Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

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The Digital Photographer's Software Guide
Comments
There are some significant advantages to using a mainstream product instead of opting
for an industry-specific package from a smaller developer. First is the fact that it is much
more likely to be kept up-to-date, an important factor as regulations are always subject
to change. Second, the package is bound to be more cost effective because it has a wider
market. Third, as your business grow you can upgrade to higher editions or purchase
additional licenses. For many photographers these factors outweigh any possible downside.
QuickBooks Pro may be all you need, but if you are putting together a business plan,
it is better to get QuickBooks Premier with its features for generating sales and expense
forecasts. Getting started with either product is very straightforward; and there are plenty
of training opportunities at Small Business Development Centers in the United States.
Version: QuickBooks 2008
OS: Windows XP (SP2 or later strongly recommended), 2003 Server, and Vista
RAM: 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended)
Supported file formats: Spreadsheet and word processing formats
Price level: QuickBooks Pro $200, QuickBooks Premier $450 (both approx.)
Address: Intuit, Inc., 2632 Marine Way, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States
quickbooks.intuit.com
Summary
Professional photographers have the option of using an all-in-one solution that will
let them adjust their images and manage their business, but increasingly they choose
best-of-breed photo processing software and an entirely separate system for running the
studio. Both kinds of software are discussed in this chapter. ExpressDigital Darkroom
is a complete workflow tool with facilities for pricing, shipping, tax, and so on.
SuccessWare and The Photographic Organiser both concentrate on the business aspects
of professional photography. SuccessWare is strong on forward planning; TPO
successfully integrates all relevant functions, from client contact to invoicing and reporting.
All the products listed are “photo-specific” except for QuickBooks, a popular
general accounting package that may be all you need for running your business.