8 Reasons Why You Should Not Use Free Online Accounting Software For Your New Business
It’s no secret that commercial accounting software isn’t cheap. Quickbooks Pro will now run you around $200, and I just checked Peachtree products and found them costing anywhere between $70 and $1200 depending on the number of users of the product.
Pushing that free “Download” button…
We’re all familiar with free shareware on the Internet, most of it claiming to have all the functionality of the commercial packages, and it’s tempting to push that “download” button and start using it right away, at least until our businesses get “up and running” and we can afford the name brand stuff.
But before you start managing your vital resources and expenditures with something a techy devised because he or she thinks software on the Internet should be free, you might want to keep some things in mind…
Free isn’t always free…
Here are some potential drawbacks to free “shareware”, many of which have been posted in forums on the subject:
1. No help files. A lot of software on the Internet has tremendous functionality, rivaling and even surpassing its commercial counterpart. But if you get into a problem…something you can’t understand or make work and there is no help file on the subject, you might find yourself stuck.
2. The authors don’t communicate well in English (or whatever your native language is). Yes, you do have help files, but the author lives in Venezuela and writes in broken English. Your business depends on this fantastic free software and you can’t understand the instructions to keep it running.
3. Everything works great but it can’t print. You really don’t want to store everything on a hard drive that might crash, and you still want a paper back-up. Unfortunately, the author of the software didn’t think anybody wanted that.
4. It’s only partly compatible with the operating system you’re using. For example, it works great with XP but won’t open Vista files. You find you’ve wasted a lot of time inputting data only find you can’t save it (or open the file later).
5. The publisher wants too much information from you. Some publishers want to know everything about you - information it might be dangerous to divulge. Don’t give out sensitive information (such as your social security number) in order to get a free piece of software.
6. It’s difficult and clunky. Yes the functionality is there but the time and effort it takes to enter the data and get it into a form you can use makes its “free” price tag not worth it.
7. There is no support. This may be the most critical aspect of free software. What kind of support will you get if down the road you find your “free” version develops a bug? Will it still be available for download? Or will it have disappeared off the Internet, leaving you with a hard drive full of records you can’t access?
8. Incompatibility with commercial programs. When you can finally upgrade to a commercial software package, will this free program be compatible with it? Will the commercial program be able to access the folders and files created by the freebie so you can continue your business?
Before you download, read between the lines…
As I implied at the beginning of this article, most of the “free” packages are reviewed in the forums, where users anonymously assign stars and say what they think. The problem with that is that one doesn’t always get the whole story. For example, two comments are posted about a “Code” being required for the same piece of software. One reviewer didn’t mind entering the Code, and the other stated that the Code required too much personal information. In another instance, for a piece of software receiving 4 out of 5 stars, the four rave reviewers couldn’t speak highly enough of it, while another claimed he couldn’t create files. He was running Vista. The others were running XP.
The moral of the story…
Is to be careful. Be sure you thoroughly research out any new piece of “free” software you are considering using for your business. Keep in mind that a lot more is at stake here than is the case with another type of application, such as entertainment or photo retouching. Your business, and your future, is going to depend on whoever developed it, how much support he intends to provide for it, and whether or not you will be able to utilize the support he does provide.
Utilizing free downloadable accounting software can be a wonderful boon…or a spectacular future disaster for you and your new business.
John Young is a writer and editor living in Southern California. He is editing two online ezines, Accounting Software Guides And Reviews
http://www.accounting-software.how-to-zine.com
and Explode Your Affiliate Checks
