Sage Peachtree Premium Accounting 2011

From the April/May 2010 Review of Small Business Accounting Systems (Locally Installed).

Peachtree Premium Accounting, like a fine wine, seems to get better with age. Always an accountant favorite, Peachtree has really ramped up its product improvements and enhancements since being purchased by Sage, making Peachtree a staple in the offices of millions of small businesses worldwide.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS:
Installation of Peachtree has always been problem free for me, and with the new enhanced installation, it’s even quicker than ever before. Total installation time was approximately 10 minutes and will be dependent upon your computer.

During the new company setup, users can choose the business type that best fits the company’s needs, such as construction, distribution, manufacturing, retail or service. The installed chart of accounts will reflect the business type chosen. Peachtree’s user interface is customizable so only the information that users want displayed will show on-screen. The Business Status page displays various statistics, with up to eight different displays available. Company navigation centers offer quick drill-down for easy information entry. All financial functions such as customers and sales, vendors and purchases, inventory and services, employees and payroll, and banking are displayed on the left side of the screen. Data-entry screens are nicely arranged, with numerous options on the toolbar above that can be performed in conjunction with the transaction being processed. Peachtree Complete and higher (including Premium) has job, phase and cost code costing capabilities, and Peachtree Quantum features a new job management center. Other industry-specific features can be found in the various industry-specific versions of the product line.

CORE ACCOUNTING CAPABILITIES:
Peachtree allows users to pre-select the GL account that fits their needs, with the option to add, edit or delete accounts as necessary. Analysis tools such as the cash flow manager and collection manager display up-to-the-minute activity and account status. The Internal Accounting review is a terrific feature that scans all system transactions, flagging possible accounting errors. The AP functions allow users to process purchase orders, submit and bill for time and expense tickets, handle credits and returns, pay bills and void checks. The AR function enables users to process quotes and proposals, track job costing, process sales orders, produce invoices, and manage finance charges.
Sales tax functionality is found in the customers and sales center and can be easily set up by simply entering the appropriate tax rate and the individual rates that encompass that rate. In order to track tax data, users will need to enter the tax agency information and account number for posting.

Peachtree has an excellent audit trail that tracks date, time, user name, action, transaction ID and reference number, and the amount of each transaction. The audit trail report will display this information in an easy-to-read format. Peachtree Premium does not offer multi-currency options or multi-location capability at this time, but Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing Edition does support multiple locations.

DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS:
Peachtree easily processes customer quotes, which are then easily converted to sales orders. Invoices can be created and then printed directly from the converted sales order, and payments are easily applied on accounts. Also available is the option to “broadcast” a sales invoice, which processes multiple invoices that incur the same charge. Cash sales can be entered as well as prepayments and credit memos. Credit card payments can be processed manually or with a swipe machine. Point-of-sale functionality is not available in this version of Peachtree, but is available via third-party integrated solutions, and it also integrates with UPS.