Gem Accounts Review – Serious Business Accounting Tools for medium and large-size businesses.

Stephanie Miles for GetApp writes: Gem Accounts Review –  Managing financial accounts for a large company is serious business, but that doesn’t mean accounting professionals shouldn’t have a little fun in the process. Gem Accounts is a full-featured cloud accounting system that walks the fine line between light and simple, and heavy and robust. Although the system is designed with medium and large-size businesses in mind, small business owners with growing companies will feel right at home using Gem Accounts’ advanced accounting tools.

In this Gem Accounts review, I will take a close look at which features are available through the cloud accounting system and explain which specific tools are most beneficial for large and medium-size businesses. I’ll also explain the overall the benefits—along with any drawbacks—of double entry online cloud accounting software.

Gem Accounts Review - About the Product

When it comes to accounting, small businesses seem to be having all the fun. Most cloud-based accounting systems are targeted toward the needs of small and micro-size businesses, with transaction volume limitations and audit controls that make it impossible for larger businesses to use the same platforms. As a result, large companies are typically exiled from cloud accounting systems and forced to use traditional accounting methods instead. These methods are expensive, time consuming, and outdated, which puts these companies at a real disadvantage.

Gem Accounts has found a solution for medium and large-size businesses, along with growing small businesses. The cloud accounting system provides all the features that large businesses need and expect from accounting software, with unlimited transactions, unlimited users, multi-currency control, audit controls, inventory management tools, consolidated reporting, full API, and an integrated payroll system.

Main Functionality of Gem Accounts

Gem Accounts doesn’t place limitations on its users, which means that large businesses have the ability to add as many users and process as many transactions as they wish. Regardless of volume, Gem Accounts performs at lightning speed. Inventory management tools, along with serialized stock, are included with all accounts. Companies can also use Gem Accounts to take care of payroll requirements, with flexible entitlements, taxes, and deductions, along with audit controls and comprehensive reporting. The system’s freight module allows users to manage, track, and dispatch freight for purchases and customer transactions. Users can also switch between currencies and languages, making Gem Accounts a solution for any business with international clients.

Benefits of Using Gem Accounts

Companies that are concerned about security, performance, and portability would be smart to think about using a cloud accounting system like Gem Accounts. The platform itself is protected using ACID compliant database technology and 256bit SSL encryption. Backups are performed 24/7 at Gem Accounts’ secure facilities, making it easy for users to rest assured that their important financial information is safe.

Gem Accounts’ performance is not altered by the volume of a user’s transactions. It’s actually quite the opposite. Gem Accounts scales for companies of all sizes, allowing businesses to maximize performance. Gem Accounts even functions when its users are outside the office. Because the cloud accounting software is tablet ready, users are able to stay updated on their accounting performance from their mobile devices.

The Basics: What Does the Interface Look Like?

See an overview of your company’s accounts. From one screen, you can see a complete financial summary, recent business activity, current balances, and current operations.

Accounts overview

List information about each of your customers on the Customers page. In addition to the customer’s name, you can include a reference number, contact information, phone number, and email address. Gem Accounts also provides you with ample space to include all relevant account and tax information.

Customer page

Click on the Receivable tab to generate a custom quote for customers. Gem Accounts will auto-populate quotes with the customer information you’ve already uploaded. Once you’re finished, you have the option to save your quote, preview it, or ship it.

Receivable tab

Manage inventory through Gem Accounts, as well. List the number, description, warehouse, serial number, make, model, tool number, and barcode for each part you’d like to add to your inventory list.

Inventory tab

Support Information

Gem Accounts users are encouraged to visit the Knowledgebase, powered by Kayako Help Desk Software, for the answers to most basic questions. Users can search for articles by keyword or browse by topic. Gem Accounts also offers an RSS feed that users can subscribe to if they wish to receive automatic updates when new articles are added to the Knowledgebase.

Pricing Information

All new users are encouraged to try Gem Accounts for free for 30 days before activating a SME or MME plan. SME plans cost $99 per month, and MME plans cost $199 per month. For those prices, users get unlimited file storage, employees, and users. Gem Accounts also runs automatic software updates and backups on a regular basis.

Gem Accounts Review - The Bottom Line

Gem Accounts differentiates itself from cloud accounting systems already on the market by catering almost exclusively to businesses in the medium and large-size category. Businesses that want the freedom that cloud accounting provides, but without the limitations and volume restrictions generally put in place by applications developed for smaller businesses, are finding that Gem Accounts offers the perfect middle-of-the-road solution. Gem Accounts provides the exact functionality that is missing from most online accounting platforms—including unlimited transaction volumes and account auditing features. Despite its robust nature, Gem Accounts never feels bogged down and it never runs slowly. It’s easy enough for even novice accounting professionals to set up and use.  

Gem Accounts Website

Ratings: ease of use 5/5, features 4/5, value 4/5

By Stephanie Miles
Overall rating:  (4.5/5)

Pros: Gem offers tools designed specifically for large-size businesses.
Cons: SME accounts only include 1,500 transactions (AR + AP) per month.