Quickbooks 2010 review

Accounting software is not at the sexy end of software development. It is, however, a central operational tool for most businesses. Is Quickbooks 2010 - the new release from Intuit - the dawn of a new age?

The UK market for accounting software has been dominated by a few key players for many years and in general the quality and usability of their offerings has been uninspiring. A promising foray into this field by Microsoft (Microsoft Accounting) a couple of years ago was followed soon after by a swift retreat.

Quickbooks 2010

Quickbooks 2010 has just been launched in the UK. It is a creation of Intuit and has been a favourite for small and medium sized enterprises for many years. Will this new version revolutionise the world of accounting systems?

It appears not. Despite the fact that it is two years since Intuit released a new version of Quickbooks in the UK, the changes are, at most, incremental. The user interface is identical. The dated graphics and clunky data entry forms remain untouched. When you launch this program (and we suggest you pop the kettle on while it’s getting warmed up) you could be forgiven for thinking that you had just mistakenly purchased Quickbooks 1999.

So, does this mean Quickbooks 2010 is a disaster?

Far from it. Intuit have employed the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ adage and focused on refining a few key features. VAT treatment is brought up to date; multiple user access improved; multi-currency is available (note that not all of these features are included in the cut down SimpleStart edition). In general this is just what it was – a dependable and simple to use accounting package. It works.

You can read a full list of improvements here.

The Competition

If you take a look around at the competition it becomes clearer why Intuit have not felt compelled to pull out the stops.

The key competitor is Sage – a big name in business software. Sage software tends to be cleaner and sharper in appearance but is also more expensive and aimed more at those with an accounting or bookkeeping background. Sage’s Instant Accounts offers an attractive starter package, but non-accountants should make sure they give it a good test drive before committing.

When Microsoft Accounting was withdrawn from the market in 2009 they encouraged migration to Mamut Business Software. Mamut offer a suite of online accounting and business services offered on the ‘software as a service’ model. Although in general there is an increasing trend to hosted software solutions, Mamut’s system remains a little clunky and unreliable.

MYOB is an accounting package developed in Australia which has become a popular with many small businesses and stood its ground as a clear third way. However, here the plot thickens.

In 2008 Mamut acquired MYOB and since then it has announced plans to discontinue the MYOB product and integrate it with its hosted software offerings. Time will tell whether the Mamut MYOB partnership spawns a serious contender that will shake up the market.

Until then Quickbooks 2010 remains an effective, if not sexy, option.