Espresso Financials is one of the only Accounting and Point Of Sale (POS) software packages in the world that allows real-time updates and inter-branch enquiries via the Internet. And because Espresso Application Servers are installed at every branch office your whole enterprise will be operational 24 x 7.

Unfortunately it is a fact that whether you have dial-up, DSL or Cable Internet connections there are times (some times whole days) when the connection is down. So if your accounting software relies on this connection for your branch offices and you do not have local application servers then your branch offices will simply shut down during any Internet outages.

For accounting software vendors there are only three alternative solutions to this problem. One option is to do away with real-time updates and revert to end of day imports and exports. Another option is to install a Wide Area Network with leased lines to connect your branch offices. The third option is to use database replication technology.

End Of Day Imports and Exports

Of course with End Of Day Imports and Exports you lose the ability to manage your business in real time. Also there is the onus on branch office staff to ensure that this process takes place at a time when they would rather be going home. Furthermore it only gives you one chance each day to post inventory price changes and if you make a mistake then any pricing corrections will have to wait until the next update.

These styles of Accounting and POS packages typically have one program for the branch offices and a completely different program for the head office. For the vendors of these packages it introduces two different sets of programming source code resulting in slower development time, less consistency and increased potential for programming errors. Another weakness of these types of packages is the necessity to rely on branch office staff to install software upgrades.

Espresso Financials with its rock solid uniform interface, thin client remote access, automatic upgrades, real-time updates and real-time inter-branch enquiries clearly has numerous advantages over these alternatives.

Wide Area Networks

Setting up a permanent Wide Area Network (WAN) between your branch offices requires the use of leased lines (or ISDN connections). A Wide Area Network allows all branch office workstations to connect directly to a central server at your head office. This would allow traditional Client Server applications to be deployed across your whole enterprise.

This all sounds very good. However the cost of these ISDN connections can run into thousands of dollars per month for every Branch Office. On top of this the speed of these connections is many times slower than the average broadband connection. Worse still, these connections are not guaranteed to work 24 hours a day, every day of the year. To get around this large corporations employ multiple redundant connections, which cost even more.

The immense savings realised by using Espresso Financials with its tolerance for inexpensive broadband connections make it the obvious candidate for mission critical, multi-site POS and Accounting Installations where 24 x 7 uptime is a must.

Database Replication

Espresso Financials has its inter-branch transaction posting mechanism built into the Application Server software. Effectively the same compressed and encrypted transactions that are sent to the local Branch Office Application Server can be forwarded to the Head Office Application Server. The result is a smaller and more secure data transmission between sites.

Some database engines (including MS SQL Server, Oracle and DB2) offer a function called database replication. This technique means that in theory you can install Database Servers at multiple sites and keep them synchronised with the same postings. This actually works in much the same way that the Espresso Financials performs its synchronisation. In fact we could have developed Espresso Financials using this technique, but chose not to for performance and control reasons.

However Database Replication is not the panacea for multi-site accounting software. It is just a partial solution since the accounting software itself still needs to support this database replication and independent multi-site transaction posting. For example if two sites are temporarily isolated the accounting software needs to be able to generate local invoices, which do not clash when the connection is restored.

Again, Espresso Financials stands out with its secure, high performance multi-site capabilities that are fully integrated into the one software program.

In Summary

Espresso Financials is the only multi-site POS and Accounting package with:

•   Low Cost Internet based Multi-Site Connectivity
•   100% 24 x 7 up time at all sites
•   Real-Time Branch Office transaction replication to Head Office consolidated accounts database.
•   Real-Time enterprise-wide pricing updates
•   Real-Time inter branch inventory or account enquiries
•   Real-Time off-site backup
•   Real-Time Enterprise Wide Financial Reporting and Analysis
•   Encrypted and compressed data transmissions
•   Thin Client access from any branch workstation or Internet connected PC to any Branch Office or Head Office