Skip navigation
Up to Discussions in Accounting and Budgeting
Post a new topic
33544 Views 10 Replies Latest reply: Dec 23, 2011 1:18 PM by Moderator_JimF
rolonap Newbie
rolonap
Currently Being Moderated

Feb 23, 2009 4:53 PM

Quickbooks vs Peachtree

Hello SBOC:

Since I started my business in Sept 2008 I have used Quicken to keep up with bank accounts and balances. My POS software handles inventory. My business is in retail and I am ready to switch to a real accounting software, can anyone shine any light on the pros and cons of these 2 softwares?

Thanks
  • LUCKIEST Master
    LUCKIEST
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 23, 2009 5:50 PM (in response to rolonap)
    Re: Quickbooks vs Peachtree
    Quickbooks vs Peachtree, Welcome

    I am a Quickbooks Consultant and YES I use it.
    To me Peachtree does not seem to be as popular as it used to be.
    If you decide to go with Q B, I will be happy to help and answer your questions.

    Good luck, LUCKIEST
  • Santa Fe CPA Novice
    Santa Fe CPA
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 24, 2009 10:56 AM (in response to rolonap)
    Re: Quickbooks vs Peachtree

    Hello Rolonap,

    This is a good question. As a CPA and bookkeeping business I have and my clients have used both programs. They are designed from different approaches to the needs for accounting information.

     

    In my opinion, Peachtree (PT) is oriented more to the needs of an accounting professional while QuickBooks (QB) is better suited to a small business owner's need for immediate management information.

     

    They both are quite easy to use once you know how. It is important to get proper training on the system before doing it yourself.

     

    The system operations and interfaces tend to be very intuitive.with funtional data flow diagrams. Both now have a dash board available on the opening screen.

     

    QB has a more flexible reporting scheme. It is the only program that will produce daily reports, that is one day's transactions at a time. QB has a stronger report filtering function. PT reports are more period, monthly or quarterly, in their data display. PT seems to have the better Payroll and Fixed Asset modules, however I fnd the differences to be not that significant.

     

    QB has the advantage when exporting the general ledger to a tax program as there is a native interface to the ProSeries and Lacerte tax programs which are also part of the Intuit family.

     

    All this being said, QB has, by far, the greatest share of the retail,off-the-shelf, market for accounting software for small and medium sized businesses. PT trails far behind, but between them thay can account for nearly 90% of the market.

     

    Both have good after-market support, but I believe that QB has the largest number of qualified or certified professional advisors. I happen to represent both at this time,
    Have a look at the needs of your business activities and the number of transactions during a given period as well as the responsiveness of your reporting requirements to help you make your decision as to which way to go. I also suggest that you locate a professional advisor knowledgeable in both systems to help you review your requirements.

    Good Luck in your endeavors.
    Santa Fe CPA
    • rolonap Newbie
      rolonap
      Currently Being Moderated
      Feb 24, 2009 1:11 PM (in response to Santa Fe CPA)
      Re: Quickbooks vs Peachtree
      Thank you very much for the detailed explanations. Your post confirms my doubts about these softwares. I downloaded a trial version of PT and also the free version of QB. I will definitely go with QB.
      I have purchased some basic accounting books to help me along the way

      Thanks again
    • rumluc Newbie
      rumluc
      Currently Being Moderated
      Mar 24, 2009 1:57 PM (in response to Santa Fe CPA)
      Re: Quickbooks vs Peachtree
      I just got a prompt on my quickbooks 2006 that says I am almost out of data space and that the limit is 15,400. I will need to upgrade and am considering Peachtree as they have a product that is unlimited for space. Quickbooks tells me that the only product that will help is the $3000 QB Enterprises solutions.

      I have been searching and have not been able to find a forum or any information on anyone running out of data space. Can you offer me any insight and tell me if converting to Peachtree is the answer or if upgrading is the best solution.
      • Santa Fe CPA Novice
        Santa Fe CPA
        Currently Being Moderated
        Mar 24, 2009 5:34 PM (in response to rumluc)
        Re: Quickbooks vs Peachtree
        Hello, Rumluc,

        You do have a problem here.
        The first question is, how many years of data do you have in the file? A simple house cleaning of excessively old data may do the job for you. Is your system networked and do you have more than one user on line at a time?
        How many inactive customers and vendors do you have in the file?, they take up a lot of space.
        Are you close to exceeding the maximum number of items/names in the system? Can any of them be deleted from the file to free up space?
        How detailed is your chart of accounts? Can you merge some of them?
        Do you have inventory? If so how do you value it, average cost, FIFO, LIFO, or specific item? QB and Enterprise only support the average cost method., PT support all valuation method.
        QB Enterprise Solutions will nearly double the space availability, but is rather expensive in comparison for a single user license.
        If you can clean-up and purge your files you will, most likely, be better off with an updated QB Pro 2009. (Support for your 2006 version will terminate later this year.) (Also you will still be limited by the item/name count.)
        If these don't work for you then a conversion to Peachtree (PT) is probably the way for you to go. PT does not have the flexibility of QB. It is a bit more expensve the a single user QB but is quite a bit cheaper than Enterprise.
        If I can be of assistance to you, please call or e-mail me. I am a QB Certified Professional Advisor.

        Good Luck,
        Richard G. Robinson, CPA
        Santa Fe CPA
  • Mamie2010 Novice
    Mamie2010
    Currently Being Moderated
    Mar 28, 2009 8:43 PM (in response to rolonap)
    Re: Quickbooks vs Peachtree
    I've used Quickbooks and Peachtree -- IMHO Quickbooks is much better! With Peachtree you had to enter whatever period you were trying to update, i.e., January 09, February 09, etc., Quickbooks is much, much better ..
  • William Smith Newbie
    William Smith
    Currently Being Moderated
    Dec 23, 2011 10:20 AM (in response to rolonap)
    Re: Quickbooks vs Peachtree

    Both Peachtree and QuickBooks accounting software are top class software that makes accounting easier. Choosing one of them depends on what specifications you are looking for, as no two software programs can have hundred percent identical specifications. But, it is best to host your chosen software on cloud. Cloud hosting of either Peachtree or QuickBooks accounting software offers enormous benefits to users. With cloud computing, you get super-fast and remote accessibility for multiple users, utmost security, high reliability, extreme scalability, rolling data backup, and 24 by 7 free support service.

More Like This

  • Retrieving data ...

Legend

  • Correct Answers - 100 points
  • Helpful Answers - 100 points