Solution Overviews » Management » Accounting / Financial Management / Enterprise Management

Accounting / Financial Management / Enterprise Management

Author: TechShortcut Staff | Article updated: January 18, 2010

1. Overview

Often referred to as bookkeeping, accounting, financial management or even enterprise resource planning (ERP). At the core you will find basic accounting to track revenue and costs and produce income statements and balance sheets.

The trend has been to expand the financial software to include all business processes from one end to the other. This means that components like customer relationship management (CRM), eCommerce, payroll, human resources and many others may be included.

Considerations

Integration
Integration between applications can be technically challenging and time consuming. Determine what data will need to be loaded initially and periodically from sources like payroll, point of sale, credit cards, banks and web store.
Solution Approaches
- Enterprise Suite
  These solutions can accommodate a wide range of businesses and business processes that are common across many types of business. These solutions are also referred to as "horizontal" solutions.
- Specialized/Niche Applications
  These solutions—often referred to as "best of breed"—offer a specialized focus for a specific type of business or for a specific business process. While the solutions may offer a close fit for some business needs, they may lack other pieces of functionality. In order to complete a business process it may be necessary to build in integration to another application. Suppose, for example, that a construction firm finds a stand-alone project management application that will perform 80 percent of its core business processes. Unfortunately, the construction firm finds that the project management application does not include an accounting component to collect costs and generate bills. The company will then also need to figure out how to integrate with their accounting application.
Key Product Differentiators
Some key features that can be deciding factors and thus quickly differentiate applications include the following:
- Multilanguage
  Display application pages in different languages. For example, if you have workers in Mexico you may need them to see pages in Spanish while workers in the United States would need see the pages in English.
- Multicurrency
  Accept transactions in different currencies and translate to a base currency.
- Multilocation
  Identify transactions, profit and loss associated with different locations.
- Multi-user
  Include users from different parts of the company with varying levels of system authorization.

Implementation Options

There are two primary options for implementing accounting solutions.

1. In-House Accounting / Enterprise Management	2. Internet Accounting / Enterprise Management Service
Install the accounting/enterprise management software in-house. Software may be needed on each computer and on a server.	An Internet service provides the accounting/enterprise management software.

2. Option Comparison

For more on evaluating implementation options and finding help see the following guides:

	1. In-House Accounting / Enterprise Management	2. Internet Accounting / Enterprise Management Service
Requirements	See hardware and other cost factors below. You will need to add or rent the infrastructure to run the solution.	A PC with a web browser and an Internet connection - preferably DSL, cable or T1.
Cost Factors	Hardware
	Most systems will require a server to host the application software and a database. Depending on the number of users and the type of application, more servers may be needed. A backup power supply.	None
	Software
	Software license cost for the application and possibly the database. A maintenance fee may be required for ongoing support.	Typically none
	Labor
	Installation, configuration, training, integration, customization, backup and maintenance of software	Software configuration, training, integration and customization.
	Services
	Utility cost for server environment.	Typically a monthly fee per user
Anywhere Access	Possibly	Yes
Multi-user Access	Possibly—Depends on the software	Yes
Electronic Backup	Not included, must be included in your in-house backup.	Some form of backup is typically included
Security	Security depends on the quality of your technology environment.	Data is being placed in someone else's hands, however Internet services are usually on top of security measures.

3. Next Steps

It is not possible to offer general direction on which implementation option to choose because there are simply too many functional and technical factors to consider. While an Internet service will greatly simplify the technical management of the solution, it may not necessarily be the cheapest option. On the other hand, an in-house solution may require you to create or rent your own data center which has the potential to be a technical management issue.

If you are pursuing an enterprise-wide solution to help you streamline your operations, the solution may represent the largest technology investment for your business. It can not be stressed enough that you need to carefully evaluate how you currently do business and how new software may affect your business process. You must know what you are getting before it is implemented which is no small feat. You should also plan for what you will need over five years to ensure you don't outgrow the solution too quickly.

Estimate the Benefits
Do you expect to save costs through increased efficiency or do you expect to be able to handle more business? If possible, make projections of gains to get an idea how long it will take the investment to pay off.
Document your Key Business Processes
Documenting your business processes will help you and any tech service providers ensure that business needs are identified and met.
Do a Fit/Gap Analysis
Evaluate each business need against each application to identify whether there is a fit. If a gap is identified, specify how it can be addressed.
Schedule Demonstrations
Try to get a demo that walks though a business process similar to yours.
Compare Costs Carefully
Both in-house and Internet services have many cost considerations so ensure that you are looking at the entire picture.

For more on evaluating implementation options and finding help see the following guides:

	1. In-House Accounting / Enterprise Management	2. Internet Accounting / Enterprise Management Service
Find Local Tech Specialists Search TechShortcut's tech profiles for specialists in your area	Accounting ERP
Find More Information Use Research Helper to find related web articles	Small Business Accounting Software Application Small Business ERP Software Application	Small Business Accounting Online Small Business ERP Online
Examples of Products and Services These are not endorsements, simply some product or service names we encountered in our research to get you started finding your best fit.	From 1 to Several Users Intuit QuickBooks Premier Intuit QuickBooks Pro Intuit QuickBooks Simple Start ¹ Microsoft Office Accounting ¹ More than Several Users Compiere ² Intuit QuickBooks Enterprise Microsoft Dynamics Solomon (SL) Microsoft Dynamics Navision (NAV) Microsoft Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains (GP) Sage Accpac Sage MAS 90 & MAS 200 SAP BusinessOne ¹ Offers a free version ² Open source	From 1 to a Few Users Intuit QuickBooks Online - Free, Basic and Plus Versions More than Several Users Aplicor Intacct Klix NetSuite Siondo WorkingPoint Xero

1. In-House Accounting / Enterprise Management

2. Internet Accounting / Enterprise Management Service