PowerPlan as a Utility Fixed Asset Solution
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
PowerPlan our primary fixed asset management system. It is used by our Fixed Assets, Unitization and Project Accounting groups along with a small group of Auditors. PowerPlan offers Utility Specific functionality to accommodate the unique process the industry requires for managing Assets, Depreciation and Unitization. It is a niche market which many solutions cannot support or require significant customization or advanced configuration to handle.
Pros
- Allow the use of retirement units for unitization out of the box.
- Align with Ferc Account and Reporting Standards
- Provide Dashboards that can be configured for different users or groups
- Functions well in a Project Centric Accounting Environment.
Cons
- The backend technology is dated and requires specialized skills or PowerPlan assistance to develop on.
- UI is also outdated and not as visually appealing as users are now accustomed to.
- Reporting is basic in functionality and appearance.
Likelihood to Recommend
[PowerPlan is well suited for] Any Utility who handles their own Fixed Asset Accounting and Reporting. There are very few specialized solutions in this space that can handle this out of the box. Core functionality and support with PowerPlan are excellent. If you have a firm or service that handles a portion or the majority of your Fixed Asset Accounting and Reporting than this solution is overkill and costly for what you need. There may be other options also if you have a robust internal technology team that is comfortable developing another major fixed asset solution into what you need. Cloud Hosting is also not available at this time and will likely be several releases out and be a major redesign (unstable) at first.