#Personal Financial S/W
17 messages in this thread
>> Is Phasar suitable for a small business?
I use it for my wife's business, which is a one person landscape design
business. It is intended for cash accounting systems, not cost accounting
that most businesses use. It requires some kludey operations to keep
accounts payable and accounts receivable. Don't even think about payroll.
I don't know too much about Best Accounting, except the cost is not
justified for my size business. It has several modules, which go for on
the order of $300 each. There is also a program called Small Busingess
Accounting, which I tried, and found totally inadaquate and buggy. It has
been updated since then, however. But after my experiance with it, I
would not recommend it. Perhaps there are others here who have had a
positive experiance. Unless you are a programmer, I would not recommend
jumping into SB4. I have it, and have written programs for my use with it
(to track investments and medical bills). But it is not a trivial job.
Setting up the accounts relationships would require a good knowledge of
Data Base structure. I have heard about a company that sells SB4
programs, but I can't remember their name. Perhaps you can get a lead
over in the vender forum from Oxxi.
To be honest, the best selection of business software is on the PC (boy,
it hurts to say that).
Bill Roberts — Autopilot from Ellettsville, Indiana
Yes, Best sounds like it's out of my ballpark, especially at this point.
I have done some SuperBase Programming but nothing fancy. My problem is
that I don't know the first thing about accounting, ie, the difference
between cash and cost systems. The programming would be minor if I knew
what I was doing.
MoneyCounts, which I currently use on the BB, is for Personal finances but
I don't think it would be to difficult to use in a small business (they
also have a business module). I also got a good 3D spreadsheet with it
(which I rarely use but it only cost $50 for the two) of which there is
nothing comparable on the Amiga. It's unfortunate that the Amiga doesn't
have more business s/w. PC products are considerably cheaper, better and
offer more choice. It's a losing battle.
I guess my priority, however, should be to get the business going before I
worry too much about accounting.
Andrew
Andrew,
Gold Disk used to publish a programs called DeskTop Budget. It was a very
easy to use program with a fe minor problems (like it subtracted one from
the day value portion of dates on any checks input to the program). It
was a little thin on some reports, but overall, for managing a budget,
seeing where money went etc it was a good and easy to use peice of
software. I don't know if GD still publishes it or not, as the long
promised updates never appeared, but it was a good little program and
might suit your purposes quite well if you can find a copy.
It was much easier to use than Phasar and got around some problems with
Phasar 3.0 like the 9 char limit to cell entries. The DTB front end is
all Iconic for both income/expense categories, credit card accounts, and
checking accounts. It could have domintated the personal/small business
accounting packages on the Amiga, but GD and the author seemed to loos
interest before they really gave it a chance and any advretising.
wmc – via Autopilot!
Wayne,
Ya, DeskTopBudget sounds a bit too simple for my needs. GD is still
marketting it but I think they are still charging the standard rate. If
they dropped the price I would consider it but it doesn't seem worth it at
this point.
Have you used HomeAccounts which is by the same people who make
WordsWorth?
Andrew
Andrew,
Negative on HomeAccounts. Haven't seen it. I've only used DTB and
Phasar. Phasar was pretty much a glorified canned spreadsheet. DTB
actually did more for me, especially with the automatic payments for
salaries etc. and the nice year-end rollover. It also had special tracking
for assets, so if you have to pay yearly tax on your "personal property"
used in a business as we do in California, DTB mad it easy to track the
property and depreciate it. Lot of nice features for home or one-person
business.
I'm interested in what you have to say about HomeAccounts if you get it.
wmc – via Autopilot!
Wayne,
If Phasar is a "glorified canned spreadsheet" would I be better to go with
something like ProCalc? But then again, maybe I shouldn't discount DTB
with out further consideration. I'm not going to spend anything on a
higher end system until my business is actually going so if GD is selling
DTB at a reduced cost then maybe I'll go for that. I quess it would be
stupid to ask if DTB can convert its data files to other formats, huh?
HomeAccounts, from what I recall of the demo, seemed fairly well featured
but at that time I knew even less of what to look for so I don't know if
it was any good. I was turned off because it had a puzzle to play with
while doing your accounts. As I recall, it was also fairly expensive at
about $100.
Andrew
Andrew,
I'll take exception with the description of Phasar as a glorified
spreadsheet. But it IS much more a check book type program than a small
business accounting program. And it IS a much better choice for a
checkbook run small business than Home Accounts.
You really have only two choices: A Phasar type program or a full fledged
accounting program such as Service INdustry Accounting. Given the
complexity of business today I personally believe it to be "penny wise and
pound foolish" to try to function without an accountant…even if it's
only at year end.
If you are just starting up, and plan to run your business out of a check
book, Phasar will probably do everything you need as far as keeping track
of your income and outgo. And it will make your accountant's job a whole
lot easier at year's end. My philosophy is that your job is growing the
business, NOT being the bookkeeper. And ANY accounting program requires
great gobs of time to set up and keep current.
Good Luck
Gary
on AutoPilot from Charlotte, NC
Gary,
Actually, the "glorified spreadsheet" was a quote so I take no
responsibility to your exception. <<BIG GRIN>>
Your advice sounds good and I have called my dealer about cost and
availability (he doesn't have it but will look into it!) My dealer also
suggested Best Acounting which I believe someone said was buggy (sorry, I
forgot who said it, was it you?) (I should remember to keep the answers I
get.) Of course, being an Amiga dealer he uses an IBM to do his
accounting.
Ideally I would like something that could keep track of various
service-time charges (ie. 1 hour at $25 * 15 hours?) and then add up the
charges for a bill. Is that what the SIA program is used for? Basically,
for my business, I would want something that I can use to calculate
various costs and produce a bill with out a lot of intervention on my
part. Maybe your are right, it's time to get a real accountant. I agree
with you about time spent. I use MoneyCounts Personal and it takes a
considerable amount of time just to do household stuff.
To tell the truth, it seems that I will end up paying more for an Amiga
program which has fewer features and isn't as well supported. Although my
286 bridgeboard is deathly slow I am going to look at a $37 up-grade to
MoneyCounts Business version. It's cheap and is compatible with the
records I already have. I did wish to make the BB obsolete, however. 🙁
If MCB doesn't work then I'll get my money back and try Phasar, SIA or
some other product. Thank you for your help.
Andrew
Andrew,
I use Pha$ar to keep my accounts straight with my business
(construction contracting). While it is a little short for a business
accounting program, it does fine for me. In combination with SBase4 Pro,
it handles most of my accounting needs. If you need something that will
handle payroll deduction and the like you will nee The Accountant II. My
only wish for Pha$ar is an Arexx port or any type of export/import
facility.
…Steve
====>>> Motorola 68030 Inside <<<====
Steve,
Thanks for the input. When asking one local dealer about Phasar he had
never heard of it. My regular dealer recommended Best. I have decided to
take the cheap route for the time being and simply upgrade my BB
accounting system. I would prefer to go Amiga but the PC version is only
$37 total. I think I'll try and pick up SBase, however, for general
record keeping.
Andrew
Steve:
I have Phasar v3.0 that I got a while ago, but have never even opened the
package. Is the earlier 3.0 version good, or should I upgrade it to the
latest version if I'm gonna use it? How does it compare with 'The
Accountant II' ? It seems like accounting software is one area where the
Amiga is years behind most other computers 🙁
// -Mike Schiller
\X/ AMIGA! On AutoPilot in sunny Fort Lauderdale
Bill,
Is Andrew looking for a small business accounting package for the Amiga?
I'm jumping in the middle (don't have the parent message because I was on
vacation).
If so, I'm using a great program for my business called "The Accountant".
I'd need more info from Andrew to see if it's what he needs. Let him know
for me in case he doesn't see this post. Thanks.
Rich – Flying the friendly AP skys
Hi Bill,
Actually, my original posting was to replace MoneyCounts (on my
BridgeBoard) for my personal finances. The consensus seems to be for
Phasar for simple accounts and Best for business. I was also asking about
"Home Accounts" which no one seems to have had experience with.
I am hopefully in the beginning stages of starting up a business so I am
also interested in any business oriented products, especially ones which
are 1. affordable and 2. able to grow with me.
Could you tell me more about the Accountant, please? I am very much a
novice at this so you can assume I know little. Thanks.
Andrew
Andrew,
I'ts Rich, not Bill. :^) I replied to Bill's post because it was easier.
Glad you got the message, anyway.
I run a small corporation (about 12 employees) and have been using "The
Accountant" by KFS software since 1991. Although not very familiar with
any other accounting packages out there, I can tell you that this one has
done very well for me.
The Accountant is a simple, user-friendy, double-entry accounting system.
By double-entry, that means for every transaction you debit one account
and credit another (debit cash, credit sales, credit cash, debit
expenses…etc.) of course this is done automaticaly depending on how your
system is set up. BTW, your personal acccountant would MUCH prefer you to
have a double-entry system, I'm sure.
The General Ledger has 3-digit account numbers, so it's not meant to used
in a larger company that keeps track of every little thing. You can
usually tell what type of business an accounting program is meant for my
the # of digits in the GL account numbers. A program with 6 or 9 is going
to be very powerful, complicated and expensive.
When talking about accounting software, you'll hear about "modules"
(Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Payroll) some
programs sell them seperately, others individually (usually the upper end
systems). The Accountant has all four modules built-in plus a
"point-of-sale" (cash register) module. They are all integtrated and swap
information.
Since I purchased the system in 1991, I have no idea if KFS Software even
still exits. However, at the beginning, when I needed tech support they
were there. The program is so good I haven't needed suuport for the last
two years.
As with most double-entry accounting programs, this one assumes at least a
basic knowledge of accounting. I believe you'll find that true with any
business accounting software. If you have absolutely no experience with
business accounting, it would probably be best to ask your accountant what
to do and let him do the work. Then again, you could always take a night
class :^)
The last info I have on KFS Software is:
Ben Kirby – 916-824-2944
Good Luck,
Rich – Flying the friendly AP skys
Rich,
Sorry, did I call you Bill?? Ooops.
Thanks for the info on the Accountant. Do you recall how much you paid
for it when you got it? My business, which doesn't even exist at this
point will likely have one employee, me. But I need a way to keep track
of the cost of time spent on various projects and other records. It's
hard because I am inbetween the two worlds of needing a personal account
manager and a business package. I'll keep your info and when the time
comes I look up KFS to see if they are still around.
Andrew
Andrew,
I think it cost about $200. For a one-person business it's probably more
than you need.
Good luck.
Rich – Flying the friendly AP skys
Richard,
Well, thank you for your comments. As I said, I have archived it and I
will keep it on record for if and when the time comes.
Andrew