Google tie-up with Intuit’s QuickBooks 2007 against Microsoft

In a move to allow small business users of Intuit Accounting Software to promote themselves online, Intuit, a maker of well-liked accounting and tax software, announced its arrangement to integrate various search and marketing services from Google into its next version – QuickBooks 2007. Google has made a contract with Intuit for including the Web search tools in Intuit's new QuickBooks accounting software. The search-engine company is now in the desktop challenge against Microsoft. This contract represents one of the most important moves for Google's entry into Microsoft-held PC desktop software. Google want to get access with 1.5 million Small Businesses that are expected to buy Quick Books 2007. The product will be out on the market in the end of September 2006.
The tie-up with Intuit confers Google a positive chance to make friends in this community by making online advertising less impressive and to give small business owners the ability to create Ad Words ads campaigns. In addition, other tools from both companies will be integrated in the software that will be useful to small businesses. For instance, Google Maps will make it possible for entrepreneurs to list contact information and Google Base will tolerate products to be introduced into Google search results. QuickBooks 2007 users will get $50 in credits after creating AdWords account, Google's massive search-based pay-per-click advertising program, and the key source of most of Google's revenue.
Estimating the QuickBooks users’ online attendance that is not as much of half of the businesses, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, "QuickBooks has millions of small businesses, and this is the best way to get millions of new advertisers into these online networks." Under the deal, small business owners acquiring QuickBooks 2007 will have access to different Google features using QuickBooks.
The Accounting Software QuickBooks 2007 provides financial management solutions for small business, professional tax consultants and accountants. The software will contain shortcuts and links to search giant's AdWords advertising program, Maps Web site, and Base product listing service. For example, businessmen using QuickBooks to uphold their accounts can help customers locate their stores at Google Maps. A Google-enabled QuickBooks will also let customers to create keyword explorations for their products, so that their ads appear whenever someone searches for the product on Google. Merchants can also upload information about their inventories to Google Base so consumers can know what they have in stock.
As well as easy access to Google features, QuickBooks 2007 will also come equipped with Google Desktop application for indexing and searching PC hard drives. A twist in the search application will make it definite that QuickBooks data can only be accessed by Google Desktop when the search is initiated from within QuickBooks.
This tie-up between Intuit and Google also opens up one more challenge in the wide-ranging and battle between the search giant and Microsoft, as each vendor moves combatively into the other's center markets. Microsoft is also an Intuit opponent in the market for small business accounting software, though Intuit, which required uniting with Microsoft in 1994, has outpaced software giant in personal finance software.
Satya Nadella, corporate vice-president for business solutions at Microsoft says, "This notion of being able to have desktop products integrate with online services is something we support today and will continue to evolve."

Do you want to know why choose QuickBooks for your Small Business?

And more about QuickBooks products.

Compare 4 of the best Accounting Software for Small Business

Let’s compare one of the most useful accounting products – QuickBooks, MYOB, Simply Accounting and Peachtree Accounting Software. All of them are appropriate for Small Businesses.

1. Product Description:

QuickBooks - QuickBooks provides the most inclusive tools for small business financial management. In addition to the benefits and features of QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks you can find:
- Financial management tools to help your business get better results
- Includes Business Planning software! Using your QuickBooks data and answers to simple, step-by-step questions, automatically creates a 3-year projected balance sheet, profit and loss and cash plan.
- A new forecasting feature so you can compare your forecast vs. your real income and expenses.
- Updated Expert Analysis Tool to help you recognize key presentation trends
- Greater customization - you can create sales orders and track what you owe customers more correctly. Plus, you can track both individual inventory items (components, raw material) and “assemblies” (combined inventory items, finished goods or products) that you sell
- Anytime, anywhere flexibility with QuickBooks Remote Access. Now you can work on your QuickBooks files from home or in the road.

MYOB Plus for Windows - MYOB Plus for Windows provide all the tools you need to run your business productively and in less time. MYOB Plus has all the standard features you anticipate from quality accounting software with the additional bonus of excellent business management tools designed to assure your business operates with financial intelligence, establishes personalized service and creates a smooth work flow – to get you home faster!

Peachtree Accounting Software
Peachtree First Accounting - Ideal for small businesses who are switching to an automated software solution from a manual or personal finance system, Peachtree First Accounting provides fast start-up, easy invoicing, convenient check writing, inventory tracking, payroll management, plus over 50 customizable reports and quick access to valuable information found on the Internet!
Peachtree Accounting - packed with all of the basics - invoicing, bill paying, in-depth inventory tracking, payroll, order entry. Peachtree Accounting also includes the powerful business management and Internet tools very important to small businesses.
Peachtree Complete Accounting - includes the strong, network-ready accounting features and provides you with the precious insights you need. Improved manage your books, business and presence on the Internet with such advanced features as job costing, time and billing.

Simply Accounting - Simply Accounting was designed for fast moving businesses. It's easy to use, yet powerful enough to keep up with all your accounting needs. Whether you sell products or services, Simply Accounting has all you need to run your business. It automates everything from making purchases to making sales and everything in between. It's even flexible enough to meet the most demanding payroll necessities.

2. Target Customer Profile:

QuickBooks - All individual consumers and small business owners
MYOB -Small-Medium businesses with general accounting and business management needs
Peachtree Accounting Software - Small and rising businesses who are either migrating from a paper office or who have basic accounting needs but are not ready for a large accounting system.
Simply Accounting -Small Businesses

3. Support Services Offered

QuickBooks - Bulletin Board, Context Sensitive Help within System, Knowledge Base – Internet, News Group, Person to Person Phone Support, Printed Manuals
MYOB - Bulletin Board, Context Sensitive Help within System, Email, Knowledge Base – Internet, On-site Consulting, Person to Person Phone Support, Printed Manuals
Peachtree Accounting Software- Automated Phone Support, Bulletin Board, Context Sensitive Help within System, Knowledge Base – Internet, News Group, Person to Person Phone Support
Simply Accounting - Automated Phone Support, Email, Person to Person Phone Support

4. Client Operating System:

QuickBooks - Macintosh, Windows ME, Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000, Windows XP
WIN 95, WIN 98
MYOB - Windows ME, Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000, Windows XP, WIN 95, WIN 98
Peachtree Accounting Software - Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000, WIN 95, WIN 98
Simply Accounting - Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000, WIN 95, WIN 98

5. Business Functions:

QuickBooks - General Accounting, Business Intelligence, Checks & Forms Solutions, Contact Management, Electronic Banking, Inventory, Project/Job Costing, Project Estimating, Payroll,
Purchasing, Sales Distribution, Time and Billing
MYOB - General Accounting, Checks & Forms Solutions, Contact Management, Electronic Banking, Inventory, Project/Job Costing, Payroll, Purchasing, Report Writer, Sales Distribution
Time and Billing
Peachtree Accounting Software - General Accounting, Electronic Banking, Fixed Assets/Depreciation, Inventory
Project/Job Costing, Payroll, Purchasing, Report Writer, Sales Distribution, W-2/1099
Simply Accounting - General Accounting, Personal Finance, Payroll, Purchasing, Time and Billing

6. Detail Feature List

QuickBooks
- General Accounting: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Bank Reconciliation, Budgeting/Forecasting, Cash Management
- Electronic Banking: Download Transactions, Electronic Funds Transfer, Online Account Access, Online Bill Payment
- Project/Job Costing: Contract Billing, Estimates, Job Costing
- Payroll: Payroll (USA), Time Card Entry
- Purchasing :Purchase Order Processing
- Sales Distribution :Invoicing

MYOB
- General Accounting : Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Bank Reconciliation
Budgeting/Forecasting, Cash Management, General Ledger, Multi-Currency
-Checks & Forms Solutions: Checks & Forms
-Contact Management: Contact Management
-Electronic Banking: Download Transactions
-Inventory: Lot Expirations, Track Lots
-Project/Job Costing: Allow Multiple Budgets, Contract Billing, Estimates, Job Costing, Owner Contract Maintenance
-Payroll: Payroll (USA), Time Card Entry
-Purchasing: Inventory Control, Purchase Order Processing
-Sales Distribution: Invoicing, Sales Order Processing
-Time and Billing: Accounts Receivable, Expense Reimbursement, Job Invoicing, Job Tracking, Time Entry
-Trial Balance: Trial Balance

Peachtree Accounting Software
- General Accounting: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Bank Reconciliation, Budgeting/Forecasting, Cash Management, General Ledger
-Electronic Banking: Credit Management, Download Transactions, Electronic Funds Transfer,
Online Account Access, Online Bill Payment
-Fixed Assets/Depreciation: Asset Depreciation, Asset Disposal, General Ledger Interface
-Inventory: Track Lots
-Payroll: Payroll (USA)
-Purchasing: Purchase Order Processing, Receiving, Returns, Shipment Invoice Matching
-Report Writer: Proprietary
-Sales Distribution: Inventory Control, Invoicing, Sales Order Processing, Sales Returns, Shipping
-W-2/1099:W-2/1099

Simply Accounting
- General Accounting: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Bank Reconciliation, Cash Management, And General Ledger
-Personal Finance: Cash Management, Check Writing, And On-line Bill Payment
-Personal

Microsoft Releases Free public beta Small Business Accounting Software 2007

Microsoft on Monday released a public beta of the next version of its Small Business Accounting Software, adding helpful combination with the popular online selling, payment, and credit advisory services eBay, PayPal, and Equifax. The program has undergone numerous modifications, including a name change, since its formal debut last year as Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006.

In addition to the aforementioned integration with a number of online services, you can now customize the layout and labels on accounting forms and add and track the results of new data fields. Security is more flexible, and it's easier to share data with your CPA, who can make adjustments while you continue to work on your books. The program also adds new capabilities such as fixed asset management.


The most admired of the new online services will be the integration with electronic payment giant PayPal. You can activate Office Accounting's PayPal add-in, included with the software, and then organize it to work with your PayPal Business Account. When you e-mail an invoice, your customer can click on its PayPal button and then use the service to pay the bill. Standard PayPal charges apply. But all this added power comes with a price: The application, which Microsoft plans to ship by year's end, is complicated to set up.

Office Accounting 2007 has an add-in to integrate with eBay, making it easier to put items you've entered in inventory for sale on the online auction service: You enter all required data on one screen in Office Accounting (instead of clicking through multiple windows on the eBay site), then upload the data. You can also download the results of sales transactions and related fees from eBay into the software. These features will be big time-savers for eBay power sellers who list hundreds of items per month and then must manually enter auction results into their accounting package. Microsoft has not yet strong-minded what it will charge for the eBay services. During the beta period the services are free, although separate registration with Microsoft's Office Marketplace is required. Of course, regular eBay charges apply.

While it's possible to use Microsoft Office Accounting on its own, the application really shines when integrated with other Microsoft Office apps. For example, you can use Microsoft Word to modify invoice templates and add one of the new PayPal payment buttons. Financial data can be transferred to Microsoft Excel, for flexible calculations. Many of the program's accounting capabilities can also be accessed using the Business Contact Manager add-in to Microsoft Outlook.
While Microsoft Office Accounting adds multi-currency support, the time-of-transaction conversion rate method used is too simple to make happy many accountants, and it is inferior to foreign-currency accounting in Sage's Simply Accounting. However, these features in Office Accounting easily beat out similar features in QuickBooks, which assumes the rest of the world's currency doesn't exist.

Microsoft Office Accounting looks slick, with an informative company dashboard that summarizes business financial performance and to-dos. In general, the software narrows but does not eliminate the lead held by its leading small-business competitors, such as Sage's Peachtree. In spite of enhancements in the latest versions of QuickBooks and Peachtree, Office Accounting still offers the best integration with Microsoft Office applications.

Richard Morochove
PC World
Tuesday, September 5, 2006;

Simply Accounting Basic 2006 is smart decision for your business

Now the newest version of Sage Software Simply Accounting 2006 Basic respected program delivers excellent tools for small-business accounting at surprisingly low price. The new version makes it easier to design custom accounting forms and features better combination with Microsoft Office than previous versions. Simply Accounting 2006 Basic version lets you coordinate customer and vendor records with Microsoft Outlook contacts, previously possible only with the Pro version. You can also use MS Word templates to organize customer form letters, and you can generate financial reports in MS Excel. Simply Accounting Basic stores accounting data in an MS Access database. The application has a large amount but not all of the MS Office integration smarts found in Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 ($179 list), so it's a believable alternative with a much lower price.

Simply Accounting Basic's Home Window, with its better menus for access to the program's general ledger, customer, vendor, employee and project-tracking capabilities, now can be easier used than the previous versions. An improved wizard provides more help with setting up a new company.
A larger payroll-check window enhances your view of income and deduction fields. If you use Simply Accounting Basic to prepare payroll, for efficiency's sake you should think for subscribing to the optional payroll tax table update service for $279 per year.

Simply Accounting Basic will undauntedly attract the bargain-hunting bean counters that tend to each bean carefully. Its features match up to most closely with those of Intuit's QuickBooks Pro edition, which costs $200-four times as much as Simply Accounting Basic. QuickBooks' entry-level Simple Start costs twice as much ($100) and delivers far less accounting power.

If you're currently using a spreadsheet (Excel) or a personal finance application (Quicken) to track business finances, you'll discover that Simply Accounting Basic 2006 represents a reasonable step up from what you work with now. Its improved import/export wizard simplifies importing data from Excel, Quicken, QuickBooks, and MYOB.
The added capabilities make this version a valuable upgrade for existing Simply Accounting Basic users and the low price will lure some Intuit users to switch their commitment.

More about Simply Accounting 2006 products

Sage Simply Accounting Basic For Microsoft Office Users - Complete Product - Financial Management - 1 User(s) Complete Product - Standard - PC Simply Accounting by Sage Basic - For Microsoft Office Users is the full-featured accounting solution for small businesses requiring entry-level accounting, quick setup and ease-of-use. No accounting experience is required. Whether you sell products or services, Simply Accounting Basic helps you perform routine tasks with ease, including preparing invoices, writing checks, tracking inventory, and managing customers and suppliers. Take advantage of your existing data through easy integration with Microsoft, including Outlook synchronization, viewing and analyzing reports in Excel, and more. Take pride in creating and presenting high-quality invoices, business reports and graphs. Ensure accounting integrity through a full-time audit trail.

Compare Simply Accounting Software with Peachtree Accounting Software , QuickBooks 2006 and Microsoft Office 2006 Small Business Accounting