QuickBooks Online Opens Its Doors to Mac Users

Back in January, Intuit used the annual Macworld Expo trade show to exhibit a number of its finance-management products, not the least of which was QuickBooks Online. You may recall that the Web-based version of Intuit's accounting program had been a Windows-only offering for many years, leaving understandably miffed Mac users on the outside looking in. However, when Intuit decided to drop ActiveX, Microsoft's component object model for Windows, that opened the door to a Mac-friendly version of QuickBooks.com. As of January, the Mac version was in private beta, with Intuit promising that a Safari-compatible version would be available "soon."

If you're scoring along at home, "soon" equals "now."

Intuit on Tuesday announced that QuickBooks Online is now Mac-compatible via Safari. Mac users can sign up for the publicly available beta version at the QuickBooks Web site. A spokeswoman for Intuit described the beta as "solid," but said the company is still looking to fine-tune it based on user feedback.

The free version of QuickBooks Online lets you create and send invoices and track payments for up to 20 customers. QuickBooks Online Basic is a US$10-a-month-service that lets you manage an unlimited number of customers. QuickBooks Online Plus costs $35 per month and offers more advanced features such as billing, estimates, and automated online banking. Payroll and merchant services are available for additional fees. Intuit has the breakdown of what each service offers.

Safari support isn't the only enhancement to QuickBooks Online announced by Intuit this week. The company also said that the online service offers improved mobile Web-browser features for the iPhone. Now, mobile users can create and send invoices from their iPhones.