The key to any accounting system is its total integration with all aspects of the direct mail business, from estimating/order entry, accounts payable and receivables to purchasing, job costing, and general ledger activities. The General Accounting Module, part of Streamline Solutions Direct Mail Management System (DMMS), combines the fundamental elements of accounting with "intelligent business processes" to ramatically increase productivity across the organization. This unique offering is not available in a non-integrated software environment.

Increasing Output through Re-usable Information

The accounting process truly begins when an estimate is created and an order received. Sales people (or the customer support staff) are the first individuals to create accounting information, typically when an estimate is created. The billing system can take information directly from estimate, actual, price list or a pre-determined pre-bill format to produce an automated invoice. This process can save hours of manual tracking and re-entering of information.

Maximizing Output through "Intelligent Business Processes"

While accessing and retrieving information is a key element to optimizing productivity, accelerating the business processes that support this information can often times make the difference in levels of profitability. For example, basic process accounting controls are maintained throughout the production and billing stages of a job. In most organizations, because of the lack of automated controls this information is manually transferred throughout the various asset accounts such as inventory and work in process, and then matched-again manually-to the final expense accounts upon billing. Streamline Solutions approach is to fully optimize the work in processes by providing an integrated method whereby the information is automatically prompted, transferred and validated by the General Accounting Module. This "intelligent business process" saves times, dramatically reduces errors and ensures increased productivity throughout the organization. Other unique features include the ability to complete cost accounting for a job even though it may have out standing invoices from vendors for services or materials provided. Details from the original purchase order are channeled into the cost accounting and flagged as being preliminary. Likewise, users have the ability to invoice a customer for the value of the goods while retaining items at zero value for future distribution. Cash receipts can be applied against an invoice while the billing is in processes, enabling total account reconciliation prior to the time of account closure.

Sophisticated Reporting and Validation

Streamline Solutions continuously listens to requests from users of the General Accounting Modules and as a result, includes many features on an ongoing basis. Retroactive aging reports for both accounts payable and receivable are an example of this on going development. Automated revenue and expense posting and reporting is also available for the user to post to the General Ledger at a (user-defined) branch, department or activity level. Since the General Accounting Module is fully date driven, users have the ultimate flexibility in accessing, entering and reporting on information in multiple periods at a time.

Features include:

• Complete Integration with All Accounting Modules
• Complete Integration with other DMMS Modules
• "Intelligent Business Processes"
• Flexible Billing Formats
• Automatic Invoice Generation, Postage Balancing
• Cost Accounting and Process Accounting Controls
• Robust Reporting and Validation Capabilities