Armor Premier Accounting Software. (Software Review) (Evaluation)
by Alfred C. Giovetti

Well, you've finally done it. You've started your own business, and you need accounting software to keep track of all the money you're making. Or your business is getting bigger, and you're looking to make a software change. Or maybe your current accounting software doesn't do everything you thought it would, and now you're looking for something better.

Here's one to consider. Armor Premier Accounting Software (formerly called Excalibur+) is one of the major players in accounting software, with 12 years of experience in the vertical market and more than 200,000 modules installed in a 40,000-user base.

Armor is considered by many in the accounting community to be one of the half-dozen best high-end commercial software packages available today. It has 18 modules to meet the specific needs of more than 200 types of businesses, including hardware stores, autoparts stores, tire dealers, and many others with complicated inventory systems.

Armor's advantages are numerous. The system is flexible and will provide virtually everything you need to handle the most complex accounting requirements. Armor's Inventory Control module can handle unlimited items and vendor costs for up to 32,767 warehouses, with automatic functions and full integration with other modules. Its Point of Sale module is state-of-the-art for its number of features and versatility. And Armor is capable of growing with a small or large business, meeting the accounting requirements of either.

Armor recommends that you buy the general ledger package when you get started in any business and then expand the system module by module as your business needs change. Doing so will save you the expense of converting from a less sophisticated system all at once.

A typical service business may need five modules, while a manufacturing business may need eight to do the job--at a cost of $695 per module. Since Armor is very sophisticated, extra time and expertise are required to set up the system correctly. You may even need an accountant and a systems analyst to help you, and you should expect to pay them by the hour for their expertise.

To use the system to its best advantage, Armor also requires trained operators. Factory-direct technical training is offered by local Armor resellers for $395. Businesses that take the time and money to purchase the appropriate modules, set up the system correctly, and procure trained operators will find that Armor more than fulfills their accounting system needs and desires.

Several Armor modules can also be used as stand-alones to perform such specific business functions as time and billing, inventory control, and point of sale. Some businesses use only one Armor module to fulfill a specific task and another less expensive package to handle other accounting functions. However, more complex businesses with large payrolls, inventories, and order entries will benefit the most from Armor. ALFRED C. GIOVETTI

IBM PC and compatibles, 512K RAM (640K recommended), hard drive, 1.2MB or 1.44MB floppy drive-$695 per module

Also available under Unix, Altos Unix, Concurrent MS-DOS, Xenix, SCO Xenix, Sparc, Sun Systems, MultiDOS, Novell, 3 Com, Alloy, and Lantastic

ARMOR SYSTEMS 324 N. Orlando Ave. Maitland, FL 32751 (407) 629-0753

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