CashGraf Business Plus Reviewed by Michael Christensen It's called CashGraf, but it isn't simply an accounting package. CashGraf Business Plus is a full package which combines accounting functions, word processing, databases and graphics in a Windows-based, easy-to-use format. While the manual isn't always easy to understand, and some of the user-friendliness verges on cutsey and patronizing, these are balanced out by the downright usefulness of many of its features. CashGraf uses a Tommy Target character (symbolic of Target Software Group) as its help icon. I found Tommy, a bald street-tough sort of guy with dark glasses, to be a little silly for a serious business package, but after using the program for a while, I learned to ignore him. The package also includes a 90-minute instructional and explanatory video, complete with a package of microwave popcorn. The video, of course, is useful; the popcorn is a nice touch. You don't need an accounting degree to use this product, but despite its ease of use, some accounting background is very useful. My financial expertise is minimal, and I found myself struggling in the early stages of setting up. However, the ease of use and extensive menu options in this package made the learning process pretty painless. After working with it for a few days, I was feeling pretty comfortable with the accounting process. This is a package designed for ease of use, especially for those with little computing experience. I wondered about Target Software's strong-arm tactics for requiring software registration. If you don't register within 10 days of first using it, the software freezes you out until you call technical support and register. This may be acceptable for a shareware product where payment isn't always guaranteed, but it seems a bit intense for a prepaid product. Even though the registration process was relatively quick and easy, the heavy-handed approach was disconcerting. CashGraf requires 4 MB of RAM, but the manufacturer recommends 8 MB, and I agree. I encountered General Protection faults a couple of times, and I attribute that to overloading the memory on my 4-MB system. CashGraf gives you the option of creating departments from scratch or modifying one of several pre-installed templates. For most users, it's probably easiest to use the templates and modify them as needed, as the addition and editing process is quite simple. You can create departments and sub-departments for practically any need. Since I was using CashGraf for a one-person sole proprietorship, I created a separate department for my personal finances, which included sub-departments for investments, savings, bills, loans, etc. The package provides flexible budgeting, goal-setting and tracking, reminders of bills to pay, and pretty much everything you'd expect from business accounting software. The banking portion allows you to create up to 99 bank accounts, for which you can write checks from the screen. When checks are written, the software updates the check register (which is instantly available at the click of a button), and shows current and year-to-date balances on the on-screen "checkstub." The checks can then be printed or, in the case of hand-written checks, simply saved. It also includes a daily planner and notebook for appointments, to-do lists, reminders, and notes, which is quickly accessible from any screen. It also includes an alarm feature. When the alarm goes off, a cartoon alarm clock appears on the screen with a clamoring bell: another cutsey touch, I thought, but tolerable. Also in the daily planner is a daily financial ledger which displays bills to pay and invoices due, from which it determines net cash flow. A phone list can access entries from any of the CashGraf databases. Several databases are built in for keeping track of clients, vendors, users and employees. These databases are searchable, and you can set up query-style profiles as well. The profile search screens provide for several user-definable variables. Once a profile search is completed, the results can be used with a mail merge for letters or labels, or it can be printed to the screen or printer in report form. While the databases are pretty complete in their setup, I'd have preferred a few user-definable fields as well. The databases allow automatic dial-up for fax or voice. There is also a database for telephone scripts. The word processor is a nifty feature that looks similar to Word for Windows. It has the standard Windows-style menu bars, and clipboard functions as Word, including a spell checker and search-and-replace. Graphics can be imported into documents, and card-file records can be accessed from it. The word processor can create letters, memos, even large documents and books. While it resembles Microsoft Word, it won't "save as" an MS Word or WordPerfect document. However, it will export as ASCII and RTF. The mail-merge function of the word processor can access any of the CashGraf databases to create letters or labels. The "Graphs" option can be used to quickly and easily create graphs and charts in a variety of formats. Once created, they are easy to modify, and can be output to screen or printer. Graphs can also be printed in report formats. The help screens, with the cartoon Tommy Target icon, were not as comprehensive as I would have liked, especially in view of the fact that the User's Manual is also not very exhaustive. On several occasions, I was unable to find information I needed in either the "Ask Tommy" help files or the manual's index, and often resorted to trial-and-error or "menu-surfing" to find the answers I needed. The User's Manual consists mainly of flowchart-style charts, paired with illustrations of menus and screens, with limited explanations of options and procedures. While this format makes the manual very easy and convenient, some completeness is sacrificed in the name of user-friendliness. The index is incomplete, most noticeably when the user is searching for detailed explanations of particular menu items. There are many menu items which are simply not listed in the index, and therefore require almost a page-by-page search. Overall, I found CashGraf Business Plus to be a useful and complete package for any size business, especially for those with little previous computer experience. Its ease of use more than makes up for the documentation limitations, and the cutsey and condescending touches are minimal and ignorable. Business Plus retails for $299. Target Software Group, Inc. 2901 58th Ave. N. St. Petersburg, FL 33714 (800) 872-4381 Send your postal name, address, city, state, zip to 10prod@supportu.com for product literature to be sent to you via postal mail.