Oh, No!  Here We Go Again, Another Version! Another Upgrade!

DO I or DON’T I?     DO I or DON’T I? 

QuickBooks 2000

By Sharon Wolfe, Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor at  www.qbooks.net

 

WHY UPGRADE? No need unless you need some of the new features (see below), OR have version 6 or below. (We recommend upgrading every other version; the last version was QuickBooks 99 and prior to that was Version 6.0), so, following our recommendation if you have Version 6.0, upgrade, if you have Version 99, wait until next year’s upgrade!

What’s THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QuickBooks 2000, QuickBooks Pro2000, and Pro 2000 Multi-User? (see QuickBooks’ chart at the end of this article).  By the way, data from QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro are interchangeable. But data from different versions are not backwards compatible.

What’s the difference between a new version upgrade and a Product Upgrade (also called Release)?

#1            New versions are the full program, and of course cost money.

#2            Product Upgrades are FREE, and downloadable from www.quickbooks.com.  They are routinely available several times a year after the new version comes out, and they provide (mostly behind the scenes) patches, enhancements to the software package. Payroll upgrades are a MUST to keep current with the state/federal tax tables. If you are sharing data files with your accountant/CPA, you must not only have the save version, but the same upgrade/release.

·         To be consistent with prior years’ reporting on QuickBooks, QuickBooks 99 = Y2K
More then just another upgrade if you still want to be in business after 2000

·         The Test Site: Testing The:
QuickBooks PRO 6.0

 

here are our comments on the latest version of QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro - the details came right off QuickBooks’ web site www.quickbooks.com .  As always, the Author’s comments are added.

NEW--Synchronize Contacts Between Microsoft Outlook/Symantec ACT! and QuickBooks Pro - Now QuickBooks Pro users can synchronize contact information between QuickBooks Pro and ACT! or Outlook. Any time the small business owner adds or makes a change to customer information in either program, the new one-click synchronization will automatically update the changes made, so users save time, and improve accuracy. COMMENT: We like this feature and have used it with Act!

NEW--QuickBooks Postage Service* - Now small business owners will not need to make any more trips to the post office, wait in line, or lick stamps. Now QuickBooks users can sign up for a PC postage account with E-Stamp through QuickBooks. Any class of postage can be printed automatically from within QuickBooks. With a simple click of a button, users print out postage and address information stored in QuickBooks on the envelope or label they are using. * Additional fees apply and Internet access required.  COMMENT:  We still much prefer Stamps.com.  See our prior article comparing the two!

 

NEW--QuickBooks Merchant Account Service*  - Users can easily sign up for a merchant card account online and use QuickBooks to authorize and settle credit card payments right from within QuickBooks. QuickBooks offers everything needed to receive traditional or e-commerce credit card payments or authorize credit card payments online from within the product. - * Additional monthly service fee and Internet access required.  COMMENT: This is very convenient, however, as always, pay attention to the merchant fees; shop around before you decide.

 

NEW--QuickBooks Direct Mail Service* - ELetter is an innovative direct mail service that lets you easily produce business mailings like thank you letters, informational post cards, and company brochures. ELetter's complete mailing service saves you time, cuts mailing costs (savings of up to 50%), is easy to use, and is conveniently available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. * Additional fees apply and Internet access required.  COMMENT: Sounds great; haven’t tried it.

QuickBooks Payroll Services  - We've changed the way you do payroll in QuickBooks 2000!* We're now offering two affordable, integrated online services to meet your payroll needs -- Basic Payroll, which replaces the former Tax Table Service; and Deluxe Payroll, which handles your payroll tax filings for you automatically. Without a payroll service, you'll need to enter payroll taxes manually. * Additional fees may apply and Internet access required.  COMMENT:  It’s only $6/month (on a credit card only). We love the Basic payroll feature and the ease of downloading payroll tax table changes.  We downloaded the California State tax change that took effect 4/1/00 for SDI, from .5% to .7%.  Even though we downloaded it prior to 4/1/00, the program knew not to calculate this change until any payroll checks dated 4/1/00 and after.  If you want a full payroll service, try the Deluxe.  We have not  tried it yet; it seems pricier than local payroll services, however, it’s well worth the extra money because of its convenience, linking directly with QuickBooks!

Navigation Bar - The new QuickBooks Navigation Bar provides faster, easier, one-click access to the features that users most frequently use. QuickBooks users can easily customize the bar with one click to include the items they need to access most. COMMENT:  This is a big change from prior versions and particularly frustrating to get used to if you are used to using ICONS in prior versions.  HOWEVER, it certainly organizes tasks in an easy to understand fashion, and once you have re-learned the layout, is easy to use.  As we all know, changes are usually not welcome unless they make things easier. 

Lists - Now QuickBooks users can sort any column in any list, including the Chart of Accounts list, Customers list, Vendors list, Items list and Employees list, to immediately find the information they're looking for. It is easier than ever for users to see at a glance their most overdue customers, their most expensive items, their lowest inventory items, and more. COMMENT: A really nice feature.

18 QuickBooks Enhancements from Customer Suggestions - Based on customer comments from Technical Support interactions and Web and mail-in suggestions, we've added these enhancements and modifications to make QuickBooks even easier to use. Some enhancements include:

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