I've been managing with Quicken 2006. It has lots of categories (auto, clothing, ...) that aren't used for PTO, but it does give me a good place to record expenses and income and reconcile the bank statement. The older versions of Quicken can be found on eBay for not too much. Note the "free" copy that you can get with TurboTax doesn't allow importing of old data. I was fortunate to have Quicken info from 10+ years of our PTO, because I needed it for the 501c3 application.
I don't know what the difference is between Quicken and QuickBooks, though I have heard that accountants like QuickBooks. That's not an issue for me, since I do the tax returns. I assume QB would allow import from Q, since it's a more "professional" (=expensive) program.
QuickBooks by Intuit is an excellent program with a minimal learning curve for the things that come up in a PTO. I'm not sure, but you may be able to download the program instead of buying it at the store. In the future, (if there is one), many accountants can use info directly exported from QuickBooks to prepare tax returns, etc.
We must be the change we wish to see in the world - <i>Mahatma Gandhi</i>
Our PTO may cease to exist after this school year as our school may be closing.
I am desperately looking for a way to simplify my ability to do my job as treasurer for the remainder of the school year, and make it easier for the incoming treasurer, if our school does stay open. I will be unable to continue as treasurer due to redistricting which affects my children regardless.
I have found Microsoft Office Accounting Express but am unsure how others might have this set up. I am looking for suggestions on how to set this up, including whether to choose a specific business design during the set-up stage of the program.
Is there a simpler program out there than this? Not looking for anything online yet. If we stay open, I will push to subscribe to the PTO Today program.
Believe me, I would love to use the PTO Today software, but with our uncertainty, that is not an option so I am looking to make due with what I can find. It does not have to be a free version either. The spreadsheets currently being used and passed along just don't cut it.
Thank you for any suggestions,
Rolinda, FOM Treasurer
