So long Office Accounting; bye-bye Microsoft Money

October 30, 1:28 PMSF Microsoft Office ExaminerSharon Slayton

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What does Microsoft have to say about the demise of Accounting Professional?

screenshot, SMSlayton 10/30/2009

In a move designed to trim back Microsoft’s over-stuffed product line, the company recently announced that they will stop distributing its accounting product line - specifically, Office Accounting Express. The product was launched in 2005, but has never been able to keep up or even make a ding in Intuit’s command of the small accounting software market.

What does this mean to the owners of the Microsoft Office Accounting products? A quick trip to the Accounting page at www.office.microsoft.com yields a surprise - Microsoft Office Accounting is still for sale, but will not be distributed after November 16, 2009. Product support will continue for some features, although "Online sales from eBay and credit profile from Equifax will no longer be available after December 15, 2009," "However, your customers will still be able to pay e-mailed invoices directly through PayPal. In addition, credit card processing services and the ability to order compatible checks and forms will still be available." The software maker said it will stop distributing its free Office Accounting Express as well as all of the paid Office Accounting product in the United States and United Kingdom. Also, refunds are available to customers who have purchased the software within the last 30 days.

Another quick trip to the Microsoft Money page clues us in to another fact - (http://www.microsoft.com/money/default.mspx) Microsoft Money Plus sales ended earlier this year on June 30th. As Microsoft tells it; “With banks, brokerage firms and Web sites now providing a range of options for managing personal finances, the consumer need for Microsoft Money Plus has changed.” Intuit, Microsoft Accounting’s chief competitor, however, seems to be thriving.

According to Microsoft, former Accounting users should be satisfied with a combination of solutions from Excel and Word Templates, and services provided by the customer’s online financial institution services. On the other hand, QuickBooks and Quicken seem to be perfectly good (not to mention stable) alternatives. I don’t know how easy or difficult file transfers will be for these individuals, however; looks like there will be a lot of folks needing some training in converting data to Excel spreadsheets and importing to other applications!