Posts Tagged ‘Windows 7’

QuickBooks 2010 has been released. The product can be purchased on line via the QuickBooks website www.quickbooks.co.uk

Key features in QuickBooks 2010

• Works with Windows 7
• Multicurrency is included
• Improved VAT handling

The software is available for download from the QuickBooks website now, but if you purchase the boxed version with an installation CD this is not expected to ship until 1st June and then you need to allow 5 days for shipping.

Before you upgrade from an earlier version of QuickBooks please read this important information.

If you are interested in buying the boxed product at a discount then please get in touch via our contact page.

As I mentioned previously I have been beta testing QuickBooks 2010. QuickBooks 2010 beta testing is progressing very well. The exact release date has not yet been published but I would expect it to be within the next two or three weeks.

I’d like to give you a sneak preview of some of the features in QuickBooks 2010. First of all, having been absent in QuickBooks 2008, multicurrency returns in QuickBooks 2010. I know that many of you have been looking forward to the return of this feature. Updating of exchange rates is automated.

QuickBooks 2010 will operate on Windows 7.

The handling of VAT has also been given a major overhaul. Using QuickBooks 2010 will enable you to file your VAT online, in accordance with the latest government requirements. For those people who like to see the old manual accounting Sales Day book there is the addition of a Sales Day book report. There is also a more user-friendly method for changing the rate of VAT (and looking at the political news, I think this will be needed soon!). There is also a VAT exception report to help track down any VAT oddities.

I have not been able to test it but it looks like the limit on the maximum number of networked users has been increased. I am looking forward to the official release statement to see if this is true.

The built-in help system has been improved and it now looks like the USA version of QuickBooks. In addition, the procedure for upgrading from previous versions has been improved and it is now possible to email invoices in batches, rather than one at a time.

There is also a feature called Company Snapshot which presents a quick graphic view of the company’s performance.

Summary of main changes in QuickBooks 2010

• Multicurrency is back in QuickBooks 2010
• Works with Windows 7
• VAT filing online
• Sales Day book report
• Easier VAT rate changing procedure
• Possible increase in the number of multiple users
• Tools to help while upgrading from previous versions
• Send email invoices in batches
• Company Snapshot report

I will issue an update when I get word of the QuickBooks 2010 release date.

QuickBooks UK and Windows 7

In this report I will explain the current situation regarding QuickBooks 2006 and 2008 and Windows 7. I will explain the problems and give a solution.

According to the official QuickBooks UK site QuickBooks 2006 and 2008 are not compatible with Windows 7.

Although QuickBooks 2006 and 2008 versions will install successfully on Windows 7, these products are not supported by Intuit to be compatible with Windows 7.

Also QuickBooks UK will not be issuing updates to QuickBooks 2006 0r 2008 to make them compatible.

We do not plan to release any updates to make these products compatible with Windows 7. We are working hard to bring a new version of QuickBooks to the UK market which is compatible with Windows 7.

Read their full comment on the official QuickBooks UK site.

Here is my personal experience of using QuickBooks 2006 and 2008 with Windows 7:-

• Initially the installation of QuickBooks 2006 and 2008 on Windows 7 can appear to work successfully. However error messages start appearing within the following days and weeks.
• A major problem is that Windows 7 includes a program called .Net Framework which is supplied with Windows 7 as a built in component. The program .Net Framework is used by QuickBooks for its large library of coded solutions to common programming problems.
• The problem is Windows 7 comes with version 3.5 of .Net Framework, but when you install QuickBooks on to a Windows 7 PC the installation routine installs version 1.1 of .Net Framework.
• These two versions of .Net seem to cause the conflicts which make QuickBooks work unreliable.
• Other software programs make use of .Net and they can fail to work correctly with both .Net versions installed.
• I have not had any success trying to removing the earlier version of .Net. In fact I ended up re-installing Windows 7 to correct it.
• Also QuickBooks 2006 and 2008 prefer to work with Internet Explorer 6. The newer versions of Internet Explorer (which are supplied with Windows 7) give script errors when running the graphic overviews (like the the Home navigator screen).

Due to the above reasons I have found QuickBooks 2006 and 2008 unworkable on Windows 7. However I have found a solution.

Solution – Windows 7 and QuickBooks 2006 and 2008

For the last 3 months I have successfully been using QuickBooks 2006 and 2008 on Windows 7 using Windows 7′s “Virtual XP Mode”.  Virtual XP Mode should not be confused with the XP Compatibility mode which is available in all versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Virtual XP Mode is only available with Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise editions. So this will not work if you have the Windows 7 Home edition. The purpose of Virtual XP mode is to create a window, in which the XP operating system works using the Ram memory of the PC. Check the Microsoft Virtual XP Mode site for details.

In this Virtual XP Mode window your PC creates a version of Windows XP and so none of the QuickBook/Windows 7 compatibilities discussed above cause problems.

Windows 7 in Virtual XP mode running QuickBooks

When you set up the Virtual XP Mode you assign a portion of your Ram memory to the installation of XP. I recommend using 1 Gb of Ram for the XP installation. I  have tested this with a PC with 6Gb of Ram running Windows 7 Professional 64 bit operating system. and it works well. Setting up printers to work with Virtual XP Mode can be a bit awkward because you have to select the port number manually.

Windows 7 is supplied in 32 and 64 bit versions. If you are given the option then choose the 64 bit version because this allows you to overcome the Ram memory of 3.5Gb (approximate) that the 32 bit version has. I have not tried Windows 7 (32 bit) with Virtual XP mode but it is supported by Microsoft.

Apart from the printer issue, everything works as it should do. I have not tested this with earlier versions of QuickBooks but I would expect it to work with any QuickBooks version compatible with Windows XP.

I hope that this clarifies the current situation for you.

Following on from my original post, I can report the following versions of QuickBooks are all working all working well with Windows 7:-

• UK version of QuickBooks Accountant 2006. This is working in Windows XP SP3 compatibility mode.
• UK version of QuickBooks Premier 2008.
• USA version of QuickBooks Premier – Accountant 2009.

I’m afraid I haven’t installed USA QuickBooks 2010 yet, but I wouldn’t expect any problems with it.

Overall Windows 7 is a vast improvement over Vista in terms of speed and stability.  Windows 7 is now my daily operating system of choice.

I have obtained a copy of the American version of QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2009, as part of my joining the American QuickBooks ProAdvisor scheme.  I have chosen to install it on a separate dual-boot hard drive in my PC. For the more technical of you, the specification of the PC is:

• AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ 3.00 GHz processor
• 4 Gb Ram
• 1000 Gb hard drive
• Running Window 7 Ultimate Evaluation Copy Build 7100

The QuickBooks install went without a hitch, just the usual “Next”, “Next” clicking routine.  I installed the Google option, and can confirm Charlie Russell’s findings about problems with Google.  Windows 7 gave an error message when trying to install Windows 7 updates. The error code indicated Google Desktop was at fault. Uninstalling Google Desktop allowed the Windows updates to work normally.

The QuickBooks 2009 installation worked well and appeared to open relatively quickly on Windows 7.  Updating QuickBooks to the latest version using automatic updates worked well.

So in conclusion QuickBooks 2009 and Windows 7 appear to be working harmoniously together.  I’ll use the system over the next few days and report back if any issues come up.

I have recently joined the QuickBooks ProAdvisor scheme in America.  Yesterday the starter pack arrived in the post. The list of software supplied is as follows:

• QuickBooks Accountant Edition 2009
• QuickBooks Simple Start 2009
• QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 2009
• QuickBooks Point of Sale 2009

This is a very impressive list, and when the QuickBooks 2010 software gets released, QuickBooks will be sending the 2010 versions.

I intend to run this on a PC I have which has Windows 7 on it. I will see how that install goes.  So far I have found that Windows 7 is like a version of  Windows Vista that works!  Think of it as Vista without the headache.

Okay, I work in the UK, so why do I want to join the QuickBooks ProAdvisor scheme in the USA?  Well my reasons are as follows:-

• In the UK we tend to get updated versions of QuickBooks many months/years after the USA. For example our version of QuickBooks 2008, which came out in 2007, still hasn’t been upgraded. In the States the QuickBooks 2010 is expected soon.
• I wanted to see the American versions to see what features would be coming our way in the next version. This way I would be ahead of the game.
• American companies operating in the UK would be using the UK or American versions of QuickBooks.  I see this as an opportunity to support these American based companies.

There is also the opportunity to train, and be certified, as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.  I have been a Quickbooks ProAdvisor in the UK for 5 years and I’m looking forward to the challenge of learning about these new versions of QuickBooks.

Initial impressions are that the support supplied by QuickBooks in the States, in terms of material available on their Prodvisor website and forums, looks superior to the UK’s.

I will keep you informed how I get on over the next few weeks.