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| Image by ozgurmulazimoglu via Flickr |
Recently, a software reviewer named David Matthew of Software Advice alerted me to a review he has prepared, comparing the most recent versions of Quickbooks and Peachtree accounting software packages.
(Matthew’s review of the products is located at the links above.)
I think he does a pretty good job of looking over the options available between the two packages, but the unfortunate part is that, even with this comparison review it’s a tough decision between the two. If all you have to go on is this review and you have not specifically developed a list of requirements, you might not know for sure if one product will work better for you over the other.
If you’re starting out from scratch, you must consider your experience and background, as well as whether or not you’ll be sharing the information with other business partners. In that case, you’ll also have to consider the experience and background of those partners as well.
I imagine for most pro accountants, either package will work as well as the other, but there could be an advantage (if you expect to share information with others) to going with the “industry standard” package from Quickbooks. On the other hand, if you have a problem with the likes of Intuit (and Microsoft, and Google, for example) taking over the world, you might consider going with Peachtree. The costs are similar between the two products, as is the functionality for the most part.
All in all, if you’re looking to make a purchase of one of these two products, you will be doing yourself a favor to look over David’s review – it will help you think through some of the requirement questions you need to answer before you make your purchase. And while you’re looking at the above-mentioned review, you might look around the Software Advice blog, there are lots of great articles on software to see there as well.
Thanks, David, for the insightful review!
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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