Bookkeeping sucks.

August 31, 2011 3:55 PM

Mac small business accounting software for Australia.

This question crops up fairly often, and I've explore the options in the past, but nothing seems to tick all the boxes and after being overwhelmed I have always ended up sticking to what I'm currently using - Quicken 2008 under CrossOver - which is infuriatingly slow, ugly & just downright painful.

I am finally ready to make a fresh start. Australian versions of Quicken/Quickbooks won't export .qif files and I no longer care about not being able to export my current data and have accepted that I need to start to from scratch, and being very early in the financial year, it's time to make the jump.

Features I am looking for:

* MOST IMPORTANT*
It needs to be GST aware
I want to just click a button & have it spit out my quarterly BAS

*VERY IMPORTANT*
Import & categorise transactions from online banking (National Australia Bank)

*LESS IMPORTANT BUT NIFTY*
Companion iPhone app

My needs are pretty simple, I work on a cash accounting basis and I see a client and they pay me, so I don't need fancy invoicing & debtors management.

I've used MYOB on Windows in the past and hated it. I guess I just hate bookkeeping in general and I want some magical fantasy software that will just do it all for me. Please tell me it exists, or at least something close.

posted by goshling to computers & internet (2 answers total)

Found a little PC User thread that might give you a few leads.
posted by tumid dahlia at 5:51 PM on August 31, 2011

Xero is web/subscription-based, but it was founded and is run by Kiwis, and focused strongly on NZ/Aus before broadening its reach. Does this workflow fit your needs? (You need to request bank feeds from NAB in writing.)

Saasu also gets mentioned a lot alongside Xero: it's Sydney-based.
posted by holgate at 6:04 PM on August 31, 2011