Re: Accounts Software (was Re: ChangeFSI on Iyonix)

In message <cee2da54e%beamendsltd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
beamendsltd <beamendsltd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In message <241aa3054e.arthur@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
arthur@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

I've lost track of this a bit, I think. Was someone suggesting that a
Business Accounts package could be written by an individual working in
their spare time and that other people might be persuaded to make this
an essential part of their business?

Arthur


Not exactly - though that's the way it's been twisted. The original
point was that without an accounts/stock control package ROS is not
a lot of use for business. It is highly unlikely that such a package
is going to created from new, or !Prophet updated on a commercial
basis. Therefore, the only viable solution to get that package would
be for an individual, or collective of, to create one. Such a project
requires positive input from an accountant and real end-users, or
again someone prepared to learn the subjects (running a business is
not something you can get from a book - it's a very bumpy learing curve
where experience is learned by the school of hard knocks.)

The upshot is that ROS is not going to get an updated/"modern"
accounts package and is therefore unlikely to taken up in business,
and hence (as far as Joe Public is concerned) never get taken
seriously outside a small entusiast market (barring the odd
killer app).

I started out raising the issue as a pointer to show why I am
having to migrate, and why I could not in all conscience
reccomend other people in business to use ROS any more (and that
*really* hurts).

As for getting locked into a system created by one enthusistic
developer, part time or otherwise - well, I've been there, done it
and got the tee-shirt with !Prophet. The trouble is though, that
of all the dozens of PC and Linux alternatives there are seemingly
two types - the pretty hopeless over-complicated ones supplied
by larger companies aimed squarely at accountant oriented users
rather than end-users, and maverick ones produced by individuals
(hiding behind a glossy facades that try to give a much larger
corporate image) that show at least some thought about end-users.
In either case, the individual could get run over by a bus, or
the larger company could go bust, so choosing is largely a matter
of finding a system that will do the business now rather than buying
one in the hope that promised updates may appear. Whatever system
I choose (my favoured option is on hold after a promised update
failed to appear), exporting data for export to another system at
a later date is very near the top of the requirements list.

Richard

What you say makes sense to me. I expect you have looked at Exchequer?
Our accounts director thinks its the cat's whiskers for managing the
stores, sales and accounting. It also keeps the VAT man satisfied and
the EU Dragons at bay. Its a bit expensive but it has a large user
base and is unlikely to disappear.

I have always used RISCOS in the business but from the beginning it
was clear that there was not and would never be certain technical
programs that I would need. No proper printed circuit layout program,
for example and no circuit simulator. I did port an older version of
the Spice circuit simulator, but the later versions required too much
work. Mechanical drawing was well served by Apollo (now an orphan
child running under Aemulor) post processed via Artworks. This is a
great design aid and produces beautiful drawings but processing
through a second program would hardly be considered a suitable method
by the average user.

So I have always run RISCOS alongside another system and that seems to
be its natural place. Unfortunately, as my requirements have expanded,
the functionality of RISCOS programs hasn't, often because those who
wrote the programs initially with great flair and enthusiasm seem to
have discovered that its damn near impossible to make a living out of
the RISCOS market but also because the underlying system lacks certain
facilities, e.g. colour management.


Arthur

--
Arthur Quinn
real-email arthur at bellacat dot com
.

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