Intuit slow on Quicken and Quickbooks for Linux

Stan Beer
Sunday, 11 November 2007 10:56

Opinion and Analysis

The next package I tried, GNUCash, did not require any downloading because it comes packaged with the Ubuntu. Just use the add/remove programs and the Synaptic package manager installs it for you. GNUCash is an ongoing open source project and can also be downloaded from websites gnucash.org (where you can find most of what you need to know about the product) and sourceforge.net.

GNUCash aims a bit higher than Moneydance, targeting not only the consumer market for personal finances management but also the small business market addressed by Quickbooks. Among the functions that GNUCash can handle are tasks such as Double-Entry Accounting, Stock/Bond/Mutual Fund Accounts, Small-Business Accounting, Customers, Vendors, Jobs, Invoices, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable - all small business tasks.

The user interface is nowhere near as slick as Moneydance 2007, but this is clearly software aimed more at business users than consumers and everything seems straightforward and easy enough to understand. Importantly for Quicken users, you can import QIF files, as well as a range of other formats such as OFX and HBIC. If I were a small business user running Linux, I would certainly consider GNUCash, since it appears to be very well supported and, despite what some posters on some forums say, the learning curve does not appear to be all that steep - then again I don't have to use it!

Another possible replaced replacement for Quickbooks is Qasar from Linux Canada which is released under both GPL and commercial licenses. I have to admit that I didn't have a close look at this one although I did go through a 60 page features presentation. It looks like it can handle pretty much most small business accounting functions, including retail. There doesn't seem to be a download tailored for Ubuntu though, which is a little surprising. However, I assume from discussions on the Ubuntu Forums that it can be tweaked to run on Gutsy Gibbon without too much angst.

I also didn't try Kmymoney , another personal finances manager capable of importing QIF files which is getting good reviews. Kmymoney is for distros running a KDE interface. The screenshots look fairly impressive.

Another package worth looking at is Grisbi , a personal finances manager that seems to have been designed to run on just about anything. However, I couldn't get it to install on Gutsy Gibbon - allthough I admit I was tired and didn't try too hard.

The conclusion to all of the above is that there are quite a few inexpensive but powerful options out there for businesses and individuals looking for financial packages to run on their Linux desktops. It would be nice if Intuit got off its collective backside and also made its products available for Linux desktop users. However, since Intuit doesn't think those users are important, I don't see any reason for them to wait until the company changes its mind when they have a number of viable alternatives available right here and now.