Has business potential - but examine with care

In essence Acornsoft's Business Software series consists of two main systems - sales and purchases. There is also a mailing facility which makes use of customer and supplier data from both of these systems.

The series uses disc files and unless a large amount of disc swapping is to be endured a double drive is desirable.

The sales system consists of invoicing, order processing, stock control and accounts receivable modules. The pur chasing system consists of accounts payable and purchasing modules.

The modules can be bought separately or those for each system may be linked together, either initially or subsequently, to extend the processing available.

The series is therefore ambitious but I think flawed in some areas and potential users would be well-advised to examine carefully what is on offer before deciding whether or not the series is suitable for their business.

They may find it does not do either at all or easily what they assumed it would do.

Consider the stock system. This is not updated or checked when the order processing system records that a despatch has been made - stock issues have to be specifically recorded, that is, effectively re-entered using the stock module.

The items purchased through the purchasing system do not in any way link with the items on the stock file.

As another example, invoices can only be produced if an order has been previously entered - even if the order processing module is not being used - but it is only possible to invoice for the whole order, not for part despatches.

Each module purchased has its own instruction booklet but about half of each is common to all. This is obviously so that each module can stand alone, but it does mean that if a number of modules are purchased it can be a little difficult to appreciate how they interact and a bit of a search to locate "answers" to problems.

The series has of course many good points. For example, unlike some accounts packages for home micros, the sales and purchases ledgers are kept on the open item system so that details of all outstanding transactions are maintained.

Users are forced to match cash receipts or payments against specific transactions. I also thought that the screen and printed output layouts were good.

This series has the potential of being very good but I think that some modification and rationalisation is needed before it could be thus described.

Ken Garrett