Learning ERPNext accounting module by learning Quickbooks first

I am not an accountant myself. I find it difficult to learn about accounting and processes through the use of ERPNext online manual documentation.
so I was wondering, is it possible to transfer knowledge from an application like QuickBooks to ERPNext. The thing about QuickBooks that there are a lot of easy to read books that are good for beginners.

does anyone have experience in both and would like to share how practical is this approach.

Hello @ahmedwk
If you aren’t accountant don’t start learn yourself by application
You should firstly start studying Accounting principles. After that you will be able to understand erpnext and any ERP

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as a matter of fact, I know the accounting concepts. and had no problem following the manual for GNUCash accounting software. but ERPNext seems bigger and more complete in scope.

A Quickbooks introductory book like “Quickbooks for Dummies” seems to simplify the learning process . So is the knowledge transferable between Quickbooks and ERPNext? or will it be just double the effort and it is better if I chose to focus entirely on ERPNext accounting module?

You are alright ERPNext seems bigger and more complete in scope so if you want to learn your self start from accounting try to read and try make transactions and see its effect in other accounts ,
then start from purchasing and complete cycle to the end and then start selling module and complete cycle to the end . after that i am sure you will be more satisfied and won more information . i hope you find my words useful for you
if you have any problem you can call me .

The biggest difference between QuickBooks and ERPNext is that in ERPNext stock/inventory is a first class citizen; by comparison QuickBooks does not have a strong concept of an ‘item’ and only recently has started to offer UOMs. ERPNext’s core competency is stock-keeping (it does a lot of other things well, but it has been an excellent stock ledger for over 10 years). QuickBook’s is balancing a checkbook.

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@tmatteson Hi. Now that we are doing some comparison, would you be able to give major differences between Quick Book and ERPNext? Sorry, but not trying to usurp the topic but this may help the original poster to understand ERPNext.

Yeah sure! We’ll keep it in the beginner context to stay on track… I’ll start with QuickBooks advantages over ERPNext, since they are fewer than the ERPNext’s advantages over QB.

QB has several workflows that are significantly more user friendly:

  • entering non-stock transactions (like paying the electric bill, or paying your accountant, but not buying parts for resale or consumption)
  • bulk check processing (pay all your suppliers from one screen based on aging)
  • QB abstracts away all the credit-and-debits, so that entering a journal is rarely required. ERPNext is not quite there and depending on the workflow, enforces some better practices anyway.
  • QB because of its market share and Intuit’s conglomeration of small-business tools means it can force (mostly US and Canada) banks to use their integration systems. Likewise for third party tools for payroll processing or tax calculation.

What does ERPNext do better? Just about everything else.

If you are new to ERPNext and also new to accounting, there are not many resources that are specifically available to you. This sounds like a good topic on which to do a training of some kind…

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