This IDC study examines the accounting packages that are used by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and profiles small businesses that use Intuit Quicken, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft products, and Sage products as well as firms that use industry-specific software. Details regarding attitudes on technology, business priorities, growth expectations, and software channel preferences are compared across different accounting software customers.

"With 2 million PC-owning small businesses not yet using accounting software and many firms still using Excel or packages designed for personal use or for smaller firms, the market for accounting software in the United States has a great deal of potential," says Merle Sandler, senior research analyst in the SMB program at IDC. "It is important for vendors to understand the characteristics of the first-time buyers as well as of their existing customers as it is always cheaper to sell to existing customers than to acquire new ones."