Order QuickBooks Pro 2010

As of November 30, 2009 most of the reviews about Quickbooks Pro (2010) are from Quickbooks Beta Testers or Amazon Vine members.

Clearly, Quickbooks contacted SELECT Beta Testers and asked them to promote their product on Amazon.

Similarly, we see a large number of Amazon VINE members' reviews, most of which, like the beta testers are extremely favorable. Vine members are individuals who receive free products from Amazon (in partnership with the manufacturer) and are then asked to "evaluate" the product.

As of November 30, 2009 there were 27 reviews which rated this product quite highly (four or five stars). 22 out of 27 of these reviews were from Quickbooks Beta testers or Amazon Vine members.

I've owned Quickbooks Pro - both the 2003 and 2006 versions. I decided not to upgrade to the 2009 version because of all the negative reviews I saw right here on Amazon. It is a bit strange that these beta testers and Vine members don't even mention the debacle of the 2009 version and whether any issues have been fixed in the 2010 version.

Quickbooks evidently has not mended its way regarding endless prompts to purchase additional features which can't be turned off. This was true in the past and evidently is still true in 2010!. This is not only annoying, it clutters your work day and reduces your productivity.

As I said in my 2006 review "Quicken's business model is important to understand. They do not tweak their software, from year to year, for increased usability. The only changes that Quicken seems to devote their programming talent toward are new features, some well implemented and some poorly implemented - I don't think it matters to them - anything that will suggest a reason to purchase or upgrade the software. How easy the software could function on a day to day basis seems to be never given a thought. Secondly Quicken expects your purchase of this software to be the first of many purchases from them. New business owners often will need expert help to set it up. Quicken, will of course, provide you with the name of a certified Quickbooks consultant, who for a fee, will set up the software....."

Sadly the reviews of the 2010 version (to date) give me little guidance whether the 2010 version has improved over the 2009. In fact Vine members and the Quickbooks beta testers seem to be unaware of any previous problems.

Heads UP:

1.) Payroll is still not included unless you pay substantial additional fees to Quickbooks.

2.) Nag screens promoting additional services can still not be turned off. Quickbooks representatives won't say when or if this will ever be addressed as of November 30, 2009. (click on comments - just below the body of this review - to see how Intuit responded)

3.) If you use Quickbooks credit card processing you should know you will be forced to upgrade the software every 3 years or your credit card processing will simply stop. This will NOT be made clear when you sign up for their credit card processing but Quickbooks will notify you near the end of three years that you must upgrade your software or else!

4.) New features are often crippled unless you pay more.

This is not a bad program but Intuit insists on misleading customers and promoting features that are often crippled unless you pay more. That type of marketing is the real hallmark of Intuit's business model.


5.) Amazon's star rating system is being circumvented by Quickbooks because of these beta testers and Vine members. Obviously Intuit (Quickbooks) wanted to stack the deck with a number of 4 or 5 star reviews. Even if a number of real customers disagree in the future -- the overall ranking would not drop that much given the number of 4/5 star rankings Intuit has already managed to generate. Quite clever.

I'D STRONGLY SUGGEST BUSINESS OWNERS WHO ARE EVALUATING THIS SOFTWARE ---- WAIT FOR REAL CUSTOMER REVIEWS BEFORE MAKING A PURCHASING DECISION. Disregard the Quickbooks beta testers and Amazon Vine member reviews


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