Accounting
2020 Review of Denali Business Accounting Software
Jul. 14, 2020
Denali Business Accounting Software
Cougar Mountain Software
From the 2020 reviews of small business accounting systems.
Denali Business Accounting, from Cougar Mountain Software, is a good fit for small to mid-sized businesses looking for a complete financial application. Denali can be deployed as an on-premise application or users can access the application on the cloud.
Denali includes numerous modules including AP, AR, Bank Reconciliation, GL, Inventory, Payroll, Purchase Order, Point of Sale, and Order Entry. In addition, all Denali purchases will include the Controller module, which is where users will set up their business and maintain company information including fiscal year and system users.
Denali uses a batch system to process all system transactions, which can be beneficial for those finding their way around an accounting software application for the first time, as it allows users to make changes to transactions prior to posting, reducing the number of errors.
In addition to its business edition, Denali also offers a nonprofit version of the application called Denali Fund, and it also offers Denali Payroll, which integrates with the core business application. For those selling products, Denali provides a fairly solid inventory module that includes features such as multiple pricing levels as well as the ability to track inventory at multiple locations. Denali also includes a Purchase Order module so users can easily manage orders from the initial purchase to product receipt, inventory update, and invoicing. Denali easily supports multiple system users and offers a variety of add-on modules and integrations to increase product functionality. Denali also includes excellent budgeting capability, with users able to create up to a five-year budget including a budget vs. actual report for comparing budget totals with actual numbers. In addition, one of Denali’s new features, the Budget What-If analysis tool, lets you change budget totals to view the impact of any changes.
Core Accounting Features – 5 Stars
Denali includes a default chart of accounts that users can customize as needed. Users can choose to use a simple account structure in their chart of accounts or choose to use longer numbers or add segments in order to track additional information. Users can also create a separate budget for each account number in the general ledger. Denali supports recurring journal entries and can process allocations as well.
The AP module in Denali allows users to manage all vendor details including contact information and vendor history. When setting up vendor information, users can have expenses default to a specific expense category to reduce the amount of data entry needed. Users can also pay vendors in a variety of ways including with a check run, or by paying vendors electronically. The AR module supports an unlimited number of customers, with users able to assign credit limits to each customer. Users can also give early payment discounts, keep track of all past due invoices, and apply a payment to multiple invoices. Invoices can also be delivered to customers electronically using the optional e-Delivery module.
Denali tracks sales tax on all purchases with multiple tax rates supported in the application. The optional payroll module supports multi-state payroll and can process payroll for multiple companies. Another feature that retail businesses will appreciate is the point of sale module, which processes all sales transactions, accepts multiple tender types and can be customized for each system user. Denali also includes excellent audit trail functionality, with the audit system on at all times to track all information entered, edited, or deleted.
Relationship Management – 4.75 Stars
Denali offers good vendor and customer management capability. Customer details such as purchasing history, credit limit assigned, collection details, finance charges, special discounts or pricing levels can all be managed in the customer file. Vendor management capability is similar, with users able to access a complete credit history for each vendor. In addition, clicking on a vendor transaction will display a related report on screen.
Cloud Capability – 4.25 Stars
Denali has added additional cloud connectivity in the last few years, with users now able to access the application on the cloud as a hosted application. In addition, Denali includes complete electronic payment acceptance and electronic bill payment capability, and for retailers with an online store, Denali now offers integration with online selling platforms as well as merchant services for online selling.
Management Features – 4.75 Stars
Denali includes more than 200 standard reports with reports located in each module. Denali reports are available in three categories: financial statements, history reports, and control reports. In addition there are various budget reports. Users have the option to run detailed reports, condensed reports, summary reports, and comparative reports, with all reports completely customizable using Crystal Reports, which is included in the application. Users can also export reports to Microsoft Excel for customizing if desired.
Tech Issues – 4.75 Stars
Denali is a completely integrated application, with all modules and add-ons designed to work together. Modules can be purchased separately or bundled into one of Denali’s plans. In addition, Denali offers good importing and exporting capability, with users able to import data from other applications if desired. Denali also offers a long list of add-on modules such as Denali BI, which offers advanced data analytics; Integrated eCommerce, Fixed Assets, Specialty Shop, Denali eDelivery, and Barcode Labels, while integration with third-party applications such as Aatrix Tax Service, TSheets, iVault Online Backups, Expensify, and Crystal Reports is also available.
Denali users can access help from any module by clicking on the question mark in the upper right-hand corner. In addition, users can access product support directly from the website by filling out a form, or using the toll-free number, with support accessible via email as well. Users can access a variety of documents including a new feature list, release notes, a getting started guide, as well as guides to each of the Denali modules. Users can also subscribe to the Software Assurance plan, which provides access to all software updates, with discounts for training and other services available.
Summary and Pricing
Denali Business from Cougar Mountain Software is a good fit for small and growing businesses. Denali currently offers three product plans: Basecamp, Ascent, and Summit, with each version offering an increasing number of modules. Users can also build their own system, purchasing only the modules desired. Those interested in Denali should visit the website to view a demo or request pricing directly from Cougar Mountain Software.