Commercial Logic, Inc. — APS Advance Practice Management

From the June 2009 Review of Practice
Management Systems

[Ed. Note: The APS system was released into the U.S. market too recently to
have been reviewed in this section. This sidebar article appeared along with
the other product reviews.]

A new practice management option for professional accounting firms is the APS
Advance Practice Management system, part of the APS Suite just introduced in
April to the U.S. market by Commercial Logic, Inc (CLI). CLI has been a developer
of accounting technology products for nearly 30 years but recently partnered
with Advanced Professional Solutions, which has grown a strong user base in
Australia, New Zealand and the UK, starting in 1991.

The APS integrated suite of products is specifically designed for accounting
practices, based on a SQL database, and provides strong core modules for time
and billing as well as contact and client relationship management functions.
The system design offers significant workflow and resource planning capabilities,
along with the ability to manage projects, expenses, staff scheduling and client
communications. Advance PM can be used for multiple entities, and time tracking
and staff resource functions enable multiple flexible rates per staff member,
along with the ability to manage multiple currencies.

Other features include staff and resource budgeting and productivity analyses,
on demand billing, a workflow-based electronic time and expense approval system,
and remote data entry through web-based timesheets. The program integrates with
Microsoft Outlook for calendar and contact data, while reports can be output
to PDF and emailed directly from within the system.

Central to the Advance PM system is its integration with the other programs
in the APS Suite, which include options for document management, enhanced CRM,
business process automation, resource planning and online business intelligence
reporting via SQL Analysis and Reporting Services. All programs within the suite
share data as needed to provide optimal workflow and provide management with
strong analysis. APS Advance Practice Management was named 2008 Software of
the Year by the British accounting publication Accountancy Age.

Technology