Aptora Corporation — Total Office Manager

Article Tools

• Print This Article
• Email This Article to a Friend
• Save This Article
• Order a Reprint

From the July 2009 Review of Construction/Contractor Accounting Systems

Total Office Manager is a comprehensive, high-end contractor accounting package, specializing in support for service industry businesses such as telecom, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, appliance repair and other such contractors. The system includes traditional GL, AP and AR, along with advanced CRM, payroll with direct deposit, vacation and benefits tracking, scheduling, serialized inventory, and enterprise-level accounting, along with contractor-specific modules for service agreement tracking, work order generation, flat rate pricing, customer equipment management, service and installation histories, and vehicle tracking options. The full Total Office Manager suite, with all capabilities, costs about $10,000, but other lower-cost options are available as pricing is based on modules and support packages selected.

Learning Curve/ Ease of Use:
Total Office Manager includes a wizard that guides users through initial setup tasks, then opens to a Workflow Navigator screen for company, customers, banking, employees and vendors, with each providing intuitive icons for quickly jumping to key tasks within that category. The Company Workflow screen, for instance, offers access to departments, the chart of accounts, assets, financial reporting and analyses, and the audit trail. The Employee Workflow screen includes managing and entering timesheets, processing payroll, printing checks and processing direct deposit, and paying liabilities.

These Workflow screens also offer access to related lists, such as assets, budgets, employees and paychecks, as well as reporting options specific to a workflow area. The top of the screen offers additional program shortcuts for accessing customer information, dispatching, communications tools, invoicing, sales, vendor lists, items, payments and other features. A collapsible left-hand menu provides additional user-specific tools, including appointments, work orders and reminders. Access to functions is dependent upon the user role, enabling only authorized users to view and work with certain data and features.

From the Workflow Navigators, users can quickly access data-entry screens for various tasks, with the screens offering advanced entry functions, including smart lists, calendars and selection fields, with data automatically flowing to appropriate accounts and other areas of the program. Selection lists for employees, customers, vendors and other items provide excellent sorting and filtering options, as well as lists and forms for about 450 categories, ranging from payroll and banking items to employee types, work orders and multi-location inventory.

Key Modules & Management Tools:
In addition to the core accounting functions, which include fully capable GL, AP, AR and trial balance, Total Office Manager includes an impressive collection of contractor-specific tools and features that enable advanced job and phase tracking, work order management, equipment costing and tracking of actual versus estimated costs. It also maintains service and maintenance histories for equipment, offers asset management, credit card processing, payroll with direct deposit, contact management, check writing, sales and use tax compliance, and credit card processing.