Need accounting software design with IT consulting in mind

October 3, 2007 7:58 AM

I've been struggling to find accounting software, online or PC/Mac based (either will do) that is suitable for a computer consulting practice. I need to be able to handle the typical basic things done by QuickBooks, like invoicing and estimates, simple A/R and A/P reports, etc. But that isn't enough. I need to manage multiple bill rates on a per consultant/per customer/per job or work order basis. QuickBooks doesn't do that, and I've tried hard to find out how to make that work. Any advice, hive mind?
posted by Merdryn to computers & internet (3 comments total)

Incidentally, the capability of automatically calculating margins for project managers / sales reps would be perfect. For example:

Contractor A is paid $125 an hour, and the client is billed $150 an hour. Contractor A's manager should receive 50% of that difference ($12.50 an hour).
posted by Merdryn at 8:05 AM on October 3, 2007

I highly recommend Timeslips for billing software. It has so many features and billing methods and ways to track... everything... it boggles the mind. I don't know about calculating margins, but I'm sure you can find a way to do that. Poke around the program online, or download the demo (same page) to see if it'll do what you need it to do.

This will have to be in addition to Quickbooks. I've tried to use just one or the other, and it simply won't work. It's worth the expense, though. Once we implemented Timeslips here, the owner had a much better idea of how long it was actually taking to do things, and could base her quotes on solid data. She also loves being able to see exactly where a project is, who's spending the most time on it, getting overhead reports... basically having all the data she could want available to her any time she needs it, with little effort to get the data.

Sorry, I *really* love this program. It has its faults, like being somewhat complicated, and getting buggy if you don't upgrade after a couple of years. To me, though, the program's advantages far outweigh its faults.
posted by minda25 at 9:12 AM on October 3, 2007

I would like to second Timeslips! We use it at my firm and its absolutely amazing. You can assign billing rates to users, then billing rates to the various activities that user can do. Its also super customizable with all kinds of reports you can run.

So you use Quickbooks for your accounting system and Timeslips to handle your building. I believe you can also make them do that but I highly recommend you avoid doing that regardless of the time you might save.
posted by Tinen at 7:52 PM on October 3, 2007