The low end market may be being eroded by Microsoft’s free accounting software, I know a few new SMBs who are using it or in the process of moving over.

I don't know what scares me most from your comment.

1. Microsoft doing accounts software.

They can't get IE right so are they going to rewrite accountancy practices to fit their software?

2. Free.

Since when does Microsoft do anything for free? How are they going to fund legislation changes? what sort of SLA would these changes have?

I will have to have a look into this.

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Mine is not to wonder why, mine is just to do in vi.

The Sage Line 50 appliation, and associated satilite applications, still cannot install itself properly on locked down Windows XP installations. You have to loosen up your locked down XP to install it. I suspect with Vista it's worse.

For a product that's been around for so long, not understanding where to place files and registry entries for optimal security is unforgivable, esp when you consider it's financial software.

If they are not careful they will see the same thing that happened to Quark Express, being taken over by a rival package (InDesign).

Glad MS are keeping them on their toes, they have been too lazy with their monopoly.

I think you're talking about Money, and that would make as much sense as having Access as a corporate DBMS.

Here in Mexico, two local software companies have competing products for most accounting / inventory stuff solutions, and those are the ones that basically eat up the SMB market, *not* Microsoft. So at least in the Mexican market, Microsoft isn't even there; SMB's go the SAE or ContPAQ way, or jump up to high-end stuff like SAP R/3 or other full ERP solutions.