system and Print-4-Cash rewards program let's you earn cash back toward supplies & free upgrades.TrueSign secure eSignature creator and manager Schedule your bill payments Checks sent by email feature Financial reports for home and business Create personal and business-size checks American CheckBooks templates & refills included Includes 150 blank checks System Requirements -IBM or compatible Pentium II 266 (Pentium II 300 recommended), 120 MB hard disk space plus 45 MB for Microsoft Internet Explorer if IE 6.0 or higher is not already installed (IE 6.0 included is on enclosed CD-ROM), Min 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended), 2x (or faster) CD-ROM, VGA or SVGA monitor, Windows (98, 2000/Me, 2003, XP SP2, Vista), Windows-compatible mouse, laser or inkjet printer, Internet access required for online features

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Versacheck Platinum 2010 (Multi-User) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The GOOD: Versa check is an easy to use check printing program. It allows you to print checks with background pictures and various layout styles.
The BAD: Versa Check REQUIRES a licensing fee for every check printed. How does it do this? When you print you are required to input a serial number that corresponds to the number of checks in the box of paper that you purchased from Versa Check. What you want to use paper that you purchased from some other manufacturer? You MUST purchase a Versa Check paper license. They sell them in packs of 250, 500, etc. Cost is around 2-4 cents per check. If you don't purchase this license you CANNOT print. Additionally, Versa Check has nag screens that want you to purchase their printer and MICR ink.
CONCLUSION: If you want a good versatile check printing program that works with Quickbooks and other popular programs or stands on its own AND are willing to buy Versa Check paper and ink; this is your program.
If you want to use your own paper and printer, DO NOT BUY this program. You will be unhappy. Also, once opened, NO RETURNS.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Versacheck Platinum 2010 (Multi-User)

VersaCheck Platinum 2010 is the #1 Finance and Check Creation Software to create and print custom Business & Personal Checks that comply 100% with ANSI X9 banking standards. Plus create and print custom Estimates & Invoices! This VersaCheck package includes the Platinum 2010 software with 150 checks & deposit slips to get you started plus a separate Business Cards and Labels program. Use VersaCheck Security Check Paper as your blank security check paper refill.VersaCheck allows you to set-up and manage unlimited personal & business accounts. Use TrueSign to digitize & password optimize signatures. VersaCheck's new Supply Tracker helps manage everything in your check creation system. Integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks, Quicken, and Money to exchange financial data and print directly on blank security check paper.

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Versacheck Platinum 2010 (Single-User) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The GOOD: Versa check is an easy to use check printing program. It allows you to print checks with background pictures and various layout styles.
The BAD: Versa Check REQUIRES a licensing fee for every check printed. How does it do this? When you print you are required to input a serial number that corresponds to the number of checks in the box of paper that you purchased from Versa Check. What you want to use paper that you purchased from some other manufacturer? You MUST purchase a Versa Check paper license. They sell them in packs of 250, 500, etc. Cost is around 2-4 cents per check. If you don't purchase this license you CANNOT print. Additionally, Versa Check has nag screens that want you to purchase their printer and MICR ink.
CONCLUSION: If you want a good versatile check printing program that works with Quickbooks and other popular programs or stands on its own AND are willing to buy Versa Check paper and ink; this is your program.
If you want to use your own paper and printer, DO NOT BUY this program. You will be unhappy. Also, once opened, NO RETURNS.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Versacheck Platinum 2010 (Single-User)

VersaCheck Platinum 2010 is the #1 Finance and Check Creation Software to create and print custom Business & Personal Checks that comply 100% with ANSI X9 banking standards. Plus create and print custom Estimates & Invoices! This VersaCheck package includes the Platinum 2010 software with 150 checks & deposit slips to get you started plus a separate Business Cards and Labels program. Use VersaCheck Security Check Paper as your blank security check paper refill.VersaCheck allows you to set-up and manage unlimited personal & business accounts. Use TrueSign to digitize & password optimize signatures. VersaCheck's new Supply Tracker helps manage everything in your check creation system. Integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks, Quicken, and Money to exchange financial data and print directly on blank security check paper.

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Myob Accountedge 2008 for Mac Also Includes Network Edition Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have been a regular user of AccountEdge since September of 1999, having switched when intuit could not guarantee a Y2K patch for QuickBooks Pro. Since MYOB has a new version of the software, I thought this would be a good time to take a look at what other accounting programs for Macintosh were being offered. I was surprised to see three other robust programs available. Reading the specs though I could see they were designed for smaller businesses such as sole proprietorships, or specific types of businesses (i.e., retail), or individuals. The two big players on the market for small to medium businesses are still QuickBooks Pro and MYOB AccountEdge (or Peachtree, if you are running an Intel Mac.) I know that MYOB maintains a commitment to continue to develop for the Macintosh platform. This is not necessarily so for Intuit and definitely not for Peachtree. And, Intuit recently had some major issues with user data being lost. http://db.tidbits.com/article/9378.
It's not my intention to review MYOB AccountEdge by using QuickBooks Pro as their foil. The truth is that there are very few Accounting programs that are supported on a Macintosh. And even though I always give kudos to MYOB for their support of the Macintosh platform, there are always features that can be improved upon. Most notably for me was the length of time it took MYOB to be up and running for the OS 10.5 Panther release. At this point in time, MYOB has the following statement on the website:
AccountEdge and AccountEdge Network Edition 2008 are certified compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Make sure you are on the latest version by opening the Help menu from the top menu bar and choosing Check for Product Updates from the Help menu. Following is a list of known issues.
Payroll forms - In order to run any payroll forms - including W-2s - at the end of the year, you will need to download an updated Payroll Forms Viewer. This update can be accessed by opening AccountEdge, navigating to the Help menu, and then selecting Check For Updates.
Upgrading files - When opening a file from a previous version, you may receive an "Upgrade Assistant is unable to process the company file" error message. You must first upgrade the file using the Upgrade Assistant found in your MYOB AccountEdge 2008 applications directory.
New Features in MYOB AccountEdge 2008
Backup to .mac. is by far one the best new feature for my money. This offsite backup capability for .mac account holders is useful for businesses that do not have any other offsite backup in place. When the backup command is selected, there is an option to back up to disk, or to .mac. The user also has the option to back up only the company file which saves on storage space. I have to say that I am having problems with this new feature, and had hoped to have it solved before posting this review. My workaround right now is to back my company file up to disc, then open .mac and upload the file from there. My past experience with this company on issues like this is that they are eventually taken care of. It could be that there is a conflict on my end as well. I've yet to sign up for a support plan, but will be doing so.
iCal integration is a great tool for people who use iCal on a regular basis. One advantage I can see to this is if the user has a customer that is historically late with payments. Publishing the invoice to iCal will bring up a reminder to contact the customer when the invoice is due. Other reminders such as bill payments and recording recurring transactions can also be sent to iCal just by selecting the checkbox in the open window.
New Payroll features include better sick leave and vacation tracking, and auto calculating the same. This is a great feature both the payroll clerk and employee will benefit from.
Statements have been updates to be more customizable. This is a great new feature, as in prior versions the statements could be confusing to some customers who did not pay their entire invoice in full.
The Command Center has a new look. It's OK, not really necessary but nice to see. Also added to the command center is a feature called Task Drawer. It is a slide out window controlled by a button on the bottom right edge of the Command Center. The Task Drawer holds a list of the most common functions the user can customize to his or her specific tasks.
The W-2 and W-3 function in AccountEdge 2008 is greatly improved from earlier versions of the software. Using Forms Viewer, the user can now print plain paper copies of these forms, eliminating the need to purchase costly pre-printed forms from third party vendors.
There are other new features in AccountEdge 2008 that can improve productivity once the user becomes familiar with them. Command +N now bring up new, accounts, jobs, invoices, depending on the window the user is working in. Previously this command would only bring up a new window. If you are using direct deposit for payroll, you can now email pay-stubs to the employees, saving on printing.
MYOB offers it's Accounting 101 tutorial for people who are just starting out, or need a refresher course in Accounting. I would recommend that anyone who is considering this software be somewhat familiar with standard accounting practices, however.
New customers can take advantage of an online training webinar. For a fee, MYOB offers Full Service Payroll, Credit Card Processing, Direct Deposit, eFiling, and Vendor Payment services. I've not tried any of these, but I can see how they would make sense for a small business that doesn't want to spend a lot of time taking care of these types of tasks.
If you are running Leopard (OS 10.5) make sure all your software updates have been downloaded and installed., including 10.5.1. Also helpful is the latest version of stuffit expander 12.0.1 Once MYOB AccountEdge is installed, choose check for updates from your MYOB products under the help menu, download and install. Ancillary programs such as Forms Viewer need to be updated the same way, by looking under the help menu. Make sure the most current tax tables are loaded by choosing that feature once the program is fully installed and updated.
I hear a lot of complaining about paid support plans, and read about problems with them on the message boards. I'd like to speak up in defense of paid support plans. In one sense it is no different from purchasing AppleCare for hardware products. It's there if you need it, and hopefully you don't. Also, the company has to have staff on hand for those who do need help with the software. I imagine there are a percentage of users who know little about accounting and use the support plans for reasons other than software glitches. That said, when comparing cost of ownership including the support plan over a three year period, between QuickBooks and MYOB, MYOB offers the best value for money.
There is a user discussion board accessible through the MYOB site. I have found it useful to read through some of the discussions. One thread recently reported that networked machines on Leopard using file-connect have noticed an improvement is speed. Speed has been an issue since the introduction of the Networked version of AccountEdge, so I'm glad to see that has been improved upon.
A trial version of this software is available for 30 days, and support is free for the first 30 days.
MYOB offers a free Accountant's Version of the software to qualified users.
MYOB AccountEdge and AccountEdge Network Edition 2008 version 8 System Requirements
Minimum requirements for full installation:
'Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later
'PowerMac G3 or later with at least 128 MB RAM
'100MB of available Hard Disk space for program installation. 245MB for full installation
'Average of 35 MB additional HD space for each company file maintained with MYOB AccountEdge
'1024x768 screen resolution running thousands of colors
Help System, Payroll Updates and Business Services:
'Internet access required for payroll updates and forms, as well as Internet-based Business Services
'Safari or Firefox
'QuickTime 5.0 or higher
Networking Requirements:
'AccountEdge Network Edition recommended for multi-user networking
'G5 processor or better with at least 1 GB RAM
'100BaseT or faster Ethernet network
Microsoft Office connection requires:
'Microsoft Word® X and 2004
'Microsoft Excel® X and 2004
Intel-Based Mac Compatibility:
'AccountEdge v7 and above will run natively on both Intel-based and PowerPC Macs.
1. Mac OS X 10.4 or later is required for syncing with Mac Address Book. 2. (UNIX File System) formatted hard drives are not supported
MyMac rating on this product is 4.5 out of 5.

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Usability and improved workflow is an underlying theme throughout the 2008 feature set, a redesigned command center interface, improved search abilities, a new help system, and vacation & sick time tracking. The new command centers in AccountEdge includes task drawers that let you store a list of common functions for quick and easy access. AccountEdge 2008 includes more user-driven features that will help small businesses to mind their own business. AccountEdge 2008 features an enhanced search tool that lets the user search contacts, items, transactions, and more with a number of fields, including zip code, item description, first name, email address, vendor item number, and more. Only results that match are returned, and the results can be printed. The new reminder log allows the user to create reminders regardless of whether they have an associated contact. Leave tracking allows for a more precise tracking of employee vacation and sick time, including which days are taken, reason for time off, new accrual balance reports, automatic wage adjustments on timesheets and reports detailing vacation and sick time taken, accrued and time left.

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ChurchTrac Church Membership Software CD-ROM (up to 250 Names) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have been using ChurchTrac for the past 4 years. It makes my job so much easier. I use it daily for tracking attendance, recording contributions, corresponding with members, etc. It is a VERY user friendly program and I would highly recommend it!

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Note: After registration, you'll receive an unlock code that allows you to enter up to 250 names with this product. Your unlock code includes 12 months of free updates, new features and basic tech support. After 12 months a small (optional) renewal fee allows you to continue these benefits. Other editions and unlock codes are also available.
ChurchTrac is a popular church membership database program for PCs. It allows you to keep track with virtually every conceivable aspect of your church and ministry--everything from membership to money. ChurchTrac's easy-to-use interface is divided into sections so you can quickly access the information you're looking for.
One of the things that makes ChurchTrac unique is that it is priced in tiers based on the number of names you need to enter, and therefore can easy grow with your ministry. When your church outgrows the 100 name edition, you can purchase an unlock code and immediately have the ability to enter up to 250, 500, 1000 or unlimited names. And you can quickly step up to the next tier at any time at discounted prices.
Some of ChurchTrac's features include:* Keep track of people and families within the church;* Assign pictures and print picture directories;* Record important membership-related dates;* Keep a record of guests, prospects, and follow-up efforts;* Print mail labels, letters, reports, and send email;* Keep track of attendance and follow-up on absentees;* Record contributions and pledges; Keep up with calendar events and scheduling;* Customize the content of fields to fit the needs of each ministry;* Synchronize data between all your computers. With a ChurchTrac data sharing subscription, you can share between all your computers--including computers in multiple locations--using ChurchTrac's data sharing service (this is an optional feature that requires an extra subscription).

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BitDefender Antivirus 2010 - 1 PC / 1 Year Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this software to replace kaspersky just after getting a windows 7 laptop. At the time kaspersky was not windows 7 ready and Bitdefender was. All lab reports on Bitdefenders were good and it seemed to have a very good feature set. AV lab tests also showed that it was in the top 5 results at the time.
I wish I would have gone another route.
This was a 'license' for 3 PCs. As such I installed it on 2 windows 7 laptops and a Windows XP Media Center 2005 desktop.
It does seem to have a good feature set but it is not reliable. The software when it's working seems good but it keeps shutting down or crashing. The icon in the notification tray will turn grey at random, will give an error that it is not responding forcing the PC needs to be rebooted to get it back up and running. This happens constantly on one of my windows 7 laptops and on the xp machine. Also getting this error constantly "vsserv.exe has caused an error and needs to shut down".
I have opened over 5 tickets with Bitdefender support which has been way below standard. The first ticket was closed by them after providing a solution of "run the update"? I was not impressed as another ticket I opened was that the AV definition files would not update. The update would fail to contact the server and the PC would have to be rebooted to make a connection, despite my having a working high speed connection. It would usually be days after before I would notice that it hadn't updated. So for several days my PC would be running out of date Anti Virus definitions.
This added with the constant crashes left my computer vulnerable. If the AV isn't running, or it isn't up to date, how can you trust that your PC is secure?
This was happening on all 3 machines. I'm assuming that there is another piece of software on these machines that may be in conflict with Bitdefender. Unknown at this point as their tech support was unable to resolve. Complete uninstall and reinstall of Bitdefender did not resolve the issue. Unsure if the install bits I have are corrupt or not. The install provided by Bitdefender was over an internet connection. They did not provide me with a hard copy (DVD) of the install bits and the downloaded version of the new install file from Bitdefender had the same result.
Working with their support was a lost cause and after a few months of this nonsense I asked them for a refund.
Their response was "NO". Even though you don't purchase software you license it (2 yr license in my case). Their reply was that after 30 days of purchase no refunds. So I'm paying for a 2 year license I'm not able to use.
After several emails to their customer service in regards to the issue. Advising I know longer trusted this application to protect my pc they still refused to give a refund. I received (2) phone calls from their tech support wanting to troubleshoot further. Was bad enough that it had been months into this at this point, and the software wasn't working, but the tech support who was calling had English so bad I had difficulty understanding them.
Their final solution given was to have me format my (3) three computers so as to get their software to work. This was not an option.
I have been working in IT for several years and hold over 15 industry certifications in the field. In all my experience in dealing with buggy software this has to be the absolute worse in terms of dealing with the software and its customer service.
I would not recommend this software to anyone. Not just because of my technical issue but because of how their customer service and tech support were unwilling to refund my money when they failed to resolve the issue. Reformatting one of the PCs may have been a viable troubleshooting step to try and narrow down what was causing the issue, but a customer should be able to say no at this point if they choose to and get a refund. There has to be a deciding line as to when enough is enough, and how much one should have to work to get something to function as it should. Their are certain expectations every customer has when they make a purchase from a software vendor. Not only to the quality the software, but the support expected from its vendor as well.
If there was a minus star I would have given one. Seems to be a good program when it's running but its not reliable. Tech support and customer service way below standard.
I've since installed another AV/Firewall solution and low and behold. It does not crash. Go figure.
I've still received no refund or further correspondences from BitDefender

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This software includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-phising capabilities. Performs hourly updates and network management; encrypts IM conversations. Compatible with Windows 7.

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