For some unknown reason, the text of the original review is gone, so this is a complete rewrite of my review. It is somewhat different from my original review since I have to write it from scratch, but my final conclusion is the same.


I have been personally using Peachtree Complete Accounting since its version 4 in 1996, upgraded to version 7 in 1999. Having been exposed to different accounting software packages used by clients of various sizes of a CPA practise, e.g., DacEasy (a SAGE Group software of which Peachtree is a subsidiary), AccPac Plus, MYOB, Sybiz (an Aussie modular package), and numerous custom-built packages, this Peachtree is the easiest to setup and operate.

Installation (different from setting up a company's accounts - see below) is easy and uneventful. When running the software for the first time, it will remind you to register the product with its serial number. The serial number is found in the first page of its comprehensive user manual. You must register if you wish to continue using the product after 11 times. Registration is free and can be done by phone or online, and has 2 main benefits: obtaining the (reusable) unlock/registration code and tech support. There is really no reason not to register since you have paid for the product already. This kind of registration/unlocking process is common among many software packages - only Microsoft now begins to emulate with Office 2000.

Regardless of the registration process, the very FIRST thing before you can enter your date is to create and setup your company accounts. The company setup "wizard" guides you through all the essential information, e.g., company name and address, government department IDs, etc. Next comes the all important Chart Of Accounts, Matching method (accruals or cash), Posting method (real time or batch), accounting periods. Peachtree has a collection of templates COA for different companies and nature. If you don't like them or if you have your own COA, Peachtree includes the option on the same screen to skip this step and create your own COA later. For beginners to the world of bookkeeping, Peachtree includes online help to explain the difference of Accruals and Cash. Because this step is irreversible, so if you are still in doubt after the explanation, choose Accruals and you can't go wrong (please also refer to your CPA). A little confusing is Peachtree referring one accounting month as an Accounting Period, as opposed to an accounting/fiscal period in which the accounts are grouped for reporting. You may open 24 Accounting Periods at a time. Beyond that you have to close a fiscal/accounting year to continue. Peachtree is designed for the US market, so a word of caution to non-US users: your Windows must use the US date formats of MM/dd/YY before you begin company setup. Other date formats (e.g., dd/MM/YY or YY/MM/dd) will confuse the software when setting up accounting periods and will result in the periods being incorrect. This setup process also includes a Setup Checklist for those who are new to the software. Peachtree can only open one company at a time, so if you have multiple companies created, every time you wish to open another company, Peachtree will need to close your current one first.

If you chose to create your own Chart Of Account earlier, the Setup Checklist will next prompt your to setup your own COA. By categorising the nature of each item in COA: Cash (includes banks), Expenses, Accounts receivable, Accounts payable, Fixed assets, Equity, etc., Peachtree is flexible enough to handle almost all accounting hierarchies and structures you can to throw at it. However, while Peachtree does provide guidelines to designing good COA, the real genius is still the person behind the keyboard - you.

Once you have your COA, you are set to go with the most basic of bookkeeping: General Ledger entries. The screen resembles your old-fashion paper voucher with essential elements like voucher number, date, accounts, description, debits, credits. What differs from its paper counterpart is that it can automatically calculate the total of debits and credits and display the difference of the two (if any). An important characteristic of double-entry bookkeeping is that the debits and credits of each entry MUST be equal at all times. This is a good control/checkpoint even for experienced user like myself when entering your data, so do make full use of it.

What happens if you find out later that you made a mistake? You can simply retrieve the entry, make your correction, and repost the voucher over the old one. This is the weakest part of Peachtree's accounting controls because it overwrites the old voucher with the new one. Technically speaking, one should create a new and different voucher to make the correction. Incidentally, DacEasy, for example, doesn't not allowed correction once the voucher is posted - you must use another voucher to make corrections. Apart from this, the accounting controls in Peachtree are very strict, and demands a robust approach to the bookkeeping. (For example, a client's accountant likes to shortcut his entries, which was fine if he was keeping the records in paper form, but when the company switched to Peachtree, many of the Peachtree account reports like cash flow didn't match up or make sense. It was only after we discovered his habit and made him reversed his shortcut entries and re-enter the data properly that the problem was fixed.)

Peachtree includes other ledgers/sub ledgers such as Sales, Purchases ledgers to manage your customers and vendors individually, and provides Aging Analysis on Accounts Receivable and Payable to help you to manage debts owed and due, which ultimately affects the all important cash flow.

The current version is number 8, first released in 2000. Since version 7, multi-user licence for use over a company network has been a US$600 extra. It now also includes Crystal Reports for Peachtree as a paid extra over its default Report Writer - the Crystal Report bundled is actually a 30-day evaluation addon. Customising either report writer is difficult and can be frustrating to learn for novices. Peachtree also bundles other web oriented services with the latest version - some are free, some are subscription based. All these at a significant price hike over the last version as Peachtree attempts to carve a niche for itself in order to differentiate their flagship products with other brands of products which are similar in function and nature.

At the end of the day, all web features aside, this is a very capable, confident, mature, and user-friendly accounting product. It's not as good value as it once was, but it will still keep you happy for years to come.


Recommended: Yes