Quickbooks 2016 - Yikes
Just closed on our 4-plex yesterday, and as part of the acquisition process, I'm encountering what many others have spoken about. My systems need improving. Following some of the other bloggers, I plunked down $188.00 at Costco for Quickbooks 2016. I bought it about 4 weeks ago. Now, a little background. By profession, when I don't do real estate, I am an analyst, familiar with software systems and databases (some, anyway). I opened up Quickbooks, and was shocked at how long I had to wrestle with a total lack of decent business wizard. Even when I had it set up, after hours of work, I still had no idea what was going on with this program.
So I looked up on Youtube, and started following along with intro video (looked like they wanted me to buy a whole course). I figured out how to hook it into my bank account (for a fee), but as I kept using it, and struggling mightily, it occurred to me I could write all the same functionality in an Access Database.
I stopped using Quickbooks a couple weeks ago out of pure exhaustion from trying to learn it. This past Saturday, I built an Access database that tracks the same data, in about two hours. Some of the tables needed normalization, but in the end, I had a fully functioning database for zero dollars. Even though I have built Access databases before in my profession, Quickbooks should have been as easy. It wasn't even close. Reports won't look as fancy, but when it is tax time, all the data will be a breeze to pull, and that by vendor, apartment, city...you name it, my database will track it.
It still bugged me that I plopped down $188.00 for that program, so I uninstalled it, and went to Costco, with my receipt, and they gave me a full refund. Gotta love Costco.
I bet a decent majority of people who use Quickbooks who are not accountants have someone else build and maintain it for them. I found it to have a huge learning curve...we are rental property owners...who has time?
Comments (2)
This database, and quick books for that measure, do not guide you through what is deductible or what is depreciable. What it does is assigns a a control so that each expense, each bill, each rent collected is tracked and accounted for. I have a property table that includes purchase price, rehab total, and could include decpreciable basis. But the key for me is to not have to keep a paper ledger, and to track each expense or payment, so that you know who paid you the rent, who you paid the bill to, and can then run reports at once to determine your expenses, rents, etc.
Quickbooks is designed to dump data into Quicken. My database is designed to track a lot of data about your property in one place, and then spit the data out for my accountant, instead of hunting and pecking through my checkook, or scanning receipts.
If that is what you want, I could provide a copy for you to check out. It will already have reports built in and an entry form.
David Moore, over 8 years ago
Any chance you will share said DB? I am in bookkeeping hell and could just use something straight forward that tells me what is deductible, what is depreciable, etc, etc. I have dedicated countless hours to trying to figure out the bookkeeping side with little to show for it.
Account Closed, over 8 years ago