Visual AccountMate® Financial Information Software Helps Port Increase Volume 50% Without Adding Financial Staff
Switching from an older DOS accounting system to a powerful, easy-to-use, appropriately priced Windows-based Visual AccountMate Financial Information software has allowed the Port of Port Arthur financial staff to handle a 50% increase in volume over the last few years without adding to its staff.

"The major advantages that we have seen over our previous system are greatly improved departmental accounting, easier access to underlying data and instant movement from one area in the program to another. As a result, we have been able to handle a substantially larger workload with fewer mistakes without adding any staff," said Richard Daniels, Director of Finance for the port located in Port Arthur, Texas.

"The DOS-based system that we used in the past was effective, but it wasn't the easiest package to use and it took time to track down errors. We looked at some of the leading mid-range Windows accounting packages and decided that Visual AccountMate (from AccountMate Information Systems, Novato, California) would generate the highest return on our investment."

The Port of Port Arthur Public Ocean Terminal, created in 1969, currently bills itself as the "busiest two-berth" port in the nation. It is currently undergoing a significant expansion which Port officials hope will allow it to become the country's busiest five-berth port. Located on the Upper Texas Gulf Coast only 19 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, the expansion will double its covered storage to approximately 400,000 square feet and add an additional 100,000 of open storage. The port is served by the Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific/Southern Pacific Railroads and will increase it's handling capacity to 90 railcars and 450 containers.

Previous DOS-based package
As he began preparing the budget for the Port's 1998 fiscal year, Daniels knew he was going to have to address the Year 2000 issue. At the time the port was running AccountMate's Premier package, which, Daniels says, "we knew was not Y2K compliant."

Daniels collected information and demonstration packages from other leading Windows-based mid-range accounting programs. "Each met all of our basic requirements by providing Year 2000 compliance, an intuitive Windows interface, and the ability to cut and paste data between other Windows applications. We also saw that these packages offered powerful features that our DOS-based program didn't have. One of the features that I liked the most was the segment-based accounts in Visual AccountMate. This feature allowed us to create one company for all our different funds as opposed to setting up a separate company for each fund, which we had done previously. This enables us to perform any task in any module for any fund while in the same company and has been a real time-saver.

Big savings on purchase price
"What made the decision simple," Daniels said, "was the fact that, with the upgrade price offered at that time, we were able to purchase AccountMate for about half the price offered by the competition. By purchasing the System Manager, General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Payroll, Bank Reconciliation and Sales Order modules, we saved a total of about $12,000 or almost twice what I ended up paying.

"I think that we actually ended up saving even more because of the fact that AccountMate turned out to be so easy to install and set up. Our AccountMate Business Partner, Accu-Tech Systems (Beaumont, Texas) provided invaluable assistance in getting Visual AccountMate set up on our Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server. After that we were able to handle most of the installation on our own which had the dual advantage of saving us money and ensuring that it was done exactly the way we wanted. My impression is that if we had gone with one of the other packages, we would have spent considerably more time and money on implementation."

Excellent Reporting Capabilities
"One of the features which I have particularly liked from the very beginning is the excellent reporting capabilities of Visual Accountmate," Daniels said. "There is a tremendous amount of flexibility that has been built into the product. It allows you to select data in precisely the format that you desire. So now if I am in General Ledger for example, I can select by fund, account #, or account id. Each one of these parameters can be broken down even further to include a range of funds and/or accounts. If you can see an ongoing need for a particular report in a unique format, Visual Accountmate allows you to create report macros for repetitive use. This can be especially useful in certain situations. For example, on a regular basis I need to check all our funds for excess cash in the checking accounts. To see our combined cash position, I select a report range that includes all cash accounts for all funds, and because this is done on a regular basis, I have set up a report macro entitled "Cash". Once again this allows me to see all of our cash accounts at one time with minimal effort. Because they are so easy to setup, I utilize report macros for many, many other scenarios."

Preventing Errors
"A feature that helps me detect errors," Daniels said, " is the table browser. It lets me go directly into the underlying database to quickly determine the cause of an apparent discrepancy. Once while preparing a bank reconciliation, I had a cash disbursement that I was unable to clear. This particular disbursement showed up in accounts payable but not in the bank reconciliation. By going into the table browser, I was able to determine that the check was on hold, change the status, and finish the reconciliation in short order. If you can develop a familiarity with some of the tables used in Visual Accountmate, the Table Browser can become a significant aid.

AccountMate's Ease of Use Saves Time and Money
"From the point of view of front line users, the biggest advantage of the new accounting package is its interface," Daniels said. "Visual AccountMate looks and acts virtually the same in all modules thereby cutting our learning curve down tremendously. The time needed to perform many everyday tasks has been significantly reduced. For example, calling up an invoice from within the program required several different steps including changing modules and searching for the right vendor. Now, our users simply click on the item that they are looking for in a report and can immediately drill down to the underlying transaction."

"Another unique feature of Visual AccountMate which I particularly enjoy is the express icons," Daniels said. "They let you quickly go to a particular function of a module other than the module that you are currently in. For example, the first icon on my screen is the Past Due Aging Report. If I'm in the middle of a function in General Ledger and I need to find the balance of one of our customers, I simply click on the icon and go directly to the aging report. When I close the report, I am automatically right back where I was. This is much faster than the usual method of opening and closing modules in the program."

"Visual AccountMate helped to significantly improve the productivity of our financial staff and also helped us keep more accurate accounting records," Daniel concluded. "The financial staff is able to perform basic data entry and accounting functions and move from one task to another much more quickly than in the past. At the same time, managers have much greater ability to perform cross checks and follow audit trails, which has resulted in fewer errors. All in all, I think this program is easier to install and use than other midrange accounting programs and is an excellent value for the money."
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