Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Transaction Processing Systems for Small and Medium-
Size Enterprises (SMEs)
Many software packages provide integrated transaction processing system solutions for small
and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), where small is an enterprise with less than 50 employees
and medium is one with fewer than 250 employees. These systems are typically easy to install,
easy to operate, and have a low total cost of ownership with an initial cost of a few hundred
to a few thousand dollars. Such solutions are highly attractive to firms that have outgrown
their current software but cannot afford a complex, high-end integrated system solution.
Table 9.2 presents some of the dozens of such software solutions available.
Table 9.2
Vendor
Software
Type of TPS Offered
Target Customers
AccuFund
AccuFund
Financial reporting and
accounting
Nonprofit, municipal, and
government organizations
Sample of Integrated TPS
Solutions for SMEs
OpenPro
OpenPro
Complete ERP solution
including financials, supply
chain management,
e-commerce, customer
relationship management,
and retail POS system
Manufacturers, distributors,
and retailers
Financial reporting and
accounting
Manufacturers, professional
services, contractors,
nonprofits, and retailers
Intuit
QuickBooks
Sage
Timberline
Financial reporting,
accounting, and operations
Contractors, real estate
developers, and residential builders
Financial reporting
and accounting
Professional services, banks,
and retailers
Redwing
TurningPoint
The city of Lexington, Kentucky (2006 population 275,000), implemented the Accu-
Fund software and decreased the time to close the topics at the end of each month by as
much as 20 percent and reduced the number of corrections needed to the general ledger. 2
TRANSACTION PROCESSING ACTIVITIES
Along with having common characteristics, all TPSs perform a common set of basic data-
processing activities. TPSs capture and process data that describes fundamental business
transactions. This data is used to update databases and to produce a variety of reports used
by people both within and outside the enterprise. The business data goes through a
transaction processing cycle that includes data collection, data editing, data correction, data
manipulation, data storage, and document production (see Figure 9.4).
transaction processing cycle
The process of data collection, data
editing, data correction, data
manipulation, data storage, and
document production.
Data Collection
Capturing and gathering all data necessary to complete the processing of transactions is called
data collection . In some cases, it can be done manually, such as by collecting handwritten
sales orders or changes to inventory. In other cases, data collection is automated via special
input devices such as scanners, point-of-sale devices, and terminals.
Data collection begins with a transaction (e.g., taking a customer order) and results in
data that serves as input to the TPS. Data should be captured at its source and recorded
accurately in a timely fashion, with minimal manual effort, and in an electronic or digital
form that can be directly entered into the computer. This approach is called source data
automation . An example of source data automation is an automated device at a retail store
that speeds the checkout process—either UPC codes read by a scanner or RFID signals picked
data collection
Capturing and gathering all data
necessary to complete the
processing of transactions.
 
 
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