Peachtree First Accounting 2002

Rating:
Summary: Skip this product
Review: First Accounting is lacking a search function. As a result, you can't look up a transaction by check number or any other criterion. You can only create a report for a specific time period and then hope to find your transaction there. Leaving out the search function seriously diminishes the usefulness of the product.

My second complaint regards the sales journal. Sales accounts are defined by customer, and each customer can be linked to only one kind of sale. I run a construction company that sells and services equipment in one transaction. Peachtree only allows me to record a sale for one of the two types of revenue that I receive. Therefore, I am forced to record service income as equipment sales, or vice-versa. What a limitation!

Rating:
Summary: disappointment strikes
Review: I purchased an earlier version of this program in 2001 and was disappointed by the poor search capabilities. For example, in the check register I was unable to search by account number. There are only a limited number of fields (4 or 5 depending on where you are in the program)in which one can search for transactions.

You are limited to only about 30 characters in the memo field and cannot search on that field to retrieve a transaction.

There is a pop-up list of accounts by account number, but not by account name. So, if you remember the number of the account it is easy to enter, but difficult by account name.

Support is VERY expensive. Peachtree Accounting once sold for $5,000. They have been forced by competition to cut their price, but seem determined to make it back on support.

The only free support you get when you buy the program relates to setting it up (NOT operating the program). After that you pay -- by subscription, by 900 number or by credit card. The written materials that accompany the program are limited and the built in help is not always clear.

By the way, I was in Public Accounting some years ago, so I am better prepared than most to deal with accounting programs.

In general, this program is clumsier than the cheap DOS program I bought in 1988! I would have continued using it for my business, but it died when Y2K arrived. I'm still looking for a basic, easy to use program for my small business.

Rating:
Summary: This program meets it's target potential!
Review: I purchased this program to handle all of my accounting for my Web Design and Hosting business. For the tasks that I need accomplished, this program is awesome. It is easy to use and very user friendly. I will tell you, though, that it is not a cheap alternative to the full blown Peachtree program. Too many people fall into that trap, and think that they will get all the features the full version has. This version is targeted towards the small business owner who keeps track of his own accounting data and doesn't need to do complicated search tasks. If you are looking for a small program that won't cost you a fortune and can out perform Money 2002, Quicken, etc, and you don't need a lot of complicated features, this is the program for you. I love it!