Introduction
The manager is an accounting software suite intended for small businesses. The software is available in two versions: Desktop and Cloud Editions. The Desktop Edition is free to install and use on all three major operating systems: Windows, Mac, and Linux. The Cloud Edition requires a monthly or yearly subscription, but follows the cloud computing paradigm, thus requiring no installation and, therefore, it has no significant hardware limitations. Furthermore, the Cloud Edition offers additional features not present in the Desktop version, most notably multi-user access (Features, 2020). For this report, the Desktop version was used due to its availability.
The software’s primary purpose is to act as a computer ledger. It allows one to keep a record of a variety of business transactions. These records can be cross-linked, i. e. a customer or supplier entry can be created, which can be referenced by other entries. This makes the software convenient to use and facilitates the reading of a business’s financial records and balancing its finances.
Software Features
The program’s main window presents a list of categories for records on the left-hand side, as well as two panes for the business’s balance sheet and its profit and loss statement. The category list can be customized to display any combination of the 40 available categories. This allows one to configure the software to show only the categories that are relevant to one’s particular business, making it more convenient to use.
Clicking on each category brings one to a list of entries of that type. This view also offers one to create a new entry. While most categories only contain entries of one type, some can contain multiple, such as receipts and payments. Creating an entry takes the user to a new interface, depending on the type of entry being created. In most cases, fields for relevant data are offered, and some of these fields, such as a reference number, can be filled in automatically or by hand. This feature saves the work of keeping track of such details while still allowing manual entry for documents generated without the use of the program.
In addition to financial records, the software allows one to create entries for organizational entities, such as employees, suppliers, customers, and bank accounts. These types of entries are used to cross-link with others, which allows one to examine all the sales invoices associated with a customer or all payslips assigned to an employee. While such entity entries are not required to create an entry for a transaction, the software will fail to display such incomplete entries. This issue can cause difficulty if entries ever need to be exported or printed out.
Entries in any category can be viewed, edited, printed out, and exported as PDF files or plain text to be inserted into a spreadsheet program. Entries can also be cloned to easily create several similar ones. There are also a search feature and an option to create or update entries in batch by copying information from a different file format. This allows one to use Manager to organize entries while relying on a different application to create and edit them.
The final feature offered in the Desktop edition is the ability to create journal entries and reports. Journal entries allow one to list any number of debit or credit transactions to any available account. Furthermore, they are automatically validated and inform the user if they are unbalanced. Reports are generated based on existing entries, cover a chosen time frame. Functionally, these elements can be viewed, edited, and printed like other entries.
Comparison
Manager’s primary advantage compared to other accounting software is its accessibility. Its Desktop version can be deployed on most computers without the advanced IT expertise required for more complex software. Furthermore, it is easy to use for a non-specialist or one without experience with accounting software. Similar desktop accounting applications, such as GNUCash and NCH Software Express Accounts, while offering more features, are more challenging to use and require practice and expertise. Express Accounts, for instance, automatically applies taxes and, for UK users, can automatically report VAT to the appropriate government authority (NCH Software, n. d.). The manager cannot also create graphs to illustrate a business’ finances, which is present in GNUCash (The GnuCash Project, n. d.). Thus, the Manager has limited utility for larger businesses or more experienced users.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Manager’s Desktop version is a convenient application with relatively simple, but robust utility. It is primarily intended to record accounting information in an easy-to-understand and navigate way. The application’s interface is simple and intuitive, allowing one to use it immediately and without special training. Managers can be customized to only display relevant types of entries, which means they can be adapted to the particular type of business without cluttering the program’s interface with unnecessary elements. Finally, the application is free to deploy, which means it is accessible for the smallest, recently created businesses.
Manager’s drawbacks are related to its scalability and lack of verification and protection features. Although its interface allows one to easily add, view, or edit entries, a lack of filtering options means that searching for specific ones among hundreds or thousands can be challenging. The search feature is also limited in its ability to search in all the fields of an entry, complicating the process further.
The lack of protective features can also be a significant issue. The manager does not validate fields when creating or editing entries and displays no warnings when duplicate entries are created. This lack of protection allows the user to make mistakes that would be difficult to detect or fix. While this issue can be circumvented by using external software with better search and filtering features, it is a critical drawback of Manager as a standalone solution.
Overall, Manager is a robust and accessible application for recently started small businesses. Its ease of deployment, straightforward and accessible interface and customizability make it easy to use for someone with minimal business or accounting experience. However, its limited search and filtering options make its deployment in larger-scale business environments impractical. Furthermore, the software’s lack of verification and protection features complicate its use for the same inexperienced users, increasing the likelihood of errors and their subsequent detection.
Conclusion
The manager is a limited, but robust accounting application for small businesses. Its utility is based on its ease of deployment and use. It allows a user to quickly read, add and modify accounting entries regardless of his or her level of expertise. However, this software has significant limitations due to its lack of functionality, particularly search and filtering functionality, as well as protection and validation features. These limitations make its use in larger-scale businesses significantly less practical. Furthermore, experienced users may require features that are not present in Manager, and, therefore, transition to more complex software.
References
Features. (2020) Manager.io. Web.
NCH Software (n. d.) Express Accounts Accounting Software. Web.
The GnuCash Project (n. d.). Welcome to GnuCash.org. GNU. Web.