4 1/2 Star Rating
By Shelley Newton, CPA
Reprinted by permission © 2003 The CPA Software News : 110 N. Bell, Suite 300, Shawnee, OK 74801 • 800-456-0864 : www.cpasn.com

Accounting for Practitioners Version 4 (AFP) from Pendock Mallorn Ltd. (800-567-4500; www.pendock.com) is an Excel-based system for preparing trial balance and lead sheet information quickly and easily. Using the Excel interface, the workbook provided is a highly customized workbook that uses Visual Basic to supercharge the normal Excel environment. To say that this is merely a spreadsheet would greatly understate the power and flexibility of the system.

This is a truly customized application that provides entry and validation functions far beyond the spreadsheets created in the normal office setting. Purchase of the program gives the user a collection of workbooks in Excel. Worksheets relating to the setup, trial balance, leadsheets, grouping schedules, ratios, financial statements, and client letters are included in the main workbook.

To navigate the system, an AFP Menu is added to the normal Excel drop-down menus along the top of the screen. Excel 97/2000/2002 and a Windows 95 or higher operating system is required to use the program. Initial data entry requires the general client information and file location information to be entered. Data entry begins with the opening balances of the trial balance. Separate journals are provided to enter information relating to the checks, deposits, sales, adjusting entries and tax entries.

Making entries is easily accomplished by selecting the appropriate journal from the AFP Menu. An intuitive form appears into which data is entered easily to reflect the journal entry. Information entered into each form automatically updates the trial balance, leadsheets and financial statements.

The system does a good job of preventing a preparer from accidentally entering information into a field that is calculated by a formula. The system accumulates information entered for deposits and expenditures. From the information, the trial balance is updated. The ability to create monthly financial statements is available for monthly bookkeeping purposes. A bank reconciliation function creates a professional looking reconciliation.

Depreciation and amortization sheets are available and can be calculated automatically. Income and expense ratio analysis is also automatically computed. Information can be imported from an Excel or text file. The import process is relatively easy. The import file is opened in Excel and formatted to put each item of information into a single column. The worksheet is then pasted into the Trial Balance Import page. Selecting the Import function, each column is assigned and associated with the account number, description and balance. Grouping codes must also be re-entered when importing.

AFP Is No Ordinary Spreadsheet

Having a basic understanding of Excel is vital to the successful operation of this program. For the preparer who is trying to create an automated, easy-to-use spreadsheet and is frustrated by the setup involved, this is a good solution.

This is no ordinary spreadsheet, though. It has been customized by extensively using Visual Basic code. Basic navigation skills and the ability to follow the meaning of the tickmarks are really the main skill set required. Investigating issues that arise is simplified by the ability to view the formulas that provide the ending totals. Double-clicking on the value highlights the information referred to in the formula as is common with Excel.

The Gold version of the program includes the ability to automatically consolidate up to 80 companies and record eliminating entries. Financial statements can also be created in *.PDF format for access by Adobe Acrobat Reader in this version. Documents may also be scanned in and related in the same workbook for supporting documentation. The program is licensed for up to 10 users per office.

The Light and Standard versions of the program do not facilitate the consolidation or electronic document functions mentioned above. The Light version is licensed for a single user and is designed for accountants preparing tax returns or plain paper statements. The Standard version is licensed for up to five users and is designed for the accountant who requires full working papers — lead-sheets, grouping schedules, ratio analysis, long-term debt amortization schedules and client data import capability.

For the smaller office that doesn’t need an ‘all-inclusive suite’ and wants a reasonably priced, well-rounded application for the preparation of trial balance and the related working papers, this program is very appropriate. AFP is easy to use and is well suited to fit the needs of accountants with a client base of smaller companies. The system handles compilation and review functions well. The product is priced at $399, $599 or $899 depending on version — Light, Standard or Gold respectively. The familiarity of the format and the straightforward design make AFP a realistic solution for the office providing services to small businesses.

Reprinted by permission © 2003 The CPA Software News • 110 N. Bell, Suite 300, Shawnee, OK 74801 - 800-456-0864 - www.cpasn.com

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