Intuit introduces QuickBooks for Macintosh; the No. 1 selling accounting package is now available for the Macintosh

Business Wire, Jan 3, 1995

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 3, 1995--Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Tuesday introduced QuickBooks 3.0 for Macintosh.

For the first time Mac users will be able to take advantage of Intuit's best-selling, easy-to-use accounting software for small business owners.

"QuickBooks for Macintosh is fundamentally different from other accounting software, because it allows small business people to work in a manner that comes easily and naturally to them," said Scott Cook, chairman and co-founder of Intuit. "Our customers have been clamoring for a version of QuickBooks for the Macintosh. In fact, a Mac version of QuickBooks is the number one request of our Quicken for Macintosh users."

QuickBooks for Macintosh has been developed with the same ease of use philosophy that is behind Quicken for Macintosh, the No. 1 selling personal finance software package. Familiar forms like the check screen and check register make the software easy for users to understand. In addition to the basic business features of Quicken, QuickBooks for Macintosh will provide a complete set of business features including invoicing, automated accounts receivable, payroll, inventory, and much more.

QuickBooks is the Accounting Software Leader

QuickBooks for Windows is the number one selling small business accounting software, outselling all of its competitors combined, according to PC Data. Since QuickBooks was introduced in September 1993, the Windows accounting market has grown more than 290 percent. According to the Software Publishers Association, QuickBooks is responsible for three-fourths of that growth.

Strong Focus on Ease of Use

QuickBooks is fundamentally easier than traditional accounting software packages for the following reasons:

-- No prior accounting knowledge is needed to use QuickBooks for Macintosh. QuickBooks for Macintosh uses language understandable to non-accountants. This is important because according to research from Intuit two-thirds of small business people say they do not understand debit/credit accounting.

-- Familiar forms for data entry. Intuit pioneered the use of familiar, friendly forms to enter data. Checks, check registers, invoices, and purchase orders all look like their paper equivalents. QuickBooks for Macintosh is the only product that makes extensive use of such familiar screens for data entry.

-- Three minute start up. QuickBooks for Macintosh allows you to start writing your first invoices within minutes. Most other accounting products require you to first set up all your accounts and balances before you can get down to business. QuickBooks for Macintosh's ease of use dramatically cuts the new-user learning curve.

-- Easy corrections. All small business people make mistakes as they enter data into accounting software. QuickBooks for Macintosh makes it easy to find those mistakes (with features like QuickZoom and QuickReports) and easily correct them. And QuickBooks is the only software that keeps an audit trail when you make a change directly to an on-screen form.

QuickBooks works the way small business people do

Intuit's philosophy is to build easy-to-use products that work the way their customers do. QuickBooks for Macintosh is one more example of an Intuit product that fulfills this need. Several of the product's features demonstrate this philosophy.

-- Truly flexible reporting. QuickBooks for Macintosh customizable reports give users tremendous insight into their business. For example, QuickBooks is the only product that allows drill-down (QuickZoom) from basic reports like the P&L and balance sheet. QuickBooks for Macintosh is the only product that allows users to see their profits over any period -- even weekly.

And QuickBooks' point-and-click report customization interface offers users the easiest way to get the reports they need to see exactly what's going on in their business. Finally, the QuickBooks for Macintosh audit trail report keeps a record of all changes to the data, without requiring users to understand debit/credit accounting.

-- Easy inventory management. QuickBooks for Macintosh seamlessly generates purchase orders, tracks goods that are on-hand and on-order, and creates insightful inventory reports. Unlike other accounting software that forces users to track their inventory in a single, rigid way, QuickBooks for Macintosh allows small businesses to receive shipments of goods before, during or after receiving the bill; to receive shipments against a single or multiple purchase orders, or no purchase order at all; to receive complete or partial shipments; and to edit or correct any transaction at any time.

By working the way small business people really work, QuickBooks for Macintosh saves them time, makes their inventory quantities and financial records more accurate, and shows them exactly what's going on in their business at any time. And for service businesses that don't need inventory management, QuickBooks for Macintosh provides the unique flexibility to "turn off" inventory.