QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks for the Web: Bill at Internet Speed

Electronic billing and payment highlights Intuit's QuickBooks Pro 2001; plus, QuickBooks for the Web debuts.

Richard Morochove, special to PCWorld.com

All too often, a popular software package will release a run-of-the-mill upgrade, with no major revisions. That's not the case with Intuit's QuickBooks Pro 2001, its small-business accounting program. This is the most innovative version of QuickBooks Pro we've seen in years. One of the most significant new features is QuickBooks' integrated support for electronic billing and payments via the Internet. Intuit has also introduced a new Web-based product, QuickBooks for the Web, which is appropriate for service businesses on the go.

We looked at the $250 multiuser QuickBooks Pro 2001, which can handle general accounting, time and billing tasks, and job costing. QuickBooks Pro also now delivers a variety of pricing options that you can designate for goods sold and services rendered: There are up to 20 different price levels as a percentage of an item's standard price, which allows for greater selling flexibility.

If you don't need the higher-end capabilities of QuickBooks Pro, Intuit also offers a $150 single-user version. Standard QuickBooks supports only basic accounting chores, including electronic billing and payment, logging receivables for goods and services, posting payments, and generating financial statements.

Electronic Bookkeeper

The late beta version of QuickBooks Pro 2001 that we reviewed is chock-full of useful improvements, including easier payroll setup, with 60 days of free online tax table updates, and enhanced W-2 reporting for state taxes. Also new to this version is batch printing of frequently used reports and a spelling checker for forms such as invoices and purchase orders. Thanks to a streamlined, customizable interface, it's easier to find your way around the program in the way that's most comfortable to you. The customizable navigation bar, icon bar, and enhanced flow charts proved helpful as we worked through our accounting tasks.

You don't need to be a CPA to set up QuickBooks. A wizard guides you through the process, and there are account templates for different types of businesses to help get you started.

You can send e-mail from within QuickBooks Pro and easily fax invoices and estimates over the Internet, speeding up communication with customers. (The single-user QuickBooks also supports sending invoices but not estimates by fax and e-mail.) The integrated fax feature uses Efax.com's Internet faxing service, which costs $4.95 per month plus about 5 cents per page.

The new electronic billing options make QuickBooks Pro an excellent upgrade bet. When you e-mail invoices to customers, they can opt to take advantage of the nifty new online payment option. Electronic invoices contain embedded links that let customers pay you electronically with a credit card or a direct transfer from any bank account. You will incur a modest transaction fee for the luxury of this option, which is handled by X.com's PayPal.

Internet QuickBooks

Concurrent with its new desktop release, Intuit is now offering QuickBooks for the Web. We found Intuit's QuickBooks for the Web to be a decent, albeit unimpressive, first crack at creating a Web-based version of the company's popular small-business accounting package. Priced at $15 per month, the company is targeting its Web-based offering to small, service-oriented businesses of up to 20 employees.

QuickBooks for the Web is not a clone of the Pro-version desktop program; in fact, it lacks many of the core features of the desktop versions, including payroll, inventory, estimating, and job costing. Instead, this version has been redesigned to accommodate the needs of service-based businesses. QuickBooks for the Web is designed to be used with a broadband connection, but even though we ran it over broadband, we found that it took longer to accomplish tasks than would its desktop counterpart.

Unlike the desktop version, there are no supplementary business consulting services available to support QuickBooks for the Web at this time. The Web version of QuickBooks also doesn't have end-to-end electronic billing and payment; however, you can still e-mail and fax billing statements to your customers (the first 50 faxes sent each month are gratis).

The advantage to using QuickBooks for the Web is that it frees you from the shackles of your office's PC: Because your password-protected (the software uses 128-bit Secure Socket Layer encryption) records are available on the Web, it's convenient to make changes at any time, from any place. Professionals who are frequently out of the office, and small service business owners who are often on the go, will find this Web offering particularly useful. Others will be dissuaded by the product's limitations; they will be better served by sticking with the desktop-based version of QuickBooks for now.

Intuit's Web product is pricier than the competing NetLedger, which offers such optional features as payroll capabilities and online ordering for customers. On the other hand, QuickBooks for the Web's $15 monthly fee permits up to 20 users, while NetLedger charges $5 per month per user.

As for QuickBooks Pro 2001, the option to set 20 price levels alone makes this an especially worthwhile upgrade for businesses with multiple sales channels or varying prices for their goods and services. If you want to speed up your cash flow, the new electronic billing features can also cut valuable days off your outstanding accounts receivable--albeit at a small premium.