[drcarl]

I'm starting a small business (dentistry) and my accountant wants to set me up with Quickbooks Pro. My question is should I go with the Mac or Windows version. The accountant's computer tech says that they can work with the data and do all the essentials, but it may not be as streamlined as with the windows version. Also some reports may have to be done by me personally and they are not sure if they can use GoToMyPC to remotely access my computer.

I have concerns that Quickbooks for Mac may not be as feature-rich as the Windows version (although it may be vis-versa). Does any one have experience or advise for me? If I need the Windows version, would Virtual PC be an option?

[kennedy]

Originally posted by drcarl:
I'm starting a small business (dentistry) and my accountant wants to set me up with Quickbooks Pro. My question is should I go with the Mac or Windows version. The accountant's computer tech says that they can work with the data and do all the essentials, but it may not be as streamlined as with the windows version. Also some reports may have to be done by me personally and they are not sure if they can use GoToMyPC to remotely access my computer.

I have concerns that Quickbooks for Mac may not be as feature-rich as the Windows version (although it may be vis-versa). Does any one have experience or advise for me? If I need the Windows version, would Virtual PC be an option?

Not sure if you ever got an answer...

I use QB on the Mac as I avoid Windoze at all costs. However, QB on the Mac is several releases behind QB on Windoze. So, you are giving up features by running it on the Mac... the question is whether you need those features at all... and if you do, are they worth the cost of having a PeeCee.

[nemanirc]

Originally posted by drcarl:
I have concerns that Quickbooks for Mac may not be as feature-rich as the Windows version (although it may be vis-versa). Does any one have experience or advise for me? If I need the Windows version, would Virtual PC be an option?

Most of the features that are missing are relatively minor. For instance, if you no longer use an account, the Wintel version lets you deactivate that account so it no longer shows up in your lists (you don't want to delete an account lest you mess up your referential integrity and double-entry bookkeeping). This option is not available on the Mac.

My wife and I took a Quickbooks class at CompUSA. She used the Wintel box in the classroom and I brought my PowerBook. I was able to do most everything they were able to with their Windows machines.

Your real question is whether multiple users can share the same data file. I am not sure the current version of QB 6 for Mac lets you do this (we don't share the files for our businesses; I do the bookkeeping for my consulting, she does it for our rental properties).

[mkral]

unless you need to use the multi-user feature or the online bank account features, I'd go with the mac version. While it definitely lags behind the Windows version a bit, it is a great piece of software. Also, if you need to use any kind of 'tie-in' software that works with QB, make sure that it works with the Mac version. (Some medical companies offer software that fills out hippa forms or whatever that works with your QB data, but does not always work with the Mac version of QB.

[drcarl]

Thanks for the replies. I decided to go with the Mac version. Hopefully, it'll do everything I want.

I'm not sure how well my dental software will integrate with QB. I'll probably be fine so long as I can enter my daily A/R.