Apple Macs in Practice?

Apple Macs in Practice?

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I've recently become a convert to Macs, having been a PC person all my life up until now.

I find them speedy, reliable and easy to use. I'm just wondering whether anyone's managed to run their general practice on Apple Macs, and if so, which software they find best.

We have 3 networked computers, and run Digita and Keytime, as well as the usual SAGE, Quickbooks etc. for client records.

Can it be done?

Andy

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By simagnus
04th Aug 2005 11:26

Using Apple Macs in practise - we do!
Yes it can be done but it is not always easy.

We use MYOB for as much as possible - accounts prep and payroll - it also works cross-platform for clients accounts.
The alternative is Sage using Virtual PC - slowly.

Our SA returns are Excel based (I convert them myself from windows).

The hardest part is wp accounts using Excel/Word. You have to do all the wording yourself - no packages but then no waiting for an update!

We use a network of 17 Macs and most of my staff prefer them to PC's. The e-mail & web does not have the virus problems that PC's do.

If you want to e-mail me for more info. [email protected]

Stuar Magnus
Newton Magnus & Co


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By carnmores
04th Aug 2005 18:02

God does everything come out in triplicate!
sure Macs are cool, but doing SA returns on spreadsheets is hardly a competitor advantage.

johns comment about ASP is more credible, but i still have doubts whether we will go this way,see Murphys practical tips and related responses.

dont change even with the emulation they have. if you are rebooting your system stay with PCs for practice

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By carnmores
09th Aug 2005 13:29

thinking about this
i have recently received an email from Apple stores about business days. apparentlt these happen on a wednesday, go to the website to find the nearest store to you and go along. would love to hear what you think.

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John Stokdyk, AccountingWEB head of insight
By John Stokdyk
01st Aug 2005 15:52

Of course it can be done...
... but you may have to consider compromises and limitations due to your love of Macs, Andy.

As a Mac owner, I share your admiration for the hardware and operating system, but you will have to accept that because so many accountancy firms and client organisations use PCs, you will be in a minority when it comes to specialist accountancy software.

Many times we have catalogued the available bookkeeping and accounting software (MYOB & Hansa spring to mind), but you're on weaker ground when you stray into tax and practice management tools.

In another instance, one of the respondents to our Paperless Office survey project is a Mac user, but I have so far been unable to find a document management program for him to test. I will alert this member to your query and perhaps he can offer you advice.

If you are working closely with design and print organisations, you may find there are advantages in having common computer systems - and I suspect there will be time & fees and even project management/accounting tools devised for advertising/design/architecture that would probably adapt very well to accountancy.

When I was in publishing, we had Macs and PCs and were able to link them for data exchange. For software that will only work on a PC, you can either link one into your network, or run the code on a PC emulator.

While thinking about the situation, I realised that the Mac's under-representation in accountancy doesn't have to be a drawback - more and more software is being hosted and delivered via the net, and as long as your browsers are compatible with the host platform, you could always look into using an application service provider (ASP) for your office systems. this could be the way everyone buys their software in a few years, so why wait?

Try searching for "Apple" from the Any Answers search box and you should find some useful previous discussions on this subject.

John Stokdyk
Technology editor
AccountingWEB.co.uk

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