A Brief Discussion of Web
Features and E-Commerce Capabilities
The Internet is changing the way
businesses do business, and that means business managers must rethink
what they expect from their accounting software.
The Internet has transformed the
retail channel—from an elaborate distribution system with wholesalers,
distributors and a vast array of retailers to a simplified system in
which a growing number of sales are made directly to the consumer. For
manufacturers of both consumer and industry products, that change
translates into generally lower overhead—and new demands on accounting
systems.
Recognizing this trend, many
accounting software vendors have added features designed to accommodate
the Internet. The new functions include the ability to:
-
Publish
Web catalogs directly from, and make links to, the software's
inventory module. This means customers can see, among other things,
real-time information on prices and quantities on hand.
-
Retrieve
orders directly from the Web site and import them automatically into
the sales order module.
-
Print
all reports to a Web page format.
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Allow
users to access reports and accounting data across the Internet
using a password.
-
Let
remote users securely enter accounting data and transactions via the
Web.
-
Track
an order automatically via links to tracking pages of Federal
Express or United Parcel Service.
-
Allow
users to e-mail reports to users or groups of users.
-
Configure
a system to automatically send e-mail reports and messages when
triggered by predefined events.
Four accounting software vendors at
the forefront of Internet applications are Great Plains, SBT, Sage and
ACCPAC International. All four provide Web sites where prospects can
test the Internet features they're interested in. At the Great Plains
site, users can log on and operate Great Plains eEnterprise across the
Internet. SBT's site provides links to more than 200 companies that use
the SBT WebTrader module to sell goods and services across the Internet.
So, whatever your immediate Internet plans, be sure to assess an
accounting product's Web-readiness. As Internet importance grows, Web-
enabled features will become more critical to a business.
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