Microsoft's Small Business Accounting Products

With Small Business Accounting, Microsoft plugs a gap in its product line, but customers will still need to examine the company’s small business accounting products to ensure that they get the product most appropriate for their needs.

Three-Product Lineup

Microsoft will have three distinct products in the small business accounting space by the end of 2005: Money Small Business Edition, Small Business Accounting, and Great Plains Small Business Manager (which will be renamed MBS Small Business Financials).

Money 2005 Small Business Edition, available for less than US$100, helps a very small business organize revenues and expenses, but it is not a double-entry accounting system and cannot be significantly extended by ISVs developers to meet the specific needs of particular types of business. It is best suited for home businesses or very small commercial operations with few employees, typically where the owner both runs the business and manages the books.

Small Business Accounting will offer a double-entry accounting system (although the complexities of double-entry accounting are hidden unless users specifically want to see them) that includes an audit trail and other features important for professional business management and financial recordkeeping. In most cases it will not require the services of a consultant to set up. Microsoft intends it for organizations of up to about 25 employees. Pricing and specific bundling has not been announced.