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Are you looking for a free (yes I said free) or inexpensive way to handle your company’s financial needs? QuickBooks Simple Start 2008 comes in two editions, the free edition (free QuickBooks!) and one that costs under a hundred dollars. This is one rare case of inexpensive being a great deal.
Let me tell you what you can do with these two programs so you can decide for yourself whether they are the solution you have been looking for.
First the free version – based on the same user friendly format that all QuickBooks programs have, Simple Start’s free edition is the solution for start-up or small businesses that need just the basics. But don’t be fooled into thinking you will not get what you need to organize your business finances. As reliable as all QuickBooks programs are, Simple Start Free Edition is just what it says – a simple start. As you enter your everyday transactions you will be tracking your income and expenses preparing you for tax time. No more last minute rush to organize all those receipts into some kind of sense for your tax preparer. You will be able to see the money coming in and going out, where it comes from and who it goes to all in one easy to access place. This is not a trial version with an expiration date but can be used for as long as you desire and easily upgradeable to another QuickBooks edition as your company grows with a seamless transfer of data. It is very simple to get started, just answer three quick questions and you are on your way. And QuickBooks provides you with step by step tutorials to walk you through all your tasks such as preparing invoicesand recording expenses. And if you have the need you can export your data to an Excel (Excel 2000, 2002, 2003 or 2007) spreadsheet for more advance analysis. Fourteen reports are available to help you understand where your business is at and how it can grow. Reports such as Total Sales By Customer, Invoices That Haven’t Been Paid, Income Tax Summary, Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports and more are great tools for the business owner. Customize estimates and invoices for a more professional look. Have you ever sent out an invoice with a math error? How embarrassing and expensive if you can’t go back and correct the error. This won’t happen again if you are using QuickBooks Simple Start. So how can you go wrong, it’s free after all. Download for free, or have it shipped for a small shipping and handling charge.
So what’s the difference between Simple Start (the free edition) and Simple Start Plus Pack ($99.95)? Simple Start Plus Pack is the free edition plus it includes 250 standard or voucher checks for you to use to pay your vendors, a one-year, 1GB QuickBooks Online Backup service starting with your product activation which must be completed by January 31 2009 to receive full year of service, and A Learning Accounting Essentials training CD. Your checks are not included in your package but must be ordered within three months following product registration.
QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Merchant Services (Credit Card Processing) are available for these programs but require additional fees.
You should know that Simple Start is for first time QuickBooks users and will not import data from other QuickBooks editions or Quicken or Peachtree. Inventory tracking, purchase orders and automatically downloading of credit card and bank transactions are not available features in the Simple Start programs. And you will not be able to automatically populate and print 1099/1096 tax forms. Should you require these features consider the QuickBooks Pro or Premier Editions
Follow the QuickBooks links at the top right section of your screen to check out Simple Start for yourself and get a discount on Simple Start Plus. Once at the QuickBooks site, click on Learn More under the QuickBooks for Windows section and you are on your way to organizing and understanding the in’s and out’s of your business.