2012 Review of BizAutomation – BizAutomation.com
Consolidated financial statements are supported, and the company reports that multiple currency and multiple language support (English, Chinese, French, Spanish, and German) is included in the application. The application can also be used to create an integrated online store which pulls information from the item listing, and automatically posts sales activity to the CRM system and accounting transactions to the general ledger.
Day-to-Day Operations - 5 Stars
The system is very process oriented, and each accounting transaction is created as part of a larger transaction cycle. Document management and workflow automation are included in the software, as are automatic routing rules for workflow management, forms integration, and lead qualification.
BizAutomation offers integrations with UPS, FedEx, and USPS. The product does not integrate with any outside CRM or POS systems, however, this appears to be due to the rich CRM and POS functionality at the core of the product.
Inventory levels can be tracked and valued using the weighted average cost valuation method. The product has some manufacturing capabilities, although manufacturing accounting and reporting does not appear to be a core focus for the product.
Management Features - 4 Stars
WYSIWYG interfaces in this product are impressive, and this web-based application includes features like drag and drop which are traditionally included only in on-premises solutions. The product includes a limited number of financial and accounting reports, although there are tools users can use to create their own custom reports.
Integration/Import/Export - 4.5 Stars
The entire BizAutomation suite of accounting, CRM, and business management tools is tightly integrated, and offers interfaces for credit card processing, point of sale, shopping carts, vendor and customer portals, and workflow automation. Third party solutions are very limited due to small installed base, although the Company reports that the product is based on the Microsoft .NET platform, which would simplify the process of creating a custom interface.
Integration with Google Apps (Gmail and Google Calendar) is impressive, and the ability to pull information directly into the CRM and push appointments into the Google Calendar will be helpful to most users.
Help/Support - 4 Stars
The company has eight employees (some offshore) dedicated to development and user support, and all telephone support is included with the monthly subscription fee. The help documentation is somewhat limited, and many common accounting questions are not addressed in the help file. The vendor’s implementation and support staff includes accounting professionals.
Summary & Pricing
The product has capabilities which are beyond what one would expect in an application with fewer than 1,000 users. Very small businesses will need to make customizations to the interface to pare down the options listed on the screen to a more manageable number. The product is strongest in its CRM and marketing capabilities, and although the integration is impressive, the accounting module, and the small number of included reports, make this product a tool for more sophisticated end users.
Pricing for BizAutomation starts at $149 per month for three users, plus a one-time setup charge of $495. Shopping cart integration is available for an additional charge of $50-$100 per month based on traffic, and custom EDI interfaces can be created for an additional charge.
