Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have been a QuickBooks Pro and Enhanced Payroll (they changed the name to Enhanced Payroll several years ago) for years. I am a small business consultant and do books for several of my clients. I am also a professor of finance at a large university. Although QuickBooks has risen to become the "standard" in business accounting, I am questioning how long they can last at that high pinnacle. First, they stop supporting software after about 5 years even though users of their Payroll software must purchase updates annually. Second, if you are a follower of QuickBooks pricing, you will notice prices going up each year by $50 per year. QuickBooks recently sent me a letter offering me a "valued customer" discount of $499.00 for both QuickBooks and Enhanced Payroll software (you can buy both for about $299.00 on Amazon). Last year, I renewed my Enhanced Payroll subscription with Amazon for $195.99. This year the same renewal is $249.99 (much more if you allow QuickBooks to automatically renew your subscription -- they require a credit card number to proceed with your install). Third, when you get the software, you cannot load it and make it all work without help from QuickBooks phone support. I end up on the phone each year for at least and hour. In addition, the support is not from the US, so they don't usually understand what you need help with and you must be transferred several times. When you update QuickBooks Pro, there are other problems, such as formatting your old version files to the new version software. Files need to be corrected on your computer hard drive, with the help from support. That total software update call can last more than a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I have too much invested with QuickBooks to change now, but if you are starting out, you may want to investigate PeachTree, or some other competing software products before you get in too deep.