Customer Reviews

QuickBooks 2005 The Official Guide (QuickBooks: The Official Guide)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As an accountant, I've looked at all the books I could recommend to clients, because it's better for me when users understand what they are doing, and how to do it right. I found the other books much more shallow, and therefore less useful. This is the only book that has the depth and details that can turn anyone into a competent Quickbooks user. The information about what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and when to do something different is amazingly complete. The writing is easy to follow, and all explanations are wonderfully clear. The other books I examined tell users to make selections, without explaining what they're doing, and without explaining the other choices they have. That's how users make bad choices. This book not only teaches you how to become expert in Quickbooks, you also learn a lot of bookkeeping and accounting.

This book has an amazing amount of information to help you understand and use Quickbooks properly. There are great explanations about the way the general ledger is affected by everything you do, and how or why to do things in different ways. But the best part of this book is the tips about using workarounds to make Quickbooks do exactly what you and your accountant want it to do. There is information in this book my accountant didn't know, but now he's recommending the book to his Quickbooks customers. I've looked at every book about Quickbooks, and none of the others come close to this one.

Simply put, a difficult book to find the information that you need to set-up and run your business. I was expecting a "How To" guide instead I am trying to find information as simple as "Setting Up QuickBooks" or something similar.

Face it, QB is NOT an easy program to work with, especially if you have never used this type of software before; I am sure most of us have not. This book talks to the intermediate user of accounting and QB programs and does not address the newbie. I run a hearing center and I needed specific information on how to install, set-up and begin to working. The first 50-60 pages dealt with other versions of QB be it Entrepreneur and what not. This is NOT how the book should have been laid out. Information such as that should have been in an Appenidix.

The other REALLY bad part about his book is the complete lack of support from Intuit. Don't even try to call for any sort of how to help. All they are there for is to guide you thru installing the software, NOT setting it up just installation. ANY other questions you may have, you will be asked to buy a support package which ranges anywhere from $300-500 per year! The software cost me $150 and I am going to spend an additional $300-500 to answer some basic questions ot help me get up and running!? Absolutely ridiculous and a total lack of caring and respect for their customers. They try to hit with you with a ton of additional items to buy besides the software. Are you listening Intuit?

I would not buy this book. Actually I got it for free when I bought QB Pro 2005. This book is SO bad that I am actually givig it away an buying something else to help me. That kinda says it all.

The book was lacking specific information on how to deal with real estate investment

I thought I'd try the "official" book this time around....should have stuck with the real expert who writes the dummies book on Quickbooks.