If you’re looking for tools to help your sales enablement process, these are the six most used tools in our arsenal. Everything from sales tracking, CRM, automated document creation, invoicing and billing. Enjoy!
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workflow :: Curvve Media Blog
I have been a hardcore Mac OSX user for a little over 10 years now. Something I get asked regularly is which software tools I use to run my business and life of technological zen. This is a short list and review of what I consider to be the best, and most critical Mac OSX software in my workflow.
Quickbooks 2012
Business Accounting
For those of you that don't like to read long winded reviews, I'll get right to the point: As an OSX user, you probably share the distaste left by Intuit over the previous Quickbooks product releases. In fact, at the time that Quickbooks 2012 was announced, I was in the process of looking at online alternatives. Even though I am still highly annoyed at the fact that Quickbooks still does not support automatic credit card processing, I can honestly say that Quickbooks 2012 has blown me away. Quickbooks 2012 represents a significant improvement in both workflow and user interface. The process flows and smooth UI feel like you are working in a Mac application it's terrific. In my opinion, this version represents a huge leap forward in finance and accounting programs for the Mac.
The Interface
The first thing I noticed is how much smoother the process flow of the application is. Entering an invoice is still just as easy, but the updated UI allows you to quickly click not the payment button, grab the invoice you want from the list on the left, and rapidly enter a payment. The entire prices is incredibly smooth.The one thing I hated about Quickbooks 2011, was the it always took me a good amount of time to figure out where the ‘receive payments' button was located. Now everything is centrally located; it just makes sense.
Importing Bank Transactions
This process has also gotten considerably easier. I have a stack of unmatched transactions sitting in my register because I haven't wanted to go through them one at a time. QB 2012 is defiantly better at handling unmatched transactions, but it's not quite 100% in my opinion. The new batch ‘Add Multiple' and Renaming Rules options go a long way in speeding up this process. Once you add a vendor to your register once, you can click the Add Multiple button to have quickbooks automatically enter the rest for you.
While this does save a considerable amount of time, a perfect solution would be to have an “Add All” button, which goes ahead and enters everything for you, using a generic spending category. I know it's not proper accounting, but sometimes you need to just get things done and move on. It's certainly a nice to have feature, but by no means a deal breaker for me. The new import functionality is awesome.
Progress Invoicing
At first I just glanced over this, but this is actually a pretty cool feature. I generally collect deposits on projects, but have always just worked off the same invoice. Now, I create an estimate for the entire project, and I can have quickbooks generate a ‘Progress Invoice' for the amount that I would like to bill for. Then I can have separate invoices for each piece that I've built. This will change my workflow a little bit, but I think it's worth it. I think my this is something that my customers will greatly appreciate.
Automated Reoccurring Merchant Account Transactions are STILL missing
Can you tell that this is a sore spot for me? Intuit, if you read this review, please add this feature! This is probably the most frustrating part about Quickbooks. Merchant account support has been available for the Mac for 4 years now. Automatic credit card billing has been available for windows for over 5 years. Why can't this feature be added to the Mac version? Doesn't it make sense that the merchant account features of both products would match, especially considering the fact that the only merchant account service available to use within Quickbooks is owned by Intuit? All of my billing is done on the first of the month. Why can't I automate that process of billing my same 20 clients each month so I don't have to manually bill them one at a time?
Overall Impressions
I definitely don't consider myself pro Intuit, as they've certainly given the shaft to Mac OSX users in the past… but I have to give credit where credit is due: Quickbooks 2012 is fantastic. I wouldn't hesitate to pay the upgrade price tag, as this app now towers over all other small business finance apps for OSX.
Ease of Use: 10
Look and Feel: 10
Functionality: 8
Overall Rating: 9
Price: $249 | Trial? yes | Homepage
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