| The short story is that this is a very
good product for smaller NFPs. It can also be a good product for up to mid-sized NFP
organizations, but only if its companion product, Reporting to the MAX Report Writer, is also
purchased. It has all of the basic elements for FASB reporting built into it as well as
flexible account segment support and overlapping fiscal cycles. But the standard product
lacks some tools for reporting on such things as specific grant and expense data, as you
might want for an indirect cost proposal. This can be done easily enough, though, but you
will need their report writer to do it (which, incidentally, is a fine reporting tool). Reporting to the MAX (800-388-3038; www.cmstothemax.com) did not
rush into releasing Windows software. In the last few years, though, they began the
release of their whole family of products in a Windows version, and it was well worth the
wait. They have used a solid, consistent design with clean lines on-screen that often
belie the underlying sophistication of the software. A search dialogue box works the same
whether you are in AR or GL. Data-entry/edit screens share the same controls, and while
the fields are different, their expected organization on the screen isnŐt, making it easy
to look at a screen full of information and pick out what you need quickly. Other aspects,
including the icon tool bar and menus across the top, are kept consistent so that from
module to module, you can navigate through functions and processing in a similar fashion.
The data-entry/edit dialogue boxes have record
navigation controls on the right side (the same controls are used throughout the software
for any record oriented navigation). Data entry and navigation can be done primarily
through the keyboard also.
The General Ledger supports up to 45 digits and
six segments in the account numbering structure. These can be set in any combination of
segment lengths or styles. Organizations that are converting their systems over to a
GAAP-compliant accounting system from a traditional fund system might want to examine this
particular aspect. Properly utilized, it could help preserve certain functionality found
in an older fund chart of accounts.
This large account number limit can also make it
easier to add sub categories for tracking account activities such as for direct/indirect
cost allocations, restricted capital ex-penditures, etc. Additionally, when you set up the
chart of accounts, you can define up to three additional custom segments (three are
predefined for fund, account and project). Other account definitions include FASB 116
& 117 reporting classifications (which are predefined within the program design).
Individual funds within the chart of accounts can also be set on a fiscal year end other
than the organization's, which facilitates situations where you might have an individual
grant that reports over a different set of periods.
You can keep up to three years of books open as
well as three years of budgets (current and the next two years). Again, this is an
additional easement for the handling of grants and other budget items that overlap the
organization's fiscal year. Fund Accounting can also perform automatic allocations of
certain journal entries over multiple funds and accounts either by percentage or dollar
amounts. The entry screen for doing this is similar to all of the other data-entry screens
and does not make you jump through hoops to decide how you want to allocate an entry.
The reporting built into the general ledger is
fairly basic in nature, although it does have some built-in filters that allow you to
filter by segment or segments if you so desire. With a properly designed chart of
accounts, many routine reports can be constructed using filtered versions of the basic GL
reports (trial balance, budget performance, balance sheet, revenue and expense, as well as
three FASB reports). Using a well-constructed chart of accounts with the Reporting to the MAX
Report Writer, however, can properly generate many grant compliance reports, summary cost
allocation reports, and a lot of those ad hoc reports and schedules that the auditor is
always asking for. Their report writer is a visual report designer and works much like
many of the mainstream report generation tools currently available.
A note about its network capability: In its
stand-alone mode, Fund Accounting is basically an online interactive entry tool. Properly
set up as a multi-user program on a network, it processes transactions in a multiple batch
mode. This requires that the organization has procedures oriented around the batch posting
and processing times. This should be viewed as a benefit, though, since it often forces
additional review procedures that might not always take place in an online, real-time
environment. Also, Fund Accounting has a built-in security module that restricts rights by
accounting module and function with the module.
I was very pleased with Fund Accounting for
Windows. It embraces sound design principles that I would expect in any accounting
product. I would recommend the addition of their report writer, though, for those
organizations who have extensive ad hoc reporting requirements.
Reprinted by permission © 1999 The CPA Software
News, 110 N. Bell, Suite 300, Shawnee, OK 74801 - 800-456-0864 |
