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Accounting For
Dining Is READY
If you are a long
time reader of this website, you know how long
this has been in the works.
OPEN SOURCE? YES!
Did you know that
Accounting For Dining is based on the award
winning Accounting For Delphi software
package? It won the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Delphi
Readers Choice Awards for "BEST ACCOUNTING
PACKAGE". And because Accounting For Dining is
based on an OPEN SOURCE accounting system, it is
possible to:
- Purchase the
source code (which includes licensed material
from
www.Columbusoft.com and Positive Feedback
Software, LLC) The source code licensing
option is reasonably priced at just $2,995...
plus we allow you to install the software (in
compiled form) at as many sites as you wish
without royalties or further financial
obligation.
- Modify
components & operations to suite your needs
(if you have a Borland Delphi programming
background)
These features
make Accounting For Dining the most flexible and
open ended system on the freeware market today!
IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?
Accounting For
Dining is a huge program that requires setup and
configuration as well as initial installation.
This is not Quick Books! This is a huge
enterprise level accounting system that can run
a restaurant chain with multiple locations &
warehouses. If you own a 'Mom n Pop' style
restaurant, Accounting For Dining is NOT for
you.
INSTALLATION
PROCEDURE
To install the
BETA edition of Accounting For Dining, complete
these steps in order. We are assuming you will
install everything to the C: drive of your
Windows 98 or better computer. After the
system is installed to your C: drive, it is
possible to copy the data to a file server for
multi-terminal network access.
- Go to
www.Columbusoft.com and download
Accounting For Delphi from their website or
click here to download it from our mirror.
- Install
Accounting For Delphi (instructions are
provided on the Columbusoft website or
click here for our version of them)
- Configure the
Borland Database Engine (see
instructions)
- Download
Accounting For Dining Beta from this website
by clicking the
DOWNLOAD link.
- Install
Accounting For Dining Beta to your C: drive -
it will overwrite the databases created by
Accounting For Delphi - so if you have live
data DO NOT FORGET TO BACKUP before
completing this step.
The installation
is now completed.
SIGN INTO ACCOUNTING
FOR DINING:
At the System
Logon screen, enter:
User ID:
ADMIN
Password:
NEW
SUPPORT FEES
Because
Accounting For Dining is a freeware offering, we
cannot provide free technical support.
Instead, all Accounting For Dining support is
pre-billed at a rate of $90 per hour. You may
also purchase support from Positive Feedback
Software, LLC by the day if you require onsite
assistance.
What
Accounting For Dining Is...
Accounting For
Dining V3 (AFD-V3) is a powerful cost accounting
package that offers a huge feature set that even
the most expensive restaurant systems often fail
to deliver. The base modules which are
included with the system are:
- Accounts
Receivable
The AR module
is where a business can record "what it is
owed" by customers to whom it has extended
credit.
- Accounts
Payable
The AP module is
where a business can record "who it owes" for
purchases that were made from vendors.
- General
Ledger
The GL module is
where a chart of accounts can be created. A
chart of accounts is a list of categories that
you want to track. For example, a chart of
accounts might have an entry called "FIRST
UNION BANK ACCOUNT" so that you could track
your bank balance.
- Payroll
The PR module is
where pay checks are created.
-
Administration
The AD module is
the "setup" for all the other modules. Key
in preferences & settings that determine the
operation mode of the package as a whole.
- Contact
Manager
The CM module is
for tracking people & relationships. By
understanding relationships, trends in
comparative data can be realized.
- Service
Dispatch
The DI module is
used to track maintenance people. When a
piece of equipment needs to be repaired, a
service call is logged into this module and a
"dispatch record" is created. As the service
is completed, the record is updated. Manage
equipment failures at multiple restaurants by
multiple techs easily using this centralized
system.
- Inventory &
Purchasing
The IP module is
designed to track centralized purchasing for a
group of stores. When purchases are made,
inventory & AP records are automatically
updated. Unit factors are fully supported as
are transfers from "central" to individual
store corporations.
- Fixed
Assets
The FA module is
used to track depreciation of fixed assets.
- Job Costing
The JC module has
the ability to track expenses incurred towards
a common result. For example, when an
addition is added to 'store two', the JC
module can organize all costs associated with
the build out.
What
Accounting For Dining Isn't...
For the
restaurant that seeks a "small business
accounting system" AFD-V3 will be much too
complex. AFD-V3 is designed to compare with
accounting software packages costing $5K+ per
site. The target audience
for AFD-V3 is the multi-store chain
that wants to grab cost centers by the horns and
begin implementing control strategies.
For the
small "mom n pop" restaurant, the best
value in accounting software is Quickbooks or
Peachtree Accounting (Ed note: Todd prefers
Peachtree Accounting). These packages are
simply indispensable for the money they cost.
For
restaurants that hire a book keeper,
consider using the spreadsheet solutions
(downloadable from this site at no cost) on the
DOWNLOAD page. These easy to use "day
accounting" sheets offer an easy way to store
information about your restaurant's deposits &
more. Turn the packages into your book keeper
at the end of the month & spend your time
cooking & managing instead of doing number
crunching.
Summary:
There are three
restaurant genres we regularly deal with:
- The Chain
The chain
restaurant will find AFD-V3 to be a huge time
& money saver. Why spend $5K+ when you can
download it free? Even if your chain does not
implement AFD-V3, you can use it as a learning
strategy and a reference point. There are no
registration fees, no charges for updates...
we only charge for telephone support.
- The Big Mom
& Pop
The Big Mom & Pop
restaurant will have been in business for many
years and have an established customer base.
Typically, sales will be in the $2M+ range
annually. This type of restaurant will need
accounting software to accurately manage its
financial records but will find AFD-V3 a
little bit too complex for daily use.
Consider purchasing Quickbooks or Peachtree
Accounting. This genre of restaurant usually
benefits from owner participation but also has
a management staff so that the site can "open
& close" without the owner being present.
This genre of restaurant has one or two
locations and has not yet implemented a
centralized purchasing system. Each store
makes its own purchases.
- The Small
Mom & Pop
The Small Mom &
Pop restaurant will have been in business for
a short period of time & have a limited budget
for technology. Most restaurants in this
genre put together "daily deposit sheets"
using a spreadsheet documentation method and
then hire a book keeper to compile the daily
transactions into monthly, quarterly & annual
reports. Usually this genre of restaurants
employs the owner as an operator... hence
there is no management structure. This genre
of restaurant will benefit from our free
Microsoft Office files available on the
DOWNLOAD page.
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