Macola ES

[dgillz]

Hello All,

I just got back from Directions - Macola's annual Dealer's conference - and they have unveiled the latest product - Macola ES, to the Macola dealer network.

Some of the enhancements include:

*Items Numbers are now 30 digits,, up from 15

* Customer, Vendor and Job Numbers are now 20 digits, up from 12

* Ability to attach an unlimited number of contacts to each vendor or customer.

* Ability to attach an unlimited number of documents to a customer, vendor, item or transaction. This includes JPGs, MPGs, CAD Drawings, you name it.

* An excel add in that allows quick querying of data without having to leave excel. This tool is sure to take a bite out of the work that is currently being done by Crystal Reports.

* Much simpler reports, that lack the "busy" look that has plagues Macola's canned reports in the past. All reports are now either Crytal or excel, and any report or inquiry's results can be exported to excel.

* a user customizable excel look and feel grid on all data entry screens. This allows the user to place the infomation he/she is interested in on the input screens, not just the ones Macola thinks should be there.

* Full Email, Website and Telephony functionality by clicking on the appropriate icon. This is what Mas90 has had for 3+ years.

* MUCH, MUCH, MUCH faster performance, MS SQL is the engine, say goodbye to Pervasive and btrieve forever.

All in all, while I had a few gripes, I am very happy with what they have come up with. Some of the screens and reports have a bit of "Eurocentric" verbage in them, but with Exact buying Macola last February I expected that.

The product is in controlled release right now. Give this three months to get it legs and I believe you will have a great product.

The best news is that the software is free to any Macola 7.5x user that is current on their annual maintenance. This is not a paid upgrade like the 6x to 7.5x upgrade was.

If anyone has any questions, please email me. Software Support for Macola, Crystal Reports and Goldmine
dgilsdorf@mchsi.com

 

[dgillz]

As this product evolves (and as I learn it!) I thought I would throw in some more functionality added in Macola ES that did not exist in Macola 7.5/7.6:

* ECM - Engineering Change Management - is much more robust than before. You can store and use any number of historical bills of material on your POP or Shop Order, or modify the captured bill as before.

* Bill of resources - Macola has takes the visual BOM concept and expanded it into a bill of resources including routing operations step on both POP and SFC manufactured items, as well as POP Value added costs.

* Security - rather than each user having its own set of allowed options, or each group having its own set, Macola has gone to the "roles" concept. While everyone in accounting can have the AP Iquiry role, only certain people would have the ability to actually enter vouchers, print checks, etc. Each individual user can have multiple roles assigned to him/her. This is a big improvement.

* EFT - Electronic Funds Transfer - given the bank name, routing and ABA numbers and the specific coding that the bank in question uses to send money, EFTs are supported for all AP and Payroll payments. This is a bigger deal in Europe, South America and other parts of the world where they literally NEVER write checks than it is in the USA.

* Monthly Close has improved tremendously. Rather than a single system period maintenance by module, you can close components of of Module. For example you can close cash disbursements but keep AP vouchering open. Also, no more month end processing at all regarding clearing PTD and YTD accumulators, post sales history periods, etc. - this is now all real time and based on the date of the transaction.

Macola ES is now in use at several companies and more are coming on line every week. If you need any more info on Macola ES please feel free to contact me.

Don Gilsdorf
Triangle Partners

Software Training and Support for Macola, Crystal Reports and Goldmine
714-348-0964
dgilsdorf@mchsi.com