Customer Reviews

QuickBooks Premier Nonprofit 2010 [OLD VERSION]

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

 

 

I use QuickBooks Nonprofit to manage both the business accounts as well as track donations for the nonprofit that I work for. I've been using QBs for over 3 years, largely because our outside accounting service also uses it and for data interpolation it's important for us to be using the same software. If it wasn't for that reason, it's unlikely that I would continue to use it.

The primary reason that I find QBs to be inferior for nonprofit use in particular is QuickBook's inability to print a meaningful year end giving summary for a list of donors. Sure, you can print a donor summary, but it doesn't format the letter into something easily printed and put into a standard windowed envelope, nor is it possible to print a large set of letters for every donor--something virtually every nonprofit needs to do if they receive private donations! This is such a disastrous failure on Intuit's part that it blows the mind that they market this software as a 'premium' option for non-profits! A program lacking basic functionality that virtually all non-profits require is at its core FLAWED. This functionality has been missing for the last 3 years and even Intuits site acknowledges its absence--but with no indication if it will (ever?) be added.

I've used many versions of software to track donations (Membership Plus for example) and even the poorest of them had the ability to print simple donor giving summaries in a letter format. The total absence of this functionality in QBs is inexcusable. There is a way to generate donor letters but it requires buying a separate piece of software from Beyond The Ledgers (google it), a third party software company, at an additional cost. At the 'premium' price Intuit sells QBs for, that should NOT be necessary!

Another major problem with QBs is that the database model is built off something from the early nineties. You cannot custom edit fields or remove fields you don't use, so expect to do A LOT of clicking around or repetitious use of the TAB key to navigate. They erred on the side of including EVERY possible data field, but with no way to police them down to something manageable, it just feels like bloat. Seriously, in 2010 WHY can't I make/edit/remove fields? The answer is the underlying architecture of QBs in general which is sadly dated and makes Microsoft Access look amazing.

That said, other than missing a pretty key feature, QBs works very well for tracking expenses, generating checks, managing payroll, and virtually all other financial reporting and accounting. The interface is great (and even better in this 2010 release) and easy to navigate even if it is dated in a lot of other ways. Generating reports is simple enough, as is memorizing them and running multiple reports on a weekly or monthly basis. QBs is a workhorse at a great number of tasks, it is just too slow on it's feet and has really started to show it's age. Throw whatever GUI (graphic user interface) or skin on it you want, but it's still old and missing many of the simplifications that would really make it shine.

There are better options out there in my opinion. Primarily Access ACS which is what I would be using if not for the aforementioned limitation of needing to run the same software as our accountant. With the aid of the MACRO excel sheet purchased from Beyond the Ledgers, getting donor letters printed every December 31st isn't impossible, just more difficult than it needs to be, especially at the price of this software.

2.5./5 stars. Cannot custom control fields. Cannot police or remove fields. Cannot easily generate and print donor giving statements. Inferior at this price and not acceptable for something marketed as 'premier.'

My church has used Quickbooks for ten years. Quickbooks 2010 for Nonprofits is our third update of this product. In order to register the software (and achieve it's usefulness) you have to call a phone number. Once you get through, you are asked all of the questions you just answered online, and then you are offered all of the services that you could have signed up for online had you wanted them, which we did not. It was presented to me that I had to provide a credit card number for their file IN CASE I ordered the extended support plan (which I did not want). I was assured that no charge would be put on my card. Today (one day later) I get an email saying my order has been shipped! I contacted their support department via the web site and am given a case number and asked to call them to address my issue.
I have many issues with the limitations of Quickbooks, and like another reviewer stated, there are reasons we get locked in, in spite of these things.
I am very dissatisfied with their so called customer service, which seems only intent on selling you more and more product.
My mistake was in giving Customer service my credit card number in the first place, though it looked as though they were not going to give me a validation number unless I did. I would urge others to resist doing so if you decide to order this product. Ask if you can get the validation number without doing so. Otherwise, expect to be sold.

Our daycare has used Quickbooks for the past five years and has been considering an upgrade to QB2010. We spoke with customer service about a database integrity problem, but found that customer service was more interested in up-selling us to the enterprise edition than helping to fix our problem. We have less than 5 years of data and 3 active users and very few accounts in the database. However, support kept claiming that once the Quickbooks database reaches 130MB the database tends to become corrupted and the only way to avoid this is to upgrade to enterprise edition. The support technicians insisted this was not a product defect, but could not provide any evidence of an advertised limit on the database filesize. The up-sell was a joke ... I felt like I was being sold a used car. I even got the whole, "I just spoke with my manager and he has authorized me to give you an additional 10% off the retail price if you upgrade now" speech. Intuit, if you ever read this and want the case number to hear how ridiculous it was, just let me know.

Thrust into a Treasurer job in a very small non-profit, with Quickbooks Standard experience in my own firm, I found this program to be overly expensive and not very intuitive or customizable. Perhaps if I were an accountant I would appreciate it. I am not. I am just an engineer. But to me, this software is not much better than Quicken or Quickbooks-NOT-non-profit. But since I bought it,I will have to use it.

You would think there would be a gifts-in-kind account, given that is one way people donate to a NP. But nooooooooo. I am still trying to figure this out. Here's another common requirement that is omitted- restricted funds: suppose someone says I will give $1000 only a) as matching donation or b) to be used for vegan give-away treats at fairs. Can quickbooks NP handle it? I can't figure it out.

This product took days to load and many hours on the phone with technical support.

It does everything I need in runnng a new non-profit. The basic problem is that it's not a "plug-and-play" concept, like using Word for instance, and the options aren't immediately self-explanatory. Rightfully so, it involves accounting, I get it. So, I'm paying a bookkeeper to run me through it plus bought a how-to book. Consider that when you buy the software, you'll probably also invest in a little more.

I inherited someone else's decision to use quick books. QB software forces far too much dependence on hours of support from a bookkeeper or CPA. Don't expect any favors or miracles from technical support. I'm dog tired of being prompted to buy another QB upgrade.

As an experienced business analyst I've noticed a correlation to CPA's mild acceptance of QB since it helps generate billable hours. Funny, most CPA's I blogged aren't familiar with MYOB/Account Edge. It turns out those who are said MYOB users don't ask for enough help to keep the CPA practice profitable.

We ditched Quick books with a switch to MYOB/Account Edge. An Excellent decision since MYOB takes 1/3 the time of QB plus has better reporting than QB. While there is still a learning curve, the ease of using MYOB is making a difference.

Semper fidelis,
David Cannon
Chairman & Active Volunteer
President, CertTest Training Center
Best Selling Author, Sybex/John Wiley & Sons