Aquilon

Pros: What we like the most about Aquilon is that it pretty much does it all (accounting, invoicing, inventory, CMR, purchasing, manufacturing module and analysis). No need to synchronize data between different programs and applications (huge time saver and minimize data errors). All the different modules work seamlessly. Another great advantage is that the software is cloud based and can be accessed from anywhere at any time with a simple internet connection.

The role-base access control feature of Aquilon is also a key characteristic in order to have more control over what the employees can or cannot do as we grow bigger.

The staff at Aquilon is very responsive and they have always gotten back to our questions or solved our issues within the same day.

Being based in Vancouver, BC ourselves, the fact that Aquilon is from Vancouver is a big advantage to keep training fees low. Knowing the person you work with in person is always an added bonus.

Lastly and most importantly, Aquilon is priced very competitively for an all-in-one software.

Cons: The biggest challenge we have is to get used to how the software works. Many things are not easily undone/cancelled. It makes the software robust but in the beginning that makes it quite intimidating to use. As a small business, we did not have the money to follow a comprehensive training and felt a bit lost and insecure at first. However, the more we use it, the more we understand and the easier it becomes. Just take it one module at a time!

Overall: We started using Aquilon about 6 months ago and we have still not utilized all its features (partly due to a lack of time). However, we are happy we made the switch to Aquilon: it has not disappointed us and we keep discovering its great potential in our (slow) learning process.

Pros: very reliable and stable powerful tools great sales analysis and easy to integrate with other programs.

Training new recruits is easy and efficient

The contact manager is very helpful

Cons: The quoting module needs to be more friendly. Would like quotes to reflect inventory promised as well as keep track of all quotes sent to individual customers

Pros: VERY STABLE WITH NO "CRASHING." REGULAR UPDATES MAKE THE SYSTEM MORE ROBUST. REVIEWS AND QUERIES ARE SIMPLE STRAIGHTFORWARD AND INCLUDE MOST NECESSARY INFORMATION. ABILITY TO EXPORT DIRECTLY TO EXCEL MAKES CODE CHANGES AND PRODUCT UPDATES VERY EASY. SHORTCUT KEYS ARE VERY USEFUL IN SPEEDING UP DATA ENTRY AND PROCESSING. SECURITY PROTOCOLS LIMIT ACCESS FOR FUNCTION SPECIFIC EMPLOYEES.

Cons: PRE-PRINTED FORMS MUST BE USED FOR PICKING TICKETS INVOICES ETC...COULD USE .PDF OR SOME OTHER FORM CAPTURE. SOME MODULE QUERIES ARE UNAVAILABLE OR LIMITED IN SCOPE THOUGH I HEAR THEY ARE ON THE WAY.

Overall: THIS IS A VERY GOOD STABLE PRODUCT THAT SHOULD MEET ANY SMALL TO MID SIZE BUSINESS NEED IN A COST EFFECTIVE AND FUNCTIONAL MANNER FOR MANY YEARS. CONSISTENT UPDATES ARE IMPROVING THIS PRODUCT. INVENTORY MANAGEMENT, SALES ORDER ENTRY AND QUICK CHECK WRITING ARE MUCH BETTER THAN QUICKBOOKS OR SIMILAR PRODUCTS. THE STABILITY, INVENTORY MANAGEMENT, A/R AND A/P FUNCTIONS MAKE IT A VERY FUNCTIONAL PRODUCT FOR ANY BUSINESS. AS A WEARER OF MANY HATS, I CAN USE THIS PRODUCT ON THE FLY TO ACQUIRE SALES INFORMATION OR FINANCIAL DATA THAT HELP ME MAKE QUICK DECISIONS TO IMPROVE PROFITABILITY AND GROW MY BUSINESS. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT FOR ANY BUSINESS THAT NEEDS A COST COMPETITIVE PRODUCT WITH GREAT STABILITY, EASE OF USE AND IS SCALABLE FOR GROWTH.

Pros: Its a fully featured software system at a very good price. The vendor is very helpful and willing. It does everything we need for our business and has many features we hope to use in the future as we grow.

Cons: Because the software has been around for a while the vendor has not yet re-developed all of the software into their new interface. At first this was a problem but they are making good progress and when its complete its going to be a fabulous product. But I guess that's why its priced the way it is for now.

Recommendations to other buyers: Always make sure that you plan your change properly. We made a prior mistake and chose the wrong product and this vendor came along and helped us by working through all of our requirements and developing a check list of our needs vs. their software. When we made our choice we knew exactly what to expect. If you don't spend the time up front to figure out your requirements you will probably make the same costly error as we did.

Pros: It has all the extensive functions that the large ERP software has, but at a very reasonable price. The program is well designed and organized. It runs pretty fast.

Cons: It would be nice if the queries can be customized. The current queries are quite extensive but sometimes we do have requests from different department which need to customized query to get the report they need.

Overall: We organized our daily operation solely based on this software, from order entry, shipping receiving, and all the way to AR/AP. It makes our daily work more efficiently and more organized. It also helps the better work flow and communication among the departments.

Comments: We both manufacture and distribute products, have been using Aquilon for more than 3 years and have found the product fast and reliable. The software is comprehensive and has an amazing set of features for the price we paid. The most recent version has introduced even more user controls so that you can setup the environment to suit each user / role specifically which has made training our new staff a lot easier. The support group is quick to get back to us with answers when we need them. Overall we are exceptionally happy with the software

Pros: What I like about this software is that it has so many options to suit the specific customer needs. It is not a generic software that you have to manage to work with, but it can be adjusted easily.

Cons: What I like least is that some user fields still have an old fashioned look to it. But they're constantly working on the outline, so I am confident this will be changed soon.

Overall: From a business perspective I really have been enjoying working with Aquilon. They gave me all the help I needed to set up our software, and as this is an ongoing process I know this will continue. The staff is very knowledgeable, yet they do never impose their ideas on their customers. If we want to go a different way, they'll tell us their opinion, but fully support us either way.

Pros: Ease of implementation

Functionality

Ability to include payroll

Significant resource saving from prior system and excel spreadsheets

Outstanding and responsive customer support

Customization requests are well responded to and implemented in a timely manner

Cons: The integration to the general ledger is cumbersome but this is being addressed and will be eliminated in a new version that is current in testing.

Overall: Our experience with Aquilon has exceeded our expectations. Support team have been great partners who place a high value on long term partnership and provide excellent customer support, quick response time and insightful suggestions.

Pros: All information in one spot form sales order to PO to receiving inventory/entering AP through to invoicing.

Cons: We're a manufacturing company and it's very difficult to have accurate live inventory with parent kits. Just have to prioritize what is most important to track.

Pros: Easy to use and quick . I am using this for about a year for making sales orders, purchase orders and

invoicing. I can easily access the total amount due of any customer.

Cons: The main problem is that once invoice is posted, then we can't make changes in it.

Even there are some features that i don't know how to use.

Overall: I have up to date information about my suppliers as well as customers.

Pros: The amount of detail in every module - how easy it is to setup - absolutely love the export to Excel. Love the full integration Vendor is very easy to deal with- listens and answers any questions. Full range system-great price. Ability to import data for setup and ongoing day to day work. Things you do not see in even large ERP systems.

Cons: So far I have found nothing I don't like on this product in my use for the Yarn shop.

Recommendations to other buyers: Make a list of what you would like to see in a demo. The team will setup what you are looking for, this system has exceptional inventory and accounting, detail and reporting.

Pros: The software is fast and easy to use. All the information is safe and up to date in it.

Good format of working.

Cons: once the invoice is posted it cannot be changed. Also, there are lot of functions that i don,t know how to use.

Overall: The complete data of suppliers and customers is available easily.

Pros: Ability to customize queries and reports

Customer service is excellent. The Aquilon team is responsive and supportive.

Cons: Inability to build new modules on the fly. Each new request has to be requested. This is not as bad as it sounds because the Aquilon office is very helpful. But it would be nice to be able to set up simple modules.

Pros: Easy to use. Flexible options for multi company. Complete business solutions covering all aspects of business needs.

Pros: Ease of use

Cons: I find the interface is sometimes little arcane

Overall: I find the Aquilon suite meets our needs fully, from the accounting side, to inventory control, sales orders, purchase orders and we need chain of custody tracking which it does very well. Overall we find the product stable and delivers the functionality of well designed ERP system.

Recommendations to other buyers: Great product

Pros: Acquilon was able to bridge the gaps between IT, accounting and operations so we ended up with a product that works for all three. They accomplished this by listening, acting and reviewing to ensure buy in from us. They also took the time to better understand our business and some of its nuances so the product truly accomplishes what we wanted it to do.

Cons: The process has taken longer than anticipated. Not really anyone's fault and we are happy with the result and cost. We will be better next time as well.

Pros: The new interface is much more intuitive and easy to navigate plus the program is much easier to use.

Cons: Don't really have anything - the interface was a bit clumsy but by and large that has been fixed. The only small complaint is the font size is a bit small - but that maybe the function of the Microsoft Surface rather than the software.

Pros: The software is easy to use. It improves productivity by quick access to different modules and corporations. The official month end closing event forces users to be up to date with processing. Late entries can still be processed by journal entry. The vendor is always on call for support.

Cons: Like with any ERP system, for control purposes, adjustments require a correcting journal entry. Smaller accounting systems allow users to click on a past entry and make changes.

Recommendations to other buyers: Make a wishlist of your must have features. Then check whether Aquilon can accommodate them.

Pros: Ease of use and intuitive - an elegant solution to most problems. Vendor is very helpful and has very knowledgable staff

Cons: There is nothing I can add or suggest to improve the functionality of the software neither do I have any thing negative to say about the vendor.

Recommendations to other buyers: Make sure you check out the various facets of the software there is a lot more to it than first appears.

Pros: We like the ease of use, stability, and flexibility.

Cons: Any concerns we have had have been addressed very quickly. They even implemented suggestions we had

Recommendations to other buyers: We looked at the cost of the product as well as the over all installation costs. Aquilon was the best value all around. I would look at the actual management experience as well as the product

Pros: Conversion and implementation of the new system took less than four weeks. Very price competitive. Excellent planning and implementation on-site thanks to experienced and professional Aquilon staff. Aquilon staff members were even kind enough to make cheat sheets for employees during training.

Cons: The accounting system is very robust: there are many options and features that can be enabled depending on the requirements of the business. We are looking forward to integrating additional modules in the future. There are very few things to dislike regarding the product.

Recommendations to other buyers: Aquilon staff members were very straightforward with implementation details and whether the accounting system was a good fit for the business. Competitors were not as forthcoming. The best recommendation would be to contact Aquilon to find out more information.

Pros: -user friendly (training a user in a specific module could be completed within weeks)

-compatability with integrating external softwares/applications, ie EDI;

-very straighforward for any person with an accounting or overall business acumen;

-could be synched with CRM softwares in the cloud;

-easy to control security parameters of the end users within the company;

-good reporting/analysis queries for management

Cons: -dependant on the status of the server farm (like many ERP softwares);

Overall: 9/10

If a company is not choosing a web-based (cloud) solution, Agama will definitely work!

Pros: The support that we get from Aquilon is outstanding, they understand what we need and if the program does not have it, they create a process for us

Cons: I think Aquilon needs to improve their Reports, although we use Microsoft Excel quite a lot, it would be nice just to run the report straight from Aquilon

Pros: The software is very reliable and customizable to our needs. On top of that, the support team is very helpful, experienced and responsive.

Overall: AQ software, similar to many large ERP software, can be intimidating for new unexperienced users. But with the help of their support team the software is actually very intuitive and user friendly.

Comments: We used similar software from other company that i would like not mention. We did the transition to Aqulion after an in-depth research and talk with their customer service. We made the perfect choice. It is a full featured ERP software that is easy to use. We loved the fast implementation tool that converted data from our old system to Aqulilon. We also love the fact that you can built configurable views that will allow you to build your own spreadsheet like views of data, save that and export it to excel. It has definitely convinced us that it is a great tool for our business. Amazing ERP software that we will use for a long time!

Comments: We use the software for every part of our business - from inventory control to purchase orders both giving and receiving; invoicing, tracking our aging to all our accounting needs. It's a fully fledged accounting package. In addition in our business there is a requirement for "chain-of-custody" with Aquilon it's a snap no need to keep and segregate paperwork it's all neatly keep within the system - on hand for whenever it's need. There are sufficient checks when entering data that allows you to catch and correct the inevitable mistakes - it's a lot easer to do it at time of entry than to correct later on.

Comments: My favorite feature is the automatic creation of inter company journal entries which guarantees that inter company loan accounts balance at all times.

Inventory permits perpetual inventory counts ensuring no disruption to operations that a full stock count can bring.

Payroll is user friendly and allows detailed cost allocations.

Customer service is excellent at customizing the software to your requirements and providing training and support.

Pros: Highly Configurable if needed

Excellent Support

Good Process Flow

Covers all areas of our business

Cons: Needs to improve the Warehouse Management Module

Overall: Great software for mid sized plus companies.

Comments: What impressed me most (and continues to impress me) is the way Aquilon integrates with an operation. It seems like there is no scenario that they have not either already thought of or quickly have a solution for. You can tell that Aquilon staff are drawing on a deep well of experience. Customer service is first rate and continues long after the sale. Value well beyond the surprisingly affordable cost.

Pros: Just about anything we need to be effective is built-in. We can avoid having to buy a bunch of add-on software. What we need is there.

Cons: Would like to see the interface freshened: it works well but feels a bit dated. This does not interfere with effective processing but will help with on-boarding new staff who can be used to bell and whistles like social media links.

Pros: Aquilon has exceeded all our expectations. The installation and training was fast and easy. Aquilon's has many great features which has made us more efficient and profitable.

Randall Brown

Cons: would like a larger screen view

Overall: I highly recommend this product

Pros: Simple and easy to use

Cons: Screens too small

Overall: Good system from people that know our business. Quote system massaged to fit our needs well.

Pros: Easy of use and responsive/knowledgable staff members

Cons: Period based system did not work well for our company

Recommendations to other buyers: Test product and see how it works for your company. Get to know the staff. They are helpful.

Comments: Specified to our industry. Many new changes are still in the works so making improvements. Staff is helpful.