| MicroEdge FIMS Software Review |
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| Written by Scott Koegler | ||||||||
| Thursday, 30 August 2007 05:38 | ||||||||
Page 2 of 2 Many of the other functions, like funds and organizations start with a data grid identical to the Profile page. This consistency is good, and lets users become very familiar with using the program's functions. I found that once I was accustomed to using the search and select features in the Profile page, those same skills applied to the other pages. Once the requested record is found, the screens show a more graphical look and present a variety of functions available for that particular entity. This design is a good way to handle differences in data, showing functions that apply to funds when viewing a fund, and functions for constituents when viewing a constituent. But at the same time, not changing the look of the screen helps reinforce users' familiarity. Reporting is fast and flexible. I found a wide variety of predefined reports available and was able to use any of them as the basis for designing a report that delivered the specific information I needed. The reports are not interactive, in that it is not possible to click a line item and drill into the detail that made up the line. Finding the detail requires looking at the data grid page for the account itself. From there, I was able to find the transactions that made up the account balance. Overview MicroEdge's FIMS is designed to support a special sector of the nonprofit market; the community foundation, and it has the chops to handle the needs of these organizations well. The program has a consistent, easy-to-understand interface that will help users get up to speed quickly and build understanding across the functions. MicroEdge does not publish its pricing, but says that it works with each customer individually to recommend the appropriate components for the size and function of the organization. Advantages Consistent interface means fast learning Created to support the needs of community funding organizations Flexible reporting Disadvantages Reports do not support live drill-down to detail | ||||||||
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About the Author: Kurt Martin is a Founder and Group Publisher of Progressive Media Group (PMG) and the Publisher of Nonprofit Technology News. During his 4 years as Publisher of The NonProfit Times, he grew the imprint from a single newspaper to a community of websites, online job boards, email newsletters and digital editions of the print editions. Prior to taking the role of Publisher he was the East Coast Sales Manager for Broad Daylight, Inc. a knowledgebase company. He also held management roles in advertising and ciruclation sales at American Banker/Bond Buyer (Thomson), Faulkner & Grey (Thomson) and SourceMedia (Investcorp.) Kurt graduated from Montclair State University with a B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration. |
