Small Business Software Review Comparison Essay by Nicky
An evaluation and comparison of three small business accounting software applications.
# 150329
| 2,707 words
| 13 sources
| APA
| 2012
| 
Published
on Jan 31, 2012
in
Business
(Information Mgmt. and Systems)
, Business
(Small)
, Computer and Technology
(Software)
$19.95
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Description:
The paper evaluates and compares small business accounting software applications, that are designed for between five and ten users in a small business, in terms of their features, usability and price level. The paper focuses on Microsoft Small Business Accounting, Intuit QuickBooks Pro and Basic and Peachtree (Sage) Accounting, and evaluates their ability to integrate into third party applications and to be able to create process workflows that rely on accounting data to accomplish goals in engineering, marketing, product development, sales and service.
Outline:
Introduction
Analyzing the Functionality of Accounting Applications
Assessment of Accounting Software Usability
Pricing
Recommendation
Outline:
Introduction
Analyzing the Functionality of Accounting Applications
Assessment of Accounting Software Usability
Pricing
Recommendation
From the Paper:
"Contrasting Sage (Peachtree) and Intuit QuickBooks Pro and Basic usability, Microsoft's Small Business Accounting has been designed to provide first-time users with consistency in terms of process workflows to get common tasks done while also having APIs and scalability for more advanced users. Microsoft has taken the usability lessons learned from their enterprise server applications and integrated them into the Small Business Accounting suite of applications. This includes support for the Microsoft SharePoint Server platform which Microsoft charges on average $85 per user for in a license-based configuration. SharePoint Portal Server also has integration links directly to the APIs for Outlook 2003 and 2007, in addition to support for Office 10. This level of integration makes it possible for Microsoft to create accounting and finance-based workflows that in fact transcend office automation and accounting applications, giving small businesses more opportunity to customize their own approach to completing their accounting. Just as Intuit has created a limited set of APIs for more advanced users and Sage is working to create more introductory level usability, Microsoft has concentrated their usability efforts on the ability to move seamlessly between Microsoft Office, SharePoint, Microsoft Excel and the Small Business Accounting series of applications. As Microsoft has perhaps the most pervasive and well-defined knowledgebase of ergonomics and usability research of anyone in the software industry (Qazi, 2005), their Accounting suite of applications have configurable and customizable set-up Wizards, Wikis or knowledge bases, and the ability to define customized interfaces and process workflows."Sample of Sources Used:
- Bernoff, J., & Li, C.. (2008). Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(3), 36-42.
- J Carlton Collins. (2006). Small Business Software Grows Up. Journal of Accountancy, 201(3), 50
- Yu Cong, & Hui Du. (2007). Welcome to the World of Web 2.0. The CPA Journal, 77(5), 6,8-10.
- Michael Giardina. (2004). Buying Software: Look for What's Right, Not for What's 'Best'. The CPA Journal, 74(3), 10.
- Pao-Chuan Lin, & L Murphy Smith. (2006). Using a Web-Based Accounting System for Teaching Accounting System Design and Implementation. Journal of Information Systems, 20(2), 65-79.
Cite this Comparison Essay:
APA Format
Small Business Software Review (2012, January 31)
Retrieved June 03, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/comparison-essay/small-business-software-review-150329/
MLA Format
"Small Business Software Review" 31 January 2012.
Web. 03 June. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/comparison-essay/small-business-software-review-150329/>