Topic: General Posts

Submitted on 04-28-11 9:44 pm.
Message:
for a service based company I would look at Great Plains which is now under the microsoft umbrella.
For manufacturing, I would look at MAS200 from Sage

Submitted on 05-02-11 4:38 pm.
Message:
Ken,

You may also wish to review the SAP online version, SAP Business by Design. We have been reviewing the packages and that was one of the one we looked at. You may also be interested in Netsuite.

For onsite software, try MAS 200 by Sage or Microsoft GP (I think it would be GP).

Hope this helps.

Mike

Submitted on 05-02-11 5:41 pm.
Message:
KEN,

I spend a lot of time in this area helping CFOs find the right system for their respective companies.

Depending on the number of users and the company's growth plans there could be several ways to go.

MSoft Dynamics comes in a number of different flavors, each targeting a different type of company.

If you can send me more info ([email protected]) I am happy to give you other ideas.

Regards,

Hugh Glazer

Submitted on 05-04-11 11:14 am.
Message:
You may also want to look at BravoSoft (www.bravosoft.com). Although they are a small, relatively unknown company, they have a very sound product. I upgraded to them from Quickbooks at my previous company.

Jeff

Submitted on 05-04-11 7:37 pm.
Message:
Take a look at Netsuite. It is a very powerful tool and does a lot of things well. I have also worked in the past with Great Plains. Just like any software, there are some good and bad with both systems.

Netsuite is a cloud-based system so its hosted via Internet which reduces initial capital start-up costs and eliminates future maint. expenses.

Do not let the "canned" limitations on Netsuite's financial reporting sway your decision if you have robust reporting requirements. I would opt for a add-on report writer like Crystal Reports to ensure good customization of financial and management reporting tools. Similar to using FRX Report Writer as the add-on for Great Plains.

If you have any additional questions, fee feel to reach out to me.

Submitted on 05-05-11 9:33 am.
Message:
I agree with Scott. For a small company under $50 million, it is difficult to justify the capital outlay of an integrated system. Utilizing the new Cloud technology will allow you to get the integrated systems that you need without the initial purchase of an integrated system.

When it comes to reporting, I would recommend that you look at systems like COGNOS or the Cloud service provider may have a similar report writer tool. The advantages of these tools is that they are easier to learn basic report writing, are great for stand alone report or can be easily linked to excel and, if needed, linked directly to an excel spreadsheet so that as the data updates in your data warehouse system, the spreadsheet can be refreshed and updated.

Submitted on 05-06-11 4:56 pm.
Message:
Ken:

Another option may be to reduce the size of your files in Quickbooks. You may want to check the site www.q2q.us. They advertise that they can reduce the size of the quickboos files and can buy you additional time on that system before you have to covert to a larger system.

May be worth a look.

Submitted on 05-09-11 3:48 pm.
Message:
Ken

We are $20M 35 employee manufacturing company.
We are looking too. My short list includes Visual ERP and SysPro.
To find, just google.

Regards
Tom Redden
704-906-3063

Submitted on 05-09-11 5:28 pm.
Message:
Ken - I am using Vantage by Epicor (their latest version is now just called Epicor), we are a $20M manufacturing company with international sites all on the same platform. I have used mainly SAP and some Quickbooks before. Vantage works pretty well but I don't have any experience with other packages that target this size business.

Mike

Submitted on 05-15-11 9:30 pm.
Message:
Take a look at INTACCT. Client companies have used it for a number of years. It is pretty simple to use, not as complex as some others
I will be happy to discuss my experience if you wish. just email me

Submitted on 05-16-11 5:23 pm.
Message:
I also suggest that you take a look at Intacct. Although I have not used this product, I am reviewing it for possible use. Intacct is marketed for companies that have outgrown Quickbooks. It is also endorsed by the AICPA.

The Intacct website is: http://us.intacct.com

There is an Intacct Power Demo Webinar scheduled for this coming Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 ET. You'll need to register on the Intacct website to participate.

Submitted on 05-23-11 8:51 am.
Message:
Another question you need to ask is what will you be integrating you Accounting System with? CRM, eCommerce, ERP?

We have been working with QuickBooks, MS Dynamics and MAS 200 or 500 (Sage line) and found this to be a path that is acceptable to our customers. Multi-Company files is also an option (segment by LOB or currency).

Submitted on 05-27-11 2:37 pm.
Message:
Ken,

I just completed review of available small and mid-market applications for a client. Found quite a few that would fit the bill, depending on what specific needs are. All the ones that have been mentioned so far are viable products from my evaluation. As Marc mentioned in the first reply, the choice could easily be different depending on the type of operations. An outstanding distribution or retail app may not be very effective for a manufacturing company. And as Bruce mentioned, which will be the right choice also depends on what else you want the app to be able to do besides accounting functions. If you haven't lead a software selection project for a small to mid-market company in the past where you won't have significant IT expertise in-house as part of the team, retaining someone with that experience to help you determine needs, write the specs, and assess the alternatives will be money well spent in the long run.

That said, my view of some apps based on experience is:

Quickbooks - Michael Bowie's 2nd post is a good suggestion as a very, very short term patch if you are in crisis mode with Quickbooks functionality. Otherwise, your time and money may be better spent on a structured selection and implementation to go live for the start of your next accounting year. If you're company is rapidly approaching $50MM, then you probably aren't on the verge of busting out of Quickbooks, you may already be there (just my opinion based only on my own experience).

NetSuites - From what I've seen, this is probably the top choice for range of capabilities for a cloud-based app. Depending on how many of the modules you will use and how many access licenses you need, it could be a high cost option, however. When getting pricing for this, don't forget to include implementation and setup support, which I was quoted as being approximately equal to the first year license fees.

SAP - In addition to the SaaS versions mentioned by others SAP Business One could be worth considering.

If you need multi-currency, your options will be severely limited. A possible choice for multi-currency is another Sage product, Accpac. It is also multi-lingual with French/English and English/Spanish versions. It doesn't have a large installed base in the US, but I understand it has a very large user base in Canada and is growing in the US. If you need more than just accounting functionality, Accpac has 3rd party plug-ins available for warehouse & distribution management, manufacturing management/MRP/ERP, and others that all fully integrate with the base accounting and reporting software.

If you need manufacturing ERP, Visual ERP and Epicor were among the ones that I put in my final list for client consideration. I really, really like Visual ERP's graphic tree presentation of order status, parts & components build up, and process master. It makes potential scheduling and delivery problems immediately evident. The graphic jumps right out at the viewer. Of course, if your company is in manufacturing and you're moving from Quickbooks, your bigger problem is likely to be cleaning up the designs, bills of materials, and process masters. If those are not correct and you make the move to ERP, the information will be garbage from the very beginning.

Wish you success with the selection.

Richard

Submitted on 06-07-11 9:38 am.
Message:
Dear Ken,
I am a certified consultant for Sage Accpac ERP suite of software. Also I am a accounting professiobnal with the qualifications of FCMA (U.K.) and CGA (Canada).
Please call me or e-mail, I will try to help you. I have over 16 years of consulting experience.
Thank you.
Kind regards.
Ernest Fernando. BSc., FCMA (U.K.), CGA.
cell 416 617 0158
Bus. 905 569 8951
e-mail [email protected]

Submitted on 06-17-11 4:33 pm.
Message:
My company is still in the throes of change and have not made a decision as of yet. The responses to my request have been tremendous in that they've validated some of my initial inclinations toward specific software programs and expanded the "short list" by one or two programs that would not have been considered otherwise. Please accept my sincerest thanks to all who have taken the time to provide me advice (posted herein or taken offline). Ken

Submitted on 10-11-12 9:13 am.
Message:
Good Morning Ken,
I've worked with Great Plains Dynamics and did an implementation, before it was purchased by Microsoft. I also became a consultant. It's a flexible product and depending on your industry should not require customization.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck,

Jose M. Regueiro

Submitted on 10-18-12 3:30 pm.
Message:
What would you recommend for government contractor with DCAA compliance requirements?

Submitted on 12-04-12 9:36 am.
Message:
Having been through the experience of outgrowing QB, I recommend the Microsoft Dynamics suite of products. They have several different versions depending on your needs and industry type. It is eaily configurable and has the support of Microsoft behind it. Queue Associates in the NYC area was a great partner for our organization and are a Microsoft Gold Certified VAR.