The Demonstrations
Each vendor had 45 minutes for a presentation, and all the demonstrations came off without a
hitch. The scenario highlighted some of the products' sophisticated multicurrency functionality,
which is usually associated with high-end enterprise accounting software rather than with these
vendors or this price point (typically $10,000 to $25,000 per module).
Great Plains Software's Dynamics C/S+. Great Plains Software demonstrated Dynamics
C/S+, which is written in the company's 4GL, Dexterity. C/S+ is the client/server version of the
Dynamics suite. Great Plains claims it has installed Dynamics C/S+ on NT in more than 4000 sites.
Great Plains demonstrated primarily basic accounting functionality, although Dynamics also
integrates well with other technology, such as Lotus Notes and Watermark imaging software.
| In the challenge, each vendor
demonstrated its product in a business scenario. |
Dynamics uses a nontraditional accounting interface, which people either love or hate. Dynamics
bases its interface on accounting tasks such as processes, reports, and transactions, instead of
using arbitrary modules such as payables or receivables. The task options can cross conventional
module boundaries, and users can assemble the options to fit their work needs. Users select tasks
from customized pop-up menus. Dynamics uses task checklists to walk users through the setup of
system structures--for example, to build multicurrency facilities logically by first defining
currencies, then exchange rates and translation rules. Generally, the judges found that Dynamics
C/S+'s functionality was a shade better in many areas than the other products' functionality.
Solomon Software's Solomon IV for Windows (SQL Server Edition). Solomon demonstrated
Solomon IV, which is written in Microsoft Visual Basic (VB). Solomon IV has interesting
functionality: the ability to toggle views of multicurrency data between home and source currency,
flexible payment selection and point-and-click check voiding, password-protected transaction entry
for documents above a predefined value, and an account inquiry screen that shows period and
year-to-date balances for the current fiscal year.
Solomon IV also integrates technology well in several areas. Because it uses VB, Solomon IV
lets users customize the application on the fly by modifying the events associated with its
functional objects or adding scripts to customize the business rules associated with an object.
Solomon IV has also integrated the popular Crystal Reports report writer so users can access the
definitions of all the reports in the package and customize the reports to fit their business
requirements. Solomon IV's customization capabilities make it an excellent choice for value-added
resellers of vertical market accounting software or for businesses with in-house VB expertise.
State Of The Art's Acuity Financials. SOTA demonstrated Acuity Financials, the newest
of the three products. Acuity draws its strength from using the latest technology, such as VB 4.0
and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) automation. Like Solomon IV, Acuity is written in VB,
integrates the Crystal Reports engine, and uses OLE automation in its functional object design and
for closer integration with Microsoft's Office suite.
The integration with Office packages, such as Word for creating collection letters and Excel
for entering budget values, is slick. Acuity Financials integrates email by using Microsoft Exchange
to route invoice approvals. The package uses a Visioneer PaperPort desktop scanner and software to
image an invoice document and then attach the image to a payables transaction. In the demonstration,
SOTA previewed its forthcoming Internet accounting capabilities by using a Microsoft ActiveX
component to select a vendor and make an invoice inquiry within a desktop browser. Acuity is also
impressive functionally, and the judges unanimously liked the Acuity GUI, which is fully Windows
95-compliant and looked very clean and easy to use.
And the Winners Are...
The judges gave the Best Accounting Functionality award to Dynamics C/S+ and the Best Technology
Integration award to Acuity Financials. Although great for the vendors' marketing machine, awards
are only an indication of a package's suitability for your business. Nothing beats a thorough
analysis and mapping of your specific critical functional needs and business processes onto the
package's functionality.
The real winners in BackOffice accounting are the users. Microsoft BackOffice is an accounting
platform that is lower cost, easier to administer, and technologically richer than any previous
platform, whether mainframe-, mini-, or UNIX-based. However, BackOffice is not as scalable or as
proven in handling large volumes of data as many previous popular accounting platforms; these
characteristics are essential for managing the corporate accounting of large companies. But most
leading accounting vendors are shipping products for BackOffice, and these products are becoming
functionally broader and deeper all the time. As the enterprise and middle market vendors converge
on the BackOffice platform, expect to see more pressure to lower the costs of software acquisition
and implementation as well as some interesting bundling initiatives.
—Stewart McKie