Letter 2536

(1999)

We are currently trying to decide on a new accounting system for our metal finishing job shop. We have found out that we made need a customized accounting program. I am curious if any one knows of an accounting program which is industry specific for metal finishers. Please help if you can.

Thank You
Hunter

Hunter C [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Easley, S.C.

Hunter

We are a med sized Plating shop have used a program called PFC by amariko software products which is now a windows base program designed for plating / painting plants and then it ties directly to our SBT vision point accounting and this helps with all the repeat inputs. its not perfect but works well

Chris Snyder
plater - Charlotte, North Carolina

I've been in the metal finishing world for 8 years or so now. I've been playing with computers since I was old enough to write my name. When it comes to accounting programs, not specific for any industry that is, I have found the old fashioned DOS Accounting Program AccPac Associates BPI Accounting II 5.0A (newest version, Y2K Compliant) to be the best one out there. Its simple, its easy and it has enough manuals to teach someone with ZERO accounting knowledge how to use the program. I took accounting in college (majored in it) and it made even my knowledge look better than it was. Trust me, I've tried them all... Peachtree versions (all of them). I'm a registered user of Great Plains Profit for Windows and I've used MYOB Accounting, but none of them could replace my old fashioned, easy as pie DOS Accounting program. Now maybe I've been spoiled and maybe I am a little bias, but I've tried them all and outside of the fact they all look pretty and cute, they aren't as functional as BPI Accounting II.

You can find their info from searching yahoo for the program title.

Matthew Stiltner
plating company - Toledo, Ohio

If you're already using it, that's one thing. But, in 1999, should people be buying and starting out with a new computer system that runs in DOS, a 1981 environment? I think that DOS will soon be obsolete (thank goodness) and will disappear shortly after that. There were a lot of great CPM programs out there a few years ago too.

And personally, I would not trust any Y2K patch, only a program that has been written totally from scratch; it is SO easy to miss something in some obscure line of code, the documentation and appreciation for which may be long absent. Just another opinion.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey