2007 Review of High End Accounting Systems

Powerful infrastructures; the ability to grow with your business; integrated
modules that include standard core accounting functions, distribution and manufacturing,
workflow management, human resources, customer relationship management and much
more make any of the packages reviewed worth taking a look at before making
a software solution selection.

Third-party software vendors have developed many robust vertical solutions
for businesses that require specialized services. Whether you have one location
or multiple, software solutions today provide flexibility. You can customize
the user interfaces, work with dashboards, work remotely, have your complete
system hosted in an ASP (Application Service Provider) environment and much
more.

Each of the products reviewed here provides valuable tools such as access
to source code for customization and extensibility. Reporting is extensive and
flexible, providing for tight integration with Microsoft Office products such
as Excel and Word. And each product reviewed provides substantial training and
support options to make sure you protect your software investment well into
the future.

To provide consistency among the reviews, the following areas were evaluated
for each package:

• Modules/Scalability — This section highlights the
  available modules as well as any other significant features that merit recognition.
  This section also indicates new modules and enhancements that have recently
  been added.
• Usability/User Experience & Security — This
  section evaluates the overall user experience in using the product, from the
  menus to transaction entry. A requirement for any system in this class is
  the ability to tailor workflow to meet a user’s needs and how that impacts
  the overall user experience. As expected, each of the systems uses some form
  of role-based security.
• Extensibility — This section examines the availability
  of third-party vertical solutions and integration to solutions that extend
  the product’s base functionality to include niche areas such as payroll,
  human resource management, fixed assets, CRM, Point of Sale and more. Each
  of the products reviewed here has a moderate to extensive list of add-ons.
  While the quantity of available add-ons is certainly a plus, this review also
  recognizes the quality of the integration with these additional modules.
• Integration/Customization — The ability to tailor,
  customize and integrate high-end accounting solutions with other critical
  applications is imperative. Each of the systems reviewed here provides numerous
  tools to help. This section describes import and export capabilities, screen
  customization, integration, and custom programming tools.
• Reporting — Each product offers a fairly extensive
  variety of quality reports. Several provide built-in custom report writers
  that let users create reports based on specific needs. Other systems include
  Business Objects’ Crystal Reports, which has become the standard for
  many mid-market and high-end accounting systems. Financial statement report
  writing tools vary from product to product, and each offers a dashboard of
  some sort as well as a variety of business intelligence tools.
• Support, Training & Help — This section evaluates
  each program’s online Help system, as well as the availability and methods
  of product support and training. Reasonably priced classroom or web-based
  training should be available at convenient times and locations.
• Overall Assessment — This section looks at the strengths
  and challenges of each of the products reviewed. Every system will excel in
  some industries and fall short in others. For that reason, this review attempts
  to identify the best industry fit for each of the systems and assesses the
  quality and value of the system based on its best fit.

While software reviews provide valuable insight into a system’s features,
strengths and weaknesses, it should never be the final authority for selecting
a system. A thorough needs analysis and system evaluation is absolutely essential
for selecting a high-end accounting system.

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