Feedback from South African users of Intuit's latest version of QuickBooks Accounting, Version 5, indicates that Brilliant Business Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Softline Limited, has achieved its aim of offering its customers an easy-to-use, no-hassle accounting package.
Many entrepreneurs with little accounting experience find the idea of using a financial software package intimidating and look for a user-friendly, integrated package to supply their needs. QuickBooks V.5 provides them with exactly that. So says Alan Osrin, a director of Softline.
Non-accounting professionals need not be familiar with accounting terms like debit, credit and general ledger. With QuickBook however, the user simply has to fill in a form on the screen and it completes the actual accounting procedures for them. Users are prompted by the program to enter transactional data, which then automatically transfers the information to the general ledger.
Says Osrin: "QuickBooks operates in a language which users can understand and are comfortable with. By simply following the on-screen instructions, they can view their cash flow statements, account receivables, balance sheet and profit and loss statements."
The EasyStep Interview feature guides users through the set-up procedure of accounts quickly and easily. Once the user has entered the data, QuickBooks accesses 20 pre-set income and expense accounts to set-up the user's accounts.
The package's QuickFill feature minimises information input to the extent that data need only be entered once. Not only does this result in time and cost savings but it also helps reduce the number of input errors.
"Users with little or no previous accounting experience are literally piloted through the package by QuickBooks Navigator, a graphical user interface that provides users with step-by-step assistance.
"The software gives users the flexibility to customise screen layouts to suit their specific needs. The layout designer feature means that users can customise invoices, statements and purchase orders simply by dragging and dropping fields. They can also select fonts and insert their own logos to ensure that forms that are printed from the software support the companies brand image."
"The software records recurring expenses and invoices and recreates them while the reimbursement expense feature tracks the expenses and automatically generates the invoices for customers," explains Osrin.
The 'drill-down' functionality extends as far as giving users the ability to drill-down from graphs to find out how numbers are derived. This is a unique feature to the extend that other normally other packages that offer drill down features do not drill down from within graphs.
"In essence, QuickBooks gives users an affordable yet powerful tool with which to manage and grow their businesses. Features such as the fully integrated stock control tracks stock, receives goods whether a purchase order has been created or not, and automatically calculates cost of sales."
Producing bi-monthly VAT returns are easy with QuickBooks V.5. By simply running a VAT Report users can determine and pay VAT liabilities and receive refunds automatically.
A QuickBooks.com forum on the world-wide web has been established to help users learn how to use the software more effectively by exchanging ideas with other users and Forum Hosts, which help initiate discussions on the Internet, answer questions and monitor the discussion groups.
Purchasers of QuickBooks Version 5 are entitled to 30 days free person-to-person technical support and free post-purchase introductory training.
"The package also comes with a 60-day unconditional money-back guarantee. In the long period that we have offered this guarantee, which as been available practically since the product was launched in South Africa we've hardly ever been called upon to honour this guarantee. I believe that this a reflection of the confidence that the company and the users have in the product," concludes Osrin.
Editors Note
About Brilliant Business Systems
Brilliant Business Systems is a focused developer and supplier of superior software products in the financial, business solutions and accounting categories, as well as a provider of service and support to an established dealer network and to the end user.
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