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Small Business

2013 Review of Addsum — Advanced Accounting

Addsum — Advanced Accounting
888-923-3786
www.addsuminc.com

Addsum Advanced Accounting 7i r3 (release 5) is an accounting software product designed to work with Addsum’s popular point of sale module. The application is utilitarian, and its appearance appears somewhat dated compared to some of the other products included in this review, but the application is designed for speed, not beauty, and also has the benefit of allowing an unlimited number of users to run the application for $799 (plus the cost of the Pervasive SQL database licenses to support the application).

Basic System Functions: 3.5 Stars

We downloaded the application onto a test platform and installed it very quickly. The software has a very simple appearance and has multiple navigation methods: Accessing functions by clicking on the icons at the bottom of the screen; Clicking on drop-down menus from the top menu bar, or using hot key combinations such as ALT-M to open the Modules section and Alt plus other keys to dig into various functions such as the AR, AP or other areas. Users can only access areas for which they have been given security permissions.

The application is a debit and credit oriented system, which is designed for users who are very familiar with the software, and requires some training to get around the application effectively. The product is complex enough to require most users to have some accounting knowledge to work effectively with this tool.

As previously noted, Advanced Accounting offers excellent point-of-sale functionality with templates and industry-specific features, which makes the product suitable for smaller retail businesses. Wholesale and Distribution features are also found within the program, with job cost and bill of materials modules and industry-specific features included.

Advanced Accounting uses a Windows platform and is compatible with Windows 7. Hardware requirements are minimal. The application is not available for Mac OS X or mobile platforms, and the Company’s website does not list any commercial hosting partners for the application.

Core Accounting Capabilities: 3.5 Stars

Advanced Accounting is an integrated multi-module business management system with modules for general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, job costing, sales orders, purchase orders, point of sale, bill of materials, and inventory controls. The AR module permits managers to assign customer credit limits, group customers, and set customer discounts. Vouchers can be entered to apply credits to existing customer balances and edited as needed. The accounts payable module allows users to track regular vendor payments, manual checks and ACH transactions. Users can also schedule payments for invoices entered. Invoices can be paid individually or by vendor, and recurring payments can be set up and processed.

Sales tax groups are easily set up and maintained, with three levels of tax rates that can be assigned to each tax jurisdiction.

The Payroll module is solid and supports multi-location payroll with numerous user-defined fields for easy deduction tracking. Payroll updates can be downloaded from the Addsum website. Advanced Accounting also creates a non-modifiable audit trail for each change to standing data or transaction records, with an audit trail report which can be printed or downloaded and sorted. Consolidated financial statements for multiple companies can be processed. Users can set up more than 100 separate companies, with Advanced Accounting able to support hundreds of users simultaneously in a single instance of the application.

Day to Day Operations: 3 Stars

A third party application provides integrations to FedEx and UPS for shipping, and the integration with Addsum’s point of sale system makes this product easy to use. Sales tax rates can be applied at the item level so that exempt products like food and prescriptions can be sold in the same transaction as taxable merchandise like alcohol. Reports, statements and invoices can be exported into a system acceptable format such as PDF and then emailed to vendors and customers. We are not aware of a compatible shopping cart/web store application which integrates with Advanced Accounting.

Advanced Accounting contains an Inventory module, along with a related Bill of Materials module. The only supported inventory valuation method is weighted average cost. Users can run physical inventory reports and later utilize the “adjust levels to physical” option for adjustments. The latest version of Advanced Accounting also offers an updated inventory lookup feature, along with the ability to attach product images directly to sales orders.

Management Features: 4 Stars

Advanced Accounting’s ODBC compliance makes it easy to integrate with other applications, and supports third-party report writers like Crystal reports. Limited filters can be applied to reports, and reports can be exported to a variety of formats including PDF, RTF, HTML, and spreadsheet formats. Advanced Accounting offers multi-lever user security, which is initially defined by module and then menu level.

Integration and Import/Export: 4 Stars

The system’s twelve modules integrate well together. Supported add-on modules include a shipping integration tool and a credit card authorization module. Users can import a variety of data fields from other accounting software data files, including Intuit QuickBooks and Sage 50 Accounting (formerly known as Sage Peachtree). Data from the underlying Pervasive SQL database can also be exported to any ODBC compliant application.

Although data could be exported from Advanced Accounting into third party tools for e-marketing and direct mail campaigns, there is not an interface which permits two-way synchronization. This lack of integration makes it hard to track the effectiveness of programs over an extended period of time.

Help & Support: 4 Stars

Advanced Accounting from Addsum Business Software is a scalable, integrated accounting software product designed for small to mid-sized businesses. While the application’s user interface is primitive, the user interface is a good fit for experienced users who know what they want and are comfortable writing reports to meet their own needs. Another group who may fit are users who work with large franchise groups and need a solution that will let them have large numbers of users with hundreds of companies running on a single instance of the application.

Summary & Pricing

The system starts at $299 for a single user; a multi-user version is also available for $799 with support for unlimited users (although users must purchase the Pervasive SQL database separately). Advanced Accounting is a good fit for small retailers and contractors that require industry-specific features, a solid accounting function and a product that offers room to grow without incurring additional expense.

2013 Overall Rating: 3.75

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