Pastel Accounting 6.0 has been rated the best accounting product for the South African small to medium enterprise (SME) market in a survey undertaken as a joint product by Accountancy SA and CS Holdings.
The abridged report of the review panel, comprising chartered accountants Annette van der Laan (CS Holdings CEO), Andr'e Matthysen, Gerrit Olivier, Derek Callarius and Andr'e Gernandt, has been published as a supplement in Accountancy SA, the journal of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The panel says there is a wide selection of accounting software packages available in SA, ranging from packages aimed at SMEs to those suited specifically to the high-end enterprise market.
The survey has been divided into three phases, with the first concentrating on the SME market. Two others, covering the midrange and high-end enterprise markets, are to be published next year.
The panel reviewed nine packages: Accfinity, Brilliant Accounting, IQ Accounting, Pastel Accounting, Quickbooks, Sage Software, Simply Accounting, TAS Software and Turbocash (Pink Software).
The products were chosen because they are specifically designed for and target the SME market, have an installed base and market share in SA and have a reputable track record.
Van der Laan says while products are often reviewed in the media, there is little indication as to the methodology used. The review panel in this case selected criteria that would be important to a financial manager who would use the software daily.
The criteria included general flexibility, security and integrity, reporting functionality, resource requirements, implementation and after-sales support, new developments and future strategies as well as functionality evaluation per module.
The panel says selecting a leading product from among the nine was not easy, since some products offer excellent features and value for money while others impressed with their continuous research and development required by their client base.
"We strongly believe that certain products will appeal to certain types of users and industries and it is difficult to select an overall winner."
However, Pastel emerged as the panel`s selection as the ideal product for the SME market in SA. It has 69% of installed sites in SA and is well accepted by most trade sectors.
"Being a locally developed financial software package, with a growing international user base, this product has definitely set the standard for developing financial accounting software products as far as value for money, feature richness, user friendliness and support of the product is concerned," the report says.
The full report can be viewed on the CS Holdings Web site (www.cs.co.za).
Share
