Quicken Q

[rchayden1@juno.com]

I use Quickbooks.  More expensive, but truly for business.

The quickfill feature is great as time goes by.  Once a client is in
there, and your prices pre-set in the items register, you 
can complete an entry in very few keystrokes.

Inventory is kept track of, checks, various accounts, anything you want
to do is in there.  If your diligent in the details it can be a great
help.  

I also create invoices and fax them direct from the program to
businesses, very handy, quick and professional, and not hard.

The newest versions help you do estimates and other vital trackings,
also.

Asking the program for reports is easy, too.  Sales tax for the last
month takes about four clicks.  Inventory orders, overdue invoices,
income reports, etc. etc. are all pre-designed.   And finding clients, or
any piece of info is pretty easy.

Also, as you work with the program, you teach it to be linked (by the
questions it asks) with friendly tax programs, such as Turbo-tax, so when
tax time comes it can import the data from your Quickbooks and
theoretically compile and compute a great deal.  Have you ever been
stunned at the April 15th "Amount Due".   Believe me, it's no fun.  Only
the self employed really know how much the Government takes!!  The rest
of the world is asleep due to that sleek program called:  'payroll
deductions'.  

Quickbooks can do payroll, too.  But due to 'payroll deductions' is a
bear to learn.

Keep in mind, there are many excellent people out there who know their
craft, but fail at business.  Quickbooks, or a similar program can make
the difference.  The money picture is bigger than we think, more complex
than we want, and full of traps.  You need constant feedback or you can
sink deep without knowing why.  

Quicken is OK for home, but it won't handle a tuning business and its
many complications.

Quick Books is not as easy as the Ads say, but that's because to be
honest, being in business is not simple.  We need to develop a vocabulary
in accounting or we remain in ignorance and economic danger.

We use Quickbooks for many things, but not everything.  We still hire an
accountant to watch our every move, its her job to keep us up on the
Government's subtle changes and big surprises.

Roger Hayden, RPT