EXCLUSIVES

Accounts 1.4
By David Dudek

If you're in the market for quality, low-cost checkbook/accounting software, the folks at Nano Software have developed just the thing: Accounts for Mac OS X. This robust program is an alternative to Intuit's Quicken software, which has been a stronghold in the market for quite some time. with so many features, accounts is a good value at $350.

When using Accounts, I generally only deal with one data file which I backup regularly. A key to using this piece of software is to backup weekly because it is always under development, but the version that I am using is considered to be a stable release of the software. Another good thing is that Accounts is supported by its developers.

Accounts has a very simple and uncluttered interface. There are seven tabs in one window; Accounts, Transactions, Ledger, Reconcile, Contacts, Memos and Reports. The Accounts tab displays all of the information as totals or a sum of all of one category at a time. For example if you wanted to view all of your assets as a total, you would use this view. If you wanted to view each individual transaction for entry or examination purposes, use the Transactions tab.

The Transactions tab contains detailed information about your daily transactions. It has five columns: Date, Account ID, Account Name, Debit and Credit. The Account name is customizable under the Accounts tab. In this view, you can choose to see all of your transactions or group them by categories Receipts, Payments, Journal and Sort-By-Date. This is probably the section that you will be using the most as it is used to input account information.

The Ledger tab displays all transactions that correspond to a particular account. You would use this tab to locate transactions with a certain account. If you want to see all transactions that deal with the "Visa" account, choose Visa from the Account drop down menu. To edit a transaction, click on the selection.

The Reconcile tab is used to check your accuracy against the bank statement. When you receive your statement, just type in the date and starting balance and Accounts does the rest. It provides the date, explanation and debit/credit categories for reference.

The Contacts tab is a useful place to store any associated contacts that you may deal with on a regular basis. This tab is very useful when entering many transactions from the same company/individual; all of this information will appear from a single drop down menu in the Add Transaction window.

The Memos section is a place where you can store quick text notes and is easier than having to switch programs and worry about where the files are saved. Instead, this feature saves everything in the same file.

The Reports option lets you run three different reports: Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and Trial Balance. Using the options button located to the right, you have a few different options: Annual, Monthly, and Customized Period.

You can also choose to either show or hide accounts with zero balances. It provides these reports in an easy to read/print format while maintaining all of the data in this single file.

One very beneficial feature is the online help available in the Mac Help Center. The developers didn’t skimp on their manual. Every possible screen has a picture and is fully explained in each section. The Quick Start section is perfect if you’re like me and want very little instruction and would rather explore on your own. When I became confused and I couldn’t understand why every transaction was debited and credited. I emailed them and received the following from the developers:

“Your money in the bank is an asset to you. Assets have a debit nature, so to increase an asset's balance, you need to debit the asset. To decrease an asset you need to credit it. Expenses also have a debit nature...

Liabilities, equity and revenue accounts have credit natures, i.e., they need to be credited to be increased...

Because your bank owes the money in your bank account to you, your bank account is a liability to the bank, so your bank statements are just print outs of your account as it appears in the bank's books. This is why any money the bank owes to you appears as a credit on your bank statement. From the bank point of view, your money is a liability it needs to eventually repay to you.”

After reading that explanation I was both relieved and felt more comfortable that I wasn’t seeing double. However I still have to think twice about what happens when I am entering a transaction, but then again, you are supposed to think when you’re accounting.

A really nice thing about using Accounts is that when you have a question or problem, the developers are the ones who are responding to your email. This is a huge advantage over many commercial applications because it allows the customer to have direct input and give feedback about various features in Accounts. For product info: www.nano.com.au