UltraTax and Accounting CS

Thanks for the correction. I was thinking of

The old Creative Solutions Accounting

. That's what we had.

Thanks for the correction. I was thinking of

The old Creative Solutions Accounting

. That's what we had.

SJR, what do you use now?

Advance Flow.
Everyone hates it.

I used CSA at a former employer for twelve years, when it was still good. When I set up on my own, I looked and looked. I settled on MoneyWorks. It's from a New Zealand company. If you want nice looking financials, you need to buy the Gold package, but if you are just looking for something that does double-entry bookkeeping, the Express version works. Heck, if you want a purely cash-basis package for free, Cashbook still works. I wouldn't say any of the Moneyworks packages bear a close resemblance to CSA but there is a passing resemblance.

It is sold primarily to businesses to do their own accounting, but I find it very usable. The one thing they don't do is payroll.

Advance Flow.
Everyone hates it.

Oh, that's not good.

Sumwun, does that accounting software produce the compilation/review reports within the software. It seems there are very few programs that will do that these days.

Seaside, the Gold version will allow you to create "Reports" based on templates. So for the preparation engagements I have, I have a template for balance sheet, P&L and front & index pages. The Accountant's Report was too much work for me so I just have a Word document that I convert to a PDF and combine with the other files. I use Foxit PDF for that. If you have the same report that goes to every client, except for the name, it can easily be made to work. Editing it might be tougher.

There are consultants here in the USA that will help you with anything MoneyWorks related and their customer service in New Zealand is pretty responsive, except around major holidays. For instance, they operate with a skeleton staff from before Christmas and don't fully reopen until after New Year.

This is not the sort of switch you want to make in tax season. It's good software, but it takes a wee while to learn. their user manual is several hundred pages long and, although it is well-organized, it is also comprehensive. When I refer to it (quite rare now) it is not just a quick five minutes. It took me quite a while to set up reports using the manual and a little bit of guidance from customer service (e-mail only from the USA) but it was worth it. I am now into my second full year with the Gold version and it has allowed me to be more efficient than Express or Cashbook.

The website is cognito.co.nz

We went to CS, but I kept the simple ones on the old system, and it is still working fine. Paying for CS was a mistake, but we have the majority on there, it was a big pain. Still appreciate the business returns going to tax returns. There were a lot that left Ultra over the issue, but price may have been the main reason.

We went to CS, but I kept the simple ones on the old system, and it is still working fine. Paying for CS was a mistake, but we have the majority on there, it was a big pain. Still appreciate the business returns going to tax returns. There were a lot that left Ultra over the issue, but price may have been the main reason.

Accounting CS was ultimately why we left UltraTax. Mainly if that’s what was a sign of their development capabilities I we wanted nothing to do with Onvio. Gave it a sneak peak and ran away as fast as possible.