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| Thread ID: 24509 | 2002-09-12 11:50:00 | accounting software evaluation | Meow (1864) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 78923 | 2002-09-12 11:50:00 | I need to do an accounting software evaluation project. I got all the softwares I needed, but I have no idea where to start. Can someone please give me some tips? Such as: guidelines, steps, txt books, ect. Thank you very much for your help. |
Meow (1864) | ||
| 78924 | 2002-09-12 12:16:00 | Depends on what you want to test drive. Accounting pacakges usually need some numbers to crunch & most have sample accounts for you to play with. You can try running a wizard for a mock business & entering in all the information it requests of you. Don't worry about putting in anything real, just answer the questions with hyperthetical numbers. You might have to add some product lines as well if the mock company you set up will be e.g. service establishment or retail outlet. If you're trialling a few different types, most packages have an option to export some of the data into a csv format that you can use to import into another package if you wish. to keep things simple, try answering questions like: start & end of financial year with 01 Jan02 & 31 Dec02 with the rollover month as Jan03 for your mock comapny. |
mikep (1856) | ||
| 78925 | 2002-09-13 01:35:00 | Speaking as someone who has done comparitive reviews of accounting software for PCWorld and written a book on the subject, here are a couple of tips: Straight feature versus feature is boring (12A customer code versus 6N just doesn't make for good reading). A workflow approach is better, where you run the same set of test transactions against each system. Buy some stock, check the costing, sell it to a customer, they return some for a credit. Then check how that all arrives in the GL. That's my humble suggestion, anyway. I would be interested to see your results. robo. |
robo (205) | ||
| 78926 | 2002-09-13 06:09:00 | I suggest you create a list of requirements (as if you have a business that needs to impliment an accounting package) that you expect of the software, then evaluate the packages ability to deliver. Having gone through this process a few years back, testing most of the small biz accounting packages available then, it didn't take long to rank them as to their ability to deliver what I required (chiefly a certain flexibility in report design). Look at the ease and consistency of use - especially navigation (use of Hotkeys, TAB and ENTER - in my opinion, the less mousing the better). Some packages still force you into batch / end of month processing ( a more 'rigid' approach), and others provide the flexibility of an open system, which reports by defined periods but doesn't require periodic closing off (often more convenient for smaller businesses). Simply taking the packages for a 'test drive', as the manufacturer would have you do, will get you the results the manufacturer wants every time. |
wuppo (41) | ||
| 78927 | 2002-09-13 06:12:00 | Certainly the demonstration is constructed to look at flash and not look at substance. robo. |
robo (205) | ||
| 78928 | 2002-09-13 08:41:00 | It really depends on what you want out of a system. As a chartered accountant assisting small / medium businesses I always look at the needs and recommend the simplist approach. Most people want something to do the GST return primarily. The next usual need is invoicing and debtors. I generally put these people on a cashbook, and add a separate invoicing debtors package. This is the simple approach, and usually gives them what they want. I have seen too many people put in a full accounting system and then only use 2 or 3 bits of it (not efficient comared with some other options) or they try to use the whole thing and make such a big #$%^&$ we can't use it. | wotz (335) | ||
| 78929 | 2002-09-13 08:42:00 | btw meow, what packes do you have? | wotz (335) | ||
| 78930 | 2002-09-15 05:24:00 | Thank you very much for your reply. I have run some test transactions against each system. I need to submit a evaluation report and make a suggestion to choose one of software. I just have no idea how the report setting should be and what areas I should make the comparison. By the way, is it any possible that I can read the comparative reviews of accounting software for PCWorld you had done in the past. Thank you. |
Meow (1864) | ||
| 78931 | 2002-09-15 05:27:00 | Thank you very much for your reply . I have run some test transactions against each system . I need to submit a evaluation report and make a suggestion to choose one of software . I just have no idea how the report setting should be and what areas I should make the comparison . The softwares I have are: MYOB, NZA Gold, PeachTree, CashWorks, MoneyWorks . |
Meow (1864) | ||
| 78932 | 2002-09-15 06:00:00 | Now that would be cheating!!! You need to look at the following issues (not a complete list) ease of use, speed of data entry, support available, whether you managed to crash them, reporting features, e-commerce connectivity, import/export options, department analysis. |
wotz (335) | ||
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