QuickBooks Pro can save you hours of time in keeping your books and keeping track of your finances. But setting up the new 2008 QuickBooks Pro can be complex and time-consuming.

Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro 2008 can save hours of time in setting up and putting to use all the new features that this 2008 edition offers. QuickBooks Pro isn't just for taxes. You can use it for payroll, keeping track of your vendors and subs -- even job costing (comparing your estimated costs to your actual costs and finding out where you're making and losing money.)

If you'd rather be building homes than burning the midnight oil trying to balance your books, you should have this new book. It includes a CD-ROM with a template for a construction company to help speed your set up, an estimating program with a 5000-item database, a program that converts your estimates into QuickBooks forms so you can compare with your actual costs, and blank construction forms for your use. 352 pp.

The National Estimator System Requirements:

• PC with 300 megahertz or higher Intel (or equivalent) processor recommended; 233 MHz minimum required.
• Operating Systems:
• Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows ME or Windows 98SE.
• Requires up to 160 megabytes (MB) of hard disk space.
• Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution video adapter and monitor.
• CD-ROM or DVD drive.
• Keyboard and Mouse or compatible pointing device.

• DSL or Cable recommended; 56 kilobytes per second (Kbps) or higher-speed modem minimum.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (or higher), Netscape 7.1, Firefox 1.0, or Mozilla 1.7 minimum.

• 1024 x 768 or higher video resolution required.
• To listen to video tutorial - Sound card and speakers or headphones.