Peachtree's accounting roots in the small-business market reach back to the early nineties, and the company's experience shows in Peachtree by Sage Complete Accounting 2009 ($269.99 direct for one user). The software competes well against Microsoft Accounting Professional 2008, MYOB Premier Accounting 2008, and QuickBooks Accounting Pro Edition 2009, though it can't beat QuickBooks at simplicity and usability. New features include real-time error reporting, multiyear reporting within general ledger reports and financial statements, and improvements to time and expense tracking.

Peachtree Complete has always had a good setup procedure, and this latest edition is no exception. The app has you select a matching business type from a list of dozens, then it builds a set of accounts that will work best with your choice. After that, it asks you to make a few additional decisions about your business, like whether you'll use a cash or accrual system. Once you've answered, the app creates your company files, opens the accounting application, and pops up a window with the setup guide.

The guide consists of a series of wizards that move you through the steps required to prepare sections of the application, such as Vendors and Employees. Issues like sales tax are also covered here. In the initial setup, Peachtree Complete 2009 and MYOB Premier 2008 both walk you through more of the setup process than their competitors. MYOB has a setup assistant that helps you build a framework for your work, asking about things like how many hours your employees typically work in a week. The approach QuickBooks takes is a combination of a wizard and the Preferences tool, and Microsoft Office Accounting uses a mini-wizard and a quick-start guide.

Like its competitors, Peachtree helps you start the day with an overview of your finances. Clicking on Business Status opens a screen that shows charts and graphs containing key company data such as a list of account balances, customers who owe money, and vendors to pay. The other main locus of tools, the Company center, contains an eclectic mix of tools that give you access to key reports and financial statements, links to data maintenance tools, and a list of miscellaneous company information. I like this dual approach; it's similar to the tack QuickBooks takes with its company snapshot and company home page.

Peachtree, like its competitors, lets you add records as you go along. But your workflow will be smoother if you build your databases of customers and vendors, inventory items, and employees up front. It's easy. Add a customer, for example, by clicking on Customers & Sales, and then Customers | New Customer. You enter most information in the tabbed Customer window, including such items as contact information, content for custom fields, up to 20 addresses, and details for sales, payments, and credits. You can also enter contact-management events. The program fills in sales history as it goes along, and the data you've already input will be used in transaction forms. Peachtree's database forms offer a bit more flexibility than those of its competitors.

Transaction forms are equally flexible. You select a customer from a drop-down list and choose products and services from another list. If you've entered billable time elsewhere in the program, you can add each such entry as a line item. Peachtree does all the calculating and adds any additional data necessary, such as sales tax. Icons at the top of the screen take you to related tasks and data, including a layout designer, a recurring entry button, an e-mail button, and the Journal, which displays the accounting going on behind the scenes. No other product in this class is quite so thorough on transaction forms.

Peachtree makes true online banking available, providing online bill payment to anyone. This is a critical element of small-business accounting software, and one that most programs offer. Competitor MYOB stands out (in a bad way) for its lack of services of this kind.

Peachtree's time-billing section is more flexible and goes into greater depth than those of the competing products. Each time slip includes a timer and fields for other descriptive data, like billing status, type, and rate; ticket details and the reason the time is being recorded; and a field for a description of the time that will go on the invoice. You can click on a button to add a note, access related reports, and open a time sheet.

Peachtree's payroll solutions are impressive, trailing QuickBooks only in the sheer number of options. Peachtree Simple Payroll ($249.95 yearly) lets you keep control of the processing, while Peachtree supplies you with current tax tables. Peachtree Select Payroll ($349.95 yearly) adds to those features, giving you the ability to e-file your quarterly and year-end tax forms, and to make your tax deposits electronically. If you want to hand the whole process to a pro, Peachtree Managed Payroll (which starts at $45 per month) is your best option. You enter your payroll information just once, then each pay period you enter the hours worked. Peachtree runs the payroll, prints checks, does direct deposit, makes tax deposits, and pays taxes for Federal, state, and local jurisdictions.

Peachtree really shines in inventory. Only MYOB come close to offering as complete an inventory solution. Peachtree software devotes one tabbed window to inventory defaults, like auto-creation of purchase orders, out-of-stock warning messages; and shipping methods. You'll also find custom fields. Item records are exceptionally deep, containing fields for up to ten price levels, three costing methods, a bill of materials (for assemblies), and quantity on sales orders and purchase orders. Other tabs give you access to custom fields and history.

You can adjust inventory, create purchase orders, and send, track, and receive shipments via UPS. A generous stable of reports lets you keep close track of inventory, giving you information like the status of shipments, cost of goods sold, items that need reordering, and inventory valuation. Peachtree and MYOB come as close as anyone to providing enterprise-level inventory tools.

Peachtree's ability to integrate with other applications is also impressive. Beyond its own payroll, the product works seamlessly with Timeslips and ACT!, Peachtree WebsiteCreator Pro, Microsoft Word and Excel, Crystal Reports, UPS, and Microsoft Outlook (contact synchronization only). These can be useful, but Microsoft Office Accounting and QuickBooks Pro offer better integration for day-to-day operations.

My biggest gripe with Peachtree is its excessive use of new windows. It's annoying and wastes time. My other complaint is that its interface, while clear and understandable, isn't as smooth or up to date as those offered by the competition. QuickBooks, for example, is clean as a whistle, with a uniform look throughout, minimal use of color, and appropriately sized icons and text.

Companies that need the best inventory tracking in class should look at Peachtree by Sage Complete Accounting 2009. There's a lot to like in the application as a whole, especially its integration with other apps and its time-billing and payroll modules. If you're already committed to Peachtree, you might just want to stick with it. But for small businesses looking for their first accounting application or willing to do the work to make a switch, QuickBooks' flexibility, usability, integration, and stable of features make for a stronger overall package.

More Accounting & Tax Software Reviews: