Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems integrate (or attempt to integrate) all data and processes of an organization into a unified system. A typical ERP system will use multiple components of computer software and hardware to achieve the integration. A key ingredient of most ERP systems is the use of a unified database to store data for the various system modules.

ACCPAC is a vendor of accounting, CRM and business management software. Primarily serving the community of Small and Mid Sized company market, ACCPAC's primarily differentiator was their early adoption of the web as a platform for business application deployment. Its company name is sometimes used interchangeably with the name of the products, although it is part of The Sage Group.

There are three main product lines:

• Sage Accpac ERP, a Windows based range of accounting software, available with a variety of database backends. This can run under a Windows or Linux environment and has an option of being hosted by Sage. It is multi-user, multi-currency and multi-language.

• Sage Pro ERP (which used to be known as SBT Pro Series), written using Microsoft Visual FoxPro, with an available MS SQL Server backend. This product is available with source code to allow user modification.

• Sage Business Vision, an entry level accounting system sold primarily in Canada and Africa.

Accpac describes itself as more than just an ERP solution, with components available to create a complete business solution integrating the front office with the back office applications:

• Sage Accpac CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

• Accpac HR Series (Human Resources)

• Sage Accpac WMS (Warehouse Management System)

• Sage Accpac Exchange (Electronic Data Interchange)

• Accpac eTransact (Online Webstore)

• Sage Accpac ePOS (Retail Point of Sale)

• Sage Accpac Insight (Business Intelligence & Analysis)

• Accpac CFO (Financial Analysis)

• Sage Accpac Hosted Services (Remote Hosting Facilities)

Act By Sage

ACT! by Sage is a customer relationship management (CRM) software which is used to keep track of client and prospect details in a single database that can be shared by multiple users. It integrates with Microsoft Word and Outlook (as well as other software) to generate and track communications with the contacts maintained in ACT!. It is distributed by The Sage Group and has a user base of over 2.7 million registered users, and more than 41,000 corporate customers.

Versions

ACT! is available in three versions:

• ACT! by Sage: Utilizes Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express and is designed for installations with less than 30 users. Limited to 10 active users because of XP.

• ACT! by Sage Premium: Utilizes either Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express or 2005 Standard and is designed for small to medium-sized businesses. 50 Users Max with SQL 2005 Standard

• ACT! by Sage Premium for Web: Utilizes either Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express or 2005 Standard and is designed for small to medium-sized businesses who want to access their data over the Internet on their own servers (without the need for hosting services).

Features

• Contact Management: Store contacts details in one place, yet can be accessed by multiple users. Can be used out of the box or customized.

• Calendar: Schedule activities (Calls, Meetings, To-dos, etc.) and manage daily responsibilities using calendar or task list views.

• Communication: Integrate directly with Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Word to create and track communications with clients or prospects. ACT! provides an alternate built-in word processor and e-mail software. Third-party software can also link to the database for mass mailings.

• Opportunities: Track multiple details of opportunities, allowing filtering, reporting, and/or exporting to Microsoft Excel for analysis.

• Reporting: Create reports using the built-in report engine or other third-party software (such as Crystal Reports).

• Synchronization: Synchronize contact information with other offices or with remote users, using the built-in synchronization module. The data can also be synced to Microsoft Outlook, a Palm (PDA), a Windows CE device, or a Blackberry.

• Web Access: View ACT! data using Internet Explorer with near identical functionality to the desktop version. It can be deployed on any server with a static IP address and therefore does not require hosting (and associated hosting fees).