How do you know when you are dealing with modular accounting software?

First, let’s ensure we are talking about REAL accounting software and not bookkeeping-level software such as QuickBooks, Xero, and others. These programs are good if all you are doing is producing invoices and recording accounts payable.

A true accounting software package includes regular programs such as General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and possibly budgeting and financial reporting. If you have the option of adding additional programs to the base program, you are dealing with modular-based accounting software.

Let me relate a modular-based accounting program to purchasing a car. You buy the car, and it comes with an 8-cylinder engine and manual transmission and nothing else. You tell the sales rep that you want the following creature comforts:

  • Air conditioning
  • Automatic transmission
  • Power windows
  • Power door locks
  • Intermittent windshield wipers
  • An infotainment system (AM-FM-XM Radio with CD Player and Bluetooth with a 14-inch screen with a built-in map program) and 13 speakers
  • Adjustable, heated seats with lumbar support and adjustable headrests
  • Carpet
  • 2 USB charging ports in the front and 1 on each side of the rear seats
  • A sunroof

The sales rep says, “No problem. We’ll just add those items to your car after you purchase it.” Please note the sequence of events, especially the term “after you pay.” The dealership will charge you for all the add-ons and the labor to install them.

How much will the complete job cost? How much time are we talking about? Most importantly, will all these new items work individually and together?

That’s when the conversation can turn wickedly cruel, causing a lot of hemming and hawing about precise costs and time. The vendor will say, “It depends on this, and that, and those things.”

At this point, you should digitally record all conversations about the add-on process, so you have a great record of what was said. And that’s the time when you should run away as fast as you can and call Plus & Minus, because there are no modules in our software package.

Imagine what your car will look like during this major reconstruction. The hood is off, the doors are off, the seats are on the shop floor, the dashboard has been removed, and there’s a giant hole in your roof. Now translate that disaster scene into your office and visualize all the turmoil that will impact your daily work because “your implementation consultants” will be trying to occupy the same space as your office staff. You are inviting a management pile-up into your own backyard. This is the equivalent of the citizens of Pompeii wishing for more volcanic ashes.

Buy the gigantic bottle of aspirin because you’re going to need it.

Plus & Minus is like buying a modern-day car. It comes equipped with all the extras, and you can either use them or not. All the programs are included in one price, and you can pick and choose. Need payroll with job costing? It’s ready to be implemented. Need inventory with multi-location and multi-company capabilities? It’s in there. Check out Plus & Minus. Plus & Minus is just like the advertisement for Prego marinara sauce: “It’s in there.” Plus & Minus is really powerful. And the most important aspect is that you can see a demo of all the programs via a Zoom call.

Imagine seeing a program work instead of being told how it’s going to work. Seeing is indeed believing.