From Don DeVito: QuickBooks is an accounting software product developed by Intuit, Inc.There are several different flavors of the software tailored to specific industries; however, the underlying program remains largely the same, the chief differences being industry customized pre-built reports, industry appropriate language (clients vs. customers), and industry appropriate templates for invoices, P.O.'s, and estimates.

First launched in the early 1990s, QuickBooks quickly took hold as the market leader in small business accounting software. The software was popular amongst small business owners who had no formal accounting training. At the time, software packages were designed for use by accountants and cost $400.