Review: QuickBooks 2007 Goes Googling

QuickBooks 2007 integrates with a new Google marketing tool that provides customer listings on local maps and enables keyword-based ads to be added onto any geographical-based listing. And with the purchase of QuickBooks 2007, Intuit offers $50 of ad credits on a Google listing.

In addition, QuickBooks 2007 users are able to upload their inventory listings to a Google Product Listing service. So when a local or Froogle search is run, any merchandise in the listing service will show up.

With such an array of features for boosting a company's online presence, QuickBooks 2007 proves to be marketing on steroids for small businesses.

Marketing tools aside, the CRN Test Center also found that QuickBooks 2007 (in this case, the Premier edition) brings some key new features.

With a renewed commitment to ease of use, Mountain View, Calif.-based Intuit has considerably enhanced QuickBooks' custom form creation. Real-time feedback is now available whenever users create customized forms. By modifying a layout for invoices, for instance, users can view changes in real time on the same pane. Logo and label updates also pop up in real time. The right side of the pane displays entire forms as they are being created.

Paying employees was never a picnic in previous QuickBooks versions. Employees could be processed only one at a time, and the same steps had to be repeated for every employee. But in QuickBooks 2007, users will see Paying Employees, Paying Liabilities and Filing Tax forms on a dashboard.

When money is collected, users need to deposit it with the government. QuickBooks 2007's active dashboard informs users about the amount collected and when it is due. Unpaid liability payments are marked in red. There's also a reminder for forms filing and W2 statements. Once a total is collected for all employees in a single step, users can review the final statement in one pane before printing checks. Intuit's payroll services integrate with the new features.

A big change in Chart of Accounts, too, will lessen some of the confusion at tax time. Previous QuickBooks releases had more than 70 accounts to navigate, so it was easy to mix up accounts when paying bills. To simplify payments from different accounts, QuickBooks 2007 comes with a check form that automatically fills account information every payment period after users initially choose an account when creating the first check.

QuickBooks 2007 also consolidates accounts within the Chart of Accounts to only display the top accounts for a specific business. And when creating new accounts, the software provides detailed help information on account types, including links to its online help system.

Another new element in QuickBooks 2007, called Dividing Date, lets accountants work on data files without their customers having to stop working on QuickBooks. Accountants still have full control to work on customer files before a dividing date, but after that date, customers can work in QuickBooks without having to wait for their accountant to finish.

In addition, QuickBooks 2007 brings a new units-of-measure algorithm that combines arbitrary units into single calculations. For example, a case can be designated as 50 bottles, so ordering forms can show units in cases, bottles or both. And when calculating combined units, users can use either measurement.

The mainline QuickBooks Pro 2007 edition is priced at $199.95. The top-of-the line Premier edition, which includes more customization for specific industries and additional business planning features, costs $399.95. Other editions of the software include QuickBooks Pro 2007 for Mac and, for larger companies, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 7.0.