An Ez Software Review of
 EPES School Accounting Software 

     Rating: *****  (5/5)

EPES Software, of Tulsa Oklahoma, supports over 18,000 schools using their activity and basic fund accounting software. They have been in business for over 20 years. As stated on their website, their school accounting software objective is to help administrators maintain a more effective control of their funds.

The EPES accounting program installs very quickly from a CD, disk or internet download onto a windows PC. Simply press <Enter> to install to the default directories.

Customizing Account Codes

The EPES accounting program is very flexible in organizing account codes. The school software program allows users to customize both general ledger and activity account codes using up to six digits. The sub account code permits up to four digits. This is more than enough for most schools.

However, one of the unique options of the EPES accounting program is its ability to use up to 100 digits of extended account codes. These extended account codes are broken down into ten groups or levels of 10 digits each. A default account code and account name can be assigned to each extended code group. The user can turn on/off these extended codes as needed. This greatly enhances versatility, simplifies data entry and eliminates the need to enter redundant account codes.

Data Entry

The interface for the screens is simple, consistent and effective. A user will master data entry in a matter of minutes. Data such as accounts, sub accounts, extended codes and vendors is entered one time. It is then selected from a pop up window.

If the user simply presses enter instead of entering an account code, a pop up window displays a list of account codes to select from. If the user doesn’t remember the name of a vendor, simply enter the first letter of the vendor name and a pop up window appears with the first vendor beginning with the letter entered.

The program also enters a default sub account code. If the user enters an incorrect account code, a pop up window displays a list of codes to choose from. The user simply begins typing the code, until it appears in the window. If the user doesn’t remember the account code, then she can move to the account name and begin typing until the name appears in the window. Pressing <Enter> selects the account code.

Another valuable feature of data entry is the program’s ability to update account balances immediately. Once a transaction is saved, edited or deleted the balances are current. If multiple people are using the software program, this is extremely valuable for maintaining fiscal control. It should also be noted that the program can alert the user to a deficit balance when entering an account transaction.

Printing Reports

The EPES accounting software prints a wide range of reports including legers, reconciliation, bank reconciliation, vendors, accounts, tax reports, checks and trial balances. All reports allow the user to select specific information such as dates, accounts and vendors. The reports can be previewed on the screen or printed to the printer. Receipts can be printed as they are entered, maintaining a real time balance of all accounts.

Utilities

A wide range of utility options is also available. These include backing up and restoring data, import/export of data, rebuilding data indexes and files. For security and integrity, the system administrator can set up what files are accessed by what employees or groups of employees. The administrator can also determine if the data is closed after a monthly reconciliation. This prevents editing of data in a previous month, once all reports and information have been checked and cleared.

Support

EPES software offers a 30-day free trial, a six-month money back guarantee and one year of free technical support on all their products. A trial version of their software can be downloaded from their website. This demo version allows users to test every program option. Activating the accounting program is quick and simple. The user receives a small registration file from EPES by Internet download or disk.

At the end of the year, their toll free support can be renewed at a nominal cost. Larger school districts can receive quotes on quantity discounts for software and support. EPES can provide training upon request.

EPES also offers several related accounting programs:
1) A District-wide consolidation accounting program gathers data from all the schools in the district to provide district wide accounting information without re-entering data.
2) An audit program greatly simplifies the audit functions within a school district.
3) A Student Fees accounting program tracks all the transactions related to student fees within a school.

In summary, it is easy to understand why EPES Software has so many school accounting users. They provide an easy to use, yet comprehensive accounting program that is reasonably priced and provide very good software support. If you’re in the market for school accounting software, you would be wise to check out EPES. It will only cost you a little time and testing.