INTERCONNECT OPERATING SOFTWARE REVIEW - The-Mart Magazine - May 2004 by Mike Sandman Choosing the software you use to run your Interconnect company is one of the toughest, most important decisions you'll make. The wrong decision will cost you a lot of pain and frustration (to say nothing of wasted time), but it's sometimes necessary to go through all that to find out what you really need for your company. By now, most Interconnects are using some type of software, even if it's a generic accounting package like Quickbooks. Once you've gone through the effort to set up software to run your company, you don't relish the thought of doing it again - even if the software you're using is not really doing what you need. On the other hand, it's really helpful to go through the process once, since you can learn enough to know exactly what you're looking for in your next/better software package. Some of the software companies have conversion utilities to convert your old data to the new format. With others you may need to send your data to them, so they can massage it semi-manually into it's new format. It's worth asking about, if you're willing to let your data out of your hands. I wouldn't, since your customer base is one of your most valuable assets. A lot of us have tons of software laying around that we never used after we looked at it. Interconnect operating software can be a really big investment, and getting a money back guarantee and/or a working demo is pretty important. You should make sure you're going to set aside the time you need, with others who will be using the program, to give you the best shot at making it work. If you don't have the time, put it off until you do. A 30 day moneyback guarantee isn't much in this case. After you make the decision on which software you're going to purchase, you're going to need to enter a lot of information into the program to make it usable. Just getting your customer list into the program can be a daunting task without a conversion utility, and your inventory can be a challenge too. Is it worth it? It really is! Nobody's ever accused phone men as being real organized. As long as you're willing to follow the routine and use the program, your life will get simpler - fast! Of course, many of us find that our lives are really not simpler, since the software helps organize us so we can handle a lot more work and grow our company faster with fewer employees. If you think you'll just kind of add customer information as you go along, you're going to be disappointed in the results. One of the nicest aspects of getting organized using software is the reporting capabilities built into these products. Getting a handle on what's really happening in your company is only going to happen when you give the program enough information so it can give you good management reports. The ability to know who your customers are, and bill them or just contact them at the click of a couple of buttons gives you real control over your company. Getting a handle on receivables is critical to cash flow in any company, and when you've got those reports in black and white, it makes it a lot easier to do what you need to do to collect those receivables. The bottom line is that however painful it is to spend the extra time putting the information into your new software, it'll pay you back big time for as long as you use the software. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get your accountant involved in this process. While many of these software packages don't include actual accounting software, some do. Most of them tie in with at least a couple of popular general ledger type accounting programs so that the main numbers are transferred over automatically. At worst, you'll have to take the month end numbers and plug them into your GL program manually to do your books for tax purposes. Keep in mind that some of the negative comments you'll see here might be from a user who tried the software a number of years ago, when the software packages were all DOS based. Like the rest of the computer business, these software packages are constantly being improved. The happiest customers seem to have a maintenance contract for both support and updates. Considering that this software is going to be running your company, and everybody's pay check is going to hinge on how well this software operates, it would make sense to pay for the maintenance. I'm not going to mention prices. Cost should not be your primary factor in making your decision. Whatever you do, keep in mind that a good package will cut down the number of hours you're paying someone to do the job manually (or with another software package) now. If it means that you can double your customers before you need to add more office help, the money you pay up front will seem like peanuts a couple of years from now. This software is definitely an investment in your business, not just an ordinary expense. What follows are comments from actual users, and some comments from the makers of the software themselves. There's no way I could load all of these packages and actually use them to the point that I'd be able to learn their good and bad points, so I'm giving you actual (anonymous) comments of real users of this software. Please keep in mind that some of these people could be ringers... I wouldn't believe anything you read here without checking it out first. I would certainly ask for a couple of references, and if at all possible actually visit an Interconnect company using the software you're planning to buy. As you go through these comments, you might want to jot down features that could help your company - and build your own wish list. Here are the reports, in alphabetical order: --- CAT-5 Enterprise Interconnect Accounting (Was CTS) - 254-836-0707 - www.s2-software.com CTS was taken over by the original author of the software a few years ago. Scott Gast continues to support the DOS version, and now has a Windows version. USER 1: Used ICM, CTS DOS, back to ICM, and now Service Express. CTS wouldn't make changes to the DOS version, and the Windows version is very expensive. He said CTS was too complicated, and he made a lot of mistakes. NOTE: Scott Gast says the prices are now much lower for CAT-5 (the Windows version of CTS). USER 2: Small Interconnect using CAT-5 since 10/03. It was the first one found that had all the features at an affordable price. Has been looking for something off and on for the last couple of years. Scott has been great to work with. He has been making many changes and upgrades to satisfy our requests. Has taken a while to learn how to move through the program, however S2 has been there for us when we needed them. USER 3: Installed CAT-5 in the fall of 2002. Previously used CTS/DOS. Had been happy with the previous version except that being DOS based, it had limitations which prevented integration with other Windows applications. CAT-5 eliminated that drawback and others. Was able to migrate data from DOS to Windows version. Support has been very good and the developer has been willing to make many modifications that specifically improve its effectiveness for our operation. They are constantly making other improvements, like a Map-Quest feature with our Work Orders so we can quickly locate sites for our technicians, saving time and money. Currently in development is an expanded Technician Scheduling Module, which will give them live-time locations and a job completion overview for each technician. This should improve job flow and reduce down time. Would recommend this product to any Interconnect. USER 4: Started in 1994 with the DOS version. Converted to CAT-5 a few months back. CTS was a workhorse for many years. It's great for an owner of an Interconnect. Bank Balance, A/R, A/P balances and aging are in viewable spreadsheet form from within the main program. Work orders, invoicing and inventory are a breeze. Everything in the system integrates easily into G/L. Has many new features like serialized inventory and multiple warehouses. Database changed to SQL and is easy to handle for the average network administrator. Auto update feature is handy and works great. Using Crystal Reports to mine specific data out of the database for specialized reporting. Would highly recommend for any small to mid-sized interconnect. The software is loaded, works, and S-2 support is great. USER 5: Key Feature: Complete "suite" of software specifically for Interconnects. Starting at proposal all the way to GL. Seldom uses other pieces of software for business related items. Very stable, lockups are non-existent. When problems do arise, the tech staff is right on top of things. Quick e-mail responses and/or follow up phone calls. Not standard "off the shelf" software package. Allows us to keep track of customer inventory, circuits, hardware configurations - all the stuff you need to know with the click of a mouse. The proposal module is very flexible. On an accounting level - lets say our CPA gets a big grin on his face. USER 6: Been running CTS/DOS for years and converted to CAT-5. Was the best move our company ever made. Purchased several different software packages, but this was the best by far. Was paying accountant to make sure billing and payroll was correct to keep the state and Feds paid. Now just push a few buttons and has everything they need. Package easy to use and very user friendly. Best of all, CAT-5 support is the best. If company is looking for Interconnect accounting software and an excellent company to work with, then "S2" is the only place. USER 7: Has worked with it for 10 years. Went through transition to Windows and will never look elsewhere. They go above and beyond. The program does everything we need it to do. We have about 4000 customers, with at least 50% active. Payroll integrates with General Ledger for proper costing on work orders to give real profit analysis. Get just about any report on anything you need. Able to get true costs and company has been running much more efficiently ever since, mainly because you're able to see true expenses and act accordingly. Also have the capabilities of printing departmental income statements to see the profit of different departments. Work order module is very easy to work with for even inexperienced computer person, yet has excellent detail allowing you to go straight to a customer account to see if they owe money or what specific equipment they have. System type, warranty or maintenance info appears on the order. All modules are very easy to use and integrate well together. When you order item on a purchase order you can send it to the designated work order, and system takes it in and out of inventory for your tracking purposes. Eliminates having to pull the inventory manually. If using serial numbers, the inventory tracks them. If you have a part and don't know where it is, you can scan the serial number, and you will get a record of all of the activity on that part number, making it easier for you to track where it should be or where it was. Support at CAT-5 is extraordinary. Always there when you need them, either by phone or email. Has never had important issue go unresolved. They welcome comments and suggestions to improve or provide more information through the system. Has never worked with company before that if they wanted a report for something specific, they had a good chance of getting it. CAT-5 works hand in hand with users to make sure system is user friendly and reporting what customers need, not what company thinks they need. Gets updates via a "live-update" that is run every morning. These are bug fixes or upgrades that customers have requested. Would strongly recommend CAT-5 to anyone looking to purchase a new program. USER 8: They say they almost don't want to tell other companies about CAT-5 because they feel it's their secret treasure. Been in business 21 years. Have had three different Interconnect operating systems. For past 10 years has been using the DOS version. It was wonderfully integrated, inexpensive, user friendly, and very reliable. Would never have considered change if Scott had not created Windows version. They reviewed other operating systems that were more expensive, seemed confusing, and came from a company that charged for every question you asked. Benefits to company are immeasurable, Functionality, reliability, and endless support given by S2 is welcome relief. They say it's the best solution for their company. --- CCI Software - 702-367-2700 - www.ccisoftware.com This started out as software for refurbishers that has branched out to Interconnects. It does accounting, sales and inventory control. --- Dilloware (Recurring Billing Software) - 800-880-0887 - www.dilloware.com A security and telecom installer emailed me this information. He said it's especially good for recurring billing. Everything was fine until one day he got an error code, and called customer service. He said the person who picked up was not very helpful, and said it was his PC causing the problem. He took his PC in for repair, and was told that since the error only comes up if the computer is set later than a certain date, and if the date was turned back it worked, it must be a software bug. He called Customer Service back and was told he'd have to buy another disk - for the original cost - which he decided not to do. He says he's now using QuickBooks Pro. It was a little hard in the beginning but is "beautiful" now. --- PEACHTREE - Windows accounting software (not specifically for Interconnects). We used Peachtree here until it let us work out of balance for about a month before we found out (we had just hired a second accounting person to enter stuff). At that point, we had no choice but to go back to a backup from before the problem, and re-enter a month of data. Peachtree blamed the problem on everything they could, but said there was no problem with their software - although they did admit it was "sensitive" to different networks. After doing some checking, I found that it works fine with one user, but when you add the second user the data gets corrupt, and there's no checking for corrupt data. I found many companies with the same problem. It probably took the various companies over 200 hours each to fix the problems once they noticed things weren't right. USER 1: Started with the ICM 10 years ago. Since then searching for the perfect system. Most software doesn't have accounting, so you still need an accounting package like Peachtree, MYOB, Quickbooks, etc. For last 2 years has used Peachtree Complete for everything. Good inventory control, accounts receivable & payables, the ability to edit, make changes and get meaningful reports. Has also customized Peachtree for tracking maintenance contracts, items sold, MACs, billable and warranty service, etc. Quote module is superb, allows quote to be converted to a work order and then to invoice. In search for the right software has purchased or tried demos of Tigerpaw, Service Pros, PhoneBiz, ICM Windows and others. His conclusion is a to buy the $200.00 off the shelf Peachtree Complete or a $20,000.00 system like Great Plains. The Interconnect packages without accounting just don't make it. --- PhoneBizz - 206-365-2510 - www.phonebizz.com The original company making PhoneBizz was sold, but the new company still supports the DOS version, and they're actively selling the Windows version. Renee is still there, supports the DOS version, and sells both versions. USER 1: I've been using PhoneBizz for Windows for two years and I can't wait to get rid of it. It has cost me more headaches than it's worth. I don't think I go a day without hearing complaints from my employees about PhoneBizz. Isn't impressed with support, especially since they were bought out. USER 2: Uses PhoneBizz and says it's best investment any company can make. Says it's fabulous - easy to use and learn, efficient and professional. Can't say enough great things about it and Renee and her crew. Says everyone is courteous, helpful and extremely nice to deal with. Used to have Western's ICM. Says that was nothing but trouble, and could never get through to anyone. Says it was archaic for his purposes, so after substantial research and demos, decided on PhoneBizz. Says "the price was right, but the software was even better." USER 3: Before PhoneBizz, used Work in Progress, a Clipper based program which he paid someone to modify for his business. He says he wouldn't want to do that again. Has maintenance, support has been good - they call back within 24 hours. Was painful making the switch, but only for a short period of time because the new software is so much better. They've grown 3 times in size but added no more accounting personnel. PhoneBizz does not have a GL module, but does have bridges to SBT, AccPac Plus, Peachtree Windows, Dac Easy, MYOB, and Pacioli (accounting packages). USER 4: One man operation. Says he is one of over 500 other interconnects using this software. Is using the 100 customer version. Bought it 4 or 5 months before he started using it. They still helped him get it going even though the 30 days of free support had expired. The hard part was putting all his existing customers in it. It works well, but he was frustrated with it when he first got it. He got the hang of it after a week. Using it for invoices, keeping track of customers (Rolodex) and accounts receivable. Not using inventory module. USER 5: Used Phonebizz for years. Had DOS and upgraded to Windows. Liked it for tracking service orders and was able to use it for receivables because he wasn't forced to interface to other programs. Finally gave up on it because of the insane inability to double click on almost anything, and the customer service history window was so small it took forever to review some of his older accounts. --- Quickbooks - Windows accounting software (not specifically for Interconnects). Everyone who uses it loves this inexpensive program. While you can't actually run all the functions of a larger interconnect, it'll come close with some creative thinking. The users who called me about Quickbooks are really devoted to it! Because of the popularity of Quickbooks, there are a number of companies offering add-ins that extend its functionality. Some software for Interconnects let you use Quickbooks as its accounting module. One caller told me that he'd been using it for 3 years. He started following the messages on Compuserve's Quicken forum which is now shut down. You can find lots of tips on the Internet. He said he learned a lot of work arounds to help make the software do what he needs. Quickbooks is a single entry accounting program - no credits and debits to balance. He mentioned that it does have a Trial Balance report that he can give to his accountant in a more traditional accounting format. He says that when he first started using the program, he didn't see much in the way of results he could use, and was disgusted - but he wasn't putting any information into it. The reports started to take shape as soon as he entered all his bills, and saw his net worth go up when he put in his outstanding invoices. Really likes the ability to create custom reports like federal employment taxes, state unemployment, sales taxes for all the counties he works in by the quarter so he can pay his taxes, what he's paid and what he owes. For whatever reason, the sales tax year end date is 12/1 in his state, and he's able to change the year end date and run the reports he needs for sales tax. He feels the sales tax report is the most valuable report. It helps him pay bills and do billing with recurring reminders. Shows him who owes him what, and who he owes in real time. He says the graphs and charts are great. He treats installation as an inventory item to make the program do what he wants. He also has his whole inventory in it, and it can show him low inventory amounts. Another user called to say that old data is retained in the files until you do a special kind of clean-out procedure. The speed of the program really improves when you do that procedure to clean out unneeded data. --- SAM - 727-445-9492 - www.sac-sam.com Has both DOS and Windows versions. Windows has been out for 5 years, and DOS for around 20 years. Being used by both large and small Interconnects. USER 1: Been using SAM for well over eight years now. During this time has seen many Interconnect software companies come and go. To date, hasn't found anyone else that has a product as well rounded as this, nor has a track record of longevity. He said that like all software it has it's pros and cons, "but the pros definitely outweigh the cons. USER 2: Evaluated a number of packages before deciding on the SAM. User has 12 years data processing background, so took extra time to evaluate a solution for immediate and future requirements. Started implementation in January 1994. Noticed immediate improvement in the service to customers, improved tracking and billing, and increase in productivity. Started to get better control of day to day business. Used a phased-in implementation approach, combined with training, handholding and direction from SAM support team made the transition from old manual system very effective. Asked for a number of minor enhancements to meet the specific setup of operation. Implementation of new releases has been very smooth and has addressed our requirements. Looks forward to the continuous improvements they've been able to achieve, as they improve the control of their business operations and financial reporting systems. USER 3: Started using SAM software by SAC in 1986 when it started out as a basic package. Since then it has grown to include many modules and more than addresses all of their needs. Before choosing SAM they looked at several other software programs which were supposed to be designed for Interconnects. They found them to be lacking in knowledge of the way an Interconnect operates, and they often required more paperwork support than was practical. Over the years they have seen demonstrations of other packages to ensure that they were getting the best. None of them compared to SAM. Introduction of the software immediately improved efficiency and has allowed them to use far fewer staff than would otherwise be required. The software has greatly improved control of most aspects of business. Don't have problems with lost service orders, un-invoiced work, expired warranty or maintenance agreements, incomplete or late delivery, keeping AR clean, and other routine but essential items. There is a definite "in control" comfort level with this system. Technical support and product enhancements leave nothing to be desired. When they make a suggestion it's quickly implemented and there are often improvements and suggestions generated by SAC. On the rare occasion when they've had a problem it's quickly addressed. He can't envisage running an Interconnect without having the support of SAM. It certainly makes life a lot easier. USER 4: SAM stands for Service and Accounting Manager. Has been using it since 1986. Very strong in service orders and billing. Had no major problems. Deals with Sheriff from SAM. Sales leads and prospecting are simple, not like ACT! Has accounts receivable, integrates with GL (SAM told me that it has its own integrated GL module when I called them). Looked at three other programs recently, found that they don't even come close. Some are stronger in a particular area like proposal quoting, but not user friendly or flexible. --- Service Express - 480-767-5556 - www.z-microtech.com Alarm company software, but they have a version that Interconnects are using. USER 1: Used ICM, CTS DOS, back to ICM, and now Service Express. This software was made for alarm companies, but he says it works fine for him. It's inexpensive, and easy to use. Their service order module works very well. USER 2: Has both an alarm company and Interconnect. Used for around 15 years. Now on Windows, started with DOS. Is phenomenal on Interconnect side. Keeps track of service tickets and billing. Does maintenance contracts, and reminders of when to call and target their customers. Uses it for dispatching service, and can track productivity on an individual technician by day week or month. Can see if there are go-backs, unresolved issues. Uses it heavily for scheduling. Does all of their billing - regular and recurring for contracts. Has recurring revenue calculator, so he can anticipate cash flow. Does late charges. Has inventory in it. Inventory manager does multiple locations, so each vehicle is considered a different location, so he can keep track of what's on a truck. Runs report on each location once a week, and can transfer stock from one location to another (transfer from main location to vehicle, etc.). When they do a service ticket, it says used 300' of wire, and removes it from inventory on truck so they know how much cable is on the truck. They make an optional proposal writer called Pursuit, a combination contact manager and proposal writer. When the sale is made, it will transfer the data to Service Express and he'll immediately have access to the proposal and contact. Not a lot of bumps in the road in the last 15 years. If someone has a new request, it often appears on the next upgrade. Reasonable fees to customize the program. Had a custom invoice written. When he upgrades the program, he puts the custom disk back in, and reinstalls custom the template. Using it with Quickbooks Pro for accounting. Seamless integration. Is happy that they sell the package by the number of customers. When he went over the limit of customers, just paid the upgrade fee, and didn't lose any data. Now has unlimited version. Has turned a couple of other Interconnects on to the software, and they've been very pleased with it. --- Servicepro 2000 - 208-664-5599 - Put out by Axcess Software. They bought ICM (Western Data). The only calls I've received recently about this software and ICM have been negative. I tried to call them, but I only get voice mail. I left messages, and nobody has returned my call. I'm guessing that they are no longer supporting ICM, and are no longer selling and supporting Servicepro 2000? --- Softserv - 630-668-9038 - www.softserv-info.com They say that Infocon For Windows contains all of the features an Interconnect needs. It has a unique feature that lets customers log on to an Interconnect's web site to view or take orders. Technicians can log on to the web site and check their orders for the next day, input time, and request material. USER 1: Had since 1994. Had updates, added new modules and went through a major conversion. Has dispatching, inventory, billing, sales proposal and sales tracking. Does staging and transit for new installs and MACs, from system ordering through installation. Interfaces to their corporate accounting system, Millenium Software 2K. Does their tech's time for on-line payroll. Says it provides the functionality and business needs for an Interconnect. Says they've been very responsive to requests for customization, and was not real expensive. Was using a Basic 4 system before, and Softserv helped them go through the conversion and actually managed the whole project. They did the conversion for them - didn't have to manually key in a lot of data. Says reporting is excellent. Does all standard reports plus does custom queries. USER 2: This user is in England. Using dispatching, inventory, and is tied into an accounting package. Keeps track of contacts, and does billing. They had some modifications made to use it in the UK, so they've had a few problems to work out. Does quotes for new systems, and follows through with parts list to order the systems. Flexible and informative reports. Good selection of basic reports, and has a powerful query language for custom reports. Can export reports to Excel. Says it's a very good system. He likes it. --- Tigerpaw Software (TIMES) - 402-592-4544 Tigerpaw Business Suite is the Windows version of TIMES, a DOS based program for Interconnect companies that's been around for a long time. It's made to work with Microsoft Office. USER 1: Used Phonebizz before switching. Database conversion wasn't smooth so chose to enter much of the database manually. Purchased Tigerpaw early last year but didn't implement it until last fall. Didn't like Tigerpaw's default invoice template. Had to make a new one using Crystal Report Writer. In January upgraded to new SQL version and they made a new invoice form, for free. Do I like Tigerpaw? So far the jury is out. It has decent improvements over Phonebizz but is time consuming to run. There are a myriad of steps to write up, process, fill and bill customer work orders. I needed something to simplify my business. Now I need a full time database entry person. If I was a larger company, this would be fine. Tigerpaw has the ability to interface with PDAs if he buys them for his techs... "If they enter everything correctly?" --- WinSell - 403-215-7355- www.winsellpos.com This software is an add-in for Quickbooks, and may or may not work for an Interconnect. It's primarily POS (Point of Sale) software. It's a stand alone program that creates files that are compatible with Quickbooks. --- Wintac Pro - 800-724-7899 - www.intacinternational.com Software for many types of contracting companies. They say it's the "Number 1 Software for Contractors." The reader who gave me this information didn't say anything about using the software, and nobody else has mentioned it.