Accounting Software Quick & Dirty Recommendations

ASA Research Recommendations as of September 2006

 

Here at ASA Research, 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:

 

Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006 - Included in Microsoft Office or sold separately for $149, this product began shipping in September 2005. Microsoft has pulled out all the stops to produce a strong entry level solution that blows the doors off of QuickBooks and Peachtree. It has superior technology and sits on top of the Microsoft SQL Server database (MSDE). It is sure to be an instant success. You can read all about it on our SBA web site located here: www.sbaadvisor.com.

 

Simply Accounting Professional 2006 - For just $39 for a single user version and $129 for up to 3 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).

 

Peachtree Complete Accounting 2006 - Priced at $500 for a single user and $2,500 for 5 users, this is my favorite 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)

 

QuickBooks Premium 2006 - Priced beginning $500 for a single user and $2,500 for 5 users this is just the starting price. 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, and that these additional features will cost you approximately $600 to $1,000 per year extra. If you want great check writing and strong financial reporting, QuickBooks is a good fit. But if you have inventory, have a large volume of transactions, have several concurrent users, then you should pass on QuickBooks. (about 2.8 million users) you can read all about it on our QuickBooks web site located here: www.quickbooksadvisor.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 8,000 users)

 

BusinessVision 32 - 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)

 

Microsoft Small Business Financials - Priced at $995 for single user and $400 for each additional user, this is a scaled down version of Great Plains, the most respected accounting software on the planet. It includes 9 of the 53 Great Plains modules and migrates upwards to Great Plains should your needs grow. No entry level product offers a better upward migration path. (about 4,000 users)

 

MID-RANGE & HIGH END SOLUTIONS:

 

For companies with revenue ranging from $5 million to $200 million, we recommend the following:

 

Navision - My favorite product overall, Navision pricing typically ranges from $10,000 to 100,000. Navision 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 and sales increased by 32% and 23% in 2003 and 2004 respectively - making it the fasted growing mid market solution on the planet. (about 45,000 customers) You can read our extensive 2005 review of Navision here: http://www.mbsadvisor.com/navision2005.pdf.

 

Great Plains - Great Plains pricing typically ranges from $10,000 to $150,000. 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 60,000 customers). You can read our extensive 2005 review of Great Plains 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. You can read our extensive 2005 review of Navision here:

http://www.mbsadvisor.com/Serenic%20Review%2019.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 7,000 customers and momentum is growing. Positioned to compete against Great Plains, Navision, and Axapta, SAP Business One provides a wide range of modules, good customization and impressive technology.

 

ACCPAC Advantage - The ACCPAC Advantage product 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. ACCPAC is loaded with features and worth consideration. I worry a little bit about what Sage Software's plans are for ACCPAC Advantage, but trust that the product will continue to receive adequate funding for development and marketing.

 

Solomon - Solomon 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. You can read our extensive 2005 review of Solomon here:

http://www.mbsadvisor.com/solomon2005.pdf.

 

Axapta - Axapta is my favorite high end product. I call it the ERP killer because it can replace SAP R/3, Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards (PeopleSoft II), Baan, SYMIX, Epicor, and other tier 1 products for far less cost. Axapta offers great customization, process manufacturing, discrete manufacturing, distribution, and all the modules you need (except payroll). You can read our extensive 2005 review of Axapta here:
http://www.mbsadvisor.com/axapta2005.pdf.

 

SouthWare - With 6,000 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. You can read our extensive 2005 review of Southware  here. http://www.accountingsoftwarenews.com/southware/swtour.pdf.

 

ACCPAC ProSeries - 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.

 

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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