is accpac ERP good? 3

[davidwujian]

Hi, all
We've been looking for an ERP software for nearly a year. We are going sign siwh sage accpac next week. I am worrying if it's good or not.
Could anyone tell me? I am in a clothing importing medium size company.
thanks
David

 

[jayconverse]

It's a 5-star rated accounting package (it was higher rated then Microsoft Dynamics last year), but it's only as good as the consultant you use to install it and configure it.

Jay Converse
IT Director
Systemlink, Inc.

 

[EtienneG]

Can't agree with Jay more. Make sure your consultant knows his stuff and understands your business. ACCPAC ERP is really top rated and, like any tool your company uses to do business it should work for you and contribute towards making your business more effective and profitable.

When you cannot do business without your ERP system you have a good install

 

[davidwujian]

But the price seems very expensive. They charge the implementation by hours ($180/hour). And the sale by modules. My boss is thinking ask them fix the implementation fee up.
any suggestion?
thanks

 

[jayconverse]

$180/hour is on the high end. What part of the world are you in?

Jay Converse
IT Director
Systemlink, Inc.

 

[davidwujian]

thanks
I am in Australia, melbourne.
And the annual fee looks very high too. 18%RRP plus others. We need to pay business parter and ACCPAC both annual maintenance fee.
Total package doesn't include warehouse management will cost about $200,000 (AUS) for 35 users. Web store cost $37,000 plus 50 hours implementation. Warehouse management itself will cost another $150,000(include 5 scan gun). We are not install the warehouse manegenment yet(cause it sounds too expensive.
Please advise.
thanks

 

[ettienne]

Which BP are you dealing with in Melbourne?
Try getting a quote from another BP and compare.

 

[davidwujian]

Hi, ettienne
On line business. Do you know them? They said they are the best on implementation ACCPAC here. We didn't look for another BP. We think the price can't be a lot different between the BPs, is it true?
thanks

 

[ettienne]

It may be a good idea to contact another BP and get a comparative quote.
You can try from these:

http://edirectory.accpac.com/Partner_Companies.asp?Country=36&City=Melbourne,+VIC

The only one I know is MicroChanel, and they are the best - the others only claim to be the best.

Orchid Business Systems are also good, but they are in Sydney.

You can also contact Accpac OZ and get a referral.

http://sageaccpac.com/company/worldwide/australia/

 

[Relloc]

Hope it is not too late.

I am worrying if it's good or not?

Have been working with Accpac now for 8 Years and my opinion is that there must be something better.

It will however be a perfect fit if.

1. Accounting is your only concern.

2. You only purchase the GL, AP, AR and CRM.

3. Lots of spare time.

Reason I do not like ACCPAC

1. Security model cannot be set per location or per business unit.
2. Accpac = SLOW!!!!!
3. Lacking documentation on the COMAPI (Difficult to customise).
4. INSIGHT.
5. Cashbook / Banking services.
6. Reconciliation Module?
7. Pricelists.
8. Boms.
9. Just because Accpac say it can do it don’t ever believe it before you evaluate it yourself, example Web deployment (Nightmare).
10. Limited International user base with other words limited recourses for info regarding for example COMAPI.
11. Bar-coding and logistics associated with it even if you purchase Warehouse manager.
12. Development from Sage/Accpac = SLOW the application development has been stagnant now for a considerable time except for a few minor changes.
13. Upgrades most of the time a disaster wait 1 year for service packs rather.
14. Optional Fields.
15. Inter branch Transfers.

The list goes on and on…

Bottom line is if you are an organisation that has multiple business line or more than 20 users avoid Accpac

 

[jayconverse]

1. Not exactly, there are add-ons that do this
2. Not when installed correctly
3. Maybe, but I find it pretty easy to customize
4. What's wrong with it? My big customers like it.
5. Agreed
6. What for?
7. What's wrong? You have lots of choices
8. What's wrong? Do you need multi-level BOMs? That feature just came out.
9. Agreed, web deployed Accpac is a joke.
10. Let's see, there are installs in China, England, Australia, South Africa, Malawi, Canada. Sound's pretty international to me.
11. Not sure what you mean there.
12. Have you seen the 5.4 feature list?
13. If you wait until SP1, then upgrades won't be a disaster.
14. They can be a two-edged sword. It's great to be able to add lots of new fields, but reporting against them is a challenge if you don't understand relational modelling.
15. Not sure of the problem there


Jay Converse
IT Director
Systemlink, Inc.

 

[EtienneG]

I cannot disagree with Relloc more. Like Jay, I have been working with ACCPAC for many years - more than 20. Without answering specific questions (Jay has done that already) I can add that Australia has a very big ACCPAC install base and many excellend dealers who know the product very well and can easily customize it.

Not only is the financial modules (GL, AP, AR) excellent but we have several very large import/distribution companies running the software.

The one point I will give Relloc is that web deployment is not good. But then 1) show me a full featured, end-to-end system that is, 2) there are many viable options for remote deployment.

 

[Relloc]

Thank you for your point Jay it really helped us with especially point 1.

I am looking at Accpac from an End user / IT Manager perspective and not a dealers perspective.

Accpac has an excellent foundation and we really enjoy working with the Object and Data Base in general.

We have got 70 plus users and integrate our manufacturing system into Accpac OE and PO.

1. Not exactly, there are add-ons that do this
>> That is great news. Have searched the net and found that Norming has got a add-on that promise to deliver this (Fortunately it is Norming we did had some bad experiences with add-ons even with the more reputable ones like Unidevco Ops Manager)

2. Not when installed correctly
>> Sorry Jay Accpac is slow. According to our Service provider Accpac’s speed was the biggest point of concern raised by dealers during this years Accpac/Sage dealer conference in our country.

Our system cannot be configured any better and while the speed is acceptable it is not as fast as it should be.

2. Maybe, but I find it pretty easy to customize
>> Agree specially if you use VB6
Since it is easy to customize can you please forward us the recourses for customizing the STANDARD Accpac UI. Without having to buy the SDK.

3. What's wrong with it? My big customers like it.
>> Yes this point might have been a generalization. It works well with GL.

a. My dislike of Insight is more of a personal opinion.
b. It is difficult to find personnel that have got expert knowledge of Insight.
c. Insight’s complete product is expensive.
e. Not really OLAP (Does not support MOLAP).
d. Have to reinvent the wheel in some cases .Have to write Macros to accomplice decent dashboards.

It is easy to find personnel with knowledge in MS Reporting services, Crystal, Excel and OLAP.

5. Agreed.

6. What for?
>>Because even simple reports like a Shipment clearing report would have made the live of all Accpac users easier.

7. What's wrong? You have lots of choices

>>I do hope some of our issues where fixed in 5.4

I also cannot setup grid pricing like Apparel Pac GIMS.

I cannot specify volume discount per item segment.

8. What's wrong? Do you need multi-level BOM’s? That feature just came out.

>>Agreed we are on 5.3b

9. Agreed, web deployed Accpac is a joke.

10. Lets see, there are installs in China, England, Australia, South Africa, Malawi, and Canada. Sound's pretty international to me.

>>OK point taking

It is however extremely frustrating not to find any Accpac info except on

http://sageaccpac.com/

(Impossible to search) or

http://www.tek-tips.com/groups/

11. Not sure what you mean there.

>>Although Accpac does support Bar Coding to a point it is impossible to for example to receive your goods in the same sequence as which it was ordered

12. Have you seen the 5.4 feature list?

>>Yes WOW it is the first impressive update in years.

Our service provider however recommended that we wait until it is stable

13. If you wait until SP1, then upgrades won't be a disaster.
Is 5.4 Stable ?

14. They can be a two-edged sword. It's great to be able to add lots of new fields, but reporting against them is a challenge if you don't understand relational modeling.

Even if you are an expert in “relational modeling” you will find it difficult to link an Accpac Crystal report to a SQL view or a Data pipe report to an optional field.

How do you cater for multiple optional fields if you want to avoid a many to many link other than using a view if there is multiple optional fields against an item.

15. Not sure of the problem there
WOW my issue might have been fixed in 5.4 (Printing transfer forms) . Question is however does Accpac now accommodate Transfer requests?

 

[EtienneG]

Rolloc,

The support forum hosted by ACCPAC can be found at

http://support.accpac.com/clients/default.asp

These are not answered by ACCPAC (generally) but are intended for peer-to-peer communication. They are pretty good though and you generally get a whole host of people looking at your problems.

In which country are you? There may be a user group around...