(As
of March 2011)
Here at Accounting Software News,
the most frequent question we receive is "which accounting system
should we select to meet our present and anticipated future needs?"
Over the years we answered this question hundreds of times,
providing quick & dirty recommendations based on the bare minimum
amount of information such as size of company, industry, and
business situations. Summarized below are a few insights into the
"thought process" we currently follow in providing our quick & dirty
responses.
LOW-END
SOLUTIONS:
For companies with revenue
less than $2 million, we believe that the best solutions are as
follows:
Simply Accounting Professional
2011 - For just $49
for a single user version and $169, $299, and $1,499 for Pro,
Premium, and Enterprise versions (for up to 5 users), this solution
used by more than one million users around the world, including a $4
billion Canadian company that runs Simply Accounting in 600
locations to meet their entire accounting system needs. This is the
lowest priced proven accounting software solution on the planet. If
you have a need to make GST (Goods & Services Taxes) or VAT
(Value-Added Taxes) calculations, then this product makes the most
sense. (about 1.1 million users).
http://www.simplyaccounting.com/
Peachtree Complete Accounting
2011 - Priced at $199
to $1,299 for 15 different editions, this is an excellent entry
level solution, especially if you sell inventory. Peachtree offers
strong sales order module with multiple pricing structures for
inventory items, bill of materials processing capabilities, support
for billing labor, and strong import/export capabilities. Peachtree
for Windows offers a fixed assets module, strong account number
structure, a proven e-commerce solution, customizable user fields,
and financial alert capabilities. (about 1.2 million users)
http://www.peachtree.com/
Sage Peachtree Quantum
- Priced at $2,575, Sage
Peachtree Quantum 2011 is a high performance accounting solution
that supports 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 40 licensed, named users, and
offers advanced security and order tracking settings. Sage Peachtree
Quantum delivers all the features of Sage Peachtree Premium
Accounting operating on a higher end database. Some of the features
I like in this product are: 1. Real, Double-Entry Accounting; 2.
Internal Accounting Review runs up to 15 checks on your data; 3.
Audit Trail Report to maintain a record of details associated with
every transaction; 4. A Cash Flow Manager for analysis and
forecasting; and 5. Online Bill Pay to pay your bills
electronically.
http://www.peachtree.com/productsServices/quantum/
QuickBooks 2011
- Priced from $99 to $1,999 for 5
users, QuickBooks is the world number 1 selling accounting system
with more than 4.2 million customers. For an entry level product it
is loaded with most of the features you will need to run your
business. Additional QuickBooks functionality is priced separately
at prices ranging from $10 to $20 per month. We believe that all
QuickBooks users should subscribe to some of these additional
features such as online payroll, electronic banking, customer credit
checks, online back up, etc,
www.quickbooksadvisor.com.
QuickBooks Enterprise 2011
- Priced from $3,000 to
$9,000 for 30 users, QuickBooks Enterprise is basically the same
great QuickBooks Premier product running on a higher end database
that accommodates up to 30 users and 10 times the capacity.
www.quickbooksadvisor.com.
ZOHO Books
-
Zoho Books is an online
accounting solution priced staring at $24.95 per month. The product
offers impressive features for a low end solution including
multi-currency, share and delegate workflow, dashboards, recurring
invoices, thank you notes .
http://www.zoho.com/books/
Outright
– Outright is a cloud based solution that strives to eliminate data
input by grabbing revenue and expense transactions from your bank
statements, credit card statements, scanned in receipts and your
Paypal account. Priced staring at $24.95 per month.
http://outright.com/
Xero
– Xero is an online accounting solution priced starting at $19 per
month, and includes the typical inventory, payroll and invoicing
solutions along with fixed asset depreciation, contact management,
multi-currency, and dashboard reporting. Most impressive is Xero’s
healthy list of add-on cloud based functionality such as workflow
and electronic banking.
http://www.xero.com/
FreshBooks
– FreshBooks bills itself as a top notch invoicing solution and
provides a bevy of modules including time tracking, estimating and
staff management, It’s a cloud based solution priced starting at
free to $40 per month.
http://www.freshbooks.com/
For companies with revenue
less than $5 million, we believe that the best solutions are as
follows:
NetSuite -
Priced at $1,200 a year for the first user, and $600 a year for
additional users, NetSuite is a strong web based accounting software
product that runs on the Oracle database and includes high end
modules such as customer relationship management (CRM) and human
resources (HR). It is light years better than QuickBooks and you
will never outgrow it's capacity. (about 12,000 users)
http://www.netsuite.com/portal/home.shtml
Intacct
- Priced starting at $1,500 a
year, Intacct is the leader in cloud-based financial management and
accounting applications with thousands of customers. Intacct
provides an accountant edition to help CPAs render accounting system
services. The product handles projects, multi-currency, global
consolidations, and offers a sales force solution.
http://us.intacct.com/
Sage BusinessVision Accounting
- Priced at $995 for a
single user version, and approximately $4,500 for a 10 user version,
this is a great product which includes 17 modules. The system
maintains multiple warehouses, serial numbers, item pictures, piece
rate and billing. It also offers a terrific e-commerce web store
that is priced at $99 a month and easy to use. Officially,
BusinessVision 32 provides 1007 more features than does QuickBooks -
wow. (about 120,000 users)
http://www.sagebusinessvision.com/
MID-RANGE &
HIGH END SOLUTIONS:
For companies with revenue
ranging from $5 million to $200 million, we recommend the following:
Dynamics NAV
- One of my long time favorite products overall, Dynamics NAV
pricing typically ranges from $1,995 per user to $3,995 per user,
depending on whether you purchase the 10 module or advanced module
editions. Dynamics NAV features a very fast and stable database,
great customization capabilities, terrific drill around audit
trails, fixed assets, human resources, contact management,
manufacturing, web shop modules, advanced distribution. This product
is the most customizable product on the planet. In 2005, Dynamics
NAV overtook MAS 90 as the top installed mid-market solution with
more than 1 million users at that point in time. Read my extensive
2005 review of Dynamics NAV here:
http://www.mbsadvisor.com/navision2005.pdf.
Dynamics GP
- Dynamics GP pricing typically
ranges from $1,995 per user to $3,995 per user, depending on whether
you purchase the 10 module or advanced module editions. This product
offers a solid solution with 54 modules, a good user-friendly
design, excellent customization capabilities, solid end-user
support, and a good offering of third-party add-on applications. It
is the most well known mid market accounting solution on the planet.
(about 65,000 customers). Read my extensive 2005 review of Dynamics
GP at this web site address:
http://www.mbsadvisor.com/greatplains2005.pdf. You can also see
or 2005 comparison of Great Plains to MAS 90 located here:
http://www.mbsadvisor.com/gp-mas90pdf.pdf.
Serenic Navigator
- Serenic Navigator is the top Not-for-Profit solution built upon
the Navision accounting system. It provides virtually all the key
features needed by "for-profit" companies as well as all the
additional features needed by not-for-profit companies such as
encumbrance accounting, accounting for restrictions and grants,
compliance with FASB 116 and 117, fund accounting and more. Read my
extensive 2008 review of Serenic Navigator here:
http://www.notforprofitadvisor.com/SerenicReport2008.pdf
SAP BusinessOne -
SAP is moving downstream with
BusinessOne. This product was originally developed in Israel and is
now being deployed around the world. there are now over 9,000
customers and momentum is growing. Positioned to compete against
Sage MAS 200, Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, and Dynamics AX, SAP
Business One provides a wide range of modules, good customization
and impressive technology.
http://www.sap.com/sme/solutions/businessmanagement/businessone/index.epx
Sage ACCPAC ERP Solutions -
Sage ACCPAC offers
just about everything (except for proven job costing and
customization). Great technology; four different pricing options
scaling from low end pricing to enterprise pricing; LINUX version,
web based version, good distribution, good manufacturing, strong
financial reporting. Sage ACCPAC is loaded with features and worth
consideration. I worry a little bit about what Sage Software's plans
are for Sage ACCPAC , but trust that the product will continue to
receive adequate funding for development and marketing.
http://www.sageaccpac.com/
Dynamics SL -
Dynamics SL is a deep product
with more than 45 modules designed to meet many industry niches such
as project costing, financial reporting, distribution, service, and
manufacturing. The product features a strong general ledger with
some of the best multi-company capabilities we've seen. Written in
Visual Basic 5.0, the product is highly customizable. In 1999, the
company took a bold move by standardizing its' product solely on the
Microsoft SQL Server database in an attempt to attract larger
corporate customers. While this move has been successful in
achieving the company's goals, the resulting higher price tag and
increased complexity position the product for the higher-end of the
mid-range market. Read my extensive 2005 review of Solomon here:
http://www.mbsadvisor.com/solomon2005.pdf.
Dynamics AX -
Dynamics AX is one of my favorite
high end products. I call it the ERP killer because I've seen it
successfully replace SAP R/3, Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft,
JD Edwards (PeopleSoft II), Baan, SYMIX, Epicor, and other tier 1
products, in most cases for far less cost. Dynamics AX offers great
customization, process manufacturing, discrete manufacturing,
distribution, and all the modules you need (except payroll). Read my
extensive 2005 review of Axapta here:
http://www.mbsadvisor.com/axapta2005.pdf.
SouthWare Excellence Series
- With 8,000 customers, SouthWare is the twelfth best selling
accounting software solution for the mid market in the world. The
product is loaded with features and runs on a combination of 600
different technology and database platforms. The price point is
typically half the price of all other mid market solutions listed on
this page. The product is not as well known as other products, but
the company has done more to improve this product in the past 4
years than any other accounting software vendor. Read my extensive
2005 review of Southware here.
http://www.asaresearch.com/web/swtour.pdf.
Sage Pro ERP -
Developed in Visual FoxPro, this
product offers source code in addition to strong customization
capabilities. ProSeries offers good core financial accounting, and
relies on third party developers to fill in the missing add-on
solutions. This strategy has helped worked well as the company has
cultivated a wide range of add-on solutions ranging from radio
beacon, bar coding, and point of sale cash drawers to advanced
manufacturing and job costing. ProSeries was the first product to
offer the WebTrader module that enables businesses to link web-based
catalogs to the accounting system.
http://www.sageproerp.com/
Sage MAS 200
- Sage MAS 200 is one of the top selling accounting systems in the
world and an excellent solution for many companies. In 2005 I
delivered a lecture at the Microsoft Partner's conference to
Microsoft Resellers on the topic "How Great Plains Beats MAS 200" in
which I took the stance that Great Plains and MAS 200 were the top
two accounting system solutions in the world, but that on paper
Great Plains is a convincingly better product. I compared the two
products to the top two sprinters in the world racing, where one
would win and the other would come in second. Many assumed that the
paper was intended to discredit MAS 200, but on the contrary, the
paper conveyed high praise for both products. You can see my review
of MAS 200 here:
http://www.mbsadvisor.com/gp-mas90pdf.pdf and you can learn more
about MAS 200 here:
http://www.sagemas.com/.
Epicor
- Epicor Software (NASDAQ: EPIC)
is a global leader delivering business software solutions to the
manufacturing, distribution, service, retail, and hospitality
industries, with 20,000 customers in more than 150 countries. It is
a strong product that has weathered the rough economy well. If you
need high end inventory management, manufacturing, or retail
solution - then Epicor should be included on your short list.
http://www.epicor.com/pages/default.aspx
xTuple
- While a newer product, xTuple features similar capabilities to the
products previously mentioned including manufacturing, but delivered
to you in an open source code framework. It can run it in your
offices, or hosted off-site
http://www.xtuple.com/
Sage X3
(Formerly known as Adonix) – Sage has rebranded this mid-sized
distribution and manufacturing ERP class product and reintroduced it
along with integration to the Sage family of products. X3 has come
on strong providing a solid ERP class solution with advanced
features such as business intelligence, a Business Process Designer
for customizing workflow, and the Webtop interface for users. http://www.sageerpx3.us/index.php
CONCLUSION
There is no substitute for the
full-scaled evaluation and needs analysis process to help a company
identify the best product to meet their needs. However these general
guidelines discussed above can sometimes help a company narrow down
the list and identify the best two or three products for evaluation
purposes.
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END
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Top Accounting Software Product Recommendations