A have a potential new client that is using QB Pro 2005 on a Mac. Since I've only used QB on PCs, I'm not sure if there are any differences between the PC and Mac version.
Anyone worked with both and care to share any tips or gotchas?
We're specifically interested in invoicing customers, receiving payments, bank deposits, statements and customer and item setup. Basically, there planning to use it for sales and customer billing only and let their accountant handle everything else.
TIA,
Ed
The basic functionality is the same. QBP 2005 for Mac just changed their interface in this version to match that of the Windows version (in terms of menus, not actual layout). This version also, finally, allows for list inactivations where before you couldn't make anything inactive. There are still glaring differences/inadequacies in the Mac version but from a basic bookkeeping standpoint its fine.
The ability to make a QB for Windows copy of the Mac company file has been present since at least 6.0 (2004) but it was very sketchy and often caused file corruption. A release was issued for 6.0 that supposedly fixed it but that wasn't my experience. Intuit claims the Mac/Windows file compatibility is improved in 2005 so I'm guessing they worked out the bugs, or at least the major ones. I still recommend that anyone transferring company files between the two platforms make a copy & use that (on both sides). This way if it gets corrupted going to Windows or on the way back to Mac there's still a working company file able to be used.
From an accountant's standpoint you shouldn't have anything to worry about. There's alot in the Windows version that isn't in the Mac but as long as you're not creating custom templates, changing the icon bar or using the built-in payroll feature (in Windows) then you'll have no problems. QBP
2005 still comes with the outsourced payroll rather than the built-in one we Win users are accustomed to. The Mac version still doesn't have the custom template function and the overall customization ability is about 1/3 that of the Windows version.My only real caution would be in regards to file transfers. Not the physical act of how you get the file back and forth but the actual functionality on the Mac version of creating a file for Windows and/or in reading a Windows backup sent back to the Mac. It was sketchy in the 2004 (6.0) version even after a release. 2005 for Mac claims this ability is improved so I'm hoping they've worked out the bugs. Sometimes a file would become corrupted during that process. Whether Windows corrupted it upon reading, Mac upon creating the Windows copy or Mac upon receiving the .qbb was uncertain. I recommend both sides make a full copy of the file as a backup (rather than just a backup) so if something becomes corrupted there's still a good uncompressed file to work with.
Crap, sorry, I meant to take out the 2nd paragraph to be replaced by the last. Instead I typed the last but forgot to delete the 2nd so you'll read about the corruption twice.
I'll add to what Tara said:
QB Pro Mac doesn't have the accountant's copy feature of the WIN version. I haven't tested whether one can import accountant changes using the same .aif file that is created in the WIN version.
I tend to use work with the client's Mac version on my Mac most of the time.
If a client is on a Mac and needs payroll, I will normally recommend MYOB instead of QB; that's what I use for my own accounting (on the Mac) and MYOB is almost transparently cross-platform.
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