Anybody here use Quickbooks? Is it easy to learn?

[calico1]

I am thinking of applying for a job and I have every requirement except Quickbooks. I have used Excel and a lot of other programs but have always worked for larger companies and I understand mainly smaller companies use Quickbooks.

Is it possible to learn it in a few days?

I'd appreciate any advice.

[WillParkinson]

1. Depends on the version

Some Quickbooks stuff, like the small business edition, does have a learning curve. You can check your local library for any books or video stuff. It's not difficult if you know some other stuff so you should be fine.

[calico1]

3. Thanks :)

[hippywife]

2. I used it several years ago

when keeping books for my husband's business at the time, and again for one of the local YMCA branches. I didn't find it difficult at all. If you have any decent accounting and reporting in your background, you probably wouldn't have much of a problem with it.

[calico1]

4. Thank you. :)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. It is easy to learn IF...

...you are inclined to learn those types of things easily.

I don't know what most people think about "left brain, right brain" thinking, but I'm a firm believer. In school, all the way through college, I aced History, English, the Arts...and I generally pulled "Cs" in Math, Science, Etc.

So the answer to your "Is it possible to learn it in a few days?" question is probably not, at least to any great depth of understanding. That depends on:

1). Everything I just said above

2). The version you are using...some are stripped down, some are ridiculously complex

3). What it is, specifically, that you need to accomplish in "a few days."

Every CPA that I know...including my own...that supports QuickBooks also offers QuickBooks training to their clients, because most lack either the initiative to sit down, get busy and train themselves, or they just feel overwhelmed once they open the box and crack open the manual. Plus, if they don;t actually learn it and start using it, they end up exporting files to the CPA that take longer to fix than if they weren't using QuickBooks at all.

Good luck. Maybe you have a local CPA who is willing to provide basic training. It's worth investigating.

[calico1]

6. Thanks. I have always worked for larger companies

where they use other software programs. I do tend to learn new programs easily.

I think what I'll do is download the free trial version and see how it goes. I have until Jul 2 to apply for the job.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

8. You can definitely do it in that timeframe.

And for whatever it's worth, I taught myself Photoshop / InDesign / Illustrator / Dreamweaver / Flash / Fireworks, buying the software and extra manuals here and there when I needed them. Never set foot in a classroom or had any other kind of external training, and now I make a living using these tools.

Best of luck to you and I will make sure to send out the appropriate vibes for your success between now and July 2nd.

:toast:

[calico1]

11. Thanks so much!

:toast:

[CBGLuthier]

7. See if this gives you more of a clue as to what you are facing

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/quickbooks-2010-allinone-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

I used an antique version years ago. A lot easier than the Great Plains accounting software I spent weeks learning for absolutely no reason at a support job I did in another life.

[calico1]

12. Thank you. :)

[david13]

9. I use it but I have been using an installed version. And it is a real

pain. As they set it up real crazy. And it has all kinds of automatic functions that get it to do things that I don't want it to do.
It was set up all wrong, and it was used all wrong, and then dumped on me.
So straightening it out has only been a partial success.
Also, I never had any bookkeeping or accounting ability or experience, so it's been a real challenge, and is not yet near to be over for me.
But it's so simple. You should have no problem.
dc

[jakefrep]

10. Yes.

But it's a pretty easy program to screw up if you don't have a basic understanding of accounting and bookkeeping going in.

[lizziegrace]

13. I'm a QB ProAdvisor

if it's set up properly, it isn't too difficult. Get a good reference book. It will save your life.

This is my manual of choice:

http://www.amazon.com/QuickBooks-2010-Missing-Bonnie-Biafore/dp/0596804024/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275848227&sr=1-3

[calico1]

14. Thank you very much, I will check it out!

[Jade Fox]

15. Quickbooks makes the claim....

that you don't need to know anything about Accounting to use their software. That's a little like saying you don't need to know anything about anatomy to practice medicine.

When I was doing temp accounting work, I was called in to clean up any number of huge messes people had made of their business' books using Quickbooks. Some were true disasters. They had believed Quickbooks clever claim that they could save money by purchasing Quickbooks and doing their own bookkeeping.

Long story short: You need to know what you're doing to use any accounting software (Excel is not an accounting program), which means you need to have a working understanding of Accounting.