Volume Number: 26
Issue Number: 02
Column Tag: Kool Tools

Kool Tools: Cognito Software's MoneyWorks

Multi-level accounting packages

by the MacTech Editorial Staff

If you're looking for an alternative to Quicken, for whatever reasons, give MoneyWorks from Cognito Software (http://moneyworks.ca/us/products.html) a look. It's a family of products designed to meet the accounting and business management needs of small to medium organizations. And, of course, it's Mac compatible.

The US$99 Cashbook version is targeted to cash-based organizations - those that don't invoice, but need to record revenue and allocate expenses to produce a profit & loss/income statement. This would include the self-employed, commissioned sales people, clubs, churches, charities, etc., as well as for personal accounts. You can use it for cash accounting, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. MoneyWorks Cashbook also supports online banking.

MoneyWorks Express ($279) - targeting to growing, cash-based businesses - is a full double-entry accrual accounting system with integrated cashbook, accounts payable and receivable and general ledger. It has all the features of MoneyWorks Cashbook, plus invoicing. With MoneyWorks Express you can manage your payables and receivables, sales tax, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. It also sports features such as subscription billing, head office billing, audit trails, unlimited transaction history and access to (and analysis of) all your historic sales and purchase data. MoneyWorks Express is fully upgradeable to MoneyWorks Gold.

Speaking of which, MoneyWorks Gold ($599) is a multi-user capable, accrual accounting solution for larger organizations, or businesses with special accounting requirements. It packs in all of MoneyWorks Express' features, and also includes departmental accounting, inventory management, job costing with time sheets and report writing capabilities. MoneyWorks Gold also incorporates a database that lets you search, sort, and analyze your business data.

MoneyWorks Gold comes with a single user license. But as your business expands, you can add more users with license keys available from MoneyWorks.

Then there's the $1,999 MoneyWorks Datacentre, a dedicated network server for MoneyWorks Gold accounting data. With it you can share accounts for multiple companies or on a central server. DataCentre offers concurrent licensing. That means you can install the software on as many desktops as you'd like (both Macs and PCs) ; then any of them can use DataCentre simultaneously up to your license limit. The base installation includes a full copy of MoneyWorks Gold and allows three concurrent users. Add additional concurrent licenses with license keys.

MoneyWorks Datacentre can be hosted on a dedicated server (such as an Xserve), or just on a desktop machine such as an iMac that can act as the server.

International versions of MoneyWorks support GST, VAT and sales tax, and are used in over 60 countries. There are special localizations for: Australia, Europe, New Zealand, UK, South Africa, Singapore and Nepal.