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| DacEasy v.13 | |
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DacEasy v.13 is the latest version released from accounting software veteran Best Software. Designed for the small- to mid-sized business, DacEasy offers a complete accounting solution for a modest price. DacEasy comes with several modules including complete “General Ledger,” “Accounts Payable,” “Accounts Receivable,” “Inventory” and “Purchasing” modules. A Bonus Pack that includes “Payroll” and “Accounting” modules also can be purchased separately, giving you a complete financial solution. In its latest release, DacEasy boasts several new features, including the ability to maintain a check register online, a customizable toolbar, the option to schedule regular system backups and one of my favorites — the business alerts feature. This new functionality allows you to select specific business rules and criteria, such as receiving alerts when customers’ balances reach a pre-determined amount. Designed around its Business Center, DacEasy makes it easy to access information from multiple modules simultaneously, access their corporate home page, or click on a link to obtain system resources and tips. All data entry screens contain a “How do I?” feature, a down arrow to access further options and a magnifying glass icon, which accesses the lookup feature available in most data entry fields. DacEasy’s home page can be customized to fit your needs. You can choose the screen appearance that most suits your company. Available options include Accounting, DacEasy Classic, Order Entry, Payroll and Point of Service. You also can choose to add specific toolbars for each of these options. Before using DacEasy, you will need to enter company information, system preferences, the account interface, where you define posting accounts suitable for your business, and tables where information such as tax rates, customer and vendor terms, and discount codes are entered. Customized messages also can be entered in a table and later added to customer invoices when appropriate. Customer balances, if any, can be entered at this time as well. These amounts can be entered as individual invoices with the current balances. Because DacEasy doesn’t have an adequate way to track time and billing for attorney rates, clients can be billed using the service invoice option. You can set up services by code and measure, such as if you bill by the quarter hour. Then you can set your pricing levels for products by entering specific codes for each level of pricing you might have. In the “General Ledger” module, you can assign recurring transactions in groups whose specifications were entered during setup. All transactions entered in General Ledger, Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable are stored in their assigned journal, rather than posted to the General Ledger, which means all transactions must be posted separately. This can prove to be an asset, since this extra step gives you the opportunity to review and edit all information before it’s posted. In both the “Accounts Receivable” and “Accounts Payable” modules, you can make global changes to customers and vendors using “Global Changes” under the Periodic Menu in the “Accounting” module. If you have multiple companies or branches, you can choose to print financial statements individually, or consolidate them for a more complete financial picture. Two of the best features found in DacEasy are the “Payroll” module and the new integration with Crystal Reports (purchased separately). DacEasy’s “Payroll” module is solid, with an area to enter new employee information and includes separate entry screens for pay, vacation and sick time accruals, tax information, and custom fields, where additional deductions or employee information can be entered. A “Report Writer” module produces quality reports and with the added Crystal Reports integration, reporting options in DacEasy are better than ever. Quick import and export of files to Microsoft Excel and Word make spreadsheet and graph production easy. For those concerned about unauthorized system access, system security also is available in DacEasy. An unlimited number of user profiles can be entered and stored in the system, and the security feature allows you to choose which areas of the program each user can access. DacEasy is an accounting software product well suited to the small business environment. One of its key strengths, the “Inventory” module, isn’t a priority in a law office environment, but with its strong payroll and reporting modules, adequate billing function and quick, easy setup, it can prove useful in the small law office. |
Best Software Inc. Price: $299 for single user; $599 for network version; $499 for Bonus Pack for single user. Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP Reviewed by Mary Girsch-Bock, a technical writer and independent software consultant based in Albuquerque, N.M. PROS CONS VERDICT |
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