QuickBooks 2009 for Mac

Intuit has formally announced the latest version of its small business accounting software, QuickBooks 2009 for Mac. The user interface has been redesigned for improved organization and efficiency, with a home page that shows the structure of required tasks, and notification badges to draw attention to high-priority items. The most common tasks can also be accessed from the home page, including invoice preparation, timesheet tracking, and bill payment.

Intuit has further integrated customer, vendor, transaction, and report information onto one page. Data can be searched and filtered as needed, and users can find balance sheets or profit and loss statements in the Report Center, all organized for browsing through Cover Flow.

A real-time look at business performance is offered with Company Snapshot, a feature that gives updated information regarding income, expenses, accounts, vendor/customer balances, and reminders.

A new Online Banking Setup Assistant is claimed to make banking integration easier, allowing users to import bank statements and credit card data from thousands of supported banks through Direct Connect or Web Connect. E-mail functions have been improved with batch send, and support for editing in Mail or Entourage.

iCal integration has been enhanced, allowing sync of due dates and other reminders. Lastly, retail stores can import data from their point-of-sale machines into QuickBooks using Xsilva's LightSpeed POS. QuickBooks 2009 for Mac will be available for $200 through Intuit at the end of September, or in early October from other resellers.

by MacNN Staff