How often have you come across the term “integrated” or, better still, “seamlessly integrated", when describing the relationship between accounting software and add-on modules? (An amateur sleuth could even find such terms on the Orchid website without looking too hard!)
Integration aims to break down barriers between applications, or at least poke holes in those barriers, to enable a controlled exchange of data. This is admirable when well executed, but it does have its downsides, often including:
- The complexity of installing, upgrading, maintaining, and supporting multiple applications.
- Data held in a different repository, with the associated risks and operational overheads for data management, integrity, and security.
- Requiring staff to “swivel chair" between applications, often with entirely different user interfaces.
The well-executed integration of separate applications is highly desirable, but what if you could go one better?
Welcome to the world of Embedded software!
With embedded software the barriers aren’t just blurred – they are non-existent.
Sage 300’s success and longevity are due in no small part to the diverse range of complementary 3rd Party software that has evolved around it. The Sage 300 SDK (Software Development Kit), which lets developers create truly embedded modules, has been central to that evolution.
We talk about “Sage 300 Add-Ons”, but for SDK-developed, embedded modules, the term “Add-Ins” might be more accurate.
Don Thomson, one of the founding fathers of what would become Accpac, now Sage 300, chose this topic for a recent TaiRox Memo, “Sage 300 Embedded or Integrated”.
Here is a (slightly edited) version of the benefits listed by Don (and used with his permission). While Don had his TaiRox Collections product in mind, his list could apply equally to Orchid’s many embedded Sage 300 modules. That in itself illustrates the beauty of SDK-developed modules!
Look and Feel
Screens developed using the SDK have the same look and feel as the core Sage 300 modules, meaning instant familiarity and reduced training time.
Specific features & benefits include:
- Screens use the same keystrokes (tab, insert, delete) as Sage 300 core modules.
- Finder icons are positioned to the right of the same keyed fields.
- The grids support drill-down to customer enquiry and maintenance.
- Dates and phone numbers are entered in the same was as in Sage 300 core modules.
- Forms use the Sage 300 patterns for Add, Save, and Close button operations.
- The same terminology (e.g. As Of Date) is used to describe fields.
- French screens work like the Sage 300 core – automatic, based on a user’s language.
Data
Data is stored in Sage 300 company databases, meaning there is no mismatched, missing, or out-of-sync data.
Specific features & benefits include:
- Tax and multi-currency calculations are performed by Sage’s core functions, so there are no rounding issues.
- The same multiple contacts data is being used with the same size fields.
- All address and contact fields are the same length as they are in core modules.
- Dates and amounts are stored the same way as in Sage 300 core modules.
- Formatted and unformatted account and item numbers are supported.
- The same security group and permission setups are used.
Technical Details
The standard Sage 300 tools are used when planning upgrades, analyzing issues, or testing significant setup changes.
Specific features and benefits include:
- Company databases dump and load using standard utilities.
- Integrity checking is performed by standard utilities.
- Changing accounts and numbers are supported when using the standard utilities.
- History can be cleared in the same manner as with core modules.
Embedding goes beyond Sage 300
While the commentary above relates to Sage 300, Orchid’s EFT Processing for Sage Intacct shares many of these advantages. Whereas most Intacct add-ons are integrated through API calls, EFT Processing is fully embedded into Sage Intacct itself.
That means it has the familiar Sage Intacct look & feel, benefits from standard Sage Intacct security and customization capabilities, and stores all its data with the Sage Intacct database.
Next time you find yourself evaluating a 3rd Party product designed to work with Sage 300 or Sage Intacct, you might want to ask: Is it Embedded…or just Integrated?
