Jimmy Neidert: Office Accounting 2008 Offers His Clients More Reasons To Make The Switch

By Lynn Yoffee

As a computer systems builder and service provider, Jimmy Neidert, founder of JFN Technologies Inc., always preferred Microsoft Office Accounting to other accounting software and recommended it to his clients. But when he test drove the 2008 version, he was wowed with some of the newest features.

For starters, switching from QuickBooks to Office Accounting has never been easier with the new 2008  import tool.

"I was working with a client when we had Office Accounting 2007 and she wanted to import QuickBooks data, but some of the data was going to be lost in the conversion. When the 2008 version came out with an  import tool, I was able to get her to finally make the switch," said Neidert, whose company is located in Lakeville, Minnesota.

"One of the hesitations people have had in converting so far has been the steps to take when you convert. Now that 2008 is out, it has an easy conversion tool that's very easy to install. You are prompted to download the tool during the installation process. It's pretty seamless. My client didn't lose any data and it was a complete conversion."

Neidert launched JFN Technologies to help customers improve and streamline their lives and small businesses with computing solutions. With 25 years of experience in the electronics and computing industry supporting computers of all sizes, Neidert specializes in building computers exactly to his customers' needs. Now Neidert feels as though he has even more firepower when offering customized features for clients, particularly Office Accounting.

For example, another new feature of the 2008 edition is the ability to export to Adobe  PDF versions, an option Neidert's accounting clients really appreciate.

"Now they can send invoices by e-mail instead of printing them out and mailing them," he says. "Previously, you could send an e-mail, but you were restricted to using Word. PDF is preferred by my clients because it cannot be edited."

Neidert's clients continue to appreciate Office Accounting's easy integration with Outlook with Business Contact Manager. "If I'm in Outlook with BCM, I can look at customer financial data without having the Office Accounting package open. No other product comes close to offering this type of integration."

These are the kinds of conveniences that are especially helpful to Neidert's client base, which consists primarily of small businesses – companies with five to 15 computers. But they come from virtually every market. His clients' needs vary somewhat, but as a one-stop-shop for computing solutions, Neidert knows that accounting packages are a key step for small companies moving from paper bookkeeping to electronic accounting.

"One company I work with integrated with Outlook with Business Contact Manager They found that they can do their scheduling through BCM, and then make their billable time show up in Office Accounting, where invoices get done almost automatically. It's an efficient time-saving tool for them to use with all their people in their field," he said.

The Resource Center is an added bonus, Neidert says, with lots of handy tools, from an accountant locater to PayPal integration, which helps his clients get paid faster.

"The best thing about Office Accounting is the interface. It's so similar to Outlook that it's like one product. It gives a comfortable, warm feeling. It's one less thing to learn. With QuickBooks, it's chaotic," he says.

Contact Jimmy Neidert at (952) 223-0379 or jimmy@jfntechnologies.com.

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