AccountEdge Pro is one of two remaining desktop-based small business accounting applications (the other being Sage 50c). It's been around since the early 1990s, and previously went by the name MYOB. It's exceptionally flexible, comprehensive, and mature, providing tools to manage your company's contacts, sales and purchases, time billing, inventory, and payroll. Robust as it already was, the software has incorporated a great deal of new functionality since I reviewed it in 2015, including lead management, Web Pay, new profitability reporting, user-interface enhancements, and many other smaller-but-welcome features. It's now the top choice for users whose needs have moved beyond what online-only accounting services can offer.

Though full operations still require installation on a desktop computer or laptop, AccountEdge Pro offers two ways to access and enter data on the road: a browser-based site and a mobile app. These options make this a good compromise for small businesses who aren't ready to go all-out on the Web or who need more power than online accounting offers, but who still want some access to their company's financial data when employees are out of the office. The mobile apps are much more effective and easy to set up and use than the remote sharing tools of Sage 50c Premium Accounting ($50.58 Per Month for One User for the Pro Accounting Plan at Sage US) , AccountEdge Pro's closest competitor. In some cases, they're even simpler than the tools of Web-based accounting sites like Intuit's Editors' Choice-winning QuickBooks Online Plus .

Setup, Navigation, User Interface

AccountEdge Pro costs $399 for the first user, and $249 for each user thereafter, with packs of five users costing a discounted $999. Upgrades from previous versions are cheaper, starting at $159 for a single user, with volume-based discounts for additional users. Setting up a small business accounting application is a time- and labor-intensive process. AccountEdge Pro helps ensure that you don't miss any steps by walking you through the process using a wizard-like tool. Once you've entered information about your company's structure, created contact and item records, built your lists of accounts, etc., it's easy to find your way around to start working. Zoho Books , too, excels at setup operations.

When you click an icon in the upper toolbar that represents one of the software's primary modules (Banking, Time Billing, Inventory, etc.), the main screen changes, displaying all of the related tasks. A vertical toolbar on the right contains links to, for example, your most recent activities and the program's help tools. A series of drop-down menus along the bottom provides additional navigation options that take you to your to-do lists, reports, lists, etc. You interact with the software using standard Windows commands, alternating between selecting options in lists, clicking buttons, and entering data.

Though they, too, use familiar interface and navigation conventions, Web-based accounting applications like QuickBooks Online and Xero use much more of the screen. AccountEdge Pro has always done a good job of tucking away tools in easy-to-find places, but there are times when it feels pretty crowded.

Both AccountEdge and Sage 50c Premium Accounting have been around for more than 25 years. Their basic user interfaces and navigational systems have been tweaked a lot during that time, but they're quite similar to the way they were when they started. AccountEdge Pro has aged better, though it lacks Sage 50c's central financial dashboard. For such an old program, AccountEdge looks remarkably fresh and is easier to use than Sage 50c. But neither application can beat any of the online small business accounting applications like Wave and Zoho Books in terms of usability and aesthetic excellence.

AccountEdge Pro

Records and Transactions

If you've been using a previous version of AccountEdge Pro, you know how thorough its contact records are. The software uses a convention it calls "cards" to refer to records (customer, vendor, employee, personal). These cards allow for exceptionally detailed profiles that are accessed by clicking on tabs in the Card File. You'll see a lot of enhancements in these already robust and flexible record screens, all designed to deliver more related information when you need it and make the screens more attractive and easier to navigate. For example, customer balances now display on their cards. Click on this number, and you're linked to a list of open receivables. And more fields are now being synced over to the software's mobile platforms.

Inventory records in AccountEdge Pro haven't seen any changes since my last review. The level of detail and flexibility offered by both AccountEdge and Sage 50c Premium Accounting, though, is extraordinary for small business accounting software. Even the best online-only accounting solutions can't match the depth of AccountEdge Pro's inventory-management tools.

This redesign is more than cosmetic. You can now view more information about contacts and create transactions directly from their Cards, as well as see the transactions that have already been entered for each. You can add customer billing rates for use in Activity Slips and Timesheets. Also new since my last review is the ability to create and track leads, which can be converted to customers when a quote is accepted and invoiced. No other service comparable service I've reviewed supports lead management.

There are few changes to AccountEdge Pro's transaction forms, other than the ability to give a customer an invoice-wide discount by adding a negative line amount. But the software's existing screens go beyond what both competing desktop and Web-based small business accounting applications offer, including, for example, salesperson commission calculations and back order information on invoices.

AccountEdge Pro

A New Way to Pay

AccountEdge Pro does not let you enter your login credentials for your financial institutions and access the most current transactions, as Wave and QuickBooks Online do. You can, though, download bank and credit card statements, and set up direct money transfers. You can also use a merchant account to accept payments, which is a common ability. A new service added since my last review, Web Pay, lets you include a link within invoices that will take customers to their own password-protected portal where they can submit their payments online. Xero offers a similar feature.

Rigorous Reporting

AccountEdge Pro offers new profitability reporting, but other than that, the reports remain the same in terms of the number of templates offered and their customization options. Which is to say, this critical element is superior to what's found in any other small business accounting product, desktop or online. Sage 50s and QuickBooks Online come the closest in terms of reports. If you can't find what you need within the confines of AccountEdge Pro, it may be time for you to move up into the midrange accounting space.

AccountEdge Pro

Mobile Connections

AccountEdge Pro is not entirely tied to the desktop. You and your employees can work remotely using the software's two mobile apps. The first, AccountEdge Cloud, is a password-protected website accessible through any browser. Using it, employees can enter Activity Slips and Timesheets. Salespeople can create invoices, orders, quotes, and credit memos, as well as accept payments. Everything is synced back to AccountEdge without having to go through Dropbox, which was a previously required action. All of this comes at a price, though: from $10 per month for one user to $100 per month for 10 to 50 users.

AccountEdge Mobile is a free smartphone app that lets you view and enter a great deal of information. You can see lists of Cards, Jobs, Items, and Activities, and drill down to their details—even checking on inventory levels. Quotes, orders, invoices, and Quick Sales can be entered, as well as Activity Slips, Expenses, and Mileage. Wave and QuickBooks Online's smartphone apps are not this sophisticated.

Comprehensive Coverage

Even if you don't need to use AccountEdge's mobile options, the software itself is as capable as any you'll find in this class of software; an integrated payroll application completes its comprehensiveness. Sage 50c Premium Accounting is also a powerhouse, but it lacks AccountEdge's interface polish, navigational prowess, and usability. And Sage 50c's mobile access requires that every computer needing to share data have the entire program installed. None of today's online small business accounting solutions can compete with AccountEdge Pro in terms of overall depth and flexibility. I'd recommend AccountEdge Pro to any small business with accounting needs too complex for the existing online accounting solutions like Editors' Choice Quickbooks Online Plus. AccountEdge Pro is an Editors' Choice for small business accounting.

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