Help with TAM vs Epic

[Debbie Fuson]

I have an usual situation in that my account manager has been asked to give a presentation at a corporate accounting conference about converting TAM agencies to Epic......and we're on neither TAM nor Epic.  We're Vision.

She had a question that I'm hoping someone on one of the newer versions of TAM can answer:

Can you check to see if the later versions of TAM have any of the following:
Auto Reversing Journal Entries
Automatic Allocations
Reports Scheduling
Can you close with users in the system?

The last version we have any experience with is TAM 10.4.  I had not heard mention of these items being in later version of TAM, but then, I don't pay that much attention to TAM updates anymore.

[Conan_Ward]

Though its all more accounting stuff, so I may be wrong, as far as I know TAM can't do any of that. I know you can't schedule reports and ME still requires users out to initiate for sure.

[Billy Welsh]

While we are early in the process, I am 99% sure that you can schedule reports in Epic.

[Sherry Burrell]

Epic can do all of these accounting items.
JE - check the box to automatically reverse and enter date and month you want it to auto reverse.
Automatic allocations - you can set up multiple allocations if needed  - ex. - split by 3 depts, split by 2 dept, split by # of employees per branch - you set them up as your agency needs.
Reports Scheduling - yes, yes, yes - one of my favorite features!

TAM does have allocations, we used them when we were on TAM.

[Billy Welsh]

@Debbie:  What exactly are they referring to/looking for with "automatic" allocations?

@Sherry:  Do you have an example of a situation where you'd want to auto reverse a JE?  Just curious.  The way I do things I can think of maybe once or twice a year where that might help me.  But of course everybody has their own way of doing things.

[Sherry Burrell]

I have never used the automatic reversing.  However, I know some agencies will enter an estimated bank interest in one month and have it auto reverse and enter the actual interest when they reconcile the bank account.  That's the only example I have been given.    I personally don't enter the interest until I reconcile and I don't care that it's not in the right month - except for December's interest.

[Debbie Fuson]

@Debbie:  What exactly are they referring to/looking for with "automatic" allocations?

In Vision, and as I understand in Epic, you can set up default allocation splits to use. 

For example, when you pay your rent, you probably charge x% to commercial lines, x% to benefits, x% to personal lines, and so forth.  You set those percentages up as an Allocation Entry.  When you pay the rent, you select to "use allocation," pick the defaults you preset, and Vision breaks out your rent between your departments.  You don't have to manually break it out every time you pay it.

Since the audience my accounting manager is speaking to is primarily TAM agencies, we just wanted to confirm that TAM had not received this nifty feature at some point.

[Billy Welsh]

TAM has had that "forever."  Still there in v.10 - see attached from our system.

Epic has it also per Sherry.

[Lancebateman]

TAM:  can "close" (I assume you mean month-end?) with users in system.  Only need to have them out for a few minutes to advance the default accounting month.
Allocations have been in TAM for a long time.
Scheduling of reports is not in TAM (at least yet), the way it is in Vision and Epic.
Reversing a JE - done manually.

[Debbie Fuson]

Thanks, guys!  That's why I asked!