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Accounting package

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    #1

    Accounting package

    I am designing a database which will be used to calculate material and labour costs for a manufacturing process. I want it to interface seamlessly to an accounts package. Has anybody written an accounts package in A5V4? I need at least general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable and stock control.

    Thanks,
    Tony
    Tags: None
    #2
    RE: Accounting package

    Well, I don't have a "plug in" package right now, but I'm thinking about making a generic AP/GL/AR available to developers. I'd be curious what the demand would be and how much developers would be willing to pay. I have some ideas but would welcome some feedback.

    Tony, if I do this, it probably wouldn't be done for a few months. I don't know your timeline.

    - Steve
    -Steve
    sigpic

    Comment

      #3
      RE: Accounting package

      Steve,

      Do it! I don't have an immediate need, but it would enhance my ability to market applications.

      A link to Quicken has been frequenctly requested on this board.

      Tom

      Comment

        #4
        RE: Accounting package

        why not also include a payroll, too.
        that way we could develop our own front end package, and incorporate with yours!
        Cole Custom Programming - Terrell, Texas
        972 524 8714
        [email protected]

        ____________________
        "A young man who is not liberal has no heart, but an old man who is not conservative has no mind." GB Shaw

        Comment

          #5
          RE: Accounting package

          Steve,

          I would certainly vote for an accounting package written in A5. A couple of CPA's and I reviewed Plato's(?) package for A3 or A4 a few years back and noted many problems with it, which I am sure you would not repeat. I know many of us (developers) would love to get a "QuickBooks" level of accounting program (meaning easy to use, pretty comprehensive, and completing double entry without using the D and C words).

          There is an inexpensive retail software database package available which will export a record to QuickBooks at the end of the day, which makes a journal entry to sales and AR, (but not the detail). It would seem to me that XBasic could just as easily make an .iif file, which is what QB uses, as an export file.

          Please keep us posted on the accounting application (since I know you have virtually nothing else to do ).

          Thanks.

          Jay Talbott
          Jay Talbott
          Lexington, KY

          Comment

            #6
            RE: Accounting package

            There is an A5 accounting package called Engage:

            http://www.engage-ca.com/

            You can download it and try it.
            Peter
            AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

             [email protected]
            https://www.alphabasesolutions.com

            Comment

              #7
              RE: Accounting package

              I took a look at http://www.engage-ca.com/ . It is a program designed to be used by an accountant in the class of software commonly known as "Client Accounting". A CPA preparing statements and/or auditing a number of clients would most likely use something like this. It looks they they have done some good work on the app, but it really does not fit into what this thread is about.

              I have worked with a number of mid range accounting systems for the past twenty years ( State of the Art, Macola, Great Plains and others). These packages, as well as the lower end stuff (Quickbooks, Peachtree, Business Works etc) have gotten better and better. They have teams of programmers and many millions of dollars have been invested in research and development and most of them will keep on improving their products. In my opinion if you need a general ledger package, buy one and find a way to integrate your application into it. What almost all of these companies are doing is making sure that the outside world can talk to their data. There is no end to the number of supporting apps that can be written to handle highly specific business tasks that these turnkey accounting solutions cannot handle.
              The flexabilty of Alpha makes it a wondeful tool that can accomplish these tasks as long as it continually enhances its abilities to talk to the "outside data" world.



              Comment

                #8
                RE: Accounting package

                This was my thinking, and is my practice... Except the only way in or out that I have used is import and export via text files. This is pretty cumbersome.

                I know some products interface with Quickbooks via dll's - one outfit I talked to said they hacked into QuicBooks and wrote their own dll's. This bothers me as who knows what Quickbooks is doing to keep data integrated across files. And I bet Intuit would charge a pricey premium to supply a DLL interface...

                Am I anywhere on the right track about how integration is done?

                I use MYOB, and the latest version is quite a pain with it's cross file integration - I have yet to get an error free import, even off data created with an export from MYOB. But I DO like the integrity of MYOB, It is a VERY clean and powerful package.

                I also feel that writing a full GL package is a major responsibility with respect to liability. Who is liable for penalties arising from bugs?

                But if I write it for my own business...

                I would be interested in a simple GL AP AR system of tables, sets, basic field rules and a few scripts and reports for key functions as closing a period, trial balance, balance, P&L, reconcile.

                Comment

                  #9
                  RE: Accounting package

                  Steve,
                  I think my advise coincides with that of some others .. notably Stephen Williams. Given the pricing on MYOB and the resources which MYOB can deploy to maintain and improve their product, there would appear to be very little market share for a custom written application in A5.

                  The integration of systems in many businesses can be at process level and that is an acceptable solution for many.

                  I have written a specialist hire / dockets system for a Contractor who does Heavy Machine Hire hire. This creates a customer invoice with job-specific pricing etc and reports plant utilisation. This is invoiced to the customer by day, by plant-id etc and the invoice is then rekeyed to an MYOB Accounts Receivable system as a one-liner. There is no need for electronic integration so long as the business can absord process integration and as long as it works well.

                  My advice would be to concentrate on the value add and leave the 'vanilla' to MYOB.
                  Regards
                  tom

                  Comment

                    #10
                    RE: Accounting package

                    Thanks to everyone for your replies.

                    I need something usable in the next three months - it doesn't need to have a huge number of features - just a basic GL/AP/AR/stock control package. I have looked at MYOB etc and they are very good but I want to avoid importing/exporting data in batches e.g. when a user enters a new customer record in the accounting package's customer file, I want it to be immediately available for use in my application. I will try developing something and will keep this board informed if I produce a usable app.

                    Thanks
                    Tony

                    Comment

                      #11
                      RE: Accounting package

                      Steve:
                      I too would be interested in a simple GL AP AR system of tables, sets, basic field rules and a few scripts and reports for key functions as closing a period, trial balance, balance, P&L, reconcile.
                      Charlie Crimmel

                      Comment

                        #12
                        RE: Accounting package

                        Steve,
                        To the best of my knowledge, no software or application provider guarantees their product to work. They all have disclaimers saying they assume no liability for errors arising from errors in their application.
                        Cole Custom Programming - Terrell, Texas
                        972 524 8714
                        [email protected]

                        ____________________
                        "A young man who is not liberal has no heart, but an old man who is not conservative has no mind." GB Shaw

                        Comment

                          #13
                          RE: Accounting package

                          Martin is correct. The only the they guarantee is the media on which the software is delivered.

                          Comment

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