Book-keeping applications and support

[ChrisGreaves]

I am asked to provide training in QuickBooks. Training I do, but not in QuickBooks.
I downloaded a Trial copy and spent an hour this morning looking at it.

QuickBooks is NOT a book-keeper; it is a package designed to HELP a book-keeper.
My clients are three ladies helping out at a local church; I believe that they are not book-keepers.

Bottom-line (as the accountants say) is that QuickBooks is possibly far too complex for their parish needs.

I used a DOS-based PC-GL (general ledger) package from 1986-2011 to enter transactions by account numbers, but then each year-end turned over a twenty-page printout to a real bookkeeper who massaged it into a form that the accountant would accept. She also used to complain that I had entries that were not supported by invoices, but that's the price you pay for being more interested in programming than in accounting.

Question 1: Do you know of a simple window-based book-keeping package that should satisfy the needs of a small parish organization?
Question 2: Do you know of a BBS community that offers answers to simple book-keeping questions?

I have assembled a few pages of notes about QuickBooks for next Thursday's session, and if my feelings are correct ("You are out of your depth"), I would like to suggest alternatives to QuickBooks.

I ran a search for packages, but would rather not download, install and spend an hour on each.

If you have used book-keeping packages recently, I'd love to hear whether they are simple or complex.

I suspect that my contact was "sold" the idea of QuickBooks "because it is the package that Bookkeepers swear by", but that does not make it ideal for a volunteer clerk.

Thanks, Chris

[BobH]

Knowing full well that you have already done this, I'm nothing if not redundant.

Best Church Accounting Software of 2023

[ChrisGreaves]

Knowing full well that you have already done this, I'm nothing if not redundant.

You can say that again

Thanks for this, Bob, I have sent the link on to my friend.
I note that QuickBooks is described as "Best for Easy Restricted Fund Management", and I suppose that the local village churches here do not have a serious problem with Restricted Fund Management.
Cheers, Chris