Database Creations, Inc. — Business! Professional Edition

Article Tools

• Print This Article
• Email This Article to a Friend
• Save This Article
• Order a Reprint

From the September 2005 Review of Mid-Range Accounting Software

Business! Professional Edition is an accounting application for mid-sized businesses built upon Microsoft Access. The system is available as a complete package with all primary modules, including Order Entry and Invoicing, Accounting (GL), Customers and Receivables, Inventory and Suppliers, Purchasing and Payables, Banking, Company Setup and Security, Reports, Analysis Tools and System Utilities. Specialty add-on modules are available for Payroll, Point-of-Sale, Fixed Assets and Depreciation, MICR Check Printing, Barcode Printing, Barcode Warehouse, Advanced Reporting, FedEx and UPS Shipping, Credit Card Charging and a USPS ZIP Code Lookup. A site license for the program that supports any number of users at one office costs $2,495 (each workstation must have Access 2000 or higher). The program license includes the source code, which is in Access, allowing advanced users to customize or add-on to the system as desired. Database Creations also offers a developer license that allows independent software developers to resell the product at a discounted price.

Christie Threadgill of Innovative Creations (www.innovativec.com), a consulting firm that specializes in database development as well as web sites and networking, says the program is “extremely versatile and user friendly.” Cost is what initially drove her firm to select the program, and she advises new and potential users to take the time to set up correctly in the beginning. Threadgill also noted that her firm is a Database Creations developer, doing customizations on all of their existing products.

EASE OF USE/TRANSACTION ENTRY -- 4.5 Stars
Business! Professional opens within Microsoft Access, so the interface generally remains consistent with that program and other Office applications such as Word and Excel, providing tabbed windows and task icons. The Company Setup form allows you to turn the help system on/off. I found the graphic buttons with text descriptors to be well developed, providing simple enough navigation. Several wizards assist in setting up new companies, the GL, charts of accounts, customers, employees and default sales information.

Upon opening a company’s files, the primary interface provides a window with tabs for each of the primary modules which, when selected, displays buttons for various tasks related to that module. This makes navigation between these modules simple, with options for Sales, Customers, Purchases, Inventory, Banking, Accounting, Payroll, Setup, Utilities, Reports and Analysis. The Company Setup tab, for instance, provides buttons for changing current company data, changing companies, importing data from another accounting program, creating a new company and managing security preferences. The Customers tab provides access to various tasks, including receiving payments, managing customer data, managing receivables, assessing finance charges, customer sales histories, and credit card reconciliation.

Customer and vendor lists are displayed in spreadsheet lists that enable searching and filtering, and, within customer files, access to sales history can be made with one click. Data entry is performed within traditional Windows forms that include drop-down lists, auto-fill functions and other features to streamline data-entry tasks, such as print, navigation and search buttons on the bottom of the screen.

NOTABLE FEATURES -- 4 Stars
Business! can support an unlimited number of companies with unlimited customers, suppliers, inventory and invoices. It offers customizable numbering for sales orders, POs, customers, suppliers and inventory items. The inventory module provides multiple methods of searching, and allows FIFO, LIFO and average costing, with support for multiple inventory categories and subcategories. Items can have multiple prices, and the system supports assembly and reverse-assembly, multi-priced, serialized and color/style matrix items. Advanced functions also enable the user to set default GL accounts for each inventory class and provide the option to automatically post inventory adjustments to the GL as well as the ability to quickly calculate amount on hand, on order and on back order.

The Accounting module features a double-entry GL, with the ability to view the ledger by account or sub-account, and each transaction displays the date, debit, credit, source and operation. The program includes more than 20 template charts of accounts for various industries, but also enables the user to create a customized chart with unlimited accounts and user-determined numbering. Period closes are optional.