Intuit QuickBooks Pro 6.0

It's a sad fact that the majority of new businesses sink in their first five years, and many are sent to the bottom by poor financial controls.

It's fine having an accountant look over your books at year end, but it's even better to keep year-round control over finances yourself, sitting at the office PC.

QuickBooks comes from good stock - its stablemate, Quicken, is one of only two personal finance packages at the races these days. And it has a pedigree - two million copies of the five versions have been sold worldwide. Its brief is to deliver complete financial control for small businesses while cutting out any need for accounting knowledge.

So what's new? Version 6.0 of QuickBooks comes in three varieties, suiting everyone from a one-man-band to a small business with a network of 20 employees. Up to five people can access a file at any time.

Help, in the form of wizards, 'Show Me' videos and 'How Do I?' buttons, abound. Register Sorting makes it easier to find transactions by giving five search options - customer name, date, amount and so on.

But where Version 6.0 really scores is in its eye to the future. Business Health Check - a set of 18 reports - lets you check that cash flow, costs and so forth, are on an acceptable track. And the depreciation calculator lets you check the changing value of your assets.

QuickBooks version 6.0 retails at £99, the Pro version at £199.

SPECIFICATIONS

Manages cash flow and VAT

Network ready (for up to five users)

Separate user and company settings

Business health check. Uses 19 indicators of business performance, such as turnover, cash-flow ratio, return on sales and so on, to calculate the health of the company

Contact: Intuit 0800 374285

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