Donald R. Frey — BUCS Fund Accounting

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From the Oct. 2007 Review of NFP Accounting Systems

Donald R. Frey and Company, Inc. has been designing nonprofit software for small to midsize nonprofit organizations and government entities for more than 30 years. With the release of version 10.1, BUCS continues its tradition of timely enhancements to its fund accounting software.

EASE OF USE/FLEXIBILITY – 5 Stars
BUCS’s main screen contains a drop-down menu bar at the top of the screen. The toolbar below provides access to frequently used software functions such as GL, Chart of Accounts, Vendor Maintenance, Invoice Maintenance, Budget Planning and Posting Analysis.

The rest of the screen is divided into three parts: The Favorites Pane, a customized list of frequently used functions; The Navigation Pane, which controls what is displayed in the Task Pane; and the Task Pane, the main area of the screen that displays various shortcuts to the functions found within each particular module. The Systems Controls feature allows you to set system preferences for GL, AP, AR, Bank Account, Fee Receipts, and Fixed Asset modules. Data-entry screens could be a little more user friendly, but they are generally easy to navigate once a user is accustomed to the layout. For increased data flexibility, the Data Dictionary provides a gateway for ODBC applications to access BUCS data.

MODULES/SCALABILITY – 5 Stars
BUCS’s modular structure allows for the purchase of the modules needed immediately, with the ability to add additional modules at a later date. Available modules include the GL (required), AP, AR, Cash Receipts, Advanced Allocations, ACH Payments for AP, Positive Pay, Fixed Assets, Bank Reconciliation, Fee Receipting, Encumbrances, Data Dictionary, Requisition Control, CC-Tracker, Budget Planning, Combining Reports, and a Multiple User option. Available separately is the CHIPS Payroll System, which integrates easily with BUCS Fund Accounting.

As previously noted, the modular structure makes the product extremely scalable, with the ability to add additional modules onto the core product when needed. For larger organizations, or unexpected growth, the MS SQL Server Database can be purchased, which will easily handle the needs of an enterprise-level organization.

FEATURES/FUNCTIONALITY – 5 Stars
BUCS’s latest release contains numerous system enhancements designed to improve system speed and efficiency. This includes multiple changes to the journal entry screen, the addition of follow-up alerts, a new checking account summary report, a more advanced search capability, improved invoice processing, an improved requisition control module, and a more complete fixed assets module.