Our business office used Dac-Easy for a long while and found it excellent.
They also used (and still use) a cheapy invoice program called My Invoices
that they say works great too.
Rather than QuickBooks, try QuickBooks Pro. I've heard the payroll module
is a vast improvement. Unfortunately, I think it only comes on CD unless
you purchase it and then return it to the manufacturer for a
floppy-disk-based version.
Good luck!
Julia Moore
Indianapolis Art Center