Laptop software

[StarQuest]

For Christmas I received a nice used Dell laptop to use for my business accounts. Just wondered if anybody else was using one in the field? I was going out to purchase Quickbooks software to set this up but figured I should ask first if any of you where using something different with accounting software?

Thanks,

Keith

[Coitster]

Do yourself a big favor, goto E-bay and buy a copy of ACT! 2000. It's the worlds #1 contact management software program. This will pay for itself so many times over. If you are serious about keeping track of your customers that is.
David
Coitster

[Delta Kits]

ACT! is great for customer management, but it is not an accounting program. Quickbooks is a great accounting program, very simple to learn and use if accounting is not your strong suit. It is by no means the only one out there though, so if anyone else has recommendations, let's hear them!

[StarQuest]

David and Jeff....thanks for your post responses.

I'm looking for both customer management and accounting software. If one combined doesn't exist, I guess I will have to ultilize both for my entry data. My goal for this year is to be better organized. A laptop seems to be my best solution to this. Seems like I good idea taking advantage of some wasted time in between repairs to get some paperwork out of the way so I can avoid doing it later at home.

Thanks for your help,

Keith

[stonedwindshieldrepair]

i use quickbooks pro and it keeps track of customer info also...i would check out quick books before investing in act6

[GRT]

I have used Peachtree, Quickbooks Pro, Act, and several other custom accounting softwares. Quickbooks wins Hands down and you can use it for customer management, just depends on how you set it up. Go ahead and get the computer checks with the window envelopes to cut checks. Your organization of the business end will be streamlined and easy (once you have your paper flow set up the way you like it) especially come tax time. Keep it simple. Just my opinion, others may differ. Check around on pricing for checks and envelopes just about any office supply or Internet check business can order them.

[StarQuest]

Thanks guys for your input on software choices,

You really got my wheels turning on this one!

After doing some reseach I found something that was of additonal interest to me with using Quickbooks! They also offer merchant online services for credit card transactions. Currently, I'm using Abtec credit card services for my transactions but they charge a minimum of $35 a month service fee, which comes out to $420 anually. Simply being able to eliminate some of that that high monthly fee would cover most of my initial software purchase expense over the next year. I couldn't find any info with ACT6 providing the same. Before I make a final decision I'd appreciate any additonal comments from others out there.

This forum is so cool!!!

Thanks,

Keith