With so many software vendors all claiming superiority, selecting the most appropriate accounting and business administration system for your company in Cambridgeshire can become a major headache. Many buyers have had their fingers burnt in the past by small software houses who promise the earth but can't always deliver. Another common complaint is that bespoke software vendors can hold businesses to ransom over service and support charges.
System selection can depend upon many important factors including:
Budget
Number of Users Required
Complexity of Business Processes
Technological Requirements
Scalability
Support in Cambridgeshire
There are also considerations as to which areas of a business the system needs to manage. Some common areas include the following:
Accounting
This is usually at the core of any business system and includes Sales and Purchase Ledgers to manage Customer debt collection and Supplier Payments and Cashbook and Nominal Ledger which handle Bank Reconciliation and analysis of Revenue and Costs for determining profitability
Project Accounting / Job Costing
This type of system helps project-oriented businesses maximize job profitability and efficiency by tracking detailed project / job costs. Businesses can report on prior job costs and use this as a tool for estimating future jobs in order assess whether adequate profit returns will be made. It can track by project or phase factors such as Labour and Material Costs, Stock Issues and Committed Costs from Purchase Orders to improve decision-making.
Stock Management
This type of solution helps businesses maintain the correct stock levels to maximize cashflow and profit, avoid overspending, and minimize the costs associated with stock depreciation. The system should keep stock information up to date by tracking product levels as well as movements in Sales Orders, Purchase Orders and Works Orders. Normal accounting principles stipulate specific ways to account for stock to ensure proper reporting of value valuations
Order Processing
A streamlined order processing system can provide competitive advantage and keep back office costs to a minimum. It gives a powerful platform to manage the critical resources involved in Order Taking, Delivery and Returns Management and Procurement. Many businesses have specific functional requirements in this area depending on their levels of unique business process.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing software controls material, labour and manufacturing processes to help increase efficiency, increase production and reduce waste. This is normally achieved by the software assisting with production planning and resource management.
Billing and Invoicing
These systems automate the collection of payments from customers to enable timely and consistent collection with minimal human error. There are many different types of billing and invoice systems designed to support a wide range of industries, business models, payment methods, and scale of operations.
Payroll and Human Resources
Payroll systems help businesses track and process employee payrolls. They also ensure compliance for the calculation of Income Tax and National Insurance or any other statutory deduction, payment or reporting and submission requirement. Often a payroll provides a starting point for integration of human resources software to track items such as staff absence, training, disciplinary and skills matrices.
Software Suppleir Selection
When choosing your supplier and implementation partner the following considerations need to be made:
Does the product have robust code and is relatively bug free?
Does the product have good underlying technology?
Does the product have strong financial reporting capabilities?
Does the product have a sizable customer base?
Does the product have strong customization capabilities?
Does the product have a well-developed and knowledgeable partner and support channel?
Does the product have a wide selection of modules?
Does the product have a well-developed offering of third party add-on products?
There are many UK Accounting Software packages such as Sage Line 50, Sage Line 200, Datafile Premier, Pegasus Opera, Access Dimensions, Iris Exchequer, and SAP Business One. A summary is shown below:
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Vendor |
Sage |
Sage |
Datafile |
Pegasus |
Access Group |
Iris |
SAP |
Product |
Line 50 |
Line 200 |
Premier |
Opera 3 |
Dimensions |
Exchequer |
B1 |
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Target Market |
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Small Businesses |
* |
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Medium Businesses |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Maximum Number of Users |
2 |
50 |
100 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
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Availability |
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Direct from Author |
* |
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* |
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* |
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Through Partner Channel |
* |
* |
* |
* |
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* |
* |
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Customisation Tools |
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Author |
N/A |
|
* |
|
* |
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Partner |
N/A |
* |
* |
* |
|
* |
* |
User |
N/A |
|
* |
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* |
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Customisation Ability |
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Source Code |
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via Author |
|
via Author |
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Tables |
|
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
* |
Forms |
|
* |
* |
* |
* |
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* |
Reports |
|
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
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System Type |
Fixed |
Modular |
Modular |
Modular |
Modular |
Modular |
Modular |
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Partner Add Ons Available |
* |
* |
* |
* |
N/A |
* |
* |
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Solutions Available |
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Financials |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Order Processing |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Stock Control |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Payroll |
* |
|
* |
* |
* |
* |
TP Add On |
Project Accounting / Costing |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Production |
TP Add On |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Manufacturing |
TP Add On |
* |
TP Add On |
* |
TP Add On |
TP Add On |
* |
Construction |
TP Add On |
* |
TP Add On |
* |
* |
TP Add On |
TP Add On |
CRM |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Expenses Management |
TP Add On |
* |
* |
|
* |
TP Add On |
TP Add On |
Requisitions and Authorisations |
|
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
Retail |
|
* |
TP Add On |
TP Add On |
TP Add On |
* |
TP Add On |
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*(TP=Third party) |
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For more information for your requirements in Cambridgeshire please visit the accounting software authors websites: