Much like shopping for cars, buying software can be daunting and frustrating as you try to compare all the different functionalities and find the right fit. To aid in your decision, we've provided a brief overview of the major features each program has to offer, along with pricing to meet your budget. Read the reviews to see how they perform.

	MYOB Plus 2004	QuickBooks Pro 2004	Simply Accounting Pro 2004
Pricing and licensing
	$249 single user; $149 each additional user; $119 upgrade; $199 multiuser upgrade	$299.95 single user, $199.95 upgrade; $749.95 five-user pack, $599.95 upgrade	$99 single user; $99 single-user upgrade; $269 five user; $99 each additional user
Features
Fee-based services
Direct deposit	$79 one-time setup fee; $50 one-time application fee; 39-cent-per-transaction fee; $14.95 monthly access fee	$74 one-time setup fee; $1.50 per transaction	$79 one-time setup fee; $1.50 transaction fee per bank account
Vendor payments	Bundled with direct deposit service	First month free, up to 20 payments; $15.95 per month for up to 20 payments; $6.95 for each additional set of 10 payments	N/A
Merchant account services	$70 one-time setup fee; $30 one-time application fee; 25-cent-per-transaction fee; $17.95 monthly statement fee	$59.95 one-time setup fee; 23-cent-per-transaction fee; $17.95 monthly fee	$69 one-time setup fee; $14.99 per month; 30-cent-per-transaction fee
Payroll	Pricing based on number of employees; contact company for quote	$169 per year	$149 per year
Online data backup	N/A	Free for first 30 days; $99.95 per year	$9.95 per month
Reporting
General ledger
Customer
Vendor
Inventory
Payroll
Graphs
Projection and tracking tools
Cash-flow projection
Vehicle mileage tracker	N/A		N/A
Fixed asset tracker	N/A		N/A
Support plans
Phone	No phone support with Basic plan; unlimited phone support (toll-free) with Complete plan ($249 per year or $20 per month); 30 days free installation support; Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET	Unlimited phone support (toll-free) for one year with purchase of Ultimate Support Plan ($349 per year when purchased with QuickBooks, otherwise $399); one-time phone support $75 for first 20 minutes, $25 for each additional 5-minute period; Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT	One year or up to 100 minutes (whichever comes first) of priority phone support (toll-free) with purchase of SimplyCare Plus package ($200); per-incident phone support option ($3 per minute, $45 minimum); 30 days free installation support; Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT
E-mail	Included with Basic and Complete plans ($89 per year or $7.99 per month; $249 per year or $20.99 per month, respectively); 24- to 48-hour turnaround	Included with Ultimate Support Plan; two-hour turnaround time when submitted within normal tech-support hours; next-business-day response when submitted outside of normal hours	N/A
Online chat	N/A	N/A	$150 for 10 incidents; per-incident online chat support for $3 per minute, $45 minimum; Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT