Since I have never done any true accounting, it took a few tries to get the hang of MYOB FirstEdge. My one-man business—except for end-of-year tax prep done by my accountant—was adequately served by cash bookkeeping entries in Quicken.

The software is neatly and attractively packaged in the expected slick box with listings and screen shots of some of its basic features — enough to allow one to know whether the program will fit one's needs. It comes with a Getting Started Guide, full, easy to follow printed (160 pages) and PDF manuals, and browser Help ("Learning Center") files installed with the app and Web-based. The single CD ROM also includes QuickTime 5. This app will run on a Power Mac in OS 8.6, 9.x, and OS X. I ran it in OS 9.1.

My long experience in using Quicken was of little help in learning and using this application. It is based on the double-entry system of accounting. The manuals explain this, including the concept of "T" accounts. (I now finally understand the old Accounting 101 joke about "debit on the window side".) Data can be imported from Quicken and from several tab- or comma-delimited sources.

With FirstEdge, one can track sales, expenses, customers, and cash, as well as accounts receivable and payable, inventory, cost-of-sales, vendors, credit card transactions, taxes, and dozens more. It can be set up to figure and add sales tax to transactions.

For my test run, I set up a mock "company file" for my photographic endeavour. My "customer" list included venues where I have displayed and/or sold my work, including several galleries and open-air art festivals, and a house portrait "job" that I did several months ago. Initial setup requires that all these, plus inventory (I entered several of my photo titles and prices), suppliers, assets, etc., be listed on "cards." This was a rather tedious procedure, but once done, is easily maintained and updated. Inventory cards can be customized with illustrations of the items. I handily imported thumbnail copies of my photographs to inventory cards.

The big advantage of using this type of program is that at any time, one can summon up reports on the state of the business: balance sheets, P & L statements, accounts payable and receivable, expense and income pictures, tax liabilities—about 50 altogether. It can be used to generate invoices, print checks and other forms in several styles, track petty cash expenditures, prepare bank deposits. In the (hopefully rare) event of a bounced check, the sales transaction can be reversed, and the customer billed for the bank fee. In such cases, the application's preferences must be set to disallow transaction changes; they must be reversed.

This program will not handle payroll, time billing, or other advanced business functions. For these, the more comprehensive—and expensive—MYOB AccountEdge is recommended.

Another nifty feature is FirstEdge's ability to import banking and credit card statements from your financial institutions' websites. These can be used in the reconciliation processes, or to match transactions in your on-line accounts with items in your FirstEdge account. The process was simple: Go into your bank account's website, export the chosen date range to a QIF, QFX, or OFC file, and open that file with the "Get Statement" command in FirstEdge.