QuickBooks 2002 Is Here

I received my copy of the newest version of QuickBooks last Friday. I have been very excited about this version because it is supposed to have some new features allowing better customization and remote access that should make it easier for us to train clients to handle their bookkeeping tasks as efficiently as possible. In fact, for the past month, I had been advising people who were planning to get started on QuickBooks to hold off buying the 2001 version and wait for the 2002 one to come out.

The program is supposed to be available to the public as of today. The best prices I have seen for Quicken & QuickBooks programs are generally at the warehouse stores, such as Sams Club or by clicking one of the QuickBooks banners on my website, which should be functional in the next day or two.

I have QuickBooks 2002 installed on one of my computers & will be working with it as much as possible this week. I will be sharing my tips & observations. If I ever get caught up with my tax return backlog, I also plan on producing an instructional video, similar to the popular one I did a few years ago for Quicken, except that this will be on CD-ROM instead of VHS tape.

KMK

Who Wants Higher Taxes?

It has long been one of my pet peeves that many of the people who support high tax politicians have a very different attitude when it comes to their own personal taxes. The word hypocrisy fits perfectly here.

As a kind of experiment, in the 2000 income tax organizer we sent to our clients, I included a question as to who they voted for in the 2000 presidential election. The purpose wasn’t to be any kind of scientific poll or contrast with the Florida recount stats, because I expected most people to be on the same wave-length as me in support of the more anti-tax candidates. That was the case, with most people who answered the question (some did refuse) indicating their votes for George Bush or Harry Browne. However, I have already seen about a half dozen honest (or foolish) enough to indicate that they voted for Al Gore. Now the point. Did these clients ask me to go easy on their tax return and make sure they could do as Al Gore believes, and pay in as much tax as possible? Fat chance of that.

Here in Arkansas, Governor Mike Huckabee is doing a similar thing to expose hypocrisy. As this article in the Washington Times describes, he set up a “Tax Me More Fund.” In spite of a daily onslaught of letters to the editor in the Arkansas papers screaming for higher taxes, only $260 has been collected in this new fund. As word gets out about this fund, maybe it will grow; but I doubt if that will happen. High tax advocates only want them for everyone else. According to this report in Arkansas Business, even the Gov is not planning to contribute to this new fund.

KMK