Mary Girsch-Bock is a graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago. She began her career as accountant and later made the switch to writing full time, concentrating on business and technology, with a focus on small business. A former QuickBooks beta tester, Mary has been a featured regular contributor to CPA Practice Advisor since 2002, and she has also been published in The Motley Fool, The Blueprint, and Property Manager.com. She currently writes a monthly accounting and technology-related blog for PLANERGY, and ghostwrites several blogs for various software companies.
September 5, 2014
866-379-6636 www.quickbooks.com 2011 Overall Rating 4.5 Best Fit QuickBooks offers smaller retailers a solid, affordable POS product, in two editions, that contains several top-notch features normally found in more sophisticated products. Smaller retailers will appreciate the level of features found in QuickBooks POS. Strengths Quick installation & quick setup Little training time required...…
September 5, 2014
800-678-8682 www.infotouch.com 2011 Overall Rating 4.25 Best Fit Store Keeper is a good fit for smaller retail establishments with only one location, but who still desire a custom user interface for use with touch-screen monitors. The vendor also offers Store Manager for multi-location shops. Strengths Highly customizable touch-screen technology Easy to setup &...…
September 5, 2014
800-388-3038 www.cougarmtn.com 2011 Overall Rating 4.5 Best Fit DENALI opens up the market sector considerably for Cougar Mountain Software. While still an excellent selection for small to midsized retail businesses, DENALI is also powerful enough to appeal to larger, multi-location stores with more complex needs. Strengths Modular design allows users to choose the...…
September 5, 2014
718-605-7733 www.celerant.com 2011 Overall Rating 5 Best Fit Both brick-and-mortar and online stores will appreciate Command Retail’s extensive options, all designed to make retail management more efficient. While retailers of all sizes can utilize Command Retail, its long list of features and multi-location capability make it a great fit for larger retail businesses...…
September 5, 2014
800-726-3282 www.camcommerce.com 2011 Overall Rating 5 Best Fit Retail STAR is well suited for larger retail businesses that offer both brick and mortar and e-commerce sales. The partner product, Retail STAR Lite is a great starter product for small, single-location retailers looking to utilize many of the features found in larger POS products....…
September 5, 2014
It’s no secret that the retail industry has struggled in this difficult economy. Yet Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, show an increase in total sales in May 2011, up 7.7% from May 2010. While numbers were down from the previous month (April 2011), indicating that...…
September 5, 2014
800-726-6278 www.sagemasterbuilder.com Sage Master Builder is a comprehensive financial product designed specifically for mid-sized construction and contracting businesses. Sage Master Builder contains an easily navigated user interface and the job cost functionality that construction-related businesses need. The latest version of Master Builder is due out in July 2011. BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS Sage Master Builder...…
September 5, 2014
800-272-9908 www.cucsoft.com Initially developed over 30 years ago, Contractor Essentials from CUC Software has provided construction and contracting businesses with an industry-specific product that was designed by a contracting firm. A laundry list of industry-specific modules within Contractor Essentials makes this product an excellent choice for contracting businesses of any size. BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS Contractor...…
September 5, 2014
877-683-3280 http://quickbooks.intuit.com The Choose an Edition option utilized by QuickBooks has gained popularity in recent years. Choosing an edition when installing QuickBooks provides users with the required chart of accounts necessary to properly run their business type. QuickBooks also continues to add new features to each annual release, keeping QuickBooks fresh. While not suitable for...…
September 5, 2014
800-628-6583 www.sagecre.com 2011 Overall Rating 5 Best Fit Sage Timberline Office is designed to meet the needs of mid-sized to large contractors and construction-related businesses. Strengths Extensive list of add-on modules Integrates with the Sage CRM product Provides 250 user-defined data fields for more comprehensive data tracking Comprehensive selection of estimating modules...…
September 5, 2014
800-735-6176 www.iss-software.com 2011 Overall Rating 4.25 Best Fit Well-suited for small to mid-sized construction companies, Construction Manager contains solid financial capability along with an excellent array of job management features. Strengths Cost Management module maintains job leads, tracks all types of client contact & maintains detailed history on all clients Historical estimating option...…
September 5, 2014
800-292-2962 www.cyma.com 2011 Overall Rating 4.5 Best Fit Well-suited for mid-sized general construction companies who require solid job cost functionality and tracking without specialized contractor features like equipment management or dispatch. Strengths Scalable, modular design Customizable eDesk interface for central navigation Strong job cost functionality System automated billings Allows any document to be...…
