The internet is filled with hatred of QuickBooks. After doing much of the hating myself I realize now that people do not hate the program because of what the program can’t do; they hate QuickBooks because the program discourages them in small ways at every opportunity. Using QuickBooks is like wading three miles through a swamp to pay your taxes. If you took away half of the options and removed the unwanted spontaneous advertising you would have a nice program.
I had the above thought yesterday as I looked for a missing payment in QuickBooks. Today I listened to Andrew Warner interview Allen Branch of Less Accounting on Mixergy. Coincidence? Yes, but a happy coincidence. Less Accounting seems to have just the features that I, small business owner, would use in an accounting program, and nothing else. The price for what I need seems to be steep, (considering I’ve already bought QuickBooks, but that is a sunk cost) but I suppose if it freed up time and energy the program would pay for itself in short order.
Does anyone have any experience with Less Accounting?
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That’s funny because I’m in the middle of moving my data away from Less Accounting and into Quickbooks online. Less Accounting doesn’t support Assets and Liabilities at all and the automatic bank syncing has screwed up my accounts pretty bad this last month (to the tune of $4,000 off).
@Eric – It does seem like a specialized power tool. I’m horrible at all aspects of accounting so it would probably all be a wash for me.
And now that I think about it, I’m thinking of splitting my endeavors into three parts (the consulting, Stronico, and the woodworking), so I’m not sure how that would work out to use LA. I love the concept though.
@Eric, unfortunately no app can replace the act of bookkeeping and a doing monthly bank reconciliation. We try to spot data issues when we import from your bank via Yodlee.com however doing due diligence in bookkeeping is needed in any app you use. I hope you can find the right app for your needs.
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Steve French. Steve French said: Just Blogged: Is it time to replace QuickBooks with Less Accounting? http://su.pr/1EiyLN #LessAccounting @lessallan [...]
@Eric, unfortunately no app can replace the act of bookkeeping and a doing monthly bank reconciliation. We try to spot data issues when we import from your bank via Yodlee.com however doing due diligence in bookkeeping is needed in any app you use. I hope you can find the right app for your needs.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Steve French. Steve French said: Just Blogged: Is it time to replace QuickBooks with Less Accounting? http://su.pr/1EiyLN #LessAccounting @lessallan [...]
An accounting software, any, is a one size fits all general purpose tool that is suitable for a small number of businesses: businesses that have a simple business process such as retail store, wholesale business, restaurant, small repair shop, etc… An accounting software, be it QB, PT, SA, ACCPAC, etc… is unsuitable for a large number of businesses: businesses that don’t have a simple business process.
SMBs don’t realize this because their current system is so patched up and clunky that the problem has been blurred and buried ten feet underground.
The simple and undeniable fact is that if spreadsheets didn’t exist, the usefulness of your accounting software would drop by 50%, and in many cases the accounting software itself would simply be unusable.
Why is it so? The answer is simple: An accounting software is an accountant’s tool, not a business tool and as such its function is very limited. The best proof that its function is limited is this: In the majority of businesses, users spend a significant amount of time and effort extending the functionality of their accounting software with multiple spreadsheets, databases, 3rd party addons, electronic files, etc… in order to bridge the gap between accounting and their company’s business processes. QuickBooks payroll is no longer adequate? No problem, new spreadsheets are created and maintained by the payroll person or an addon is purchased and plugged in. The sales process is getting more complex and your MS Dynamics or Sage can’t handle it or is too complicated or heavy to reconfigure? No problem, another series of spreadsheets or a database is created by the sales department. The result is a system that is patched up and stitched from nearly every side. That’s the type of result you get when you use a screw driver to drill holes. Messy and painful isn’t? The astonishing part is that users do it naturally without questioning this nonsense. The not so surprising part is when a business commits the sin (they all do) of asking their CPA or a system reseller to suggest a solution, he/she almost invariably recommends another brand of screw driver…, and life goes on.