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Next step from MS Excel

Mith

The Eccentric Englishman
SUPER Site Supporter
I'm getting a bit fed up of excel, its just a bit tedious to use, very manual, I considered just using paper this year.
So really I'm looking for a better method, or a better program.
The attachment shows what I am using it for, its real basic but does the job.
Any ideas, whether it be changes to the format, or a better program.

I took a screenshot with 'formuals' engaged to show whats going on, and I might have overdone it with the 'blanking' but I was having fun :D

Cheers
 

Attachments

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bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Mith,

Can you elaborate on what you're trying to accomplish?

Have you looked at QuickBooks?
 

Mith

The Eccentric Englishman
SUPER Site Supporter
Brian, its just something to keep how much money I got, who hasnt paid, how many hours I put on the machines, when I last mowed for someone......

Never heard of quickbooks

thanks
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
QuickBooks can keep track of the financing part for you although it might be more than what you need.

I do recall seeing software that tracked maintenance but don't recall where I saw it.

Maybe do a google search for vehicle maintenance software.

Bob or Murph (or anyone else with fleets), how do you keep track of maintenance?
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
I can't remember the name of the program but it is pretty much all set up. You just put in the miles as you buy gas, put in all the maintenance/repairs slips and it will calculate your cost per mile even.

I will get with my secretary tommorrow and let you know. Must write me a note now so I don't forget.

murph
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
The home version of Quicken might fit the bill for you Mith (Quickbooks is by the same company but geared for small businesses). It allows you to set up various accounts and print out basic reports. Qucken runs $39 last I saw.

Or you might try Open Office, but the spreadsheet that comes with Open Office is much like excell. Maybe a little more intuative to use ..but that depends on the user. Open Office is a free download.
 

beds

New member
I think those programs are useful and will package up your accounting nicely. But... I think that you will not get away from the tedium of data entry regardless of the program you use. I don't think there's a solution to that. But I do agree that data entry in Excel is a PITA.
 

Mith

The Eccentric Englishman
SUPER Site Supporter
Thanks for the info all.
I'll have to look into Quicken, but it doesnt sound like itll take all the info I want it to.
Thanks
 

OkeeDon

New member
Quicken started as a checkbook reconciliation program. It will take dollars, and categorize them into expense and income categories, but it will not track your individual customers and their accouts receivable. QuickBooks will do that, but it is somewhat more expensive. Quickbooks will allow you to set up a roster of customers, and an "inventory" of services such as mowing, fertilizing, trimming, etc -- or simply set it up as "services" if you do a flat billing. You will be able to create an invoice for each customer, then track payment by invoice, which allows you to quickly "age" the accounts receivable and see who still has not paid.

I ran my business on QuickBooks for a year or two. However, there was no "Point of Sale" function for QuickBooks that could handle register sales -- everything had to be invoiced. So, I used a program called Regit 2000 to handle my inventory, purchase orders, etc., and sales. Regit was designed to work hand-in-glove with QuickBooks; all the sales and purchase amounts were passed to QuickBooks, and QuickBooks handled my payroll and financial reports. It was a slick low-cost system.

By the way, I still own Regit 2000, a cash register drawer that hooks to a computer, a receipt printer, a bar code scanner and a credit card scanner. If anyone is interested, email me: don at hornerfamily dot com.

Bottom line: QuickBooks will do everything you want. I think you can get by with the Simple Start edition for approximately US $100.
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
I talked to my secretary and the program we are now using is part of our Accounting package. She can't find the old independent program as we have not used it in ten years. Otherwise if I could even find the disk you sure could have it.

murph
 
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