2012 Review of Sage Peachtree Premium Construction Accounting 2012

Sage Peachtree Premium Construction Accounting 2012
800-388-4697
www.Peachtree.com

From the March 2012 Review of Construction & Contractor Accounting Systems.

Best Fit: Peachtree is an excellent entry level product that is well-suited for smaller construction companies or contractors that desire affordability and functionality along with solid industry-specific features.

Product Strengths

• Affordable, easy to use industry specific product
• Solid job cost functionality
• Large selection of add-on products available
• Excellent support system
• Scalable – able to ramp up to Peachtree Quantum or other Sage products

Potential Weakness

• No scheduling/dispatch functionality
• No equipment management functionality

Peachtree, like its competitors, continues to make consistent enhancements to its entry-level accounting product. Filled with new features and enhancements, Sage Peachtree Premium Construction Accounting 2012 is well suited for small construction companies.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS - 4.75 Stars

Peachtree’s user interface uses centers for easy system navigation, with the various centers representing the various system functions. All centers are displayed to the right of the screen and automatically refresh when another center is accessed. Users can use the default screen, or customize it to better suit their needs. New users can make use of the included wizards that can help with system installation and product setup. Peachtree’s data entry screens are easily navigated and are well designed, with all the necessary lookup options available. Peachtree’s Business Status feature offers users a variety of views highlighting various company data such as Account Balances, Aged Payables, and Revenue YTD. Peachtree’s Dashboard function has also added 11 additional modules (sections) iincluding Payroll, Top Vendors, Inventory Adjustments, and Item Purchase History. Both are fully customizable, so users can easily access the necessary views as needed. Peachtree offers remote access for quick access from anywhere, and runs on a Windows platform and will work with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

CORE ACCOUNTING CAPABILITIES - 4.5 Stars

Sage Peachtree Premium Accounting for Construction 2012 offers users the identical set of features and functionality found in their general accounting product, along with options designed specifically for the construction industry. Upon installation, Peachtree will install a construction-specific chart of accounts that can be utilized as is, or customized as needed.

Peachtree offers users the ability to make payments electronically, and the banking function makes reconciliation easy. An excellent selection of business tools such as user-defined dashboards, tight budget controls and company benchmarking get and keep owners on top of their financial situation. Solid AP functionality offers includes processing of vendor payments and credits, as well as handling time and expense tracking. The new Vendor Management Center allows users to view current orders, look up various vendor information, and drill down to specific vendor details and transactions.

Peachtree’s AR functionality allows users to access customer information, process customer invoices and receipts, customize detail as needed, and users can also drill down to customer and transaction detail as needed. Peachtree currently offers users three payroll options: Simple, Select, and Managed, with users able to choose what level of payroll, if any they wish to process in house. Both inventory and purchase order functions are also available in Peachtree as well.

Peachtree contains excellent audit trail functionality, with all system transactions tracked in detail which includes system user, transaction date and time. Managers can assign user security by module, choosing the features and functions that can be accessed by specific personnel.

CONSTRUCTION/CONTRACTOR–SPECIFIC FEATURES - 4 Stars