I have been using the 2009 version of QuickBooks for about one month to keep my personal records and also for a few clients who have already upgraded to that version. I purposely waited to comment on the version so that I could give an honest assessment. Now that I have had a chance to use many of the new features, I would like to share my experience with those considering the upgrade.
Let me begin by saying, I do not work for Intuit… however, I am a huge fan of QuickBooks software because everyday I see the crucial role it plays in the businesses of my clients! Although in my opinion QuickBooks is the best financial software available for small to medium size businesses, there is always room for improvement! Intuit has apparently been listening to its’ users and has answered with several exciting changes in the 2009 version!
I am frequently asked by my clients, “Should I upgrade to 2009?” and “What’s the benefit to my business if I do decide to upgrade?” At this point, my answer is YES… if I were a business owner I would want to be using this version of QuickBooks and here is why…
First, QuickBooks 2009 now has an exciting accountant data review tool that will help your accountant, bookkeeper, or consultant keep your financials in tip top shape! Let me just say that these tools will SAVE YOU MONEY by saving them time in analyzing your data files. It makes it possible to quickly analyze your financial data and easily make corrections. This will keep small errors from becoming bigger problems! As tax season approaches, I suggest that if you are thinking about upgrading, now is a great time so that you can reap the benefits of the new review process this year! QuickTrainer already offers this service to their clients and is excited about being able to enhance the service even more! You can also check with your accountant to see if they will be offering this service.
Another change within the 2009 version is the new sort feature within bank reconciliations. I have personally wished for this many times in the past and am thrilled to be able to use it now! It will save you lots of time during your monthly reconciliations!!
Also, this seems like a small thing, but I can’t tell you how many times I have been affected by this. Have you ever been working away in your QuickBooks file, closing open windows, and suddenly you realize you’ve actually clicked on the wrong “X”? Now your whole company file is shutting down and you have to take the time to reopen QuickBooks and bring back up everything that you were working on. Well that never has to happen again!! With the new version, when you accidentally click that “X”, you will get a question that says “are you sure?” Yea for second guessing!!
QuickBooks 2009 has a new tool called Company Snapshot that I think is very useful! It gives you essential information on the health of your business at a glance. It shows all of your bank, credit card and loan balances and has sections that show who owes you and who you owe. It even gives you a chart of income and expenses over a period of time to help you recognize trends. You will always know how your business is doing! All this information can be customized and organized in the way that you want to see it. I personally like to set the Company Snapshot as my home page so that I have all this critical information in one easily accessible location.
A few other changes that I want to mention are major improvements to online banking; the ability to use multi-currency; multi-user enhancements and Time Tracker, which allows clients to track time by employee, service and customers within QuickBooks. With the Pro and Premier 2009 version you can even utilize a new free website for your business with a simple drag and drop interface.
I truly hope that this overview of the changes to QuickBooks in 2009 helps you in deciding if, or when, you should upgrade your company file to this version. I can personally attest to it’s usefulness and believe there will be great benefits for my clients who decide to use it!
Happy Bookkeeping!, Kim
#ilm