Awards 2001 - Access Accounting - Off-the-shelf Software Package of the Year
Foundations XP - commended for its ease of use - helps Essex-based Access Accounting steal a march over rivals
Access Accounting is the winner of this year’s Off-the-Shelf Accounting Software Award.
TAS Software won the 1999 and 2000 Awards for two versions of its TAS Book-Keeper, but the Essex-based company has stolen a march with its Foundations XP offering. The beauty of Foundations is that it is easy to install, easy to learn and easy to use. A series of wizards enable you to create your company accountants with the minimum of time and effort.
After much debating by the judges – centred on whether the winner should be the product which has made the most headway in the last 12 months or simply the best product – Access deservedly won through on both counts.
The Foundations XP offering is a cut-down version of Dimensions, and was launched with the aim of being price competitive with similar Sage products.
The system includes on-screen tutorials, designed to help users understand and make the most of any new software. When accounts are up-and-running, everything involved in double entry bookkeeping is undertaken by the system.
Even the most complex procedures such as VAT returns and handling bounced cheques, become completely straight-forward.
The judges were particularly impressed with the forward-thinking attitude of Access, demonstrated by the fact the Foundation product links to Microsoft’s very recently launched XP software.
They said: ‘We like the range of functionality on offer with the product, also, in this category ease of use is essential and many users will not want to be given any training, they just want to get on with it.
‘With this product you can be assured it will be of use today and tomorrow, but maybe not the day after, but Access gives you the chance to change to another product within its organisation, giving users the opportunity to retain familiarity with the basic principles.’
They added: ‘The product is well-supported, with lots of decent add-on functionality. It can take you a long way if you wish it to and in this current climate where reliability and value for money is essential, this is the one that deserves the plaudits.’
The judges were also impressed with the ease of use and the availability of support to customers. ‘The overall proposal was excellent, and it was clear the company had spent a lot of time on it.
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‘They gave us a lot of background and research into market requirements, and so demonstrating it is very up-to-date all round,’ they added.