                      DacEasy Accounting for DOS, v. 5
                      Reviewed by Michael Christensen

        DacEasy Accounting, as the name implies, is easy. Ease, at least for
non-accountants like myself, is the name of the game. It runs in PC-DOS or
MS-DOS 3.1 or up, and requires only 640K of RAM.
        Despite its ease of use, DacEasy Accounting has plenty of muscle.
While I was using it for a one-person sole proprietorship, it has features
that will work for any size business. It provides the option of running
multiple businesses from the same application, or, as in my case, one app
for the business and another for personal finances.
        Installation is smooth, as with most software, requiring little more
than plugging in disks as ordered. Included in the installation process is
the option of installing sample files, giving you the opportunity to
practice on a dummy before diving into your own finances.
        DacEasy provides a quick-start guide which, to me, was a real
blessing. It includes a section on Accounting Basics, which took much of the
pain out of the learning process. The program includes an Easy Setup option,
which lets you use templates for the initial setup, modifying them as
necessary. This is much simpler, in most cases, than starting from scratch.
The Easy Setup takes the user through a checklist of operations to set up
files for vendors, customers, products, etc.
        DacEasy provides the standard accounting features, such as printing
invoices and checks. It operates with a batching system, where the user does
the transactions in various modules, and then, by posting the transactions,
the processing for all transactions is done in a batch. This method allows
modifications to the transaction files before they are actually posted to
the general ledger, and I found it to be a great convenience, especially in
the learning process. While adjustments can be made after posting, the
process is more difficult than before posting.
        DacEasy provides 24 templates for forms used for billing, customer
letters, mailing labels. All the templates can be customized and
personalized or, if you prefer, you can create your own templates.
        Reports are easy to generate, often with just a few keystrokes for
standard reports such as trial balances, balance sheets or income
statements. The Financial Reporter lets you create custom reports which can
be printed or exported as ASCII files into word processors, spreadsheets, or
databases.
        For even more complex custom reports, DacEasy provides DacAccess, a
report module which uses a query method to select records and a publisher to
customize the report layout. The query option gives you up to 132 fields to
include, and can access multiple files. You establish criteria, which can
include complex expressions, that are used to select records for the report.
If necessary, the user can create user-defined fields for selections. Once
the query is created, a copy can be printed out to determine if the right
records are being selected, and if necessary the query can be modified.
        After the query has been run, the layout of the report is done in
Publisher, formatting fields and figures as needed.
        DacEasy also creates graphs, which can be saved and modified. There
is also a Quick Graphs option for viewing information on screen.
        Archiving and backups are done using file compression, and can be
done from the "Posting" screen, as a safety precaution prior to posting
batches of transactions. The procedure requires only a few keystrokes, and
could prevent disaster in the event of a system failure during posting.
        Documentation is extensive and complete, and the Quick Start Guide
is a wonderful beginner's guide, leading the user gently into the system.
While DacEasy may not be as user-friendly as some Windows programs, it's
easy enough to learn, and the manuals are well organized and thorough.

                               DacEasy, Inc.
                             17950 Preston Road
                                 Suite 800
                            Dallas, Texas 75252
                               (800) DAC-EASY

  Send your postal name, address, city, state, zip to 11prod@supportu.com
         for product literature to be sent to you via postal mail.
