Date   : Mon, 12 Mar 1984 12:44:41-PST (Monday)
From   : Rene moore <MOORE.LOSANGEL%IBM@csnet-relay>
Subject: Response to Champion query

In response to the query for information on the CHAMPION accounting system,
based on dBASE runtime package.
 
I have had occasion to evaluate a number of accounting packages over the past
few years.  With all of these I was struck with the varying degree of user-
UNfriendliness, opacity of the documentation, difficulty of setup, and (for
2-floppy systems) the necessity of continually swapping disks.  EXCEPT for
CHAMPION.
 
I recently visited Tianjin University, in Peoples Republic of China, to lecture
on "Desktop Computing for Small Businesses". For this trip, Champion Software
(then Data Base Research) supplied me with a full copy of their system .  My
experience while preparing for the trip, as well as during the lectures/demos
was uniformly positive.
 
The system fits on a SINGLE DSDD disk (we used a Kaypro-4), with all data on
the second disk.  The installation is smooth and well documented.  We never
encountered a single bug or unexplained behavior.  Help is available at any
time with references back to the (large) manual.  For dealers they supply a
"demo setup" procedure which is an excellent introduction to the system.
(probably a user can get this by asking.)
 
The price is a bit steep ($2500, I think), but you can get a full money refund
in 30 days.  (They protect themselves by having the system lock up at 200
transactions unless you input a password, which you only can get by signing
a release of your rights to a refund.)
 
I have not tried it on large masses of data, so I cannot attest to its per-
formance under those conditions.  It is installed on a hard disk and seems
to work like a charm (Kaypro-10).
 
The data structures are obscure/encrypted, but these would not usually be
accessed by the typical user.  For the advanced dBASE user who wants to twiddle
the data, or custom-design reports, They will sell you the file structure info
for $200.
 
All in all, I reccommend this system unconditionally.  By the way, there was a
recent issue of Interface Age which compared a whole bunch of integrated
bookkeeping systems, on a feature-by-feature basis.  Well worth examining if
you are considering spending this kind of money.
 
Rene Moore
President, THE CALCULATING LADY