Cougar Mountain Software — Cougar Mountain Professional Accounting

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From the April/May 2007 Review of Construction Accounting Software

Cougar Mountain Professional Accounting – Version 11 is the latest release of the vendor’s financial product that offers specialty add-on modules such as Job Costing. While not offering specialized functionality like dispatching or service call management, this product will still appeal to those with smaller construction companies or light manufacturing companies. The Job Cost module can track a variety of information, including overhead, material and labor associated with each job. Phases can be added to each job set up in the system, and users can define job codes in numeric, alphabetical or alphanumeric format, using up to 20 characters. Actual and budgeted costs can be accessed for any job at any stage. Updates in the latest version include faster access to reports, the addition of an audit trail search capability, better system security and a purchase order alert. Cougar Mountain’s Inventory module will also be a plus for small manufacturing companies who need to build small assemblies. The Inventory module contains flexible pricing capability, and you can easily maintain inventory at multiple warehouses.

LEARNING CURVE – 5 Stars
Cougar Mountain features a standard drop-down menu at the top of the screen that contains various system functions. Beneath the menu bar is a series of module icons that represent all of the modules installed on the system. Modules can also be accessed from the file option on the menu bar. When setting up a new company, users can utilize a company template or enter their own chart of account information. Module preferences can also be set up at this time. Navigating the program was easy; data-entry screens are uncluttered with lookup options available when needed. Modules also contain a series of user-defined fields that can be set up to track information important to a particular company. Cougar Mountain also contains many customization options.

MODULES & ADD-ONS – 4.5 Stars
The program comes with a main module to switch between companies and to set global security within each. It also includes GL, Inventory, AR, AP, Order Entry and Data Exchange modules. The Job Cost and Purchase Order modules are add-ons. Cougar Mountain also offers additional add-ons such as Bank Reconciliation, Fixed Assets, Payroll, Credit Card Authorization, Advanced Bill of Materials, and two new modules — a CRM Bridge to ACT!, and PDF-eXPLODE - e Doc Generator, both of which will be discussed below.

PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS – 4.5 Stars
Two of Cougar Mountain’s best productivity tools are also new in Version 11. PDF-eXPLODE - e-Doc Generator allows for the electronic creation of documents such as invoices, purchase orders and company financial statements. This enables users to deliver documents to clients, vendors and customers with a single e-mail, which eliminates costly postage and saves valuable time. Businesses looking to eliminate some of the paperwork from their offices can use the e-Doc Generator to convert program files to PDF and store them on their hard drives. The CRM Bridge to ACT! allows for direct integration with the customer relationship management software. This integration will allow sales and marketing professionals to keep accurate data on customer prospects, as well as new and existing customers. Users will also be able to enter new customer orders directly in ACT! by simply clicking on the CMS icon.

IMPORT/EXPORT & INTEGRATION – 4.5 Stars
The Data Exchange module makes it easy to import and export data using a multitude of file formats, including Excel, Lotus 123, FoxPro, Paradox, dBase lll, Access and ASCII. Data can be easily exported using the data transfer process or data can be imported from another accounting software program. All this is done using intuitive screens in the program, and the User’s Guide details the steps for new users. Cougar Mountain is a completely integrated system, with all modules and add-ons designed to work with the core accounting system.

REPORTING – 4.5 Stars
Cougar Mountain contains good reporting options, with numerous standard reports available in each module. The default setting in each of these reports can be changed for light customization, or users can use the R & R Report Writer for more levels of customization. The optional GL Report Generator features data-mining capabilities to capture detailed information on reports. As well, financial data can be exported to spreadsheets using the spreadsheet export feature, which allows users to choose the file format to which they wish to export.

SUPPORT & TRAINING – 5 Stars
The vendor offers several support and maintenance plans, including the Software Assurance plan, which provides access to the FAQ knowledgebase, software maintenance and upgrade releases, and discounts on telephone support and training. Phone support plans are also available, starting at $400 per year for regular support and $800 per year for priority support. A ‘wellness support’ plan is also available, which is essentially a quarterly checkup that offers more hands-on assistance and supports users with software and system management. Training options are numerous, with classes available at the vendor’s corporate headquarters. Cougar Mountain also offers on-site learning and e-Learning, which gives users access to over 100 tutorials.