Sage — Peachtree Premium Accounting for Nonprofits 2009

Pre-defined charts of accounts are available for United Way Agencies, Day
Care Centers, Educational Institutions, Nursing Homes, Religious Organizations,
Theater and Non-Profits using Unified Chart of Accounts or a general simplified
structure. Peachtree allows for a 15 alphanumeric account number structure,
facilitating fund management and reporting through the account number system.
Import/Export functionality is easy to use and encouraging to explore, working
with third-party add-on applications as needed.

MODULES/SCALABILITY – 4 Stars
Peachtree’s boxed product includes module-like functionality through the
Navigation Centers for simplified access. Company Center (GL), Customers &
Sales (AR), Vendors & Payables (AP), Business Status dashboard, Employee
& Payroll Center, Inventory & Services, and Banking Centers are all
included with the Peachtree Premium for Nonprofits product. FAS for Peachtree
(Fixed Asset), with up to 200 assets, is also included, with upgrades for greater
needs available.

As organizations grow, the next step in the Sage family, Peachtree Quantum
offers the same familiar interface for 10 to 30 users and more industry specialization.
With mid-market products a specialty of the Sage family, easy upgrades offer
opportunities for the Peachtree user to grow even further.

FEATURES/FUNCTIONALITY – 4 Stars
As previously noted, Peachtree has provided excellent operational tools for
small operations for years. Translating these capabilities to nonprofits is
valuable, but more specific direction could be available to help the end user
make the leap. At first glance, a new user might think there are no features
for nonprofits, and the Help system does not offer much other than charts of
accounts to dispel this misconception.

Without specific features to balance inter-fund transfers and management of
restrictions, more accounting guidance may be needed for the small nonprofit
agency. A step in this direction is the Internal Accounting Review that provides
analysis of posting activity including unreconciled accounts, AR & AP balances
not matching the GL, and other common errors. The Broadcast feature is unique
and helpful to organizations that create duplicated invoices for multiple constituents,
such as memberships or dues, homeowner fees, subscriptions, and monthly pledge
invoices. Peachtree’s tight integration with Microsoft Office products
will allow for mailings and other member/donor management features with ACT!
Link.

Peachtree offers a new Cash Flow Manager feature in 2009 that allows analysis,
what-if scenarios and Excel export capabilities. Time and expense recording
as well as payroll functions and timesheets were also updated in 2009.

REPORTING – 5 Stars
With 145 standard reports included with Peachtree for Nonprofits, the reporting
capabilities are excellent. Peachtree also offers excellent in-product report
customization options as well as abilities to export to Excel and save in PDF
formats.

In 2009, Peachtree has finally removed the two-year reporting barrier that
made it difficult to obtain planning data from past years and to manage multiple
year grants and programs. Now, once prior year data is archived, it is still
available for financial statement reporting in addition to the current two open
years. Integration with improved Crystal Reports 2008 (included with purchase)
allows great customization opportunities and advanced information visualization
with Flash, Flex and Xcelsius.

SUPPORT/HELP – 4.5 Stars
In-product Help is written for businesses and still needs to address the needs
and functions in terms nonprofits will understand. This deficiency causes Help
navigation to take some trial and error, but it is worth the effort for good
feature guidance.

Thirty days of free support is available to all new Peachtree users upon registration.
Further support plan options include ongoing annual support plans. Self-study
and classroom training are available, as well. All users receive access to an
online product knowledgebase and live chat assistance. Local affiliates and
technicians pro-vide on-site support and training.

RELATIVE VALUE – 5 Stars
Peachtree is an excellent value as an accounting and reporting tool. A single-user
license is available for $599, with a five-user multi-user package for $1,299.
Additional subscription charges apply for payroll tax tables and support and
training. Easy to set up and use out of the box, Peachtree is a great start
for small and growing nonprofits.

2009 OVERALL RATING: