SAP,Budget,ERP,Business,One,No computer SAP Budget ERP or Business One Notes on Accounting Package S

Gone are those times when the companies and the organisations didn't need a hi-tech system to handle them. Owing to the considerable increase in the business sector and thus, an enormous increase in the complexity of the organisational struc ----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes a

But what about budget solution - is it available from SAP or you have to look for another provider such as Sage Peach Tree, QuickBooks or Dynamics GP former Great Plains?  Let’s make some excurse into the history and review B1 in brief:1. Small Business Accounting market.  Apparently when all the large companies got their system implemented popular brands had to move down and compete for small business clientele.  There are several options to choose.  First one is so-called ‘select version’ where provider disables ‘luxury’ business processes and functionality and offers the same product at cheaper price.  Good example is Microsoft Small Business Financials where GP Dynamics.dic meta-dictionary is the same (not exactly but we assume that word ‘the same’ illustrates the situation) as in high end Great Plains.  However in Dexterity functionality is partially disabled.  Second option is to develop application which is dedicated to small business market by its architecture and native functionality2. Accounting package which was designed and developed originally in Israel.  SB1 is rebranded version of the software originally architected in Israel.  We see very strong points here as the system naturally has to address the challenges of international market including multicurrency, foreign languages support in data entry and user interface, restating financial statements from accrual to cash base just to open the list of features3. Competition and the ideas about pricing.  Accounting software market has several levels.  There are packages which could be characterized as ‘entry level’ or ‘small business out-of-the-shelf systems’.  You pay several hundred dollars and get the application which has basic GL, AP, AR and Inventory Control features.  Such names as QuickBooks or Peach Tree are well known and you probably heard about them.  These packages have to slash the cost by eliminating dependency from third party SQL platforms such as Microsoft SQL Server or Pervasive SQL and host transactions in proprietary database.  B1 is not in the same niche.  It is based in Microsoft SQL Server.  And this fact means that it is open to data export and custom reporting in such tools as Crystal and MS SQL Server Reporting Services.  At this time of April of 2012 you have to purchase at least one professional user license (in the United States the pricelist is slightly below three thousand dollars) and then you can acquire named users by series (around one thousand USD each named user).  Plus please consider implementation cost to be comparable with software licenses4. Service Sector.  Small and mid-market organizations are probably the majority in field service or customer support.  There is warranty contracts module where technician could be sent onsite with hourly rates and replacement parts tracking in the application.  The decision is the work is covered by warranty or billable to the customer is up to you5. Multinational Company.  In XXI century it is a norm when mid-market organization has to outsource manufacturing or call center to South America or China.  In international business environment you often have to open legal entity in the country hosting your overseas operations.  Even small companies have to do the same.  B1 is available in Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Russian and this is just to open the list of languages.  Foreign language support is good but there is also the challenge of compliance to local legislation.  To give you good examples – SPED (Public Digital Bookkeeping) in Brazil or Russian government approved chart of accounts (Account 20 main production – big headache to implement the transactions).  Compliance is often implemented through ISV channel add-onsLet’s now take few questions from the auditoria:Q.  We are in the unique business backed by venture capital.  Our business secrets require customizations in accounting software.  Is it something easy to address or should we keep reviewing other solutions?A.  B1 is relatively modern solution where user defined objects could be set in user interface and they are stored in metadata.  This means that customization in its data entry and user interface doesn’t require programming.  If all you need to do is to introduce new user defined tables and fields for the integration with external system and Crystal Reports design then software development is not required or maybe better to say ‘optional’.  However if you need custom processes ‘animation’ then consider Microsoft Visual Studio C# or VB programming with Software Development Kit DLL libraries and code samplesQ.  Let’s revisit Brazilian SPED and the cost of the software and implementationA.  We see large interest to Sao Paulo, Campinas business parks as well as food processing, mining and manufacturing outsourcing to Brazil.  In January of 2008 Public Digital Bookkeeping System (SPED) was made compulsory.  Technically it seems to be not very challenging as you have to call SPED server (Federal or State government hosted) and transmit information about your AR and AP invoices (not only  - but these are one of the most popular).  Well, in real life you probably don’t want to mess out government reporting.  Business One success in Brazil might be associated with successful SPED implementation via third party add-on.  The price however is comparable to SB1 named user licenses costQ.  We are about to open our subsidiary in China.  Is your software a good fit?A.  Traditional ERP packages such as Great Plains Dynamics were designed based on ASCII table or better to say they were targeted to USA market.  In China besides complex regulation you have the challenge of hieroglyph based alphabet.  Unicode is coveredPlease call us 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904, [email protected].  We have local presence in Chicagoland, Southern California, Atlanta Georgia, South West Michigan, Houston and Dallas areas of Texas. We serve customers USA and Canada nationwide and internationally via web sessions and phone conferences (Skype is welcomed).  We are working on Brazilian ERP consulting market in Sao Paulo since 2004