Small Project Design

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Practice Management .
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What is a good system for accounting for a small firm (5-10 people)?  On the Mac.  QuickBooks perhaps with add-on (third party) modules for timekeeping, job costing and invoicing ..... does anyone have recommendations?  Thanks!
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Judith Repp AIA
Architect
Judith Repp Architect
Villanova PA
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Richard Wilken AIA
Architect-owner
R.B. Wilken-Architect
Pacific Palisades CA
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QuickBooks or QuickBooks Pro for Mac works great for my small offices. I have been using it on my Mac for several years and find it easy to work with. After some time inputting your specific company info or revising one of the standard business templates that come with the software package, it becomes second nature to work with. It is basically like Quicken but with several added features for business use including "Professional Services". It includes timekeeping and invoicing as part of the basic package, and can provide all kinds of reports to keep track of you profits on each job you want to track. Inputting staff hours ties directly into invoicing and payroll at the same time. You may want to check out http://quickbooks.intuit.com/pro/features/ for more details.

I have been using Quickbooks for about six years. It's a great accounting solution for small firms and has enough customization options to tailor it to your needs. I'd recommend getting a consultant (freelance booker, etc.) to help you get your accounts setup and if you're going to do payroll also have that person assist with that setup.

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Robert Gualtieri
Partner
OB + Architecture, Inc.
Orlando FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-16-2010 17:34
From: Richard Wilken
Subject: Accounting software



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Richard Wilken AIA
Architect-owner
R.B. Wilken-Architect
Pacific Palisades CA
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QuickBooks or QuickBooks Pro for Mac works great for my small offices. I have been using it on my Mac for several years and find it easy to work with. After some time inputting your specific company info or revising one of the standard business templates that come with the software package, it becomes second nature to work with. It is basically like Quicken but with several added features for business use including "Professional Services". It includes timekeeping and invoicing as part of the basic package, and can provide all kinds of reports to keep track of you profits on each job you want to track. Inputting staff hours ties directly into invoicing and payroll at the same time. You may want to check out http://quickbooks.intuit.com/pro/features/ for more details.

Rich

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Donald Wardlaw AIA
More Than Construction, Inc.
Oakland CA
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We started with Quickbooks Mac but stopped using it after a couple of years because we found that their Mac effort was second rate.  We switched to AccountEdge.  For basic double entry accounting it works well and we found it more mac like and easier to use.  A plus is that payroll is internal.  For a small firm it is easy to do the payroll in house.  Invoicing and time tracking also work well.  Quickbooks has a deeper database ("classes") though, so for now if your job costing is super intricate it may be a better choice.  Also, a lot of the development effort with AE seems in recent years to have gone toward retail and web sales.  Still, I doubt we would go back to QB.

Timeslips makes several levels of timekeeping, billing and reporting software including one for small offices. ------------------------------------------- David Edrington AIA David Edrington, Architect Eugene OR -------------------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 09-16-2010 08:56 From: Judith Repp Subject: Accounting software This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Practice Management . ------------------------------------------- What is a good system for accounting for a small firm (5-10 people)? On the Mac. QuickBooks perhaps with add-on (third party) modules for timekeeping, job costing and invoicing ..... does anyone have recommendations? Thanks! ------------------------------------------- Judith Repp AIA Architect Judith Repp Architect Villanova PA -------------------------------------------

I haven't tried this but I read about it and it might be a good solution:
http://www.bqe.com/default_AO.asp
It's called ArchiOffice.
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Emily Lingerfelt



Original Message:
Sent: 09-16-2010 08:56
From: Judith Repp
Subject: Accounting software

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Practice Management .
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What is a good system for accounting for a small firm (5-10 people)?  On the Mac.  QuickBooks perhaps with add-on (third party) modules for timekeeping, job costing and invoicing ..... does anyone have recommendations?  Thanks!
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Judith Repp AIA
Architect
Judith Repp Architect
Villanova PA
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We are a 2.5 person firm and use Quickbooks Pro 2009 for PC. Works well. Added custom stationary for invoices. We use Adobe Acrobat to combine invoices with back-up and email the invoices to cleints, but  not thru Quickbooks. We do not use timekeeping on Quickbooks yet.
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Antonio Amadeo AIA
Architect
LDC International Inc.
Tampa FL
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I use Archioffice (recommended by someone else on here to you) for my time tracking and invoicing and Quickbooks for bookeeping.  Most accounting fields export easily to Quickbooks except itemized expenses (expense income does translate but not the money you spend).  I feel I can no longer recommend Archioffice because they were recently bought by BQE and their support & maintenance contract is now $395 per year (one seat!).  That is up from $50 when I purchased AO in 2005.  At that time I was told all updates were free but it turns out that you have to have the maintenance contract (used to be this fee was support only or so they told me when I purchased).  The new fee is more than half what I paid for the software so I am not continuing it even though I've really liked the program.  I have had many bugs through the years though, so sometimes I have questioned my sanity for liking it!  FYI I believe AO was originally built for MAC.  It seems it is well developed for both Mac & PC.

Quickbooks is the way to go for accounting (I do recommend researching alternate methods for time tracking & invoicing).  If you are unfamiliar with bookeeping standards and terminology, I recommend "Radical Accounting" by Madeline Bailey.  It's a very easy read. Learn: Cash & accural, profit & loss statements vs balance sheets, etc.  If you do buy Quickbooks and want to see another architect's Chart of Accounts contact me (I've shared it before).

Tom
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Thomas Fallon AIA
Owner
Thomas F. Fallon, Architect LLC
Portland OR
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We used MYOB for years. I started with that since it was MAC based. Eventually they developed a PC format at about the time we switched to PC's. The current name is MYOB Premier Accounting. We currently use Quickbooks as it was preferred by our bookkeeper. Both are very easy to use.

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David Giulietti AIA
Giulietti/Schouten AIA Architects PC
Portland OR
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