This page contains some of the more frequently asked questions regarding our software solutions, our history and expertise, and why you should consider ALCiE for your business.

• What is ALCiE?

ALCiE is the name of our Oracle-based ERP/Accounting application software. ALCIE is an acronym for Assets, Liabilities, Capital, Income and Expense. (We humorously refer to these as the "5 major food groups" of Accounting!)

ALCiE is also a registered trademark of ALCiE Integrated Solutions Inc.



• How long has ALCiE been around?

Interestingly enough, ALCiE is documented as having been initially developed in 1971 in the assembler language. From that time till 1987, it evolved with versions in Basic Plus II and COBOL. Since 1988, ALCiE has been developed using 100% Oracle technology.



• How many installations of the Oracle-based ALCiE are there?

In its first year of release, the Oracle-based ALCiE applications were installed in over 100 customer sites, primarily in the United States. Over the years, ALCiE has been installed in hundreds of sites across the United States, Canada, and around the world.



• What size organization do we have to be for it to make sense to use ALCiE?

We cater to small and medium-sized businesses, but practically any size organization could use ALCiE. Our smallest clients are startups, while the largest site to run ALCiE applications has revenues in the billions of dollars.



• When you say that ALCiE is an "open-architecture application", is that the same as "open-source software"?

No, ALCiE is not "open-source software". ALCiE’s core applications are proprietary and belong to ALCiE Integrated Solutions. However, we believe that our customers should have the freedom to develop tools and applications that address their particular business needs, if they so choose. Therefore, we develop ALCiE to be uncomplicated and understandable. Add to that the ability to query and extract data using any number of reporting tools that are ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) compliant, and one can appreciate why ALCiE is an open-architecture application.



• Simply Accounting, Peachtree, Quickbooks or ACCPAC work reasonably well for me. Why should I use ALCiE?

You should be focused on running your business, not running your software – and, more importantly, not worrying that the software affects how you run your business! ALCiE applications are simple and efficient, plus we have the ability to produce best-fit applications for your business. Moreover, ALCiE runs on Oracle, the premier relational database software that is recognized as the leader in database products and is synonymous with robustness and high performance. In other words: no worries.



• I’ve heard that ACCPAC can run on a database such as Oracle, so how is ALCiE different?

ALCiE uses 100% Oracle technology. So, not only is your data reliably stored in an Oracle database, the ALCiE applications are developed with Oracle’s native programming tools. This ensures tight interaction between application and database, which is fundamental to ALCiE’s reputation as a rock-solid product.



• Isn’t Oracle expensive, and doesn’t that make ALCiE expensive?

The answer to this is "No", in more ways than one!

If you were to calculate the total cost of ownership of an ALCiE solution over the life of the system, ALCiE would frequently prove less expensive than many other brand name solutions. The key to ALCiE’s success in this area is the fact that it is a low maintenance system, requiring very little effort to keep it running 365 days a year.

Oracle Corporation has made tremendous strides in lowering the cost of its database product, rivaling the license costs for Microsoft’s SQL Server database. To top it off, Oracle has a database product that is absolutely free of charge, called Oracle Express Edition.

As if that were not enough, ALCiE license costs are frequently lower than the competition’s. But licensing is just one of the important cost components. Remember: You have to consider the total, long-term cost implications when purchasing ERP/Accounting software.



• How is ALCiE priced?

ALCiE is aggressively priced to provide the customer with a cost-effective solution. License costs are calculated as two components: module license costs and user license costs. You may purchase modules and users independently, thus ensuring that you pay only for what you need.



• What do we need to know about Oracle to install and run ALCiE?

Nothing, if you really don’t want to! We can take care of the Oracle database installation and the entire ALCiE installation, if desired, leaving you the simple task of logging into the system when it has all been installed. Also, we provide assistance with regards to the Oracle database, at any time, throughout the life of the system.



• On what platforms can ALCiE be installed?

ALCiE is available in both client/server mode and web-browser mode, whereby the ALCiE applications are installed in a Windows-based environment. The ALCiE database can reside on any {computer hardware / operating system} combination that is currently supported by Oracle.



• Are there any volume or size restrictions with respect to number of users, volume of transactions or data storage?

No. Any number of users and transactions can be accommodated. The ALCiE database can grow as large as the hard drive capacity and the number of hard drives allocated to it. The database size can be increased at any time, without interrupting operations.



• What about migrating data from my older system, interfacing to other special in-house applications, or adding some special functions?

Many of our smaller and medium-size clients have little or no internal technical resources. For these customers, we fulfill the role of an I.T. department and we handle their technical needs. We are geared to be a total solution provider.

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Do you have any more questions? Please feel free to contact us to obtain additional information.