# need a recommendation



## paintlady (May 10, 2007)

I am wondering if anyone can make a recommendation for a computer program that would let me keep track of my customer base and also keep track of my income and expenses for a small business. I am looking for something that is compatible with Vista and that doesn't cost a small fortune- a lot to ask I know!
Thanks.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

For tracking expenses you might consider TurboCASH. It's considered the open source (free) counterpart to Quickbooks.

I'm not sure about it's customer tracking capabilities. You might need a separate application for that.


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## Farmsteader (Nov 7, 2008)

there is many for this, but i would try some that are Free to try before buying them, also there are absolutely free once like the one mentioned for Accounting, go to Downloads.com and use simple searches, make sure to try the work Free in front of search. Also network around and see what comes up , and ask your suppliers maybe they will give you one they have on license , you never know, if you use an accountant or know one as them as well. Industry Publications or online ones will also have some advertised as well. Best wishes, AJ and Denise


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## paintlady (May 10, 2007)

Thanks, I will look for a free one as the one in the store is over $200.00!


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## perennial (Aug 23, 2004)

I got my quickbooks from my accountant and saved about $50.00 -
that was a year 1/2 ago. It's amazing you can do any type of reports,
etc. and it just does it all for you. Although it costs $$, I highly recommend
it. As my business grows, it grows with me.


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## Big Mike (Feb 26, 2009)

I concur on the Quick books its a good program.


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## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

Yes

Quickbooks Pro, plus they have a customer management software that works with QB and all the Word programs.

I've been using QB Pro since 2002 and although it cost some money, it has saved me more than what it cost by tracking invoices, reminders, and ease of use.

L


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

If you get Quickbooks, take a class. It was overwhelming at first, and I made mistakes in setting things up.


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## BuckBall (Dec 26, 2005)

I've run my own business for nearly 10 years...in fact I never work for anyone else, but me. What I use is what others have stated, quick books. If you don't wish to take a class, may I suggest "Quickbooks for dummies" as this book breaks it down to simple learning.


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## bill not in oh (Jul 27, 2004)

Quick Books (Pro) is a great program. The trick to making it easy to use and effective for you is, as Rose said, getting it set up for your specific business.


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## DCinDC (Apr 4, 2009)

http://www.arcpress.com/software/invoice.htm

Free software


Says it doesnt work well with Vista.

I snagged this for a friend years ago and he ran his small but BUSY auto repair shop on it for about 8 years!

I highly recommend that you figure out a way to use it. I'm familiar with Quicken and Quickbooks, and I would pick this instead, in almost every situation.


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## Linkovich (Apr 17, 2009)

You can do quite a bit with both Excel and Access, and you can also merge the two programs to share data. Often people have these programs anyways, and then you wouldn't have to have the extra cost of an additional program.


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## amylou62 (Jul 14, 2008)

We've been using QuickBooks for years. Very easy to use.


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## How Do I (Feb 11, 2008)

I'll chime in along with the others for QuickBooks Pro. I started out with Peachtree and while it didn't have a huge learning curve, the software always gave me fits. Maybe it was the OS I was running on, but I will say it did get me through. Depending on how many customers you have or expect, Intuit does offer a free version of QuickBooks (limit 20 customers) - Good way to try it out to see if it works for ya!


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