What's the Difference?

On-Line Edition and CD-Based Edition - Compare Accounting Software Selection Tool

While the purpose of either edition of The Accounting Software Library is assisting users define their requirements and identify best suited products, the difference lies in the detail.

Cost

The most fundamental difference between the two versions is the cost. The On-Line Edition is free. The CD-Based Edition costs from $395 to $1,295 depending on the specific version you purchase. The CD-Based Edition gives users the ability to create a very detailed needs definition, while the On-Line Edition is more of a power search tool.

The CD-Based Edition also contains a complete set of software selection manuals that will literally take you by the hand and lead you through the entire software selection project from the realization that you need to do something to the point where the selected product has been fully implemented. Is the CD-Based Edition worth the price? We have been doing this for 18 years and our subscribers are universal in their delight that such a product exists.

Number of Questions

• The CD-Based Edition contains up to 3,500 questions from which you can build a detailed needs definition.
• The On-Line Edition contains only about 15% of the questions found in the CD-Based Edition.

The CD-Based Edition (which we will continue to sell and update) has been designed so that users can create a very detailed needs definition. This is absolutely required if you are going to be able to provide vendors or resellers an accurate requirements definition list.

If you do not specify exactly what you require, you then leave it up to the vendor or reseller to ask you the right questions. If they fail to ask the questions, you run the risk of purchasing a business management system that does not in fact meet your requirements. I doubt that is something you want to face after you have already spent significant sums of money on the project itself, not to mention the software.

The CD-Based Edition has not been designed to cover all of the bases we cover in the CD-Based Edition. Its purpose is closer to supporting a power search of our database to identify likely candidate products. For many firms this is an excellent way to start your search and the requirements document you will create can serve a vital role as you move forward.

Reports

• The On-Line Edition supports the most important reports you might require as you initiate your search for a new business management system.
• The CD-Based Edition contains more reports and more reporting options.

As a power search tool, the On-Line Edition has been designed to move you quickly, but accurately to an initial conclusion regarding products that might be of interest to you. We generate only the reports that you absolutely need to define your requirements, verify that needs definition, rank products according to how close they match your requirements, and review information regarding products, ISV solutions that integrate with those products, resellers that support those products and finally information regarding accounting software consultants that might be able to assist you in this critical project.

The CD-Based Edition supports the same type of needs analysis reports, but gives you many more options. You can verify your needs definition (listing all requirements, only those questions which you answered, only your critical requirements and only those requirements for specified modules). You can compare your requirements without having to actually rank any products. You can view how well products met only your most important requirements or you can view the important features that are missing for selected products.

You can also compare many products side-by-side (as opposed to only two for the On-Line Edition). You can examine how well products compare against each other in specific modules, and you can even compare the strengths of one product against the weaknesses of another product.