A-Systems Corporation – JobView

System navigation is simple and
straightforward, with intuitive
data-entry screens. The main screen
has a drop-down menu bar at the
top with icons below that provide
a shortcut to all system modules.
The ‘New Company Setup Wizard’
will guide you through the initial
setup process. When setting up your
firm, you can choose to auto create,
manually create or duplicate an
existing company. All essential
company information is entered during
the initial setup process. If you
choose the auto create option during
setup, industry standard job cost
codes will be entered for you.

Enhancements to Version 3.5 include
the addition of a multimedia training
program that can be installed on
your hard drive. The newly expanded
version has over 50 sessions that
new users can use to familiarize
themselves with the program. As
well, the Sales Order module can
now create custom price quotes and
later convert those same quotes
to orders.

Import/Export/Integration- 4 Stars
All job costing, equipment tracking
and inventory modules integrate
seamlessly with JobView’s
financial modules. A Data Export
feature lets you save reports in
a text format to be accessed later
by a word processing program and
many other programs. If you are
using an outside payroll service,
payment information can be imported.
Also, setup information can be imported
from QuickBooks.

Support & Training – 4.5 Stars

Telephone support is available during
regular business hours and can be
renewed yearly. Mentioned earlier,
the multimedia training CD is included
with your purchase, and JobView
has an expanded Help feature inside
the program. For non-accountants,
the ‘Crash Course in Accounting’
provides basic accounting information
for novices, and is also a good
refresher course.

According to Robin Kelley, from
R.W. Hyde Construction, an A-Systems
JobView user, support response is
timely. ‘They are always there
to answer your questions. If they
can’t answer right away, they
get right back to you very quickly.’

Security – 4 Stars
Each system user is assigned a unique
user name and password. System administrators
can then grant (or restrict) the
appropriate access to all necessary
menus, reports and screens as needed.

Customization & Productivity – 4.5 Stars

One of the best features in JobView
is the Critical Path. This feature
allows you to track different areas
of each job using an event-driven
calendar to determine the time needed
to complete various projects. Budget
tracking by cost code allows you
to get a handle on your costs and
ensure that you stay within your
budget. Cost codes are assigned
a type, which include Labor, Materials,
Sub-Contractors, Equipment, Burden
and General. Overview screens give
you a quick summary of current activity
with that module. Color graphs and
pie charts can now be produced in
the overview screens of JobView,
and you can bypass the setup wizard
to customize system information.

Reporting – 4.5 Stars
JobView excels in producing reports
needed to keep track of your business.
The Job Costing Analysis report
extracts data from all modules to
produce cost and quantity reports
for each job. Job Cost vs. Billing
lets you know if you’re within
your acceptable profit range. The
Detail Listing tells you exactly
what transactions have been entered,
and for what job. For more customized
reporting, FormMaker can create
varying levels of reports, from
simple summary reports to reports
containing complex formatting and
calculations. FormMaker can also
be used to create invoices and form
letters.

Relative Value – 4.5 Stars

This is a terrific program for the
cost investment. Personal service,
frequent software upgrades, excellent
reporting capability, and costing
modules make this a valuable asset
for contractors and construction
companies that need to run their
company efficiently and profitably.

2004 OVERALL RATING:

The areas of evaluation were chosen
based on feedback from software
vendors, the editorial staff of
the magazine, and this reviewer.
They are as follows:

1. Modules ‘ It’s important to know what modules are included or available.
2. Learning Curve ‘ Is the program easy to navigate? Is it user friendly?
3. Integration/Import/Export ‘ Do all of the modules work together? Can you import information from third-party software or export to spreadsheet programs, etc.?
4. Support & Training ‘ Good support and effective training are necessities.
5. Security ‘ Is it multi-level? Module-based? Menu-based?
6. Customization & Productivity ‘ Are there user-defined fields? Can you get the information you need? Will this product make your life easier?
7. Reports ‘ What standard reports are included? Does the program offer integration with Crystal Reports, etc.? Does it have customization capability?
8. Relative Value ‘ This is subjective, but is the program worth the cost?
   It’s important to remember
   that each of these programs stands
   on its own. We are not trying
   to compare them side-by-side,
   but rather point out their core
   strengths and let you, the reader,
   decide what you need, what you
   want and what you cannot live
   without.

The products reviewed here range
from basic financial systems with
a job cost module, to sophisticated
programs with upwards of 20 modules
and add-ons. They are all good programs,
varying widely in both size and
cost. But they all contain at least
basic job costing capability, and
many contain much, much more.