2013 Review of CenterPoint Accounting

From the March 2013 review of On-Premise Small Business Accounting systems.

CenterPoint Accounting is one of two accounting software product lines offered by publisher Red Wing Software. Both product lines (CenterPoint and TurningPoint) are sold and implemented by value added resellers or sold directly, and are targeted at the high end of the small business space or the lower end of the mid-market space.

The product reviewed, CenterPoint Accounting Software Version 4.30, is available in industry-customized versions for general for-profit businesses, fund accounting, and agricultural producers. (This review will focus only on the features available in the general for-profit business edition.)

The Company also offers the optional CenterPoint Payroll application, which fully integrates with the accounting system, as well another for-profit business accounting solution called TurningPoint. Integration with third party payroll systems is also offered.

Basic System Functions: 4 Stars

CenterPoint Accounting was easy to download and install to our test instance of Windows 7 Pro, and ran well on our test configuration of a single core 1.7 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM. The application is more like a typical debit/credit oriented mid-range application, and users would probably need some accounting knowledge to use this system effectively.

The product version we reviewed only contained a single chart of accounts for general businesses, and did not have other customizations which might be required for an organization in a specialized business like retail, construction, or not-for-profit. CenterPoint is available for the Windows operating system only, and the publisher’s website does not list any third party hosts, and the product is not available on any mobile platforms at this time.

Core Accounting Capabilities: 3 Stars

CenterPoint Accounting provides a strong general ledger function, and supports account numbers from 4-22 characters in length, and account masks can be defined for long GL code validation. The application has a strong debit/credit orientation, and is built on a SQL database foundation. The software supports quotes (estimates), sales orders, purchase orders, and allows users to age receivables and payables to manage cash flow. CenterPoint will handle multi-rate sales tax calculations, and also allow items to be categorized into special groups for tax purposes (e.g. food, medicine, and other special categories). Customers can be flagged as tax exempt, and the software provides reports which can be used to prepare periodic sales tax returns.

As mentioned earlier, the optional CenterPoint Payroll system can be integrated into the program for $795.

An audit trail is maintained of all records which are modified, marked as void, or deleted from the database. A full audit trail report and various transaction search functions can help identify and flag voided and deleted transactions. The application does not have a simple way to show the changes made to a transaction.

The application is one of the few programs included in this review which will consolidate and report on the data from multiple companies. CenterPoint does not support multiple currencies, remote data entry, or multiple languages. The program will allow an unlimited number of simultaneous users, however, the software performs best when it is hosting ten users or less, depending upon what version of SQL Server is being used.