Frequently Asked Questions - Configuration

Q.

Is STEP FORWARD an Accounting System?

A.

No. STEP FORWARD can be used to create a unified accounting system that is GAAP compliant. Of course, you can also create an information management system that includes an accounting system. Or, you can create applications that are totally devoid of any accounting components.

Q.

What is a unified accounting system?

A.

A unified system has no modules, especially in the context of an accounting system. We like to think of a unified system as the “classic approach” and the modular systems as the “inverted approach.” This can be best explained with a diagram:

The “Classic” approach is how accounting used to be done and ought to be done. The “Inverted” approach is common to virtually all modular systems and is the methodology first introduced when accounting applications were computerized – not because it was a better method, but because that is how large corporations developed applications, one department at a time.

Ever since then, the inverted approach remained firmly entrenched, only the degree and method of integration improved as software evolved along with the hardware it had to run on. This evolutionary process has run its course with the advent of and the demand for Client/Server Architecture, Object-Oriented Programming, Distributed Solutions, and Advanced User Tools. Software that can adequately address this need must be of completely new design and pristine development. STEP FORWARD is precisely that.