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View Full Version : Anyone use budgeting (or non QB accounting) software?



CitizenBBN
06-23-2014, 09:31 PM
Not big corporate stuff but something fairly simple? Quickbooks has some budgeting capabilities but they are really primitive. I may be able to get by with them but it would be nice to have some simple budgeting tied to the books. For that matter anyone use anything other than Quickbooks or Peachtree (now called something else)? Found some open source stuff that looks promising, esp. b/c it has a beta that uses a real database and not flat files like Quickbooks, but have no experience with it at all.

I may give it a try even as a beta. QB is also poorly designed for sharing between users and locations, and Mysql can solve that problem. Just thought I'd ask in case anyone has anything they like, or if I'm wrong about QB budgeting and just don't get it.

Darrell KSR
06-23-2014, 10:16 PM
That's why I decided not to be an accountant. :)


I use Quickbooks Pro, but I have almost no real requirements. Taught computerized accounting years ago in an accounting program as a favor when they needed somebody a day before the semester started, and they used Quickbooks Pro, so I guess it's not that bad. The accountants I do a lot of work with used to recommend Peachtree for their clients, but I didn't even know it had changed names, so don't read that as a recommendation.

CitizenBBN
06-24-2014, 09:13 PM
QB is fine, and for accounting I'm good with it even though I think their approach to inventory and such is iffy at best (accurate just not user friendly), but their budgeting seems very limited to me, more of an afterthought than a core part of the product. That makes sense, a very tiny percentage of small businesses really do any serious budgeting, it's all very back of the envelope.

Peachtree is now "Sage 50", i think an attempt to shed their image as good but unfriendly software. It can do a ton, but it's not very easy for those who are at the "balance my checkbook" level to use. I could still use it, no matter what my old prof in forensic accounting says about me, but it's still overkill for this situation. I do prefer that it uses more true double entry bookkeeping, QB will let you do some very gnarly things that aren't good practice and has very poor handling for non-cash flow impacting transfers and similar activities.

Still can't believe there isn't a good package out there running on a real database that has gained some popularity. Gnucash looks like the most promising stuff out there that isn't QB or Peachtree/Sage.