Microsoft Cashes Out of Office Accounting Software

It's the end of a calculating era for Microsoft as it plans to discontinue its line of Office Accounting software. Stuart Johnston at Internetnews.com looks at the options available for existing customers.

Microsoft quietly announced Friday that it plans to kill off its Office Accounting products, beginning Nov. 16.

"After evaluating the product over the past few years, we have determined that other Microsoft offerings, such as free templates in the Office system used with Excel and the Dynamics product, are able to meet our customers' needs," a Microsoft spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.

The package, the current version of which is Office Accounting 2009, provides templates, tools and other add-ons to support small-business accounting within Microsoft's Office productivity suite.

It has been a head-to-head competitor to Intuit's QuickBooks packages, among other rivals.