23 Nov Partial Summary
Partial Summary
With the Intuit Developer Network (IDN) and tools and code provided by Intuit the number of add-ons has been growing exponentially. There are still a limited number of report add-ons but it is anticipated that more will be available over time. If you learn of others, or work with a QuickBooks add-on that you like, we would appreciate hearing about it. Send an e-mail to add-ons@4luvofbiz.com.
Based on the few add-ons discussed here, the summary is as follows:
The Financial Statement Reporter (Premier version 2003-2004) was nice because it has the easiest interface directly with the QuickBooks data and the smallest learning curve. However, it also has the most limited functionality. The product was completely redesigned with Premier 2005 and was added to the product as the Financial Statement Designer including a spreadsheet look and feel plus the ability to do Income Statement reports by class or job.
SmartReports is a little more comprehensive based on the ability to merge reports and make formatting changes to any QuickBooks reports that have been opened in Excel. However, changes that are not specifically available in the profile set up would need to be done manually each time the financials are issued. If these changes are minor, that may be OK, if not, this would not be the best solution.
Adagio FX is definitely, without a doubt, the most flexible of the alternatives. Because the data is imported into the tool, it can be manipulated in any way. However, although the spreadsheet functionality is similar to Excel, there is still a learning curve to be dealt with. Several standard reports are included to help reduce this issue and once new reports are set up and saved, the process of issuing statements in the future is efficient. The advantage of presentation exactly in the format the firm desires makes this the best alternative for many.