I use Microsoft Money. It is simple to use so I could pass it down to the next Treasurer, even if they aren't comfortable with accounting software. "Money" lets me categorize income and expenses so I can run reports for different events. You don't deal with any "debits/credits" like some accounting programs. I think the reports area is a plus. I just put in the date parameters and can print off my monthly report. Plus run any reports for events that we do.
There is an area for budgeting, but out PTO doesn't have a formal budget so I haven't used it.
Some observations:
>> Quicken will do just fine -- but as Critter indicates, you may want to use Excel
to personalize, etc.
>> QuickBooks Pro is even better in my view --- PLEASE NOTE -- it is NOT necessary to have the current edition; suggest you go to eBay and buy even the QBPro editions as far back as 2002 for a very small fee.
I have used Quicken for 4 years but rely on excel for my monthly treasurer's report because I like the formatting better. My 5yr-old version of quicken is great for transaction processing, assigning categories, and reconciling the checkbook. Very easy to set up and use. But I can't get it to do the kind of "Performance To Budget" calcs I want. Anyway, it works fine and the amount of time I need to transfer the monthly numbers to excel is minimal.
I know some people swear by Quickbooks, but I think it's a couple of hundred dollars. Last time I checked, a new copy of basic Quicken(all you need) is about $30. MSMoney may be another low cost option.
I really encourage you to have the PTO buy the software you select and then stick with it even when you change treasurers. It's so much easier to train a new treasurer if you are training on the same software. At one of our PTO's, the treasurer decided she wanted to use her personal copy of quickbooks instead of Quicken. Since the PTO doesn't own quickbooks, I don't know what the new treasurer is going to do. She'll have to teach quicken to herself, I guess.
I am taking over the Treasurer position in our PTO and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good software program for keeping our budget and keeping our books straight. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
