Groupe AGI, Inc. ‘ Abak 6

MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS – 4.5 Stars
Abak supports any number of clients
and staff and unlimited rates per
staff member or client. As well,
it allows multiple billing methods,
including time-based, flat-rate,
consolidated and split. Aside from
invoicing and reporting features,
most of the program’s management
functions are available on the Management
tab of the icon menu. Functions
available from this menu include
creation and management of clients
and projects, setting of billing
defaults and rate structures, markups,
budget functions, and control of
other resources. Additional functions
through the Project featured on
the Management tab provide reference
tables and summary screens that
enable ‘drill-down’
access for tracking project resources.
Abak allows for Windows shortcuts
and has a distinct MS Outlook look
and feel. These shortcuts are great
timesavers. The interface, featuring
grids that allow users to sort data
by workstation, facilitates the
sorting of data.

A call tracking system built into
the Datebook provides additional
tracking capabilities, and also
provides alerts and messages regarding
client meetings and activities.
The system offers strong workflow
control mechanisms that simplify
management of timesheets and expenses,
including an automated approval
routing process with three approval
levels, and client/project security
protocols, It supports batch entry
of timesheets, employment of time
banks, and remote data entry via
web-based access or PDAs. Abak is
available in English and French
versions, and its multi-currency
functionality supports U.S. and
Canadian dollars as well as the
Euro. (The company noted that the
currencies Abak Enterprise can manage
are unlimited.)

BILLING & REPORTING FEATURES – 4.5 Stars
The system offers a good array of
reporting tools, with more than
100 pre-built invoices and reports
that vary based on the version of
the program. These reports include
budget control, WIP, tasks completed,
AR, resource productivity and WIP
aging. The program also includes
performance analysis tools for managing
firm productivity. Abak’s
invoice functions allow automatic
or manual generation of invoices,
including creation of draft versions
for pre-billing. During the invoicing
process, users have access to drill-down
reports that, depending on a user’s
security level, allow the overriding
of rates, addition of markups or
write-offs. The system uses Crystal
Reports and allows extensive customization
of reports and invoices. Abak also
allows you to attach unlimited customized
reports. A spell checker is included
for client letters and other text-based
billing components.

INTEGRATION – 4.5 Stars
Abak offers integration capabilities
with the GL, AR, AP and payroll
functions of ACCPAC, QuickBooks,
Fortune 1000/Acomba, Virtuo and
Avantage accounting software systems.
It also integrates with programs
that allow output into comma, tab
or space delimited files, as well
as two-way integration with Microsoft
Project.

SUPPORT/HELP – 4 Stars
Abak’s Help utility is average,
with traditional index and search
capabilities available through the
system’s Help pull-down menu,
in addition to an online support
section. Updates can be downloaded
from the company’s web site.
The product documentation available
on the extranet is easy to navigate.
Technical support is 20 percent
of the cost of the software, and
the vendor offers a variety of training
options. (The company noted that
custom reports are also given freely
as part of the support contract.)
The technical support staff is available
by phone, e-mail or via the extranet
as well as directly from the application
itself.

RELATIVE VALUE – 4 Stars
Abak is a strong, yet scalable system
with a moderate price structure,
providing small to large practices
with good invoicing and reporting
features, as well as additional
workflow and contact management
tools. The system is very well organized,
enabling users to quickly access
commonly needed components such
as invoicing and data-entry sheets,
helping to get new users up and
running fairly quickly.

2004 OVERALL RATING: 4.5 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.