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I’m in the processing of becoming a contractor. I have come up through the trades and can’t say that I have a lot of business experience. All through college I’ve used Macintosh computers, I’d like to continue to do so. Researching the different accounting programs that are used by construction professionals, it seems that Quickbooks Pro is what everyone uses. Unfortunately, Intuit discontinued development of Quickbooks for the Macintosh. The program that I’m looking at purchasing is AccountEdge by MYOB, but I’m not sure the compatibility of that program with the construction business. If anyone has insight into the most flexible accounting programs for the Macintosh, please let me know. Oh, and by the way I’m using the OS X operating system.
Thanks
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Check with your accountant. They usually have all sorts of advice on accounting software.
*I use Macs, and an older version of MYOB Plus vs. 2.0.5 and it works fine. In fact, it did for my sons also. They switched to Dells and for that reason, back to QBP.
*Thanks for the response. Was your sons' switch back to QBP a reason that they went back to PCs, or otherwise? If the switch was because of QBP, what were some of the main problems that they encountered with MYOB or the Mac platform? I'm leaning towards going with QBP and getting a designated PC for business. Although this isn't the cheapest method, it allows the most stability in dealing with other businesses, i.e., using others specialized spreadsheet templates. Also, from what I've gathered, technical support is readily available for QBP in the area of construction, but not so much for MYOB (I'm not speaking of software support, but rather support from people who use the program). Anyway, if someone out there has something to say about this issue, please feel free to challenge or agree with my line of reasoning.
*Son Tom wanted a specific CAD program and it was not available for Macs, and since the old Macs were 4 years old or older, he just bought 4 new Dells abut a year ago. He now has a full time accountant who used to work for a builder and she knows QBP inside and out. Tom's email address is [email protected]. Email him and ask him if his accountant wouldn't mind if he gave you her email address and you can email her, or call her (Sonya) at 941-263-9660. the name of the remodeling company is The Lykos Group, Inc.And you're right. There is a lot more support and books for construction use of QPR. Web site too, I think.
*Thanks Sonny. The more I learn, the more I lean towards QBP on a new PC. Thanks for all the info.
*Anyone using Peachtree? When I looked at packages at Staples, Peachtree seemed to offer the most for the buck (by quite a bit, actually).Rich Beckman
*rich... if you're going to learn the program and do your own entry then get whatever you like.. but if you are going to hire a bookeeper (good move )... it's easier to hire someone with QBP experience than Peachtree or anything else out there...3 levels . BTW.. good basic..Quickenthen QuickBooks... then QuickBooks Pro.. i think if i were a specialty trade... like roofing.. i'd keep it real simple and go with Quicken... you can get a lot more use out of it's Personal Finance features..... and the books are a breeze...watch out for the learning curve on accounting packages..
*I’m a long time Macintosh user and I have been recently been using QuickBooks inside of SoftPC running on G4 desktop machine. Up until a year ago I was just using the last version of Quickbooks that Intuit produced for the Mac and being a small outfit I never ran into any problems with that. Since I have some real plans for growth and other changes now I’m beginning to look at other accounting programs again. I do all my Estimating, Job Costing, and essentially run my business with a FileMaker database system I developed. Unfortunately exporting the data from FileMaker-Mac to FileMaker-Windows running inside of SoftPC then to Quickbooks hasn’t been at all easy. In fact it’s been really clumsy. I essentially just have to enter the data twice. Once in my FileMaker system when it happens and again manually into QuickbooksThat bothers me. But that’s what most contractor users (Windows and Mac alike) in reality do now anyway. Integrated solutions are still just dreams and visions and in the case of many contractors even beyond their imagination. So just two weeks ago I asked for the AccountEdge-MYOB demo and just started looking at it this past weekend. So far I can’t see or even imagine what any problems there might be would even look like. But then again I am certainly not an accounting professional. I will ask one. One caveat I have in asking an accounts advice on the subject is they often don’t want to work with Mac applications because they are heavily invested in Windows and don’t even want to take the time to look and make a real features and benefits comparison. They often say Quickbooks because that’s just the easiest solution for THEM and to hell with what you might want. That would be kind of like when a client tells me they want solid hardwood raised panel doors and having me telling them no, I’m going to use hollow faux raised panel doors because they are lighter and easier to install. That maybe a signal to look for another accountant.So far I haven’t ever heard any genuine real world objections to MYOB other than if you grow larger you’ll probably outgrow it. What’s that mean? I’m not at all sure. No one’s explained that to me yet but I’m sure it may very well be true. I think I heard them put that line at somewhere between 4 to 6 million in volume but like I said I’m not convinced or at all sure about all that.In now considering AccountEdge-MYOB on the MYOB web site it says "With the MYOB ODBC Direct driver, you can allow other ODBC compliant software products access to MYOB data, making it easy to create custom reports, databases, mail merges, spreadsheets and more." That’s why I am really interested in it. There’s my connection to FileMaker (or Excel if I so choose to).I’ve got to spend more time looking at it but I’ll be surprised if anyone can really give me any real valid reason(s) why it would be a bad choice for a small contractor.At MacWorld Expo NY this past summer I also noticed Oracle has a web based internet accounting solution called the Oracle Small Business It’s costs like $100 per month and you use via the net. It’s supposed to be good for businesses with up to 100 employees. I think "small business" to Oracle can be a medium to large business to me and most of my contracting brethren. I figure roughly a bare minimum of $125,000 in volume per employee so at 100 employees that works out to businesses up to 12.5 million a year in volume. Anyone here doing that kind of volume?I also think there may be a web based Quickbooks version too. If there is that may be a solution. For Mac users there is also Big Business 3.0 another online solution. I don’t know anything about it though except that’s it is I think a one time $350 set up fee. And I know there are a couple of custom designed Mac accouting applications too but since the run $4000 to $20000 but I think they are beyond the scope of any discussion on this forum. Since I’m planning on buying a PC anyway since I need a Windows platform to learn, run, and check some Cold Fusion applications I want to work on and check my FileMaker stuff cross platform I still might go that way. On the plus side for switching to a PC and running Quickbooks:1. There is already a large community of building and remodeling users.2. There is a good on-line (although very QB/Windows biased) forum regarding Quickbooks on the JLCOnline site.3. Most accountants are already very familiar with it ( see the caveat I wrote above though)4. It’s easy to find a bookeeper already experienced with QB5. Having a windows machine lets you see how the rest of the world lives (and sometimes suffers too)6. There are some very very inexpensive name brand PCs available. ( I just saw a cool mini laptop for just $1400 and there are desktop systems for as low as $700 that are plenty powerful enough to run just Quickbooks.)7. Intuit bought Master Builder a while back so if you want to use Master Builder to run the rest of your business it’s already integrated in to the solution.8. The Quickbooks APIs ( application program interface) is open and available to other third party developers so more and more exisitng windows based estimating and job control solutions will have seamless integration with Quickbooks coming soon.Regarding #4 on my list above and Mike’s comments "it's easier to hire someone with QBP experience than Peachtree or anything else out there..." while that is true learning a new or different accounting program is not at all like learning an new CAD program. The learning curve is not that steep at all. For a Mac user the learning curve for learning how to trouble shoot a Windows crash is monumental compared to having a bookkeeper learn a new and different accounting program. The rules and terminology of accounting don’t change program to program. It’s still worth considering his advice though if you are in a rush to hire a bookkeeper and get them up and running the day they start on the job.Rich, how much is Peachtree for the Mac? I know absolutely nothing at all about it other than it costs a little less than QB and MYOB ( I think???)The bottom line for me is unless someone can give me some kind of real limits to or problems with using AccountEdge-MYOB for running a building and remodeling business I’m probably going to go that direction. The speed and the stability of the MacOS are huge plusses to me (although processor speed is admittedly virtually irrelevant in choosing an accounting program). I use the MacOS because I love to. I use the Windows OS when I have to.
*Peachtree here
*Actually the reason there are many different pieces of accounting software is because people like doing things a bit differently. Plus, some folks like to be able to compare things in the software to things they know. That is one reason for the Checkbook style program interfaces.But, to me the three reasons to pick a particular piece of software are: 1. Does it allow me to maintain accurate data and control both the information and the money that data represents. 2. Does it interface with my accountant and tax preparer. 3. Does it have a large enough customer base that it will be around for the forseeable future?For most small businesses this translates to an Intuit product. Quickbooks, Quicken. It also means I put the program and all data on a Windows based machine in my building. Plus, I do regular backups and store them off-site.By the way I've used Peachtree and think it used to be a fine program but has become dated.
*This very topic came up in an association meeting just the other night. General consensus was Quick Books Pro was the easiest to use and most accounting firms run programs that integrate with QBP. With this capability your accountant can analyze your balance sheets and can quickly offer suggestions. When the Peachtree topic came up a several agreed it was more difficult and geared more towards accounting firms. The accountant in the group said many of his clients using Peachtree have a hard time hiring staff that can understand it.Scott R.