Review of CheckMark Software — MultiLedger - 2011

CheckMark Software - MultiLedger
800-444-9922
www.checkmark.com

From the April/May 2011 Review of On-Premise Installed Accounting Systems for Small Business

In business since 1984, CheckMark Software first introduced MultiLedger in 1986. Designed for the small business owner, MultiLedger provides solid core accounting functionality with inventory, checkwriting, job tracking, 1099 reporting, and cross-platform capability. CheckMark also offers a solid payroll system that integrates with MultiLedger.

 Best Fit:
With good basic functionality at a value price point, this may be a good fit for accounting professionals doing client bookkeeping and write-up.

Basic System Functions:
MultiLedger was easily installed, with the entire process taking only minutes. Both accountants and non-accountants will appreciate the easy transaction processing interface, which utilizes a basic ledger form that allows for entry of ledger numbers, descriptions and amounts. The grid interface offers three distinct areas: Set Up, Transactions and Reports.

Customer and vendor lists are located in the Set Up section and allow users the opportunity to enter detailed information about each customer or vendor, including terms and discounts, product pricing levels, and detailed contact information including links to company websites and email addresses.

The Financial Snapshot provides a quick view of pertinent company information such as cash level, AR and AP balances, income, cost of goods sold totals, and other relevant data. These amounts are displayed as both current values and year to date totals. As previously noted, MultiLedger is available for both Mac OS and Windows, and can accommodate up to 10 concurrent users.

Core Accounting Capabilities:
MultiLedger offers solid accounting functionality with GL, AP, AR, Inventory and Job Costing, and easily supports multiple companies. Pop-up lists are available throughout the program. GL account numbers must be four digits in length, and users can easily setup profit centers and cash flow designations during company setup. Users can to work in up to 30 months, with the option of locking any month in order to prevent transaction entry. Users can also set up recurring entries as needed. Customer quotes can be converted to sales orders, and recurring customer invoices can be entered, as well. The receipts journal allows for posting payments to customer accounts, and transactions can be modified or deleted as needed. The payables journal records any non-inventory related purchases. Multiple sales tax rates can be maintained within the system, but only two rates can be applied to each customer account.

As previously noted, CheckMark offers an excellent payroll system that integrates with MultiLedger as well as QuickBooks, Peachtree and other third-party applications. The cost of annual payroll tax table updates is $149; CheckMark also offers free patches (if necessary) throughout the year and contains a fully functional audit trail that cannot be turned off. MultiLedger comes with a 10-user license for each location. If companies have multiple locations, they can purchase a second license for an additional 10 users.