Microsoft Small Business Accounting is a decent accounting software program for small businesses. But it has a long way to go before becoming a reliable accounting package like Peachtree or Quickbooks.
Update: Microsoft Office Accounting has replaced Small Business Accounting, and is a much-improved accounting package.
Overall:
Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006 is recommended for small business users who demand tight integration with Microsoft Office applications such as Excel or Outlook's Business Contact Manager. Small businesses that process payroll in-house will find Peachtree or Quickbooks a better fit for their needs.Features in Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006:
Small Business Accounting includes most of the essential accounting functions, such as:- Creating invoices and purchase orders,
- Recording purchases, receipts, bank deposits, and bill payments, and
- Generating financial statements and other reports.
In addition Small Business Accounting integrates with Microsoft Office 2003 applications, for example:
- Use Word to create custom templates for invoices.
- Export reports to Excel or Access.
- Process payroll in Excel, and import the data into Small Business Accounting.
- Track billable time using Outlook Business Contact Manager.
Personal Observations when using Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006:
- Small Business Accounting allows businesses to import their accounting data from Quickbooks Basic or Pro, however users can only import from the 2002, 2003, or 2004 versions of Quickbooks.
- I could not import data from Quickbooks 2005.
- Small Business Accounting has a very clean software interface. It is very reminiscent of Microsoft Outlook. If you like the look-and-feel of Outlook, you will like the layout of Small Business Accounting.
- Small Business Accounting uses the task flow chart as a navigation aide. The task flow chart is similar to those found in Quickbooks and Peachtree.
- Unlike Peachtree and Quickbooks, Small Business Accounting does not come in various editions.
- Small Business Accounting integrates with Outlook 2003 Business Contact Manager, enabling businesses to track billable time.
- Small Business Accounting integrates with Word, Excel, and Access. For example you can create custom templates for invoices in Word or export reports to Excel.
- In order to process payroll, you have to set up a link between Small Business Accounting and Excel, and then process payroll manually in Excel. The only other option is to use ADP to process your payroll, and then download the transaction data into Small Business Accounting.
Product Versions:
- Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006 ($149 MSRP)
- Microsoft Office Small Business Management Edition 2006 (bundled with Office 2003 software)
