Simple FREE alternative to QuickBooks?

[markjay]

Intuit bought quite a few software products written by various developers and branded them all Sage. But in reality the various version of Sage have little in common. It is not a given that if you use say Sage Line 50 then it will integrate seamlessly with say Sage 100.

What most accountants do is they simply run entry-level versions of Sage on their own computer system to allow them to view clients' data.

 

[Dryce]

Intuit bought quite a few software products written by various developers and branded them all Sage.

????????

 

[markjay]

Most software giants - Symantec and CA included - grew their business through acquisition of smaller software houses with established or promising products. Few of the bigger software companies developed all their product portfolio in-house from scratch.

My point was that the entry level version of Sage are not cut down versions of the high-end product, instead they are entirely different products.

EDIT: This goes way back... Bill Gates didn't actually write MS-DOS

 

[Dryce]

My point was that the entry level version of Sage are not cut down versions of the high-end product, instead they are entirely different products.

I was questioning 'Intuit'.

And AIUI the core Sage accounting products - Line 50, Line 100, and Instant were all core Sage products with some history gowing way back to 8 bit days (Which is why the products are IMO so clunky/idiosyncratic in some ways).

However they did buy in products like ACT and Tas.

 

[SteveG_UK]

I've been in the computer business over twenty years. Many years ago I was a Sage dealer (including the flagship Sovereign). Prior to that I was an Inspector of Taxes for 13 years (yes I'm an old git). So I think I know something about computers and accounts.
I doubt any accountants (excluding 'one man bands') use Sage internally. They generally use something like Iris.
No matter what package you use, your accountant will probably just use it to extract data for input into their systems (and quite possibly manually). You'll save money on fees compared with dropping sheafs of paper on their desks - but they'll still do a fair bit of work to get the end result.
Accounting packages have always been stupidly expensive. They're only databases but the 'mystique' of financial control seems to let them keep on charging silly money.
Personally I'd avoid Sage like the plague. Sage excel at extracting money from people. I'll say no more to avoid being sued. Just my personal opinion of course.
If you're happy you can use Excel for your book-keeping why not concentrate on solving the stock control problem as a separate exercise?
Ah yes - the 'anything submitted by an accountant is just accepted by HMRC' myth. Undoubtedly things have changed a lot since I was an Inspector, but in my day that was totally untrue. In fact some accountants had histories that meant their submissions would be more likely to be reviewed. If you're incorporated of course, you have no option.
I'd often see sole traders with trivial accounting requirements paying accountants fees they couldn't afford. On occasion I'd even suggest they could do it themselves (naughty me). Oh yes, they were sat opposite me despite having paid an accountant!