You may decide that keeping your business records manually is not for you. If so, it is vital that you choose the most appropriate computer accounting package for the precise requirements of your business. There are many products on the market and each has its own areas of excellence and mediocrity. The key is to ensure that your chosen software is strong in the areas which are most important to you.

Please read our article which appeared in Chemist & Druggist (14th September 2002) on bookkeeping/accounting systems. A copy of the article is reproduced here for your convenience.

The first question pharmacists should ask is whether they need a computerised accounting system. If they are nearing retirement and have always used a manual bookkeeping system there may be some justification in continuing with the old system but for anyone else I believe it is essential to have up to date financial information.

Computerised systems provide current financial figures at virtually a touch of a button. This enables pharmacists to monitor their business growth, margins and expenses. In addition, it will provide the information they need to make future financial decisions. With so many bookkeeping and accountancy packages on the market it can be difficult for pharmacists to know which to choose. I have picked four that pharmacists frequently ask me about.

Sage: Most people have heard of Sage and, in general terms, it tends to be thought of as the small business accountancy package. Sage has a variety of packages to choose from ranging from the most basic, Sage Instant, at a cost of around £129, to Sage Line 100, at about £3,000. In between these two extremes is Sage Line 50, which is likely to be the most suitable for most pharmacists. Even Line 50 comes in a variety of modules ranging in price from around £395 to £840.

The problem with Sage is that it is a general business package - it is not tailored to the VAT requirements of pharmacists or the till sales, credit card and coupon entries of a retail pharmacy business. For example, pharmacists using the direct calculation VAT scheme will have to make some of the calculations manually.

However, Sage Line 50 can be used for the point of sale VAT scheme. For the pharmacist with little bookkeeping knowledge Sage is not really easy to use, time and effort will be needed for training. It is worth mentioning that accountants like Sage and tend to use it and recommend it because it is usually the one system they are really familiar with. So pharmacists dealing with an accountant who does not specialise in the pharmacy market should be careful that a recommendation for Sage is only given after the accountant fully understands the pharmacist's requirements, rather than "Sage is a good small business package we recommend to all our clients". Sage has a payroll module which can be added to the package, if required, for around £99.

Quicken: This is a good package for managing personal finances and can also be used for very small businesses. However, it is not a package I would recommend for retail pharmacies. I only mention it because I have had a large number of pharmacists who have advised me that they are considering using it. The package is inexpensive, retailing at well under £100, and perhaps this is its appeal. Pharmacists thinking of computerising their accounting system should be looking at a more comprehensive system.

QuickBooks: This is a good small business package at a reasonable cost. Like Sage, it comes in a range of modules and prices from around £110 to £340. It has the same VAT and till sales entry limitations as Sage, as it is a general small business package. It is user friendly and the pharmacist with limited bookkeeping knowledge should find it easier to use than Sage. For example, navigating QuickBooks is easy, everything is accessible at a touch of a button. Like all computerised systems it will be necessary to invest some time and effort in learning to use it. QuickBooks has a payroll module which can be added, if required, for around £90.

Ob-serve: is a bespoke software specifically written for retail pharmacists. Because of this, it does deal with the various pharmacy VAT schemes and it comes with a pre-installed typical pharmacy set-up. It also uses a language that the layperson can easily understand, rather than accountants' jargon. This makes it easy to learn and use. For the busy pharmacist, with limited time to learn complicated bookkeeping systems, this is a definite plus.

The cost of Ob-serve is £389. Ob-serve also automates the NPA clearing-house payments that a pharmacist can make to streamline supplier payments and reduce bank charges. Ob-serve has a helpline geared to dealing with typical issues raised by pharmacies such as questions relating to the specialist VAT schemes. Again this is a plus when compared to the helplines of the general bookkeeping softwares such as Sage and QuickBooks who do not have personnel trained to deal with pharmacy issues. Ob-serve is currently a DOS-based system and pharmacists more familiar with Windows products may find this off-putting. It is not linked to a payroll package as yet. Ob-serve is also an NPA promoted product.

How the systems compare

Overview of the software under review, scores out of 10 for each heading, maximum total score 50:
 

Conclusion: A pharmacist with limited bookkeeping knowledge and time would benefit from Ob-serve. It produces the financial information a pharmacist needs, takes care of VAT issues and provides the end of year reports for the pharmacist's accountant. Pharmacies who have good bookkeeping skills may wish to get more involved in their accounting and take it a stage further, producing graphs and charts, in which case QuickBooks or Sage may be worth considering.