I have been to hell and back and I am convinced that the way is paved with accounting software. For the last few weeks I have been looking at four accounting packages, and I now sympathise with accountants everywhere.

Small business owners have two obvious options for computerising their accounts --- Quicken or MYOB.

Although most people are only worried about tracking the GST, these packages offer many other features for managing a business more effectively.

So before trading that shoebox full of receipts for software, take some time to think about what you really want to know about your business.

Quicken CashBook or MYOB FirstAccounts are more suitable for really small businesses or sole proprietors.

I have been using Quicken for years, but only because I find the cash register sound as I make an entry reassuring.

Quicken CashBook --- the renamed version of Quicken Business -- is, as the name implies a cashbook, and is suitable for single-entry cashbook accounting.

The program is easy to set up and install and if you have a sound card audio messages help you through the process.

CashBook will convert data files from older versions of Quicken and save a backup copy of the original file.

The version I looked at was so new the manual, still in draft form, didn’t even mention the Business Activity Statement. I hope they rectify this before October.

The BAS is briefly covered in the online help. CashBook does help prepare a BAS report, and there is an option to export your BAS data to Microsoft Excel.

CashBook is more suited to very small businesses and can be used to create and track invoices and manage accounts receivable and accounts payable.

Quicken CashBook also provides basic GST management. Add GST to an invoice and CashBook automatically creates a liability account to record the amount. I was surprised to see this account labeled as VAT Control. Value Added Tax is the UK version of GST --- I wonder how much of this software really is compliant with the Australian system.

Basic Quicken CashBook invoices can be altered to include a company logo and ABN number. With my first attempt I printed a standard invoice that was quite acceptable even without a logo.

The Quicken CashBook manual does not have much information on the GST. I was more impressed with the MYOB FirstAccounts manual. This had a whole chapter on the GST.

Like CashBook, MYOB FirstAccounts is targeted at business owners with little accounting experience. It comes with a handy tutorial that illustrates how the program works.

With MYOB FirstAccounts you fill out familiar invoice and cheque screens. Unlike Quicken CashBook, double-entry transactions are recorded behind the scenes.

Double-entry accounting, as the name suggests, needs two entries for every transaction. One entry to reflect where the money came from and the other to reflect where it went. It is the standard method of accounting world-wide.

Data from any tab-delimited or comma-separated file can be imported into MYOB. Quicken files can also be imported. However, my Quicken files would not import into MYOB. The import screen doesn’t support long file names either. This is a worry as we approach the new millennium --- obviously the code is old, DOS-based and hasn’t been upgraded.

Using MYOB FirstAccounts New Data File Assistant, I was able to set up and configure a new account easily. There is also a list of templates to simplify creating a chart of accounts.

Quicken CashBook uses categories and accounts instead of a traditional chart of accounts. This could affect a business looking for a traditional way of doing things. I think software should complement a manual system rather than force a departure from a well running and understood manual system.

Entering information to print an invoice is simple enough in FirstAccounts. However, the invoice I printed out in Quicken CashBook looked more professional then the one from MYOB FirstAccounts. MYOB FirstAccounts has tools for customising invoices --- unfortunately, they did not seem to be intuitive to use.

If you are running a small to medium sized business and need a payroll solution or time billing facilities as well, you can chose between MYOB Accounting Plus or QuickBooks Pro.

Quicken’s QuickBooks Pro version 7.3 comes with a comprehensive manual, a quickstart guide, an online banking resource guide and a GST guide.

I found the program very easy to install and easily imported my data from CashBook. You can also import from previous versions of Quicken.

If you are used to the earlier versions of Quicken CashBook, you will find the QuickBooks Pro interface very different, but easy to use.

QuickBooks Pro 7.3 has gone to a lot of trouble to make the GST and BAS preparation seem easy.

However, the manual has quite obviously been put together in a hurry. It is identical to the version 7.0 manual --- they have not even bothered to do a global search and replace on the version numbers.

I thought the QuickBooks GST Guide far more informative then the GST Transitional Assistant included with MYOB Accounting Plus. The QuickBooks Pro GST guide has a whole chapter devoted to the BAS and even an index.

The ATO provides a software application for lodging the BAS over the Internet. It is not yet possible to export this BAS information directly into the ATO software to submit it electronically. Although it looks like QuickBooks Pro is moving in this direction. No doubt MYOB are working on something similar.

Upgrading from MYOB FirstAccounts to MYOB Accounting Plus is easy. Both programs have a similar look and feel. MYOB FirstAccounts struck me as a dumbed down version that talks in terms of spending and receiving money, while MYOB Accounting Plus prefers creditors and debtors.

Like QuickBooks Pro, MYOB reports provide the necessary data to complete the BAS form --- provided you have set up your account correctly.

MYOB includes BASlink --- a template to help automate the process of completing the BAS. However you need to have Microsoft Excel to do this. If you do not use Microsoft Excel you have to collate this information manually.

MYOB’s Officelink exports data to Excel, or can be used with Word or WordPerfect to create mail-merged letters.

Both Quicken and MYOB products need to be registered. Unregistered programs will only open data files 25 times before locking up until a registration number is provided.

Ultimately all these programs do the same thing --- deciding which one to use boils down to personal preference. QuickBooks Pro looks to be ideal for generating and printing reports, but my personal accountant prefers the activity reports generated by MYOB, saying they are more useful.

MYOB and QuickBooks Pro come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, while the small print on the QuickBooks Pro box promises free GST updates to registered customers of versions 6 and 7 until 1July 2000.

MYOB offers MYOB Cover --- available for a yearly subscription fee. This ensures you get priority technical support and the latest updates and upgrades.

It is obvious MYOB and Quicken have rushed to make their programs GST ready, so I will be most surprised if these products don’t get upgraded before 2001. And while they both trumpet their solutions as being the best for helping businesses change over to the new system, I don’t see them rushing to offer free upgrades to help you keep up with any new reporting requirements that may still come from the ATO. So you can now be sure of three things. Death, taxes and paying for upgrades.