RIP Microsoft Office Accounting 2004-09

Posted by John Stokdyk PM | on Wed, 04/11/2009 - 09:13 2523 1 comment

From the test lab to the grave: the progress of Microsoft Office Accounting as recounted by key industry figures during the past five years.

“A free download as part of Office… what's that about? What are they trying to achieve there? I suspect they'll do very badly because accountants don’t believe in stuff when it’s free, and Microsoft don't do support.” Paul Stobart, Nov 2006

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“After evaluating the product over the past few years we have determined that other Microsoft offerings such as free templates in the Office system used with Excel and the Dynamics product are able to meet our customers’ needs. The Office Small Business web site has links to free templates for small businesses, such as invoices, expenses, time sheets, budgets and more and Microsoft’s Small Business Center is also a great resource for small businesses.” Microsoft FAQ, 30 Oct 2009

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“It was the right product at the wrong time. It was quite complex to use and set up and nobody was interested in another traditional accounting application...” Xero UK managing director Gary Turner (ex Pegasus and Microsoft Dynamics), Nov 2009

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“The world overtook them. When it comes to accounting software, small companies and start-ups look online... It’s a good indication that desktop software is old fashioned... If Microsoft, the poster boy for old style software, pulls out of the accounting software market, I expect we’ll see more desktop apps being abandoned.” Kashflow founder and managing director Duane Jackson, Nov 2009

Continued...

Trust in a Product needs to be Earned

onesys | Thu, 05/11/2009 - 08:56 | Permalink

Confidence and trust has a lot to do with it. No one can deny that Microsoft is a trusted brand but its accounting product was unproven in this arena. SaaS systems will have to prove themselves too.

Small business owners must have confidence in the whole package – supplier, brand, reputation, price, functionality, flexibility, easy installation, user-friendliness, available training, affordable support, ongoing product development, data security, business continuity, have I left anything out? Oh yes, it has to be cheap! And that’s why every product out there is a compromise. Obviously MS Office Accounting had too many elements missing for it to be attractive enough.

Even the much praised SaaS Cloud Computing applications will have an uphill struggle in the UK, especially in the small business market, as reputations and trust have to be earned.

One of the software products we sell, Sage Coretime, is a spreadsheet replacement product for the recording and management of timesheet, expenses and project data. We offer service sector clients server-based and SaaS versions but 95% of them still choose the server-based version.

Businesses in the UK are only just getting used to the idea of sourcing and buying products / services online. Entrusting the smooth running of your accounts department / business and the security of confidential data to unproven products, new companies or the UK’s ‘Heath-Robinson’ internet system is clearly difficult for many.