Item: Sage Intacct
Rating: 8
Author: Colin Daniel

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I completed the Intacct training in 2012 and have a generally good impression of the software. Since I work in the Eastern Caribbean where I might be serving clients in the region, Intacct is the ideal solution. It is a lower cost solution than Microsoft Dynamics and Sage Accpac. The ability to build tailor made dashboards is key as is the automated delivery of reports.

Pros and Cons

Intacct handles remote access to client information seamlessly. Critical for a region like the Caribbean where clients are in different jurisdictions where you need to travel by plane or boat to meet the client face to face.
The ability to automate running reports at specific times for different work groups reduces the need for redundant tasks and allows staff to work on the mission critical elements of the finance functions.
Workflow management especially for the authorization of transactions allows team members to function where ever they are in the world. Transactions do not need to be sped up to meet out of office schedules of key staff in order to obtain transaction authorization.
Online storage of transaction documents help facilitate the workflow management tools discussed above.

The initial set up has a couple areas which are counter intuitive especially when it comes to multi-currency.
Would prefer to see consolidated financial statements as core feature rather than an add on.
Improved handling of inventory outside of the retail sector. Need to work on building the bill of material functionality better.

Return on Investment

Hi value ROI by offering FC/CFO services rather than transactional services

Alternatives Considered

I have used Sysoro, Summitt, Quick Books, Accpac, Great Plain Dynamics, Real World, JD Edwards, MAS 90 and Cougar Mountain, non can touch it in terms of overall functionality and ease of use.

Sage Intacct Rating for Public Practice CPAs

This application makes servicing clients easy. The same type of reporting that is provided to the clients can be provided to me to monitor their business. My role is to focus on helping the clients focus on their business strategy and growing their business. It is not the nitty gritty of the accounting functions. Once the client's environment is set up, I can provide high value advisory services based on the information being provided to my client and through the automated reporting functions. Even with Wave Accounting which I like, I still have to go and retrieve the information.

Percentage of clients doing full Business Process Outsourcing

25% to 50% of my clients

Likelihood to Recommend

Intacct is well suited for companies operating in multiple sites and jurisdictions. It's best for servicing remote clients and to delivering high value non transactional services to clients. It has stronger business controls than QuickBooks. It has a robust ERP platform without the complexity or limitations that ERP systems bring. Applications like Summit, Great Plains and Accpac capture huge amounts of data. These other applications require a high level of effort to extract meaningful reports that users can actually understand to run their business without expert knowledge. Intacct delivers reports in a user friendly format that does not require the use of complex programming or data extraction skills to retrieve information.

There is a need to expand payroll functionality to more jurisdictions or provide for the creation of free form tax and social insurance tables that users can define.

Caribbean Business Strategy Consultant

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Intacct