Accounting and finance

Taking care of business

Online versions of QuickBooks and Simply Accounting help your small business manage the books on the road, anywhere and anytime. By Elsa Wenzel (April 1, 2005)

If your small business juggles employees and interests in a number of locations, a go-anywhere accounting system might help you maintain accurate numbers--as well as your sanity. These Web-based accounting services allow you to manage your company's books from any Windows computer, whether you're in Kentucky or Kyrgyzstan. Intuit QuickBooks Online and Best Software Simply Accounting Online provide the book-balancing basics: you can prepare invoices, receive payments, write checks, and create an audit trail. Your sensitive data, backed up daily, rests on secure, encrypted 128-bit SSL servers. Both online services allow you to import data once from their corresponding desktop editions. And if you need to process credit cards or make direct bank deposits, you can do that--for an extra price. We liked the friendly, elegant online interfaces of both QuickBooks Online and Simply Accounting Online. Which service might best serve your mobile enterprise? If your budget is tight, QuickBooks Online is the more frugal choice, and it packs most of the features that any small business will need. Its $240 three-user account costs less than one-third of what Simply Accounting Online charges for the same. And QuickBooks Online even throws in free tech support, unlike its expensive rival. For its premium price, Simply Accounting Online includes payroll--an extra, pay-as-you-go service with QuickBooks--and allows transactions in multiple currencies, an important point for global jet-setters. Simply Accounting Online also provides access to five more users than QuickBooks Online. These online accounting apps provide fewer features than their desktop counterparts, such as sophisticated forecasting tools. But the sheer convenience of these easy-to-use Web-based tools might be enough of a selling point for any mobile small business.   QuickBooks Online Simply Accounting Online Manage payroll   Secure daily backup Maximum users 20 25 Windows only One-time data upload Free tech support   Three-user account $240/year $900/year Manage purchase orders   Prepare invoices Create an audit trail Import a file from desktop version of the online edition 30-day free trial Receive payments Write checks Balance the books Handle multiple currencies   Read the CNET editor's take

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