Customer Reviews

QuickBooks Pro 2002 [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I own a small engineering consulting business and have used Quickbooks since 1995. I was very happy with Quickbooks 99, but am very disappointed in Quickbooks 2002. This version is generally more difficult to use than others. Additionally, the program has a tendency to crash and close without warning, particularly while using online features. It also does not import files from Zoskware's Expenspro (an expense account program for Palm handhelds), no such importation problems occurred with Quickbooks 99. Intuit now offers ABSOLUTELY NO TECHNICAL SUPPORT WHATSOEVER, unless you want to pay them for it. Essentially, Intuit is selling a bug-filled product, then forces the customer to pay for the exterminating.
This product was purchased only because Intuit ceased supporting online banking and stopped offering their payroll subscription services (apparently they approximately [money] yearly charge was providing insufficient income, forcing users to replace software which is only 3 years old). Customers who desire continuance of these features were forced to upgrade, then charged for tech support when this program failed to function as intended. If you upgrade to this version, expect problems and expect to be forced to upgrade again in a few years. If you are purchasing accounting software for the first time, purchase something else.

If you have an older version of this software I would stick with it. I wish I could go back every time I use this new one, but it's too late for me. The "improvements" are minimal and mostly useless and there are lots of "unimprovements", which they tend to do every time they upgrade.

If you do not use Quickbooks and are a potential first time customer, go elsewhere. Research other software, like M.Y.O.B. or others. I'm not endorsing MYOB - I have never used it. It's just another similiar product to look into. [In my opinion] Intuit has ruined Quickbooks and [I feel] their tech support and customer support are the worst in the industry.

Be warned!

The product is good, no doubt. The support that comes with it is poor.
With 2002 and NT workstation you need to have only Internet Explorer 4(IE4), because the install of IE5 puts in files that are incompatible with the QB2002 program.
It took 3 hours to install the program with research on the internet and on quickbooks site. If this is the version for 2002 why are they still using files from the browser install from 1999?(IE4).
The phone in tech support does not even include install help for the program when you first buy it. Good luck with it.

We had been using a single user version Quickbooks 2001 for about 1 year without any problems. Upgraded to a 5 user version of Quickbooks 2002 and employed someone especially to go over the accounts receivable and tidy everything up. After 3 days work Quickbooks clobbered it's data file and the only solution was to go back to a week old backup. The built in 'verify' and 'recovery' utilities did not work. Intuit might be able to recover the data for [money] and 10 working days ... no thanks. I cannot see any other cause for the data loss other than a bug in Quickbooks. Yes, we should back up more often, but I am a careful computer user and this is the first time I have lost data in the last 15 years, by any means. I have lost confidence in the Quickbooks not to corrupt it's own data files, so we are now backing up several times per day.

Other than the data loss, some of my other gripes with Quickbooks are:
1. Text fields are not handled like regular windows text fields. For instance, ctrl+insert will not act like copy in a text field. Address fields are constantly trying to re-format themselves into a jumbled mess.
2. Some of the features require subscription to an Intuit service before they are any use - payroll is the best example.
3. The lack of a packing slip is a major problem for our business.
4. Tech support is [money] per minute or [money] per 10 minutes if you want to wait for Intuit to call you back. Ouch!

However, what else is there which compares with the ease of use and features of Quickbooks? Just make sure you keep a good paper trail and back the data file up.

Intuit sees selling software as the first set in their revenue stream. When you buy the software you become hostage to Intuit's very manipulative marketing and seemingly endless offers and services. Many of the features you buy with the software only operate with a monthly subscription. The 2002 release is buggy but you get no help from the very pricey tech support without a credit card! Don't help this corporation remain the biggest player in the Small business accounting market. Intuit makes Microsoft seem like a public charity.

I purchased Quickbooks in 1995 and subsequently upgraded to the Pro 5.0 version over a few years. I enjoyed the program and touted it's benfits. I upgraded again last summer to Quickbooks Pro 2001 for no other reason than to keep up to date. Recently when ordering the new tax table updates, we were informed that they were no longer available for the previous modest cost and that we had to subscribe to automatic updates for a fee....I am very displeased and can no longer recommend this program.

After spending several hundred dollars, I had a product that worked well for two weeks. After the two weeks it failed in a hailstorm of error messages and Intuit refused to discuss the issue unless I subscribed to technical support for several hundred more dollars per year. Even the help index created errors and the online help was no use. If Intuit refuses to support it's product they should disclose it on the outside of the package.

I just purchased QuickBooks Pro 2002 because my Accountant suggested to use it, and quite honestly, it is the most un-user friendly program I have used in years.

I have used MS Money for the past two years, and I have not had any problems with the interface and everyday normal use, and the help within the program is excellent.

With QB Pro 2002, it takes double the time to do anything. For example, if you enter in a bill, then you have to open up another window to actually pay it, and then open up another window to print the check. Cross-referencing Bills, with the Checks used to pay the bill, as well as the original Invoice is none-existant, and worse yet, the help included with the system is very inadequate and a in a few instances even wrong.

Entering in memorized transactions is an absolute pain, when you are prompted to enter in the memorized transactions upon start-up it just asks if you want to enter them, it doesnt tell you which ones they are. When you go to the memorized transactions area, it doesnt differentiate the transactions which are due compared to those which arent - so when you have many memorized transactions, it can take 10 minutes to figure out which ones the program is refering too.

The program is cumbersome, and takes 5 minutes to load on my computer (a PIII-500) which is absurdly long. Since QBPro is the standard, and everyone uses it, its the best out there, but by all means, if you have a choice between Money 2002 Business or QB Pro 2002, go with Microsoft, they have an excellent product, and its a breeze to do anything within the program.

...

This package in its 1999 version was reasonably acceptable as a single-entry type program, however since then, Intuit has produced a very buggy and unstable product that seems to get worse with each revision. Software programs of this type (single-entry "list") are not really true accounting systems. They give non-accountants the false sense that they can maintain complex records without any difficulties. Unfortunately, with these types of programs, unsophisticated users can make a considerable mess of their business transactions that will require more $ to straighten out.

Another very serious flaw and reason to avoid this package is its cost. Intuit requires that you subscribe to their annual payroll updates. If you choose not to subscribe the program does NOT give you the ability to modify tax tables, which means that you cannot produce payrolls in subsequent years. In addition Intuit has a very annoying feature of constantly going out onto the Internet looking for QuickBooks updates (bug fixes). This feature can be turned off but I've found that the program still unexpectedly attempts to go online and occasionally locks up my system. In truth I really don't trust software that constantly trys to fiddle with the data on my computer and is in fact trying to determine my market profile. In addition Intuit regularly attempts to sell you more services by the use of very annoying (and unprofessional) pop-up windows.

Lastly, service and support is poor and very expensive. Intuit will not talk to you unless you provide a credit card, even when the problems relate to the product's own software bugs.

Intuit's Quicken was at first a simple and effective product, however along the way its QuickBooks has developed into a marketing tool disguised as an accounting package - look elsewhere to satisfy your business informational needs. Peachtree and M.Y.O.B. are better choices (although the learning curve is steeper). I understand that Intuit recently purchased M.Y.O.B. so be cautious, it too might turn into a marketing gimmick instead of the real accounting system that it's been for years.

I miss my quickbooks version 6.0 ...This 2002 upgrade is a letdown. There is almost no difference. I would hang on to the older versions if I were you. Unless you have money to burn.