Microsoft launches Office Accounting 2008

Microsoft has just announced the long awaited Office Accounting. The idea took shape at Microsoft in 2001 and Microsoft has been promising its release into the UK for the last 2/3 years – and now it is here! There is a free version – Accounting Office Express and an an enhanced version – Accounting Professional – from £149.99 per user. Further users/modules are priced seperately.

So will this product take off? Early review of the product indicate some positive features – including strong integration with the core Office products. The product also has some data conversion capabilities for Sage which might attract some users to switch products

So where will this go?  Microsoft have not made a stonking success of their various products/attempts to gain a dominant position in this market over the last decade. Some may remember that Microsoft has had two entry level products in the past – Microsoft Profit and Microsoft Money. Some years ago also they tried to buy Intuit – the authors of Quickbooks. However the current pricing makes it an attractive alternative for say Sage or Quickbooks so maybe it will take off.

Sageline 50 – the dominant SME product in use in the UK, has been around for almost ever. However users often have mixed views of the ease of use/functionaility of the product. Could Microsoft take Sage head on in this space?

It is certainly worth having a look at this product if you are unhappy with your existing software – and you can download the Express version for free.