Brian Tankersley

As the space for practice management applications has changed over the last year, we have changed the applications which we cover as part of this review to reflect the desire of many mid-sized and large firms to implement staff scheduling tools.

Unlike traditional applications where it is very clear where one module begins and another ends, CCH Axcess users can perform many tasks from a wide range of menus throughout the solution. This flexibility may be confusing to new users, as the time capture functions are accessed from the user’s dashboard and not from within the Axcess Practice application.

ProSystem fx Practice Management was originally built as CPASoftware Visual Practice Management on the Microsoft Access database, but has been updated to support the Microsoft.net and Microsoft SQL Server platforms.

APS Advance Practice Management is a customizable solution which best meets the needs of large accounting firms. The solution is built on the Microsoft SQL server platform. The application is flexible enough that the firm will need to know how they want to work with the application, and should not be expecting a “standard” implementation with this very powerful and flexible tool kit. A number of stock dashboards are provided with APS Advanced Practice Management, but users will want to configure the metrics tracked to meet their firm’s specific requirements.

PowerPM from Commercial Logic, Inc. is a straight-forward module-based practice management application which is offered as a hosted solution for a monthly charge. The PowerPM Suite includes five core modules which provide users with the system. These modules are:

Empire Suite by WSG Systems, Corp. is a high-end practice management tool designed for large firms. Empire Suite includes an optional staff scheduling module called Empire Resource, and is one of the stronger automatic scheduling tools in the industry. The application is delivered as software as a service through the company’s website, EmpireSuite.com, and is sold on a subscription basis.

Practice Management 2014 by Office Tools Professional is a time and billing application which offers a comprehensive suite for managing a small firm including workflow management, client portal, document management, and light customer relationship management (CRM).

Practice CS is designed to be the hub managing to work in an accounting firm running the Thomson Reuters CS Professional Suite. When combined with the optional modules for managing projects, clients, and employees, Practice CS provides a comprehensive toolset which meets the needs of many small and midsize firms.

A new class of “digital plumbing” applications are helping many firms and small businesses solve another seemingly “impossible” task – automated synchronization and universal exchange of data between applications written by different software publishers.

Accounting Power is the new name for the collaborative bookkeeping and client write-up solution which is part of the Accountants World Power Practice suite of applications.

Xero Accounting, along with the Xero Partner Platform multi-client interface for accountants, is a cloud-based platform for those working with multiple clients. The product is best used by service-based organizations, is easy to use, and provides a platform for automating the classification of transactions.

Intuit’s QuickBooks Online (QBO), along with the QuickBooks Online for Accountants (QBO4A) multi-client tool for accountants using the application, provide a capable cloud-based platform for managing small business finances for multiple organizations.