npoacct/ExistingProjects/OpenPetra

Links

Technical

C# [.NET, Mono]
SQL [SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL]

Preliminary evaluation

Started in 2009

Positive

i18n, l10n
Supports server-client deployments as well as standalone deployment.
Actively developed
35 contributors
Well-commented source code
Extensibility is core
Ledger-specific access control, three access levels.
using fixed point arithmetic: System.Decimal data type for all money related variables (changed from Double to Decimal in end of 2010: commit)

Negative

In BETA state, presently used by at least two organizations, one for accounting, one for contact management.

Decreasing Y-O-Y commits

2013-11-13 16:10:00     christiank      joar: I have checked for the source of increased commits in January 2011: It is a mixture of a huge bug-fixing spree and the result of a merge-into-trunk of a Sideline Branch, which then still needed more development

Comments

│15:48:14      christiank [\n]
| In case you or bkuhn want to read up for yourself what OpenPetra will be  │
| covering in its Finance Module when it is completed then you can have a   │
| look at the Petra Finance User Guide                                      │
| (http://www.openpetra.org/en/user-manuals). OpenPetra is based on Petra   │
| in terms of functionality.

Evaluation

Due to the instability of the OpenPetra linux client we cannot continue the evaluations. The linux client has not been a focus of the OpenPetra developers, and as of 2013-11-25 with the provided setup found in it crashes intermittently for various reasons. The preliminary evaluation should therefore be regarded as the most current information.

I will also include the following statement as requested by the OpenPetra developers.

Response from the OpenPetra team:

The Linux client is currently not our focus. We know it isn't working well at present but we believe most problems could be overcome if somebody puts time and effort into it.

Pre-evaluation template evaluations

FundAccounting evaluation

Supports multiple ledgers

2013-11-13 16:09:36     robp    quick reply re: fund accounting (and, to clarify, I'm not a "finance expert" but do have a good understanding of what the finance module in Petra - the percursor to OpenPetra - does)...as Tim points out we need to know from our finance users where Petra falls short of the requirements for fund accounting. Based on my rudimentary understanding of the term, I would think that much of what is needed for fund accounting can be achived with out Cost Centre structu
2013-11-13 16:09:36     robp    re (eg. production of BS and I&E reports on a specific part of the CC structure)

Collaborating evaluation

Possible to have a central application server with multiple ledgers, access control per ledger
Multiple users can work on the same or separate ledgers at the same time

GeneratingReports evaluation

2013-11-13 16:25:25     joar    and then about generating reports: http://npoacct.sfconservancy.org/UseCases/GeneratingReports/, ping robp
2013-11-13 16:26:36     TimIngham       Open Petra generates a lot of different types of reports
2013-11-13 16:27:17     TimIngham       At first it may be difficult to see which are the "standard" accounting ones, but I expect they're there.
2013-11-13 16:27:31     TimIngham       And if they're not, it's certainly our intention to add them.
2013-11-13 16:28:22     christiank      The Finance Module of (Open)Petra is very much written so that it is 'auditor-friendly' AND easy to use.
2013-11-13 16:28:48     christiank      - even for not-trained book-keepers.
2013-11-13 16:29:23     christiank      I mean users who aren't trained accountants, but learn accounting in the organisation on-the-job.
2013-11-13 16:31:57     christiank      joar: Not sure if numbers are important, but a quick check revealed that there are at least 32 Reports in the Finance Module of OpenPetra.
2013-11-13 16:34:30     christiank      joar: It has to be mentioned that OpenPetra is developed as a 'global solution' and hence some terms perhaps esp. in the Finance Module might deviate from US-specific terms.
2013-11-13 16:36:25     christiank      A bookkeeper (read: bkuhn in your case) would need to have a close look at what functionatlity in the Finance Module of OpenPetra does what to find those potential differences.