How to select the right accounting software.How the underlying database influences price and effectiveness. Accounting Software Series on the Web This entire series of articles on accounting software appears on the AICPA AICPA See American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Web page at www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/index/htm. Five years ago, few buyers of accounting software gave much thought to the underlying database--after all, they were pretty much stuck with the database engine the developer had designed into the product. Today, however, many accounting vendors have engineered their applications to accommodate a variety of database engines--a major advantage for the user. Select the database that matches the user's unique needs, and not only can it save lots of money but also the accounting package can run faster and better--even allowing it to be scaled up as the business grows. As a result, it's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have now imperative that prospective buyers give careful consideration to database selection, which depends mostly on the volume of transactions processed across an organization's local or wide area network (LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. or WAN). In general, the more transactions, the more robust the database needs to be and the higher its cost in terms of purchase price, implementation and maintenance. Exhibit 1, page 32, summarizes this information for some of the more popular databases.
Exhibit 1: Selecting the Right Database(*)
Performance
Best Suited
for
Companies
With
Sales
Database Options Under
Peachtree Complete Accounting
for Windows and Quickbooks Pro
(early version of Btrieve) $5 million
Microsoft Access $10 million
FoxPro $15 million
Microsoft Back Office Small
Business Server (SQL Server) $15 million
Btrieve $25 million
Pervasive.SQL $100 million
IBM DB2 Universal Database Unlimited
Microsoft SQL
Server Enterprise 7.0 Unlimited
Oracle8 Unlimited
Sybase SQL Server Unlimited
Performance Best Suited
for Companies With
Transactions
Database Options Fewer Than
Peachtree Complete Accounting
for Windows and Quickbooks Pro
(early version of Btrieve) 100/day or 25,000/year
Microsoft Access 200/day or 50,000/year
FoxPro 500/day or 125,000/year
Microsoft Back Office Small
Business Server (SQL Server) 2,000/day or 500,000/year
Btrieve 5,000/day or 1,250,000/year
Pervasive.SQL 20,000/day or 5,000,000/year
IBM DB2 Universal Database Unlimited
Microsoft SQL
Server Enterprise 7.0 Unlimited
Oracle8 Unlimited
Sybase SQL Server Unlimited
Performance
Best Suited
for Companies
With
Concurrent Users
Database Options Fewer Than
Peachtree Complete Accounting
for Windows and Quickbooks Pro
(early version of Btrieve) 6
Microsoft Access 10
FoxPro 15
Microsoft Back Office Small
Business Server (SQL Server) 50
Btrieve 25
Pervasive.SQL 250
IBM DB2 Universal Database Unlimited
Microsoft SQL
Server Enterprise 7.0 Unlimited
Oracle8 Unlimited
Sybase SQL Server Unlimited
(*) Based on the author's opinion, not on any formal benchmarks or testing procedures. What gave users the flexibility to select a database application was the decision by most top accounting software vendors to separate the so-called so-called adj. 1. Commonly called: "new buildings ... in so-called modern style" Graham Greene. 2. business logic part of their programs from the underlying database. For example, Great Plains sells its standard version of Dynamics, which runs on either the Btrieve A database manager for NetWare and Windows, originally built and marketed by SoftCraft in 1982 and developed further by Novell for NetWare. It allows for the creation of indexed files using the b-tree organization method. or C/tree database, for the average retail price of $5,000; the higher end Coordinates: For other places with the same name, see Billinge. Higher End or Billinge Higher End is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. version, Dynamics C/S See client/server. +, operates with the Microsoft SQL Server A relational DBMS from Microsoft that is a major component of the Windows Server System. It is Microsoft's high-end client/server database and is closely integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio and the Microsoft Office System. database and sells for about $50,000. The two accounting programs share similar programming code; however, the underlying database used in Dynamics C/S+ is far more powerful--accounting for the higher cost of the system. SEPARATE IS BETTER A significant advantage of separating the program's business logic from the database is that it allows vendors to easily adopt new database technologies as they emerge. For example, databases of the future are expected to offer better Java support, better functionality across the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the , improved security, better support for handheld handheld: see personal digital assistant. devices and thinner applications--that is, those that rely more heavily on the power of the server. It's likely, too, that tomorrow's databases will exhibit better compression support for the storage of wave (sound), image, video, fingerprint fingerprint, an impression of the underside of the end of a finger or thumb, used for identification because the arrangement of ridges in any fingerprint is thought to be unique and permanent with each person (no two persons having the same prints have ever been and retina scan files. So it's important to be able to upgrade a database without a major rewrite re·write v. re·wrote , re·writ·ten , re·writ·ing, re·writes v.tr. 1. To write again, especially in a different or improved form; revise. 2. of the accounting software. It's sometimes to the user's advantage to select the most powerful database it can afford. For example, earlier this year, Open Systems introduced a version of Traverse traverse - traversal that operates on the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 database. Its own testing showed that running Traverse on the Microsoft Access A database program for Windows, available separately or included in the Microsoft Office suite. Access is programmable using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Access can read Paradox, dBASE and Btrieve files, and using ODBC, Microsoft SQL Server, SYBASE SQL Server and Oracle data. database required more than six hours to process a transaction that consisted of 85,000 records. The same transaction was processed in just five seconds when running Traverse on the SQL Server An earlier relational DBMS from Sybase and from Microsoft. Sybase introduced SQL Server in 1988 for various Unix versions. In that same year, with help from IBM, Sybase created an OS/2 version that Microsoft licensed and branded as Microsoft SQL Server. 7.0 database. Although these are impressive results, don't don't 1. Contraction of do not. 2. Nonstandard Contraction of does not. n. A statement of what should not be done: a list of the dos and don'ts. conclude that the more powerful databases are always the best option; such a conclusion can be very expensive. For example, historically the decision to implement an accounting software package on the SQL Server database added about an additional $100 per user to the cost of the accounting system. Most often this additional cost was buried bur·y tr.v. bur·ied, bur·y·ing, bur·ies 1. To place in the ground: bury a bone. 2. a. To place (a corpse) in a grave, a tomb, or the sea; inter. b. in the overall price of the software. Assuming your company has 250 users, the additional cost of the database application would be $25,000. But those aren't aren't Contraction of are not. See Usage Note at ain't. aren't are not aren't be the only costs. The typical consulting fees for installing a SQL SQL in full Structured Query Language. Computer programming language used for retrieving records or parts of records in databases and performing various calculations before displaying the results. Server-based accounting package range from $70,000 to $190,000. Although SQL Server 7.0 is said to be much less expensive to implement and administer, when this article was written 7.0 was too new to gather evidence to support this claim. In addition, there are ongoing support costs, which are much higher for complex systems. Determining which database is best suited for a company often is difficult. The goal is to select the lowest priced database that meets customers' current and anticipated needs. While SQL Server is a popular choice, less expensive alternatives are available from Pervasive Software Pervasive Software Pervasive develops and distributes data infrastructure software that enable corporations to integrate, analyze, secure, manage and harvest data from disparate sources. , which offers two products that are widely embraced by the accounting software industry: Btrieve and Pervasive pervasive, adj indicates that a condition permeates the entire development of the individual. . SQL. Both products perform well in the middle market and get the job done for a fraction of the cost--for example, $49 per user for Pervasive. SQL compared with $160 per user for SQL Server 7.0. Further, based on historical figures, the consulting fees and ongoing support costs for the Pervasive products appear to be 50% to 75% less than those for SQL Server, Oracle8 or IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) DB/2. See exhibit 2, below, for a summary of the databases supported and programming languages used by the leading accounting software packages.
Exhibit 2: Databases Supported by Accounting Software
Programming Databases
Language Supported
For the low-end market
BusinessWorks for
Windows 12.0 C++ Btrieve
M.Y.O.B. Premier 1.0 C++ Proprietary
Peachtree Complete
Accounting for
Windows 6.0 C++ Btrieve
QuickBooks Pro 6.0 Business Basic Proprietary
For the middle market
ACCPAC for Windows C Btrieve, Pervasive.
Series 4.0 SQL, Microsoft SQL
Server
Great Plains Dynamics 5.0 C++, HTML, Btrieve, C/tree
Visual Basic,
Dexterity
MAS 90 for Windows 3.X C++, Visual Proprietary,
Basic, Sage Client/Server
Visual Tools Proprietary
(ProvideX)
Navision Financials C/SIDE C/SIDE, Microsoft
SQL Server
Peachtree 2000 4.0 Visual Basic Btrieve
Platinum for Windows 4.6 C++, Business Btrieve, Pervasive.
Basic, Visual SQL
Basic
RealWorld Expertise. Delphi, Visual Btrieve, Microsoft
LAN 5.0 Basic SQL Server,
Pervasive. SQL,
IBM DB2
SBT Professional FoxPro, Visual FoxPro
Series 5.0 FoxPro, HTML,
Java
Solomon IV for Visual Basic Microsoft SQL
Windows 4.0x Server
Traverse 8.3 Access, Visual Access, Microsoft
Basic SQL Server
Visual AccountMate 4.0 Visual FoxPro FoxPro, Microsoft
SQL Server, Sybase
SQL Server,
IBM DB2
For the beginning ERP
market
Acuity Applications 4.0 C++, Visual Microsoft SQL
Basic, HTML Server
Great Plains Dynamics C++, HTML, Microsoft SQL
C/S+ 5.0 Visual Basic, Server
Dexterity
Platinum ERA 4.2 C, C++, Visual Microsoft SQL
Basic, Java, Server
PowerBuilder
RealWorld Expertise. Delphi, C++, Btrieve, Microsoft
SQL 5.0 Java, HTML, SQL Server,
Visual Basic Pervasive. SQL,
IBM DB2
SAP Accelerated Advanced Oracle, Microsoft
Financials R/3 Business SQL Server,
Applications Informix
Programming
Language
SBT Executive Series 3.10 PowerBuilder Oracle, Microsoft
SQL Server,
IBM DB2
Solomon IV for Visual Basic Microsoft SQL
BackOffice 4.0x Server
Microsoft (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, www.microsoft.com) The most successful and influential software company. Microsoft's software and Intel's hardware pioneered the PC and revolutionized the computer industry. currently offers three editions of SQL Server: Back Office Small Business Server (SBS See Small Business Server. ) is limited to 50 users and 10 gigabyte One billion bytes. Also GB, Gbyte and G-byte. See giga and space/time. (unit) gigabyte - 2^30 = 1,073,741,824 bytes = 1024 megabytes. Roughly the amount of data required to encode a human gene sequence (including all the redundant codons). See prefix. databases; both SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 7.0 Enterprise contain no such limitations. Microsoft says the installation costs of these editions will be lower due to reduced administration requirements. THE ACCESS ADVANTAGE At the lower end of the market are less robust databases, in terms of speed and performance, but they typically offer strong end-user (job) end-user - The person who uses a computer application, as opposed to those who developed or support it. The end-user may or may not know anything about computers, how they work, or what to do if something goes wrong. tools and are easy to use. For example, Microsoft's Access is excellent when it comes to integrating accounting data with the other Microsoft Office Microsoft's primary desktop applications for Windows and Mac. Depending on the package, it includes some combination of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook along with various Internet and other utilities. products. Because it's written in Access, Traverse inherits a host of powerful functions. Reports produced by Traverse can be sent directly into Word or Excel A full-featured spreadsheet for Windows and the Macintosh from Microsoft. It can link many spreadsheets for consolidation and provides a wide variety of business graphics and charts for creating presentation materials. with the click of a button. Reports also may be e-mailed directly to individuals or groups, avoiding the costly process of printing and distributing the report. Traverse also can print any report to an HTML HTML in full HyperText Markup Language Markup language derived from SGML that is used to prepare hypertext documents. Relatively easy for nonprogrammers to master, HTML is the language used for documents on the World Wide Web. format, which makes the process of publishing financial or accounting data on the Internet or intranet much easier. Companies requiring a more powerful database can implement Traverse on SQL Server. Aside from price and performance, there is another important difference between the middle-market The term middle-market may refer to either a type of newspaper or a type of company. A middle-market newspaper is one that attempts to cater to readers who want some entertainment value from their newspaper as well as adequate serious coverage of significant news and the low-end low-end adj. 1. Cheapest in a line of merchandise: low-end subcompact cars. 2. Informal Of, relating to, or intended for low-income consumers; downscale: databases: Higher end databases offer users client/ server functionality. By definition, a client/server An architecture in which the user's PC (the client) is the requesting machine and the server is the supplying machine, both of which are connected via a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). system involves the delivery of data from a server computer to a client workstation. However, client/server architecture An environment in which the application processing is divided between client workstations and servers. It implies the use of desktop computers interacting with servers in a network in contrast to processing everything in a large centralized mainframe. See client/server. makes the database operate faster even on a single computer system. In that case, the delivery of data from the computer's hard disk to the application running on the computer is more efficient and, hence, faster. Therefore, client/ server architecture offers two types of performance gains: efficient record delivery (it's often referred to as ERD) on the single computer or server computer and client/server delivery (CSD CSD Commission on Sustainable Development CSD Serbian Dinar (ISO currency code) CSD Christopher Street Day CSD Circuit Switched Data (Sprint) CSD Computer Science Department CSD Community School District ) from the server computer to the client workstation. COSTLY MISTAKE Because client/server benefits can be impressive, many customers conclude it's always the best option; this can be a costly assumption. With lower volumes of data, client/ server databases actually can perform more slowly than other nonclient/server databases because of the heavy data administration overhead. As transaction volume increases, client/server databases far outperform Outperform An analyst recommendation meaning a stock is expected to do slightly better than the market return. Notes: Exact definitions vary by brokerage, but in general this rating is better than neutral and worse than buy or strong buy. their older counterparts. Therefore, the actual performance gains you realize at the single computer or server computer will depend on the volume of your data. Further, if your company currently has plenty of excess bandwidth on its LAN, it's unlikely a client/server system will improve performance across the LAN dramatically; this is because a client/server system helps solve LAN data bottleneck A lessening of throughput. It often refers to networks that are overloaded, which is caused by the inability of the hardware and transmission lines to support the traffic. It can also refer to a mismatch inside the computer where slower-speed peripheral buses and devices prevent the CPU problems. However, if your company doesn't does·n't Contraction of does not. have such problems or doesn't expect to have them in the foreseeable fore·see tr.v. fore·saw , fore·seen , fore·see·ing, fore·sees To see or know beforehand: foresaw the rapid increase in unemployment. future, then a client/server system may be unnecessary. If your company's wiring system is reaching overload See information overload and overloading. , consider upgrading the network cards, cables and hubs. For example, you may want to explore higher capacity cabling, such as fiber optics fiber optics, transmission of digitized messages or information by light pulses along hair-thin glass fibers. Each fiber is surrounded by a cladding having a high index of refractance so that the light is internally reflected and travels the length of the fiber , or the latest one-gigabyte technology called Level VI wire. This strategy, which may be far less expensive, improves the performance of all applications, such as e-mail, printing and accounting. Companies with WANs face an additional problem. While the cost of upgrading LAN wiring is fairly affordable, not so the costs of upgrading WAN wiring. WAN connections--the cables that link LANs together--usually employ slower wiring technologies such as phone lines, ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. lines or T1 lines. These slower connections become major bottlenecks. The cost of upgrading a WAN connection to run at the speed of your LAN can total hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. So in a WAN environment, a client/ server system is most likely the best choice. ACCOUNT NUMBER STRUCTURE One feature can knock a product out of the running instantly: the account number structure. If that structure is inadequate--no matter how superior the product is in every other way--the software should be rejected. It's important to understand what's behind that statement. Originally, DOS-based accounting systems were developed with PCs in mind. In those days, hard disks had little data-storage capacity, performance was slow and the critical RAM was significantly limited. At the time, those limitations were hardly considered a serious problem: After all, in the 1980s most accounting software developers never envisioned their products being used by large companies--that is, with sales in the tens of millions of dollars and with multiple, even global, operations. As a result, software developers didn't did·n't Contraction of did not. didn't did not didn't do seriously consider the need to add additional account numbers for large organizations. Of course, the capacity of the low-cost PC has grown exponentially ex·po·nen·tial adj. 1. Of or relating to an exponent. 2. Mathematics a. Containing, involving, or expressed as an exponent. b. , meeting the needs of even the largest companies. But when developers later tried to modify the account number structure to accommodate more segments and larger numbers, they found it was difficult, if not impossible, without completely rewriting re·write v. re·wrote , re·writ·ten , re·writ·ing, re·writes v.tr. 1. To write again, especially in a different or improved form; revise. 2. the underlying program codes. There are many reasons why it's important to have a larger account number structure. Today's larger companies often have subsidiaries and divisions that must be identified in the accounting system by a fourth, fifth or sixth segment in the account number. In fact, most large not-for-profits need at least four segments in their account number structures--for the account, subaccount Subaccount A term used in bookkeeping. For example, the insurance expense account may have various different subcategories such as building and property insurance, auto/fleet insurance, general liability, environmental, professional liability, law enforcement, and other insurance. , department and program. Many government agencies need at least four segments in their account number structures to identify the account, subaccount, department and fund. Exhibit 3, page 38, summarizes the maximum account numbers offered by some of the well-known well-known adj. 1. Widely known; familiar or famous: a well-known performer. 2. Fully known: well-known facts. accounting software packages.
Exhibit 3: Account Number Structure of Accounting Software
Products Account Number Structure
For the low-end market
BusinessWorks for Windows 12.0 6 characters, 2 segments
M.Y.O.B. Premier 1.0 4 characters, 4 segments
Peachtree Complete Accounting
for Windows 6.0 15 characters, 15 segments
QuickBooks Pro 6.0 13 characters, 1 segment
For the middle market
ACCPAC for Windows Series 4.0 45 characters, 10 segments
Great Plains Dynamics 5.0 66 characters, 10 segments
MAS 90 for Windows 3.X 9 characters, 3 segments
Navision Financials 20 characters, 10 segments(*)
Peachtree 2000 4.0 11 characters, 4 segments
Platinum for Windows 4.6 32 characters, 30 segments
RealWorld Expertise.LAN 5.0 12, 25 or 50 characters,
12, 25, or 50 segments
SBT Professional Series 5.0 24 characters, 6 segments
Solomon IV for Windows 4.0x 30 characters, 9 segments
Traverse 8.3 30 characters, 7 segments
Visual AccountMate 4.0 30 characters, 9 segments
For the beginning ERP Market
Acuity Applications 4.0 100 characters, 15 segments
Great Plains Dynamics C/S+ 5.0 25 characters, 2 segments
Platinum ERA 4.2 32 characters, 4 segments
RealWorld Expertise. SQL 5.0 50 characters, 50 segments
SAP Accelerated Financials R/3 Unlimited characters,
unlimited segments
SBT Executive Series 3.10 81 characters, 9 segments
Solomon IV for BackOffice 4.0x 30 characters, 9 segments
(*) The account number can be modified with the source code. PROVIDING FUNCTIONALITY An example of how this feature can influence the accounting software industry is illustrated by how Platinum solved the problem. Originally, Platinum's standard general ledger General Ledger A company's accounting records. This formal ledger contains all the financial accounts and statements of a business. Notes: The ledger uses two columns: one records debits, the other has offsetting credits. module provided for an 8-character, 2-segment account number--a structure that often was too small to meet the needs of large companies. In the late 1980s, Platinum created a second general ledger (called the Premier Ledger The principal book of accounts of a business enterprise in which all the daily transactions are entered under appropriate headings to reflect the debits and credits of each account. ) accommodating a 32-character account number with up to 30 segments. Today Platinum sells three versions of its general ledger--priced from $2,000 to $10,000. For many years, Platinum's Premier Ledger represented the most powerful general ledger available in its price range. Today, several products offer similar functionality. RealWorld Expertise includes as a default a 12-character, 12-segment account number with options to upgrade to a 25-character or 50-character account number. This feature, along with several other built-in built-in - (Or "primitive") A built-in function or operator is one provided by the lowest level of a language implementation. This usually means it is not possible (or efficient) to express it in the language itself. fund accounting features, makes Expertise particularly well suited for government and not-for-profit Not-for-profit An organization established for charitable, humanitarian, or educational purposes that is exempt from some taxes and in which no one in profits or losses. organizations. Next month, the last article in this series will focus on the Web features of accounting software; various packages' ability to handle foreign currency; how to determine whether the "look and feel" of the software meet the needs of your organization; the year 2000 bug n. 1. (Computers) an error in the coding of certain computer programs in which the year portion of dates was represented by only two decimal digits, assuming that the first two digits are "19". In such a program the the year 1975 is represented as "75". ; prices; and where to get more help. As you can see, the job of assessing accounting software is complex. There are no easy answers, and you can't make a selection based entirely on someone's recommendation. It's rare that another company's needs precisely match yours. It's vital that each of the issues mentioned in this article be addressed carefully and comprehensively. If you skip one, it's at your own risk.
How to Contact the Vendors
Products Vendor Contacts
ACCPAC for Windows ACCPAC International
Craig Downing
925-461-6716
www.accpac.com
Acuity Applications State of the Art
MAS 90 for Windows Taylor MacDonald
BusinessWorks for Windows 770-804-5845
www.sota.com
Crystal Reports Seagate Software
Phil Walston
800-877-2340
www.crystalreports.com
Forest & Trees Platinum Technologies
John Ulery
603-430-6587
www.platinum.com
FRx FRx Software
Robert Rohan
303-741-8000
www.frxsoft.com
Great Plains Dynamics Great Plains Software
Great Plains Dynamics C/S+ Pamela Kram
281-265-1662
www.greatplains.com
Navision Financials Navision Software--US
Geni Whitehouse
770-798-8386
www.navision-us.com
Peachtree Complete Accounting Peachtree Software
for Windows Cynthia Williams
770-564-5700
www.peachtree.com
Platinum for Windows Epicor Software
Platinum ERA Tami Eshelman
800-999-1809
www.epicor.com
QuickBooks Pro 99 Intuit
Richard Walker
619-453-4446
www.quickbooks.com
RealWorld Expertise.LAN RealWorld Software
RealWorld Expertise.SQL Christine Gilroy
800-678-6336
www.realworld.com
SAP R/3 SAP Software
Ken Bernstein
973-331-6000
www.sap.com
SBT ProSeries SBT Corp.
SBT Executive Series Brian Austin
415-444-9900
www.sbtcorp.com
Solomon IV for Windows Solomon Software
Solomon IV for BackOffice Cindy Bechtel
419-424-0422, ext. 485
www.solomon.com
Traverse Open Systems Accounting
Software
Amy Reynolds
612-403-5726
www.osas.com
RELATED ARTICLE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * MANY ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE vendors have engineered their applications to accommodate a variety of database engines. It's imperative that prospective buyers give careful consideration to database selection because it will affect both price and system performance. * THE GOAL IS TO SELECT the lowest priced database that meets the customers' current and anticipated needs. * USERS SHOULDN'T ASSUME the need for a client/server system. If an organization has plenty of excess bandwidth on its LAN and an abundance Abundance See also Fertility. Amalthea’s horn horn of Zeus’s nurse-goat which became a cornucopia. [Gk. Myth.: Walsh Classical, 19] cornucopia conical receptacle which symbolizes abundance. [Rom. Myth. of computer processing resources, then it's unlikely a client/server system will improve performance. If the company's wiring system is reaching overload, users should first consider upgrading the network cards, cables and hubs. * IF A PRODUCT ACCOUNT NUMBER structure is inadequate, no matter how superior the product is in every other way, don't even consider the software. Larger companies, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations generally need a big account number structure. RELATED ARTICLE: The Power of Client/Server To understand how client/server technology works, consider this example: A customer calls to change his address. Without client/server technology, the file server sends a copy of the company's entire customer file of 5,000 names and addresses down the wire to the order entry clerk's workstation. There the workstation sorts through the 5,000 names and addresses until it finds the appropriate customer record. After the clerk makes the necessary changes, the updated file travels back up the wire where it updates the file server. If the company used a client/server system to accomplish the same task, the file server would sort through the 5,000 names and addresses, find the appropriate customer record and send a copy of that single record to the workstation. The order entry clerk (Com.) a clerk who makes the original entries of transactions in a business. See also: Entry would make the necessary changes and the updated record would then travel back up the wire to update the database in the file server. In the latter scenario, because the file server sorted the records, 4,999 names and addresses didn't have to make the two-way trip, saving precious bandwidth and time on the company's LAN. In this example, the actual time savings may seem insignificant--a second or two at best; however, if you consider a large environment, with 100 simultaneous users of the system, each processing thousands of transactions per hour, the benefits of client/server computing computing - computer shine. Client/server computing offers another significant benefit: distributed processing The first term used to describe the distribution of multiple computers throughout an organization in contrast to a centralized system. It started with the first minicomputers. Today, distributed processing is called "distributed computing." See also client/server. , which allows a single process--such as the aging of accounts receivable accounts receivable n. the amounts of money due or owed to a business or professional by customers or clients. Generally, accounts receivable refers to the total amount due and is considered in calculating the value of a business or the business' problems in paying or the printing of monthly invoices--to be distributed across multiple computers throughout the organization. The client/server computer can monitor the available processing time on all computers and distribute tasks among them in order to squeeze the maximum amount of processing from the available resources. For example, Platinum for Windows uses a three-tier architecture that allows a company to set up multiple application servers throughout the organization. Together these multiple servers work seamlessly as one database even though the data are actually distributed across multiple servers. The result is faster processing time. It's also easier for software applications to make SQL queries across a network. RELATED ARTICLE: Flexing Account Numbers To illustrate the importance of a flexible account number, consider how a typical high school tracks the expenditure for textbooks. The expense is debited to book account--the primary account number that describes the primary reason for the expenditure. The school also may use a subaccount to show that the textbooks were purchased for Ms. Johnson's class, thereby requiring a second segment to record the transaction. Further, the school may wish to indicate the English department Noun 1. English department - the academic department responsible for teaching English and American literature department of English academic department - a division of a school that is responsible for a given subject purchased the textbooks--thus requiring a third account number segment. Finally, the school may want to record which funds (federal, state, local, trust, lottery lottery, scheme for distributing prizes by lot or other method of chance selection to persons who have paid for the opportunity to win. The term is not applicable when lots are drawn without payment by the interested parties to determine some matter, e.g. ) were used for the purchase. In many cases, the funds provided schools have stipulations (restrictions) attached. Because of that and because the agencies providing the funds require a report detailing how those funds were expended ex·pend tr.v. ex·pend·ed, ex·pend·ing, ex·pends 1. To lay out; spend: expending tax revenues on government operations. See Synonyms at spend. 2. , it's important to track which funds were used in each expenditure. J. CARLTON COLLINS, CPA (Computer Press Association, Landing, NJ) An earlier membership organization founded in 1983 that promoted excellence in computer journalism. Its annual awards honored outstanding examples in print, broadcast and electronic media. The CPA disbanded in 2000. , is a partner of K2 Enterprises, Atlanta, A professional and consulting organization that provides technology Continuing professional education. His e-mail address See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address carlton@k2e.com. K2 Enterprises's Web page is www.k2e.com3 |
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