Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Kevin Brooks Ruth Hambleton Farm Business Management & Marketing Educators 2005 Extension Risk Management Education Conference April 7 & 8, 2005 Kansas City, MO

Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Goals under managing financial risks –Educate Illinois farmers about readily available financial software Quicken QuickBooks PCMars –Increase adoption of keeping financial records on computers –Improve level of satisfaction with keeping financial records –Remove the stress of making decisions Production Marketing Human Legal

Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Offer a variety of programs –Quicken for Farm Producers –Quicken for Farm Women (Annie’s Project) –Farmdoc website (200 page manual) Over a three-year period, 233 farm men and women trained on Quicken through these programs.

Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Illinois Resources for Teaching Quicken –Community Colleges –Traveling Computer Lab (up to 25 laptops) –Regional Computer Labs (Extension)

Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Format –Multiple sessions (Usually three) –Meet every week –Evening and daytime programs –Three hours each session –Class size 5 to 20 persons

Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Demonstrate achievable purposes –Reports –Time savings –Tax helps –Convenience

Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Publicity –Local Extension Office newsletters & media –Annie’s Project mailing lists –Some programs cancelled for lack of registration Cost of Program –Charge $10 to $20 registration fees –Some expenses covered by grants

Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Our experience: –Programs are rated high –In reality, adoption rate is very slow –Farm women more apt to deal with frustration of keeping records Why –Habits –Older farmers do not trust computers

Quicken Education for Illinois Farmers Web Resources –Farmdoc

Ruth Hambleton Extension Educator Farm Business Management & Marketing Mt. Vernon Extension Center 4112 N Water Tower Place Mt. Vernon, IL Phone (618) Fax (618) Kevin Brooks Extension Educator Farm Business Management & Marketing Effingham Center 1209 Wenthe Dr Effingham IL Phone: (217) FAX: (217) Thank You!

QuickenQuickBooks Easier to learn and simpler to use (fewer options) More features and options (but more difficult to learn) Fine for simple checkbook-based income and expense records Allows either single- or double-entry bookkeeping method Some users complain of not having enough space for transaction detail Allows more detail in transactions (larger Memo field, etc.) Plenty of reporting capability for most users More extensive reporting capabilities, including more "standard" accounting reports. Pro version can export some data / reports to Microsoft Excel spreadsheets

Allows using Classes (enterprise codes) to associate income/expenses with specific enterprises Provides for multi-level (parent and child) Classes, for greater enterprise flexibility Has features for tracking stocks and other investments No investment tracking features No inventory systemHas an inventory system...but it's seldom useful for farm inventories (grain, livestock, etc.)--few farmers use it No payroll systemComplete, easy-to-use payroll system, but does not print Form 943, needed by some agricultural employers. QuickenQuickBooks

Allows using Classes (enterprise codes) to associate income/expenses with specific enterprises Provides for multi-level (parent and child) Classes, for greater enterprise flexibility Has features for tracking stocks and other investments No investment tracking features No inventory systemHas an inventory system...but it's seldom useful for farm inventories (grain, livestock, etc.)--few farmers use it No payroll systemComplete, easy-to-use payroll system, but does not print Form 943, needed by some agricultural employers. QuickenQuickBooks

Limited support for invoicing, receivables, etc. Many professional small-business features: invoicing, customer statements, accounts receivable, etc. Single-user versions only.Multi-user (up to 5 simultaneous users) versions available No programming interfaceProgramming interface available since QuickBooks 2002, will encourage development of 3rd-party add-ons for QuickBooks Street Price: about $30 - $60, depending on version Street Price: $150 - $250 for Basic or Pro versions, depending on version. (Other higher-end versions also available for more $$) QuickenQuickBooks