Interview with Lynn Smith Senior Marketing Manager Exact Software North America By J. Carlton Collins, CPA

Lynn made her mark in the former Macola organization by landing a record number of leads for 11 consecutive months. She must know some secrets that others would like to know.   She has certainly seen the Macola organization go through some changes, including an acquisition by Exact Software, N.V.  in February of 2001.

 

Specific Product Comments

 

We asked Lynn what she wanted prospective purchasers of accounting software to know about Macola ES

The combination of Macola ES (Enterprise Suite) and e-Synergy creates the largest suite of products Macola has ever released to the market. The tight integration of these products will empower all users in a company, providing them with integrated solutions from e-CRM and Web Portals for Customers and Suppliers to full ERP capabilities for the back office. This product offering will create a paradigm shift in the productivity of our customers by:

•  increasing performance throughout the entire organization

•  involving everyone in the process of improving performance

 

Lynn is not kidding when she says the combined product has a large feature set.  Click here to see the complete list of modules.  The addition of the e-Synergy product line, one benefit of the Exact Software acquisition, holds a great deal of promise.  We hope to see these products well promoted in the US.

 

Lynn continues to talk about the promise of Macola ES below.

With the new Macola products :

•  Entries are easy and intuitive

• Processing is high speed with fewer steps

• All users have access to the data they need to do their jobs

• There is full drill down on all information

• There is unprecedented stability

• Desk Top integration with Excel, Word, and Internet Explorer is included

• Users can run reports through Crystal and Excel

• Users get high performance data access for analysis

• User Friendliness is a major feature of every module

• There is a new UI with fewer clicks to next operation

• The menus are process flow focused

• There are three Explorer menu choices for navigation

• List View transaction entry is included

• There are many more user defined fields and document aware fields available

• Users get a new browser based search screen with user defined filters

Advice to Consumers

We asked Lynn what she thought were the most critical mistakes customers make when selecting accounting software, her reply follows.

Customers often don’t consider the whole enterprise picture when selecting accounting software. They will want to consider how the accounting software they select is going to integrate with other software solutions in their enterprise such as  HRM, Project Reporting, CRM, Distribution, etc. And, many times, customers do not consider all elements of a software purchase – what will be the costs involved as well as the time and money invested for implementation, training, etc.

We have to agree with Lynn that these are big problems.  We get hundreds of calls from prospects who are wowed by a few cool features in an industry specific solution that does not adequately address the full needs of their business. Read our ERP selection tips here. We also get phone calls when a company has started the implementation process and has spent a lot more than they planned.  It is the job of the reseller to make sure that their customers are prepared for all costs associated with an implementation - failure to do so is the easiest way to turn a happy customer into your worst nightmare.  

 

Selecting a Reseller

 

We have seen software resellers come and go.  A great reseller can make even the worst product sing while a poorly trained, unprepared reseller can take the shine off of the best product in the world.  Every software vendor has experienced this first-hand. We asked Lynn what  measures she thought customers should take when performing due diligence on prospective resellers.

 

First and foremost, they should ask for references (preferably at least three). It is just as important to know how you'll be treated by a reseller after the sale as it is to buy the right software. What is the reseller's track record when it comes to implementation, training, and support? It's also wise to consider the reseller's software certifications. Finally, running a credit check is probably not a bad idea, either.

 

Running a credit check is a great idea.  If the reseller is cash poor, your payments for software could be delayed in reaching your software vendor.  This could impact your support agreements and could even lead to licensing issues and law suits.

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

 

 

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