2019 Review of AccountantsWorld Accounting Power CAS

From the July 2019 reviews of small business accounting systems.

Accounting Power CAS, from AccountantsWorld, offers a unique accounting and practice management solution ideal for accounting firms that wish to provide bookkeeping services to their clients. Accounting Power CAS provides complete accounting functionality along with write-up capability.

Completely cloud based, Accounting Power CAS allows firms to offer complete bookkeeping services to their clients, with the ability to choose the level of access the client has. Firms can create custom access for all clients, allowing them to enter all bookkeeping transactions from their office, or have the firm complete all of the bookkeeping work for the client. Another nice feature is that both firms and clients can access Accounting Power at any time from the password-protected user interface.

Core Accounting Features – 4.75 Stars

Accounting Power CAS offers a flexible account setup, with more than two dozen industry specific charts of accounts available to use, with the option to customize any chart of accounts to suit individual clients. The product supports subaccounts, and offers complete consolidated financial statement capability. Financial ratios are also available to assist with tracking each client’s financial activity properly. Accounting Power CAS also offers complete budgeting capability, with budget-actual reporting available.

Mentioned earlier, users can customize Accounting Power CAS for each client, making it suitable for both the novice as well as clients that have significant accounting experience.  Depending on the level of service currently provided to the client, Accounting Power CAS can be utilized as a backup system for clients, or firms can choose to offer complete bookkeeping services to clients. This is completed through the bookkeeping module included in the application that includes GL, AP, AR, banking, inventory, job costing and bank reconciliation features. Users can easily email invoices directly to clients, or simply print and mail the invoice. Emailed invoices offer the option to pay online. The AR feature also includes invoice templates and users can add recurring invoices to the application as well  Accounting Power CAS offers both estimating and invoicing functionality, with users able to create an estimate and later convert that estimate upon approval, to an invoice.

The AP feature allows users to snap a picture of an invoice to add to the system, and users can enter AP invoices directly from the invoice. Digital checks can be processed, or users can print out checks if desired. Accounting Power CAS also includes an intuitive bank reconciliation feature. Clients can also scan copies of bills directly into the application for payment. 1099 activity is tracked and processed at year end. Neither Payroll nor Point of Sale capability is included in the application, though the product does offer a payroll register for recording payroll entries. In addition, users can opt to use Payroll Relief from AccountantsWorld to process payroll. 

Relationship Management – 4.5 Stars

Users can easily track both customer and vendor details in Accounting Power CAS, which includes the ability to track sales levels and other customer information.  Users can also print customer statements and mentioned earlier, email invoices directly to clients for quicker payment. Invoices created for clients are easily customized with client logos and other identifying information, and users can easily process aging reports for client customers. Vendor details can also be managed in the application, with the ability to track all vendor payments made throughout the year.

Cloud Capability – 5 Stars

Accounting Power CAS is a cloud-based application, making it easy to access the application from anywhere. Users have the ability to download bank statements electronically to make it easy to process expenses and reconcile bank statements monthly. Users can also upload transactions electronically in order to minimize data entry needed, and the system supports both electronic bill payment as well as electronic payment acceptance and the mobile app allows clients to approve bills to be paid directly from their smart phones or mobile device.

Management Features – 5 Stars

The Client Dashboard provides a concise summary of each client’s financial situation, including current versus prior year income totals, an expense analysis, and profit comparisons in an easy-to-read graph format. Performance Analysis Reports offer similar details in a professionally printed format, and the Snapshot offers metrics such as AP and AR totals for each client, along with an up to date cash balance for each client.  The product also offers fully customizable financial statements including balance sheet, income statement and a cash flow statement. Users can easily create a variety of reports using the default settings, or by customizing each report to better suit client needs. Along with financial statements, Accounting Power CAS can create a variety of bookkeeping specific reports, inventory reports, and detailed AR and AP registers. Users can also choose a series of reports that are to run on a recurring basis and create report sets. In addition, those using Cloud Cabinet can easily archive all reports and other documents.

Tech Issues 4.75 Stars

Accounting Power CAS offers seamless integration with other AccountantsWorld applications including the complete Power Practice Solution, which includes Payroll Relief, After-the-Fact Payroll, and Practice Relief, along with Cloud Cabinet, where users can easily archive reports and other documents.

Accounting Power offers easy integration with both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, as well as Sage financial applications. The product also integrates with popular tax programs such as Ultra Tax and Lacerte. In addition, data can be transferred from Accounting Power to any tax program using the Microsoft Excel export feature.

Accounting Power provides a variety of support materials and resources that can be utilized by users or by their clients including free online and telephone support, live chat support, and a context-sensitive online help feature. Support is available during regular business hours, with after-hours support available as well. FAQs are also available, as are step-by-step instructions along with a variety of videos that help introduce all system features and functions to users. There are also a variety of both live and pre-recorded webinars that can be accessed on demand.

Summary and Pricing

Accounting Power CAS is a good fit for small to mid-sized firms that offer or wish to offer bookkeeping services to clients. Extremely customizable, Accounting Power CAS allows firms to provide custom access to the application, making it easy to provide services to clients at varying levels from a single application. Most powerful when used with other AccountantsWorld applications, those interested in Accounting Power can register online to obtain pricing and purchase the product.

2019 Overall Rating – 4.75 Stars