According to sales information from The NPD Group, Simple Start Edition has outsold all competing financial and productivity software products this calendar year at retail. At the same time, Simple Start Edition represents one of Intuit's most successful new product launches in recent years.

Simple Start Edition is another example of Intuit's broader initiative to drive simplicity across the company's entire product line. It delivers breakthrough ease-of-use, focusing exclusively on three business tasks: tracking money coming in, money going out and maintaining crucial records such as tax receipts, customer data and vendor information. There are no manuals to read and small businesses owners don't have to know accounting or accounting jargon because the software helps them perform essential business tasks using common, familiar terms like "money in" versus "receivables" and "invoices that haven't been paid" versus "aging report."

Simple Start is one of the few accounting software solutions that offers customers the choice of either an online or desktop application. Customers enjoy the productivity benefits of either version right away due to the easily accessible and familiar Web-like interface. Many businesses can be fully up running in 15 minutes - less time than it takes to order a pizza.

"I've tried other products that are supposed to be easy to get up and running," said Leslie Anderson of Blue Oval Ranch in Salem, Ore., a company she runs with her husband that sells classic cars online. "After struggling to learn it, I bought Simple Start. It's exactly what I need. It took me only 15 minutes to get started, and tells me how much money I have, how much is coming in, and how much is going out. Everything is right there."

In addition to business use, Simple Start is an emerging standard in teaching small business owners how to manage their finances. A growing number of the nation's 1,000- plus Small Business Development Centers, a program administered by the Small Business Administration that provides counseling and training for local businesses, use Simple Start in their financial management classes.

"Simple Start is the right product for 90 percent of my start-up clients and can serve them well through their first few years," said Peter D. Pappas, regional director of the Connecticut Small Business Development Center. "It has training wheels - tutorials and detailed help with quick links to related help on every screen. This helps my clients be more successful with their books."

Customers who have taken the advice to try Simple Start agree. "Before I started using Simple Start, my finances were in a state of chaos," said Joy Richard of Engineered Solutions in Attleboro, Mass. "Money was all over the place and I kept track of it using receipt books and paper - just like in the 1960's! When I started using Simple Start it spelled everything out and I easily pulled myself out of this mess."

The biggest enhancement request was for more options to customize forms. As a result, Intuit responded with a key enhancement that gives customers the ability to customize important business forms like invoices, credit memos, sales receipts and estimates to project a polished, professional image to their business clients. Simple Start 2006 includes new template designs and a range of fonts and designs. Customers can now select the specific fields on each form and can choose the font size, color scheme and layout that meet their needs.

"With Simple Start 2005, I was limited to just adding my company name, address and logo to my forms. Sure it was simple, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted," said Kelly Herold of the Buffalo County Historical Society. "It's really important to me that every piece of paper that leaves my office looks really good. Simple Start 2006 lets me pick from different layouts and decide exactly what information the customer sees on the invoice. It's still simple to use, but now much more professional looking."