QuickBooks is a line of business accounting software developed and marketed by Intuit.
Intuit was founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx in Mountain View, California, USA. After the success of Quicken for individual financial management, the company looked to provide a similar solution to small business owners giving them a system that required little or no accounting experience, yet helping provide financial structure and compliance.
Initial release
The software was popular among small business owners who had no formal accounting training. As such, the software soon claimed up to 80 percent of the small business accounting software market. It continues to command the vast majority of this market.Professional accountants, however, were not satisfied with early versions of the system, citing poor security controls such as no audit trail, as well as non-conformity with traditional accounting standards. (Such accountants often provide small businesses with monthly and year-end services that require data from the software used for day-to-day operations by the business.)
Subsequent releases
Intuit sought to bridge the gap with these accounting professionals, eventually providing full audit trail capabilities, double-entry accounting functions and increased functions. By 2000, Intuit had developed Basic and Pro versions of the software and, in 2003, started offering industry-specific versions, with workflow processes and reports designed for each of these business types along with terminology associated with the trades.
Options now include versions for manufacturers, wholesalers, professional service firms, contractors, non-profit entities and retailers, in addition to one specifically designed for professional accounting firms who service multiple small business clients. In May 2002 Intuit launched QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions for medium-sized businesses.
A September 5, 2005 Business Week article said that QuickBooks had 74% of the market. A June 19, 2008 Intuit Press Release said that as of March 2008, QuickBooks' share of retail units in the business accounting category reached 94.2 percent, according to NPD Group. It also says that more than 50,000 accountants, CPAs and independent business consultants are members of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor program.By then Brad Smith was the new CEO, though Bennett had nearly tripled Intuit revenue and quadrupled earnings in eight years.
International versions
Versions of this product are available in many different markets. Intuit's Canadian and U.K. divisions offer versions of QuickBooks that support the unique needs of each region, such as Canada's GST or PST sales tax and the U.K.'s Value Added Tax (VAT). Reckon Ltd (Australian Securities Exchange (ASX):RKN) under licence from Intuit, publishes versions for the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore markets. Version 2008 has enhanced support for Irish VAT reporting. The Mac version is only available in the US.
General features and use
Small businesses use QuickBooks for most financially-related business processes, from entering sales receipts, tracking expenses, preparing and sending invoices, sales tax tracking and payment, preparation of basic financial statements and reports, and inventory management. The program does not include MICR line printing, but does include check printing and options for employee payroll and time tracking. For most tasks, QuickBooks doesn't require users to understand standard accounting procedures, including double-entry bookkeeping. Most transactions are recorded using on-line screens that closely resemble paper based forms such as invoices or checks.
Recent feature additions
Intuit has integrated several web-based features into QuickBooks, including remote access capabilities, remote payroll assistance and outsourcing, electronic payment functions, online banking and reconciliation, mapping features through integration with Google Maps, marketing options through Google, and improved e-mail functionality through Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. For the 2008 version, the company has also added import from Excel spreadsheets, additional employee time tracking options, pre-authorization of electronic funds and new Help functions. In June 2007, Intuit announced that QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions would run on Linux servers, whereas previously it required a Windows server to run.
QuickBooks Online Edition
Intuit also offers a hosted solution called QuickBooks Online Edition (QBOE). The user pays a monthly subscription fee rather than an upfront fee and accesses the software exclusively through a secure logon via a web browser. Intuit hosts all of the user's data, provides patches, and regularly upgrades the software automatically.
Until recently, the only browser supported by QuickBooks Online was Internet Explorer. However, Mozilla FireFox is now supported on PCs and Safari is now supported on the Mac platform. One may also access QuickBooks Online via an iPhone app.
QuickBooks Online does not support all features of the desktop versions of QuickBooks. Specifically, inventory, purchase orders, and online bill payment are not included in the product and are only supported via third-party add-ons.
QuickBooks Point of Sale
QuickBooks Point of Sale is software that replaces a retailer's cash register, tracks their inventory, sales, and customer information, and provides reports for managing their business and serving their customers.
Add-on programs
Through the Solutions Marketplace, Intuit has encouraged third-party software developers to create programs that fill niche areas for specific industries and integrate with QuickBooks. These systems often provide enhanced options for payroll, inventory, distribution, billing and other functions. The Intuit Developer Network provides marketing and technical resources including all SDKs.
The application 'Customer Manager' is a CRM application that integrates QuickBooks data with customer data, including that found in other software such as Microsoft Outlook.
Payroll Products allow the processing of timesheets and processing payroll.[9] Annual updates are available by subscription. In 2007, Payroll.com added Intuit Online Payroll to its suite of payroll solutions. Intuit Online Payroll is a web-based service that is designed to let businesses handle their payroll without the use of QuickBooks software.
Online Terminal is a web-based service aimed at enabling very small or home-based businesses to take credit card payments, without needing a credit card terminal or any special processing software. The cost of the service is subscription to a merchant account. Its features include emailing of confirmation receipts, six months of transaction history, and tracking of merchant account funds.
Lacerte, a tax preparation software used by professional accountants who prepare taxes for a living, integrates with QuickBooks.
Qvinci™is a management and operations solution that incorporates QuickBooks data into a dashboard framework and then offers many capabilities such as graphing, trending, forward looking projections, early warning indicators, key performance indicators, as well as many others.
ACCTivate! extends the QuickBooks functionality with Inventory management, warehousing, CRM and sales order management capabilities.
Compared to other versions of QuickBooks, fewer third-party add-ons integrate with QuickBooks Online Edition. Examples include Service Sidekick, a field service management application, and OE Companion, a suite of web-based add-ons.
