CPASoftware (A Division of Best Software) ‘ CPAPractice Manager ‘ Time & Billing Edition

MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS – 4 Stars
The program can support any number
of employees with up to 25 rates
each, which can be overridden by
authorized staff and, as noted above,
can be masked from users’
views. It supports time and fixed-rate
billing, as well as expense accounting,
contact management, invoicing, and
AR. The Time and Expense Entry function
also has the ability to track projects
and monitor productivity ratios.
In addition to managing staff time
for billing purposes, the program
can be used to keep track of employee
CPE, vacation, holiday and sick
time.

The Contact Management function
provides access to payment, WIP
and invoice information, as well
as contact data such as e-mail,
phone and company. It synchronizes
with Outlook to prevent incorrect
data and includes unlimited user-defined
fields for tracking user-defined
client information. This feature
can also be used to generate e-mail,
letters and marketing lists. The
Project Tracking feature gives the
ability to track due dates, including
status updates, extensions, and
rolling due dates to the new year,
as well as building due date lists
to ensure the job is completed on
time.

AR functionality allows setting
of variable finance charges and
interest rates on aging accounts
and permits adjustments and write-offs
by authorized staff members. The
AR module can either print statements
or e-mail them. A Dunning Letter
feature offers customizable standard
past due account letters. The system
supports web-based and PDA remote
data entry for time, expense and
contact management.

BILLING & REPORTING FEATURES – 4 Stars
CPAPractice Manager – Time &
Billing Edition includes hundreds
of management reports and provides
editable on-screen previewing of
reports and invoices, including
pre-built templates for invoices
that can be customized using the
system’s Report Writer and
built-in word processing functions.
The billing function allows sorting
of client WIP via several methods,
including project, daily entries
or billing agreements.

INTEGRATION – 3.5 Stars
The program integrates with the
CPASoftware line, including CPAAccounting
Manager, which has applications
for payroll, AP, AR and Write-up.
The system has limited import and
export capabilities, but does include
a GL and payroll bridge. The program
can work with Microsoft Office applications,
including Word and Excel, and its
Contact Management module synchs
with Outlook.

SUPPORT/HELP – 4 Stars
A standard index-based help utility
is included, and the vendor has
a call center and an online support
center with full support for six
months. Thereafter, subscription-based
support packages are available.
Product updates can be downloaded
from the support center, and various
training packages are offered by
CPASoftware.

RELATIVE VALUE – 4.5 Stars
CPASoftware’s CPAPractice
Manager – Time & Billing Edition
provides a very comfortable interface
with simplified access to primary
system functions. In addition to
easy-to-use timekeeping functions
and strong reporting, the program
sports helpful contact and project
tracking utilities.

2004 OVERALL RATING: 4 Stars

The programs reviewed here all provide
basic time management functions,
allow for tracking of expenses,
and offer invoicing and a variety
of managerial reporting. They differ
in their approaches to these functions
and some offer additional tools
such as contact management, scheduling
applications and communications
tools. After consulting with professional
accountants and vendors, we scored
the software in this review in each
of the following areas:

Ease of Use ‘ The most challenging part of implementing a time and billing

regimen is ensuring that staff members use the system
properly, whether by operating in-progress
timers or entering time after-the-fact.
If the system isn’t easy to
use, with intuitive navigation,
staff won’t be as reliable
in their use of the program, and
time or expenses may get lost.

Management Features ‘ This section identifies how the program handles time

and flat-rate billing, the number of clients and timekeepers supported, multi-currency

capabilities, calendaring tools, contact management functions and whether the program allows

remote entry of time, client, and expense data by PDA or web-based interface.

Billing & Reporting Features ‘ The billing capabilities of these programs

obviously affect their overall value to a
firm. This section looks at AR functions,
as well as aging, rates and code
structures, split/partial/interim
billing, markups on expenses and
invoice options. As well, the reporting
functions of the programs are examined,
specifically with regard to standard
reports, productivity analysis reports,
customization options and final
output.

Integration ‘ This section looks at the ability of a program to share data

with GL, payroll or other accounting programs, as well as with office productivity

applications such as Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel.

Support/Help ‘ Here we assess a program’s built-in help utilities, online
support options, availability of
training and whether support options
are included or available for an
added cost.

Relative Value ‘ This section provides the reviewer’s subjective opinion of

what the user gets for the price. There is some variance in the pricing of the programs in

this review, but it is not very wide. Value, of course, is not exclusively related to cost.

However, sometimes the best deal is not the cheapest, and sometimes the most expensive

option does not provide the best function.