Sterling 4 is cast in Windows mould

Sage has upgraded the Windows version of Sterling, the UK’s leading accounting package. Sterling Accounts Version 4 is modified to cope with the year 2000 and the latest Microsoft technologies, writes John Stokdyk.

According to David Gordon, the Sage Group product manager responsible for Sterling, Sterling 4 caters for the 80% of new customers who opt for Windows packages. But with almost half of all Stirling users still running MS-DOS, he affirmed that the company would continue to support the older operating system.

‘The emphasis is more on Windows,’ he said. ‘As people install new hardware, Windows allows us to meet demand for new features.’ Among the features are larger button icons and a graphical user interface that adopts all the conventions of Microsoft’s Office 97.

The accounting package has a comprehensive on-line help mechanism and can link directly to Word for Windows, Excel and other Office97 applications.

Its Internet icon activates the World Wide Web for users who want to carry out on-line searches for pricing details or credit references from within their accounting package.

Sterling 4 runs as a standalone system under Windows 3.11 or Windows 95, in networked environments such as Novell NetWare and Artsoft Lantastic, or with Windows NT supporting Win 3.11 or 95 clients.

Users trading up from older versions may have to consider a hardware upgrade as the software requires a 486 or better PC, a minimum of 8Mb of RAM and 15Mb of spare hard disk space.

In tune with industry trends, Sterling has become a marketing-led rather than technology-led package. The underlying 16-bit architecture remains and many of the enhancements are what Gordon terms ‘cosmetic changes’.

Many of them came from customer wish-lists, such as the ready-made VAT return form, ‘skeleton journals’ in the nominal ledger module and new credit management report and form letter templates.

Stirling 4 has built-in checking routines to inform you when customers go over their credit limits – their entries appear in red within the customer database. Customer records contain full transaction histories and are designed to let the user ‘drill down’ to individual invoices.

Sage has added a range of ready-made reports which can also be displayed as graphs through the Windows graph function. The new report formats include lists of good payers, overdue accounts or clients entitled to discounts.

The attention paid to credit control, cashflow management and other financial disciplines reflects the slick marketing that has gone into Sterling 4.

Many of the modules and reports were designed in collaboration with Dun & Bradstreet and are explained in the guide accompanying the software.

Stirling 4 is a mature application and Sage has bought into the Microsoft model in more than just technological terms. By listening to its sizeable user base, the company has come up with a product that could extend its lead even further.