Rating: 
Summary: No Choice - upgrade or switch!
Review: While Intuit had a good thing going, they have gone the way of Microsoft and added bad toys to a good program. Instead of getting better, 2003 has become overloaded for an average business user. The accountants are bound to be happy, as by the time the next version comes out, the average user will require an accountant to utilize the program. Now we are informed, on very short notice, that we HAVE TO UPGRADE TO HAVE PAYROLL SUPPORT! Otherwise Intuit no longer cares about you as a customer. And you'll notice that the price has skyrocketed! And customer support is nil without a large cash infusion into Intuit's pocket. My review: Time is ripe for competitors to step in and steal customers. I'm placing a sell order on my stock...and I will be looking a another accounting package for my needs. I may pay more, but I'll get a better program with REAL customer support.
Rating: 
Summary: Upgrade? No thanks!
Review: I currently use QB Pro 2000 and was checking into upgrading. After reading the reviews, I have decided not to and perhaps switch to an alternate product. The only "positive" review, Ms. Schiff's, was very helpful in my decision not to purchase the upgrade. Ms. Schiff's "review" was only a blatant advertisement for her company.
Rating:
Summary: Very bad product, joining equally bad Quicken'03 and TTax'02
Review: I could only chuckle seeing as the ONLY positive review about QB2003 comes from someone who has a business depending on it (the Nancy Schiff review). I know the program in and out, not only from user's experience but (as a 23-year-in-business software developer) also programming-wise. I can tell you the last two versions are examples of absolutely horrible "bloatware"; comments about them working slow are right on target. So are gripes about Intuit sub-par "support" and the fee structure hidden at the time of purchase and becoming apparent only after many users have no way out. As a sign of things to come, Intuit is embroiled in probably the biggest software user revolt of the present time, see the article and is losing customers by the thousands because of this. Somehow they thought they are another Microsoft with a lock on the market, and are surprised now when tax software users are going to other packages rather than swallowing Intuit's (absolutely horrible) scheme.
In short, Turbotax2002 installs the "C-dilla" spyware on the user's computer behind the user's back, compromising user's privacy and messing up with the computer on several levels (including apparently low-level sector data on the hard drive, so the spyware cannot be eradicated even by reformatting). Being stung by vicious press reports and users jumping ship by the thousands, Intuit quickly put an uninstaller on the market but it also disables Turbotax (logically) so all those ex-users are simply lost to competitors. I don't want to go on a long rant here, but as someone watching the industry trends since the very beginning of the PC era in 1981 I can see the writing on the wall for Intuit if they keep on doing what they are doing, both in QB (bad support, too many fees), in Quicken (the horribly cluttered 2003 interface) and now the spyware addition in Turbotax. I personally would think twice about pinning my business on Intuit long term. I have seen so many former "invincible champions" going bust (dBase, WordPerfect, what-have-you) it wouldn't surprise me at all if people were asking in 2006 "what's Quickbooks"? I have been using all three lines of Intuit products (QB, Quicken, Turbotax) for many, many years. However, effective just this month I have replaced ALL THREE with competing software and consciously left ALL Intuit programs forever. From what I hear, an awfully large number of people are doing exactly the same. Just my 2c :-)
Rating: 
Summary: Be aware of additional charges
Review: Quickbooks has been known to allow those of us with a bit of accounting literacy to manage our business finances. We recently purchased Quickbooks basic after doing a fair amount of research. After loading we discovered an additional charge applies to update the payroll tax tables. Yes, you want the tax tables to be accurate but charging [$$] to update them on a new software program doesn't seem customer focused. While they do provide one free update the payroll tax tables stop working ... so you have no choice but to pay and update. Setting everything up was fairly straightforward except for employee tax information. The help desk will be happy to assist you - [$$] for 20 minutes or [$$] unlimited time for three months. I really have no problem paying for service however this additional bit of information was not found on Quickbooks web site nor on the software box.
Rating:
Summary: UN-Intuit-ive
Review: This is a perfect example of a good program gone from bad to worse... I started using Quicken when it first came out over a decade ago and thought it was great. I upgraded to QuickBooks and eventually to QuickBooks Pro '99 due to business needs. But I won't upgrade again. I have used the upgraded editions with other clients and have decided NOT to upgrade for my own business use because of the following problems which have been brought to the attention of Intuit, but which have NOT been addressed: 1. LOUSY and expensive customer support, often for problems due directly to Intuit errors
2. Constant addition of fees for what should be basic accounting processes (pay roll, tax forms, etc.) AND lack of adequate notice that these fees will be encountered until after purchase has been made
3. Yearly upgrades that do not offer better program usability but DO cost more and more each year
4. Forced upgrades by "Dropping" of support AND cancellation of on-line banking capabilities for all "outdated" versions of the program (which are often better than the newer versions)
5. Lack of true versatility for business users - i.e. can't really change the invoice forms to work for a variety of businesses billing in a variety of ways
6. Lack of compatability with other commonly used programs - i.e. unable to import / export with most MS Word and MS Office functions Finally, I object to a strong trend I am seeing with QuickBooks - It is becoming the exclusive realm of the "professional" bookkeepers. There are expensive classes, "QuickBooks" consultants and accountants who will gladly teach you how to use the program, set up your books for you and require that all your year end business records be submitted in QuickBooks - or they won't touch your taxes. All for a fee of course! If you can't keep your own books, then you shouldn't be in business and you certainly shouldn't waste your time with this product.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect for the small business.
Review: This is an excellent software bundle, yet does have some drawbacks. Obviously this is the 5 User bundle, so the ultra-small business owners that only need 1 copy should find the single user copy. For multiple users, this is an excellent value. Quickbooks offers a multitude of options for almost everything you need to integrate with various other tools, as well as customize your ledgers and forms for your business. It includes a powerfull inventory management system, and is also quite effective for your payroll and general accounting. Well worth every cent in time saved over other similar products. Quickbooks has proven far superior for my small business administration, which is in the field of computer sales. I have used all 5 licenses, 1 at home, and 4 at the office, as this is an excellent software bundle for use in inventory tracking, AP/AR, and for working out the nuances of taxes. Contact your accountant and see if they offer a discount if you can provide your books and ledgers in Quickbooks format, as many in my area offer various discounts and incentives as it greatly eases the paperwork load on them. This helps them to both handle your money more effectively, and accurately.
Rating:
Summary: Intuit, always thinking of new ways to charge you more.
Review: Intuit has done it again with quickbooks 2003. I just noticed that one of the new features is that you can print W-2s on blank paper. When you try to do this operation you are told that you need to subscribe to their payroll service $$$. Intuit has got to be the worst example of [messing with]their customers I've ever seen. Pretty good program, lousy company. Try other programs before you settle on Quickbooks and get locked in.
Rating:
Summary: And you STILL can't print "tear-off" invoices...
Review: What is Intuit doing with all of its time? Did they lay off so many people that only marketing types are left? While this upgrade adds many "fee service oriented" features that help Intuit's bottom line, they still miss BASIC problematic issues....such as the inability to print out the invoice number or totals twice when customizing customer invoices (so one can go on the invoice and one can go on the tear-off-sheet) Their fee-based support is really annoying also, especially when you're just needing help with a crash that is THEIR FAULT. So many simple improvements keep getting skipped every single upgrade... and I recommend you look closely before you upgrade.
Rating:
Summary: Read ALL of the fine print
Review: After being forced to upgrade to 2003 because they don't support earlier verions for payroll tax tables, and after I registered the man assured me that "everything was good to go" (that is if you don't plan on doing payroll with Quickbooks)!! I come to find out that payroll isn't provided until you buy the $ 169.00 subscription to the tax tables for the new version. I guess I'm wondering why you would buy Quickbooks if you don't do payroll??? If your main bookeeping computer isn't hooked to the internet, you are in for a little surprise because it seems that it is impossible to receive the update on one network computer and get it moved to the other one without an act of congress. Of course I won't even mention what kind of tech support I didn't receive. When I finally got connected to a live person it seems like my problem was always handled by another tech dept. As of this writing I'm still waiting to get my problem resolved and I'm still on hold...
Rating:
Summary: Would agree with the Nayes!~
Review: Quickbook supports lacks for an average user. We have been using Quickbooks since 1997 and have stopped at 2001. This is due to, among other things...charges for a software problem... charges and long-waits, and more charges. Anyway, if you know accounting, such as an advisor, sure one would use Quickbooks, but ever since these products became some how intertwined with Microsoft, the service and quality have not been the same... Also, don't try to export data, this function is very poor! Can anyone recommend another product. WE are a growing company and do not want to deal with Intuit's surprises with the tax tables. What has gotten into them? Is this maybe the greed state of a small monopoly on accounting programs? Go figure!
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