Review
FROM PAGE 25
Intacct
Intacct Corp.
(408) 878-0900
www.intacct.com
Intacct is an on-demand, cloud-based system
aimed at growing companies with a need to
expand their financial, managerial and operating reporting and analysis.
Because it is a cloud application, Intacct
offers lower total cost of ownership with mature financial management and accounting
functionality, accessibility from any location,
and continuous upgrades. It is an integrated
system offering core financial management
and accounting, comprehensive revenue
management, sophisticated multi-entity and
multi-currency business management, real-time financial consolidation and real-time
dashboards for management control.
The cloud computing platform (also known
as Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS) offers additional advantages in that its newer interface
style makes for an attractive user interface
with a relatively lower learning curve and
browser-style navigation.
In April of 2009, Intacct and the American
Institute of CPAs announced a business partnership that saw the company launch a new
product — a CPA-specific version of Intacct to
be marketed exclusively by the AICPA’s CPA-
2Biz subsidiary. Under the alliance, Intacct
became the preferred provider of financial
applications for the AICPA.
With its instant access, strong collaboration
capabilities and lower total cost of ownership,
Intacct may well be the future of mid-range
accounting.
QuickBooks Premier
Accountant 2010
Intuit Inc.
(650) 944-6000
www.intuit.com
QuickBooks Premier Accountant expands
QuickBooks with special enhancements for
accounting professionals, kicks the price
down to $249.95, then adds some new bells
and whistles. The Premier Accountant version
supports all of the versions of QuickBooks
2010, has special controls for accountants like
a fast client files clean-up system, and offers
sophisticated tools for trial balance, multi-currency management and remote access.
New in the 2010 version is an update to the
client file clean-up system, called Client Data
Review, that identifies and corrects problems
in the client file, such as erroneous sales tax
filings. The new document management
system allows documents to be appended
to client files, with copies stored online for
secure and instant backup. A new add/edit
multiple entries function allows data to be
entered rapidly in table format or imported
from Excel. Other enhancements include an
improved Report Center, and improvements
to the “Company Snapshot” dashboard. The
online banking module has been revised, and
there is a new Intuit Statement Writer (sold
separately) to create financial statements.
Microsoft Dynamics GP
Microsoft Corp.
(701) 281-6500
www.microsoft.com/dynamics
In the long-ago days of accounting, Microsoft
purchased a number of mid-range to enterprise accounting systems in a bid to capture
a share of that business. Its bid was successful — not least due to its acquisition of Great
Plains Software, which became the core of
Dynamics GP.
The current version of GP retains the best
of the old product. It is stable, familiar, scales
well and offers features that include advanced
consolidation, robust business intelligence,
and rich reporting, forecasting and budgeting. This functionality is available right out of
the box and integrates seamlessly with other
Microsoft technologies such as Office.
The current version was introduced in
2007, and included enhancements addressing financial, human resource/payroll, supply
chain, and field service management. Deeper
integration with Microsoft technologies such
as MS Office, MS SharePoint Server for collaboration, and MS SQL Reporting Services
for advanced business intelligence were part
of the upgrades, as well as new role-based
interfaces that look and work more like Microsoft Office. A new workflow engine provides additional flexibility and ease of use.
Enhanced search and social networking
capabilities make it easier to find the right
information and the right people to make
decisions and serve customers.
Microsoft has built a powerful franchise for
the Dynamics brand, stretching from grow-
ing firms up to the enterprise. If there is an
anchor to this brand, it is surely Dynamics GP,
which blends strong features, interconnec-
tions with the Microsoft Office and desktop,
and an economical starting price.
NetSuite
NetSuite Inc.
(877) 638-7848
www.netsuite.com
NetSuite provides on-demand business
management software suites that include
accounting/ERP, CRM and e-commerce
software for small and midsized enterprises
and divisions of large companies. Another
leading-edge SaaS service, it provides the
advantages of cloud computing, from lower
total operating costs to simplified installation
and real-time access from anywhere.
NetSuite’s accounting/financial resources
include a GL, AR, AP, advanced financials,
time and billing, purchasing, inventory management, and customizable reports. Also included are budgeting tools and multi-currency capabilities. There are both standard and
customizable reports, and some advanced
financial tools. But the NetSuite package also
bundles advanced customer relationship
management tools, inventory management
tools and e-commerce capabilities.
One of the features that sets NetSuite and
other on-demand systems apart from competitors is their use of role-based dashboards
that enable every executive in every department to access customized graphical reports
and snapshots, and enable drill-down to the
hard data. The dashboards also allow access
to key performance indicators of every type,
enabling faster and better decision-making.
NetSuite also stands apart from the majority of mid-range solutions for the breadth and
depth of its services and its willingness to embrace technologies as they emerge — there is
even an application to view the management
dashboards from an iPhone.
NetSuite is a relative newcomer to the accounting landscape, but has been around
long enough to establish a firm footing and a
strong reputation for its features. If the future
of accounting truly lies in the cloud, NetSuite
will be an accounting package of choice.
Peachtree Quantum
2010
Sage North America
(866) 308-2378
www.sagenorthamerica.com
There was a time over the past 30 years when
Peachtree was considered a small-business
accounting package. That description simply
doesn’t fit Peachtree Quantum, which has
evolved into a more robust, more sophisti-
BIZACTIONS LAUNCHES
GOLD PARTNER CENTER
POTOMAC, MD. — E-mail newsletter
provider BizActions has launched its
Gold Certified Partner Program Center.
The program represents an integration
agreement between the BizActions platform and each partner. Partners provide
customized content for the platform and
BizActions then promotes it to CPA and
payroll firms.
“We designed the center to put the
spotlight on our Gold Partners — providing a centralized platform where
BizActions customers can locate detailed
partner information,” said BizActions
chief executive Barry Friedman.
To date, the Gold Partner Program has
acquired nearly 25 members — consisting
of both product vendors and professional
services firms. The program is expected
to double in size in 2010.
For more, visit www.bizactions.com.
NETSUITE, REDPRAIRIE
INTEGRATE CLOUD PLATFORM
SAN MATEO, CALIF. — Online accounting and business management software
provider NetSuite said that it would team
with Milwaukee-based partner RedPrairie
to offer pre-integrated application modules on software developer NetSuite’s
cloud computing platform. RedPrairie will
deliver a warehouse management solution and supply chain cloud solution built
on the NetSuite SuiteCloud platform
that is expected to be leveraged across
RedPrairie’s key inventory, transportation
and workforce modules.
Integration components will be
provided across several RedPrairie solutions that it provides to manufacturers,
distributors and retailers.
TOP SAGE PARTNER BLYTHECO
ADDS GLOBAL ERP
IRVINE, CALIF. — Sage North America has
announced that its Business Partner of
the Year for top sales performance, Blytheco of Laguna Hills, Calif., has added
Sage ERP X3.
The addition of Sage ERP X3 gives
Blytheco a global enterprise resource
planning solution able to address the
needs of North American businesses that
leverage global economics. Sage ERP
X3 combines integrated functionality for
finance, sales, CRM, inventory management, purchasing and manufacturing.
The solution scales from 20 to more than
1,000 concurrent users.
