As Intuit's QuickBooks girds for its largest competitive challenge to date --Microsoft's Small Business Accounting -- it has lowered the prices for its QuickBooks Premier and QuickBooks Pro accounting software applications by $100.
QuickBooks Premier will now be priced $399.95 and QuickBooks Pro at $199.95. Simple Start will remain at $99.95.
QuickBooks representative Charles Var said that the new pricing is relatively the same as last year, considering QuickBooks is no longer offering rebates on the above-mentioned products. Var stated that customer feedback showed rebates were regarded as confusing and undesirable whereas the lower prices were more favorable.
Fortuitously, Quickbook's prices have dropped as the Microsoft released its long-awaited Small Business Accounting 2006, an application priced at $179, with a $30 mail-in rebate.
QuickBooks also announced it would discontinue the long-standing accounting software for start-up businesses, QuickBooks Basic, from its accounting software application offerings.
The product has been in QuickBooks' line-up since the software company's inception 13 years ago. Var explained QuickBooks Simple Start, first offered last year, is essentially the same program as Basic but features an easier-to-navigate user interface.
