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Features Comparison Report

A feature comparison of 62 products based upon
the 350 most important features in accounting software


By J. Carlton Collins, CPA

Quick - what's the best accounting software product in the land? It is a difficult question isn't it? It's sort of like asking which college football team is the best, ask 10 fans and you'll get 11 different opinions. Still, just because the question is difficult, that doesn't stop you from asking. In an attempt to answer this question, we created our own product rating system designed to rate the most important features. I suspect that any rating system will be just as controversial as the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rating system used in college football, nonetheless, here it is.

The ASA Research Feature Rating system is calculated based upon the 350 most important features in accounting software. You can see this listing here. We assigned either 1 or 2 points to each of these features, depending on their importance. We also separated these features by modules. 

We compared these features to 62 of the top accounting software products, ranging from QuickBooks to SAP. Click here to see a listing of the 62 products we analyzed. We awarded each product either 1 or 2 points for each feature provided right out of the box. 

We also awarded partial points in the event that the product did not offer a particular feature right out of the box, but if that feature was available through either customization (75% point value awarded) or through a third party add-on product (25% point value awarded).

Based on this methodology, we calculated the ASA Power Rating for all 62 products. Here's how the products stack up:

Click here to see the ASA Power Ratings in a table format.

Click here to see the ASA Power Ratings displayed in chart format

Click here to purchase the detailed report which profiles all 350 features for all 62 products for just $95. 

Important Caveat

Please remember, there is a great deal more to selecting a product than just looking at the product features. The company behind the product must be financially strong. The product code must be stable. The reseller is the most important ingredient to a successful implementation. The ASA power rating described above concentrates only on core accounting software modules while advanced solutions and industry specific solutions such as manufacturing, non-profit accounting, CRM, supply chain, point-of-sale, e-commerce and more have been totally left out of the calculation. Please keep this in mind. Thank you.

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Features Comparison Report

A feature comparison of 62 products based upon
the 350 most important features in accounting software


By J. Carlton Collins, CPA

Quick - what's the best accounting software product in the land? It is a difficult question isn't it? It's sort of like asking which college football team is the best, ask 10 fans and you'll get 11 different opinions. Still, just because the question is difficult, that doesn't stop you from asking. In an attempt to answer this question, we created our own product rating system designed to rate the most important features. I suspect that any rating system will be just as controversial as the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rating system used in college football, nonetheless, here it is.

The ASA Research Feature Rating system is calculated based upon the 350 most important features in accounting software. You can see this listing here. We assigned either 1 or 2 points to each of these features, depending on their importance. We also separated these features by modules. 

We compared these features to 62 of the top accounting software products, ranging from QuickBooks to SAP. Click here to see a listing of the 62 products we analyzed. We awarded each product either 1 or 2 points for each feature provided right out of the box. 

We also awarded partial points in the event that the product did not offer a particular feature right out of the box, but if that feature was available through either customization (75% point value awarded) or through a third party add-on product (25% point value awarded).

Based on this methodology, we calculated the ASA Power Rating for all 62 products. Here's how the products stack up:

Click here to see the ASA Power Ratings in a table format.

Click here to see the ASA Power Ratings displayed in chart format

Click here to purchase the detailed report which profiles all 350 features for all 62 products for just $95. 

Important Caveat

Please remember, there is a great deal more to selecting a product than just looking at the product features. The company behind the product must be financially strong. The product code must be stable. The reseller is the most important ingredient to a successful implementation. The ASA power rating described above concentrates only on core accounting software modules while advanced solutions and industry specific solutions such as manufacturing, non-profit accounting, CRM, supply chain, point-of-sale, e-commerce and more have been totally left out of the calculation. Please keep this in mind. Thank you.

Analysis Based on 350 Most Important Features