2012 Review of Red Wing Software’s CenterPoint Accounting Software

Best Fit: CenterPoint is a good fit for companies that need multi-company consolidations and other strong reporting capabilities. Companies that have a large amount of data entry will benefit from the import feature and the ability to customize data entry screens.

Strengths

• Import/ Export Features
• Inventory Control
• Multi Company Consolidation
• Strong Reporting features
• Customizable Menu & Data Entry Screens

Potential Limitations

• Additional software and add-ons significantly increase price
• Limited integration options. Red Wing is in the process of developing an API for interface options.

Basic System Functionalit: 4.5 Stars

General Navigation & Ease of Use is facilitated by a very clean interface with a top menu and a customizable icon bar. There is a sidebar with user selected Quick Lists. This system uses batch processing and reporting options include information on unposted batches. CenterPoint does not require users to close periods; a menu option is available to lock periods for editing purposes.

Industry Specific Features are not addressed with this General Small Business version are available in a Fund Accounting and Ag Specific Version.

The only Platform supported is Windows; there is no Mac or tablet version available.

Core Accounting Capabilities: 4.75 Stars

Payroll is not included in the package but can be purchased for $795.00. Electronic form filing is supported by Aatrix payroll. There is no integration with third party payroll services, but Red Wing Software offers its own payroll program.

The Audit Trail in CenterPoint is displayed by performing a transaction search that lists all adjustments. The user can select fields to be displayed and change the order of columns.

Multi-Currency is not supported by this product.

This Multi-User software can support an unlimited number of users; however most networks are more efficient with 10 or less users. Additional users are $295.00

Day-To-Day Operations: 3.5 Stars

All transaction entry screens such as Sales, Point of Sale and Shipping include customizable entry screens for orders and they remove unused fields for quick data entry. Sales include various pricing options and order processing allocates inventory for open sales order to help identify shortages quickly. There is no Point of Sale support or integration with shipping carriers.

Customer, Vendor and Employee Management includes the ability to add numerous custom name fields for additional information. There is no external integration available

Inventory and Purchasing supports multiple inventory valuation methods including LIFO, FIFO, Standard costs, Lots, and Serial Numbers, however all inventory items must have the same valuation.

Multi-location data entry is now supported in their most recent release.

Management Features: 3.75 Stars

Dashboard Overviews are not included in CenterPoint.Reporting is extremely flexible. Companies  can be created with multiple databases to enable intercompany transactions and multi company consolidations. Within a database the user can also group accounts to reflect profit centers and assign projects to transactions. Report screens are easily customized with a sidebar that overlays the report and gives the user all customization options, with the ability to change the order of columns, add/remove fields and collapse or expand individual groups in financial analysis reports.

All reports can be exported to excel or saved as a PDF files. A report writer is built into the system to create additional custom reports. Security is defined by user and rights are assigned by menu options.

Integration, Import and Export: 4 Stars

Export to Excel or CSV very intuitive features to set order of columns and add/remove fields to achieve a specific mapping. CenterPoint includes the ability to import and export budgets. Transactions can also be imported as unposted batches so they can be reviewed using the normal posting procedures. Technical support is available to help with import questions and processes. There are no external integrations with other sources.

Help/Support: 5 Stars

Built-In Support Features on the menu bar direct the user to help files stored in the software as well as online how to videos, and online support options including remote desktop support. CenterPoint also offers s US based e-mail and live support. Data Conversion is offered for new customers to facilitate setting up list information and beginning balances. An active VAR (Value Added Reseller) network is another resource for help and support.

Summary & Pricing

CenterPoint has solid basic and core accounting functions as well as advanced customization options with the ability to customize templates to speed data entry. The report writing capabilities exceed many other packages. The ability to import transactions adds value for small businesses that use multiple systems. $1,495.00 before additional software and add-ons.

2012 Overall Rating: 4.25 Stars