Question:
We recently switched from MAS90, which we have had (and upgraded) for
the last 7 years, to Solomon.
We are not happy. We are continually having problems with things that
are not operator errors - though we have had plenty of those! I do not
know if it is our support staff or our software, but we no longer
care. I am sure that they mean well, but they have no construction
experience and it shows.
We are considering a switch to Timberline, and wonder if anybody who
has used both can offer any wise advice. We did not chose Timberline
at the time of our selection because the payroll module did not meet
our needs, and the job cost module seemed a little weak in the
reporting area. We have since outsourced our payroll so that is no
longer an issue.
Our company is a mid-sized specialty subcontractor, and we need AIA
billing capabilites as well as flexible billing options and reporting
capabilities.
Any advice you can give us would be most helpful?
Answer:
A-Systems has been providing job cost accounting for the PC since 1978.
A-Systems was the first company to create construction accounting
software for the PC. After a quarter of a century of development,
JobView is powerful, yet easy to use. It is sophisticated, yet quick to
learn. Tutorial training is a mere $750. The numbers speak for
themselves. What did you pay for training on MAS90 or Solomon? Was
that because the training was so good or because the software was so
cumbersome and complicated? How does $750 compare?
You might fear that if JobView is so quick to learn and easy to use that
it is simplistic. Actually, JobView was developed to meet the very
specific needs of contractors. What differentiates it from the
competition is the design. Instead of having you do all of the standard
processes one step at a time, the software does them for you. For
instance, when a transaction is entered in accounts payable, JobView
updates the job costing and the general ledger data automatically.
Single-step operations were designed into the program in as many places
as appropriate.
That's not all. Once the data is in JobView, it is easy to get
informative reports. When you want to run a report, select from
several formats, depending on what you want to see. Then, select
whether it is for a job, a series of jobs, or all jobs, whether it is
for a single fiscal period, a range of fiscal periods, or this year,
etc. After you define what you want to see, print the report. It will
come to screen for you to review. If you need to change what you
defined, your definition (which was automatically saved for you) may be
accessed with a single click of the mouse, then modified. When you get
what you like, you will always have it at your fingertips for later
use. After you select the report and print it (to screen), if what you
want to see is on page 42 of 80 pages, you can print page 42 and exit
the report. It's that simple.
If you need AIA Draw Requests, it's in there to print on your AIA
forms. If you want a powerful payroll, it's in there. It's so easy to
use, you may want to save the money you are using on your payroll
service. If not, you can enter the checks into your system to track
costs. It's up to you.
If you need some comfort that JobView is used by larger, successful
companies, go to the Internet at http://www.wadman.com/ and read about
Wadman Corporation and what they say about their accounting software at
the bottom of their web page. Jay Wadman has long attributed his
ability to control costs to using A-Systems' job costing software.
There are lots of choices in Construction Accounting Software. I would
encourage the poster to spend some time doing research, including talking
to other construction firms.
