No matter the size of your organization and its needs, there is an accounting package for you. These are some of the best, ranging from just a few to several thousand dollars.

Accounting is one activity that is ideally suited to computers. In fact, some of the very first applications designed for microcomputers were accounting packages. At the retail level, financial software continues to be a strong seller, accounting for a hefty portion of all software purchased. Sales of accounting packages through other channels, such as value added resellers (VARs), are even higher.

Many vendors would have you think that their accounting software fits all businesses, large and small. While it's true that there are small and large businesses using the same type of package, there really is no such thing as one-size-fits-all.

In choosing an accounting package, it's important to consider how your company does business. There's no point saving a few hundred dollars on an accounting package if it can't handle the way you price your inventory; a common limitation in entry-level packages. Payroll is another area where the capabilities of different packages vary greatly. Make sure that the package you choose offers a payroll module that will handle the needs of you and your employees.

As you move up in cost from entry-level and low-end accounting into the middle range, both price and capabilities increase. Some of the enhanced features in the more expensive packages include the ability to consolidate financial information from several companies into one set of financial statements. Another feature is being able to use a more complex account structure, as well as a greater number of comprehensive reports. These packages, however, take more time to set up correctly, and may be more difficult to use.

Security varies, though several of the less expensive accounting packages have excellent security, with multi-level passwords.

The real dividing point between low end and mid-range is not necessarily price, though most low-end packages cost less than $500. The more robust mid-range accounting applications are meant for companies that not only have more revenue and employees, but more profound requirements.

Finally, there are high-end accounting packages. These are designed for very large enterprises with numerous subsidiaries—companies that maintain enourmous amounts of data. Vendors such as SAP and Hyperion dominate this segment of the market, and installations can cost upwards of a million dollars, and stretch over months or even years....

Reporting to the MAX Accounting for Windows 5.1
With 20 years in the accounting software business, Reporting to the MAX has long been an advocate of selling directly to the end user. That's not uncommon in the low price range, but with pricing over $4,000 for the unlimited-user version of the package, Cougar Mountain definitely qualifies as a mid-range vendor.

The single-user version is priced at under $900, and includes a very robust accounts payable and receivable module, along with order entry, general ledger, and invoicing modules. Reporting to the MAX's inventory module provides first in, first out (FIFO); last in, first out (LIFO); standard cost; or weighted average cost methods. Also include is a data exchange, with provides the means to export and import data to and from a database and spreadsheet. This enables you to perform extensive additional data manipulation.

Not included in the basic package is a payroll module. This is common among mid-range vendors, which often sell some modules separately. Reporting to the MAX does offer a separate payroll module. If purchased along with the Accounting for Windows package, it costs $199 for the single-user version, $349 for the mutiuser version. If purchased individually, this module can cost as much as $2,599, depending upon the number of users.

Also offered separately is a comprehensive point of sale (POS) module, which allows Accounting for Windows to operate as a back office system in a retail environment. The POS module integrates seamlessly with Accounting for Windows, and when purchased together, the POS module costs $349 for the single-user version, and $499 for the multiuser version. (It costs $1,499 to $5,799 if purchased separately.)

Reporting to the MAX uses the batch update approach in all modules except Inventory, which is updated in real-time. This allows the software to run nicely with multiple users even on older systems. With this system, you must make sure that all items have been posted before printing reports. This is a different approach from that of many vendors, but it allows the various subsidiary ledgers, such as Accounts Payable and Receivable, to be run as completely separate applications.

Wizard walk you through the setup process, and numerous sample charts of accounts are provided. This makes setup fast and easy. However, companies using this level of accounting software often employ complex account structures and masking, so the default charts will probably not be useful.

Accounting for Windows provides many attractive and informative reports. For those companies that need them, all three financial statements are generated, including the cash flow statement.