Evaluating a Product's Modules

 

When I evaluate an accounting software package, I like to use the following checklist of modules to help me quickly determine which modules a product does, or does not have. This process is tougher than you might think because publishers use different names to refer to their modules and often tout modules which in my mind, are not modules at all, they are just an important feature or feature set. In addition, some publishers include modules, such as financial reporting or order entry, as part of the general ledger or accounts receivable modules. Therefore sometimes you have to dig a little to figure out which modules are present or missing.

Core Modules:
1	General Ledger
2	Accounts Payable
3	Accounts Receivable
4	Payroll
5	Inventory
6	Order Entry
7	Job Cost
8	System Manager
Advanced Modules:
	Various Advanced Modules:
9	Bar Coding
10	Bill of Materials
11	Business Intelligence (helps a company analyze customer data)
12	Commitment Tracking
13	Contact Management
14	Customer Relationship Management CRM
15	Federal Magnetic Media
16	Fixed Asset
17	Fund and Encumbrance Accounting
18	Grant and Endowment Management
19	Human Resources
20	Mobile User (enables the integration of wireless devices with company data)
21	Point of Sale (allows company to record sales via a cash register or POS terminal)
22	Property Management
23	Regulatory Reporting
24	Rental Billing & Tracking
25	Service Contracts
26	Service/Dispatch
27	Call Center Tech Support (helps a company manage customer support telephone calls)
28	Time & Billing
29	Transportation Management
30	Travel Expenses
31	Warehouse Management
32	Warranty Repair Orders
	Web Related Modules:
33	Web Based Requisitioning (allows employees to order supplies via the web)
34	Web Commerce Catalog (allows company to publish a web catalog)
35	Web Customers (allows customers to log in to their account history via the web)
36	Web Employee (allows employees to maintain their personal data and investments via the web)
37	Web Financial Statements (allows executive to access password protected financial statements via the web)
38	Web Orders (allows the company to accept orders via the web)
39	Web Tools (allows company to create web sites and integrate their accounting system with their web catalogs)
	Industry Standard Add-on Modules:
40	F9
41	Crystal Reports
42	FRx
	Plant Related:
43	Capital Project
44	Equipment Maintenance
45	Fleet Maintenance
46	Plant Maintenance
47	Preventive Maintenance
	Development Tools Related:
48	Customization Tools
49	Data Import Tools
50	Data Integration Tools
51	Financial Statement Designer Tools
52	Forms Designer Tools
53	VBA Tools
	Manufacturing Related:
54	Capacity Requirements Planning (allows company to calculate maximum capacities for labor, machinery, work centers, and the entire plant)
55	Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) (allows company to send electronic orders through an intermediary to their suppliers without human intervention)
56	Labor Performance
57	Manufacturing Cost Accounting (allows company to accumulate and analyze actual costs compared to preset standards)
58	Materials Requirements Planning (allows a company to calculate the materials needed to fulfill work orders, and plans the ordering of those materials so that they arrive just in time)
59	Product Configurator
60	Production Order Processing (allows a company to record an order to perform a specific task)
61	Production Scheduling (efficiently schedules tasks based on equipment, labor, and work center availability)
62	Quoting/Estimating
63	Routings (manages the routs in which materials must travel through a plant from beginning to end)
64	Supply Chain Management (allows company to send electronic orders directly to their suppliers without human intervention)
	Advanced Add-on Sub-Modules (Some publishers call these modules. However, in my book, these do not qualify as a full module; none-the-less, these are important strong add-on sub-modules that you may want to look for)
65	Bank Reconciliation
66	Cash Basis Accounting
67	Cash Forecasting
68	Contract Management
69	Currency Manager
70	Data Explorer (allows user to gain quick access to data)
71	Direct Deposit
72	Employee Benefits
73	Employment Development (allows company to manage unfilled positions and recruits)
74	Import Manager
75	Multi-Company
76	Multi-Currency
77	Multidimensional Analysis
78	ODBC Drivers
79	Promotion Management
80	Purchase Order
81	Recruitment (allows company t manage an on-going employee recruitment campaign)
82	Report Writer
83	Returns Management
84	Sales Forecasting
85	Serial Number Tracking
86	Shelf Life Management (allows company to identify and sell oldest items)
87	Standard Costing
88	StarShip (allows a company to look up accurate freight charges using the Starship database)
89	Training (allows a company to manage the on-going education of employees)
90	Work Center Definition (allows the company to define the machinery and labor associated with a work center)

 

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