Cougar Mountain Software |
Cougar Mountain Software a Boise, Idaho company who develops, sells and supports businesses with powerful mid-range accounting, Non-profit organization accounting and Point of sale software solutions.
= History =
The company was founded in 1982 in Boise, Idaho by Robert Gossett (Bob). The idea for Cougar Mountain Software was born on a frosty winter day in 1981 at the Cougar Mountain Lodge, deep in the Idaho mountains along the North Fork of the Payette River. Bob Gossett, the entrepreneur behind Cougar Mountain Software, hired four programmers and by late 1982, Cougar Mountain released its first product the Accounts Receivable module of ACTPlus Accounting.
Cougar Mountain s early products weren t designed for the DOS operating system, they were written for CPM personal computers were just a novel idea in those days. The market was small and modules sold for over $1000 each. An early version of Cougar Mountain s FUND Accounting, called FOX, was developed for non-profit organizations.
Throughout the 80 s during the infancy stages of personal computers, Cougar Mountain Software continued developing its mid-range accounting software. In 1986 the DOS Operating System became the standard for the IBM personal computers and Cougar Mountain began converting their accounting software to this new platform.
Cougar Mountain developed a core group of modules for every aspect of general business accounting and bundles them into ACTPlus Accounting: General Ledger, Order Entry, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Purchase Order, Accounts Payable, Check Reconciliation, Payroll, Financial Analysis, and LYNX Import/Export. Specialized modules were developed including Point of Sale, Layaway, Bill of Materials, Back Order Tracking, Multi-Location Inventory, Job Cost, Data Query, and Access Import/Export. The FUND Accounting package was specifically developed for the needs of non-profit organizations.
By the early 1990 s Cougar Mountain had broken the $1 Million mark. However, as the 1990 s progressed, it became clear that the Windows platform would prove to be another hurdle to clear. Work began on converting Cougar Mountain s software to the Windows platform in 1993. By 1996 Cougar Mountain had released its first Micrsoft Windows product, Point of Sale for Windows. In early 1997 Cougar Mountain released its second, Payroll for Windows, then Accounts Payable for Windows. Development of the Windows product line continues and has released the 9.3 version in mid 2005.
In September 2005 Cougar Mountain released it s first 32-bit product using Microsoft SQL Server for the database platform. Denali includes the Inventory, Point of Sale, Order Entry and Controller modules.
= Recognition =
The CPA Technology Advisor
= Product =
Cougar Mountain s product offering has grown from a single accounting program to an extensive list of software solutions for the customer. Today, Cougar Mountain provides a variety of software solutions with its general accounting, fund accounting, point of sale core modules, companion products and enhancements.
== Packages ==
Cougar Mountain Software sells software for two types of businesses. For profit business who s goal is to make a profit and want Cougar Mountain Software to help with that. Non-profit organizations who have to account for funds and report about it to the government.
=== For Profit Packages ===
Cougar Mountain Accounting The software includes modules for General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Data Exchange, Inventory, Order Entry/Invoicing, and Liveware s R&R Report Writer®. Add-on modules also available with Cougar Mountain s Accounting software include Multi-location Inventory, Bank Reconciliation, Payroll, Purchase Order, Point of Sale, E-commerce, Report Generator, Job Cost and Barcode Generator.
Point of Sale Software Cougar Mountain Software offers point of sale software that combines a storefront interface with a tracking system that provides more cash control and inventory management. This package will help retail businesses tighten inventory control, and set promotional pricing. Cougar Mountain Point of Sale includes: Point of Sale, Inventory and Data Exchange.
Point of Sale with Back Office Accounting Cougar Mountain offers a point of sale package that includes a back-office accounting solution. This point of sale solution provides information on sales, inventory and customers. It ties the storefront with the back office; eliminating multiple entries in the books. It identifies items that need to be reordered; eliminating the need to check and recheck inventory. Point of sale provides a secure audit trail for the user s accountant, as well as several levels of security so the sales clerk, manager and accountant will only have access to the information authorized. Cougar Mountain Point of Sale with Backoffice Accounting includes: Point of Sale, General Ledger, Inventory, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Data Exchange, Report Writer.
=== Non-Profit Packages ===
Non-profit Software (FUND Software) This software is for Non-profit organization who need an accounting solution for that matches their special needs. Instant access to accounting reports, an accurate and secure audit trail, and scalable products that grow with an organization are essential to the success of our non-profit customers. Cougar Mountain FUND includes: FUND General Ledger and Bank Reconciliation.
FUND Suite Software Cougar Mountain FUND Suite is a fully-integrated accounting and financial management software package designed exclusively for non-profit organizations and government agencies. Cougar Mountain FUND handles multiple funds or grant tracking with comprehensive budget comparisons. Each fund can have its own fiscal calendar, separate from the organization s fiscal calendar. Reports can be run for one fund or a range of funds as well as for specific departments within a fund. Cougar Mountain FUND handles complex transactions demanded of a non-profit accounting system including inter-fund transfers and fund balancing. Cougar Mountain FUND Suite fully conforms to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) as well as provides reporting for FASB standards 116 and 117. Cougar Mountain FUND Suite includes: FUND General Ledger, Bank Reconciliation, Accounts Payable, Purchase Order, Payroll; Data Exchange and Report Writer.
FUND Revenue Center Software (Cougar Mountain FUND Suite required) Also available with the Cougar Mountain FUND Suite is the FUND Revenue Center. This companion product is specially bundled for non-profit organizations who have specialized accounting needs of sales, order entry or revenue tracking. The Revenue Center controls inventory, tracks customers, prints receipts and billing statements, and analyzes sales.
== Modules ==
= External developers =
Several of the business partners of Cougar Mountain Software has licensed the source code for the different products and provide customization services to their customers.
= Competitors =
Sage Software, Best Software, Solomon Software, Great Plains Software.
= Criticism =
Some of the criticisms that have been said about the software is there are so many different options that it is sometimes hard to learn how to use the products. With the release of software developed on the SQL Server platform this has grown some again.
= See also =
*List of accounting software and Comparison of accounting software *Accounting, and List of accounting topics *Application software *Finance software|
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