Luke Celente: Top Features that Sell Clients on Office Accounting 2007 Every Time

By Stephen Dow

Luke Celente, VP of Sales at Computer Solutions East in New Rochelle, NY, knows how Office Accounting 2007 benefits small business users from first-hand experience. Since making the switch himself from QuickBooks in February of 2007, convincing his small business clients to switch to Office Accounting 2007 has gotten much easier, even in an industry that is reluctant to change.

“Once you show people how you are using Office Accounting 2007 and how easy it is to make the switch, clients are more open to trying it out,” Luke says. When a client decides to make Office Accounting 2007 their primary accounting software, Computer Solutions East guides each client through the installation and set up process. And since Office Accounting 2007 is so easy to learn, Luke says “it pretty much runs itself after that.”

Computer Solutions East supports small businesses of 75 people or less and acts largely as the system integrator of the accounting network. Luke stresses that while they aren’t accountants, they are well aware of the top concerns of accounting professionals, from data integrity to security. Each system is developed to make it easy for the small business to be running in top form quickly after integration.

Comfortable interface, major features

But what is driving customers from their tried-and-true accounting software? Luke says “The strongest feature of Office Accounting 2007 is Outlook integration.” His clients love the ability to use one Outlook contact list to view accounts, schedule jobs using the Outlook calendar, and combine both features to track and send billing statements.

Another major selling point is the familiar interface. While other accounting packages offer workspaces that are notoriously user-unfriendly, Office Accounting 2007’s look and feel is instantly recognizable to any Office user.

But it’s the productivity features in Office Accounting 2007 that often seal the deal, especially the features that QuickBooks doesn’t have. Luke cites PayPal credit card processing and ADP and Equifax integration as big selling points. Also, clients respond well to how easy it is to customize reports and manipulate data. By eliminating third-party solutions and taking care of business in one software solution, clients are able to get more from their data in less time.

The Secret Weapon: Scalability

“The hidden advantage of using Office Accounting 2007 is the scalability factor,” says Luke. Since Office Accounting 2007 is used as a starting point for any small business, it’s easy to create direct migration paths to other Microsoft Accounting software. Businesses can start with Office Accounting 2007, and then easily upgrade to Small Business Financials or Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) when they need a more robust solution. “Quickbook users face a bigger challenge as they are pretty much stuck with the one product,” Luke says. The Microsoft accounting software provides a scalable path that allows users to move their data easily from one package to another as their business grows.

So with Luke as daily user and advocate of Office Accounting 2007, he’s finding more and more of his clients making the switch. If you’d like to speak with Computer Support East about their Office Accounting 2007 experience or inquire about their consulting services, call them at 1-914-437-8458 or visit them on the web at www.computersolutionseast.com.

 

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Microsoft.