It has been my observation that most people who say: "Think globally," don`t. This buzz phrase has been over-used by politicians and executive wannabes. However, I have come to realise that when Syspro says: "Think globally," they mean it, and their software proves it. If your company is shopping for accounting software and is involved with international commerce, IMPACT Encore should be included on your short list of candidates. Built to include the Euro "thingy" (the EMU currency triangulation conversion) and developed by an ISO 9001 company, IMPACT Encore is also well-positioned for overseas commerce.
The program is very visual in its screen design, using icons both in a toolbar and in the middle of the screen for whatever set of functions is being accessed (GL, AP, AR and other standard modules, as well as functions like Sales Analysis, Estimating and others). I ran IMPACT Encore on two different machines which were rated at two very different speeds, and in both cases it had a very snappy response while navigating through the screen and into various processing options.
A wizard program is used to create a customised menu which makes the process much easier. Sometimes wizards take the user through so many steps to do something that it is sometimes easier if the user just did it themselves. However, the wizard that Syspro uses gives just enough assistance to quickly get the user through the proper initialisation of the custom menu. The on-line help (using a standard Windows help engine) is very well-written to assist the user in this regard, which is a trait of the help system that I found consistent throughout the program.
For the company that needs it, Syspro can offer custom programming of modules for specialised situations. Three other user-customisation features include custom screen design, trigger programs and event management.
The various data-entry boxes follow a very consistent design pattern (as well as the other processing screens). I found it very easy to quickly enter a series of journal entries. Look-ups for various things like account numbers or vendor numbers, when I was entering payables, were easily available using the keyboard or mouse.
Report generation can be done by clicking on the report list (which includes basic system reports). Customised reports can be accessed from the icons in the centre of the screen. Some may be a single custom report, and some, such as the financial statements, may include a group of reports, which can be printed individually or in batch. Custom reports can typically be defined and added to the list from such screens. A custom report is very easy to make under Encore. When you add a report to an existing list of reports, the program prompts you through the design process, letting you add headers and footers, define columns, enter custom text and setup the query dialogue, if any is needed, that the requester needs to fill out in order to get the report they need.
Another interesting feature is the data-browsing capability. This feature works quickly and can be very helpful in tracking down transactions, POs, inventory items and other things that are often searched for during accounting maintenance and error corrections.
Security defines group accesses and then links users (Encore calls them "operators") to the group security profile. The security administration screen allows you to define whether the group members` access is denied or allowed down to whatever level of detail is necessary within a module.
This is clearly a product with an international appeal. By using a more symbol/icon-oriented user interface along with its built-in multiple currency architecture that handles almost any situation, Syspro has a product that is positioned to efficiently work in any country or multiple countries. This, combined with its multi-platform capability, makes IMPACT Encore more attractive to this market.
IMPACT Encore is quite an accounting package. Although still in the process of developing a Microsoft SQL Server product (recognising the fact that not all prospective users have the desire, budget or skills to go this route now), they still provide ODBC and other vital links to outside data while providing a powerful accounting information system that can be scalable to very large enterprises.
Syspro has indicated that these outside links may include capabilities through the Internet in the future, although they have not specified how this may manifest itself yet. Its ability to operate in NT, UNIX and Netware gives its customers a great deal of flexibility in their hardware. Certainly consider this program, especially for organisations with complex or varietal structures.
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