NewViews

NewViews is accounting software that is developed and distributed by Q.W.Page Associates Inc., a privately held company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. NewViews is noted for its integrated, non-modular approach, which enables the total financial cycle to be updated instantly as each transaction is added.[1] It also allows users to customize nearly every aspect of a set of books.[2] This flexibility comes with a trade-off, however, as NewViews is perceived to have a long learning curve,[3] and to require an investment of time and effort to create a customized accounting solution. In a software review published in InfoWorld, NewViews was compared to "going to a tailor and handing him a bolt of cloth and a pair of scissors."[4]

NewViews Accounting Software
Developer(s)Q.W.Page Associates Inc.
Stable release
2.34.4 (current release) / August 13, 2020
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeAccounting software
LicenseProprietary
Websitehttps://newviews.com

History

NewViews was first launched in Canada in September 1985 at the Toronto International Software Show.[5] In November 1986, shortly after its U.S. launch, NewViews was awarded PC Magazine’s Award for Technical Excellence at Comdex in Las Vegas.[6]

NewViews was considered a radical departure from other accounting software programs.[7][8] It was described by some as revolutionary,[9][10] by others as making the dry business of accounting exciting and fun.[11] It dispensed with separate modules (e.g. accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, etc.) and organized accounting documents into an integrated hierarchical structure that was updated in real-time. It also allowed users to view and edit accounting documents in much the same way they could view and edit data on a spreadsheet.[12]

After a lengthy delay, the multi-user version of NewViews (NV2) was released for Microsoft Windows in 2005.

A custom standalone Nonprofit Housing / Subsidized Housing edition was released in 2014. This custom version has additional features specific to Housing such as automatic Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) calculations, Work Order management, Personalized Forms and Notices, etc.

Features

General Structure and Approach

The current NewViews interface is modeled on File Explorer. Accounting data in a set of books is organized in a tree or hierarchical structure called the NewViews Database Explorer. The Database Explorer is used to navigate between four main levels of detail: reports, accounts, transactions and distributions.

NewViews does not rely on accounting modules, as is typical of other accounting software programs. Instead, reporting structure is controlled by the way accounts are totalled on reports (referred to as report arithmetic). An account can total to another account on the same report, or to an account on any other report. The ability to total an account on one report to an account on another report is the foundation of integration in NewViews. For example, the change to retained earnings on the income statement can be totalled to the retained earnings on the balance sheet to reflect this relationship. Total amounts from subsidiary ledgers and schedules can also be totalled directly to controlling accounts on financial statements or other subsidiary reports. In this way, NewViews can be set up to accommodate standard subsidiary ledgers (e.g. accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory, etc.) as well as highly customized reports that are specific to user needs (e.g. reports required for fund accounting in not-for-profit agencies).

Transactions can be added through journals, or directly to account ledgers. When transactions are added directly to account ledger, corresponding journal entry is created automatically. Account totals are updated instantaneously as each transaction is entered, modified or deleted. As each account total is updated, the change ripples forward through the report arithmetic. In this way, the entire set of books is updated in real-time. Historical data for all accounts are retained indefinitely, and can be viewed on a yearly, monthly, quarterly, biweekly, weekly or daily basis.

All changes to a set of books are recorded in an audit trail that is stored within the database; it can be viewed by users with access rights but cannot be modified.

Year End

NewViews tracks transaction activity for each account in real-time. An account's ledger balance can be set as perpetual, periodic or opening in order to retain their history and the books are never closed. Users can set a global edit date range as part of their local account profile to prevent changes to prior fiscal periods. Users can set specific date ranges on the History View of reports in order to obtain snapshots of the accounting activity for any given period.

Payroll

The ability to process Canadian and United States payroll is fully integrated into NewViews, and both can be used in the same set of books at the same time. NewViews payroll supports an unlimited number of employees, and unlimited earnings and deduction categories. Payroll transactions (paychecks/time-cards) and item details of each transaction are treated as standard debits and credits. Direct deposit and electronic filing have been available since the release of version 2.06 in December 2005.

Multi-user

Multi-user communication is through TCP/IP, therefore no proprietary server hardware or software is required. Any computer can function as a NewViews server or workstation as long as it has access to a local area network and/or the internet. The main database file (set of books) can be located on any computer, local, wide area or cloud. A server is simply the NewViews program configured to run as a server and offer access to one or more sets of books. Both workstation and server functionality are included with each NewViews license. Any number of users can work in the same set of books simultaneously; accounts and reports are updated in real-time, even when the books are being accessed remotely.

Milestone Releases
VersionRelease DateMain Features Added/Updated
2.34Dec 2019Payroll 2020, Remote (cloud) Database File Download, in NPH: Wait-list Management and Purchase Orders.
2.33Oct 2018Improved Multi-user Error Management, More Flexible Ledger Entries, in NPH: Pets, Parking & Emergency Contacts.
2.32Feb 2018Print Detailed Journal Transactions, Additional Tools for the Non-Profit Housing release, Improved Windows Service handling.
2.31Mar 2017New Tools for the Non-Profit Housing release.
2.30Dec 2016Payroll 2017, Updated Prompt Windows, New User Options, additional EFT functionality.
2.29Jul 2016Attachments, Improved Server Performance and Scalability, Server Database Groups
2.28Apr 2015Payroll 2015/16, Auto Reconcile, Pre-Authorized Debits, Run as a Windows Service, Auto-Backup, Auto-Update, new User Rights
2.27Jan 2014Payroll 2014, Improved Budgeting, Performance Improvements, Custom Standalone Nonprofit Housing / Subsidized Housing edition.
2.26Jul 2013Payroll July 2013, User Feature Requests
2.25Dec 2012Payroll 2013, Updated Interface, USA Payroll Fringe benefits, new Repair Commands
2.24Sep 2012Simpler Interface, New Scripts, Updated 941 Printing Templates
2.23Aug 2012Easier/Selectable Window Behavior, Multiple Pick Roots, Payroll 2012, Print MICR code on blank checks, new Accounting Primer
2.22Dec 2011Presentation Quality Reports, Payroll 2012, Caseware Export, Improved Access/Audit Information Views
2.21Aug 2011Proof Control Tool, Transaction Totalto Graph, Payroll Summer 2011, EHT, WCB, Inventory - units of measure, Back Orders, new Quick Start Guide
2.20Jan 2011Payroll 2011, print/e-file T4, T4A, T5 & T5018 slips, updated W2 slips and summary
2.19Oct 2010Enhanced Open View, Updated Purchase Journal, new Sum columns
2.18Sep 2010Geographic Sales Tax Codes, Sales Codes Aliases, Optional Transaction Reprocessing
2.17Jun 2010Allocation Tags, double click, foreign exchange
2.16Dec 2009Outgoing email and mail merge, PDF
2.15Jul 2009Smaller/faster database, enforcement of unique transaction ref #s
2.14Mar 2009Batch printing, discontiguous blocks
2.12Dec 2008Back/Forward navigation buttons, bookmarks
2.10Feb 2008Sort transactions on account ledgers by order entered
2.08Apr 2006Less memory consumption, speed improvements for printing
2.07Feb 2006Total to graphs
2.06Dec 2005Electronic funds transfer (EFT)
2.00Apr 2005Initial release of the multi-user version for MS Windows - object oriented, written in C++, Tcl/Tk and open-source tools
1.41Jun 1993Final release of the DOS version - stable code, Y2K compliant
1.13May 1990Real time database integrity, new file structure and faster operation
1.10Feb 1988Initial release of fully integrated Payroll
1.10Jun 1987Data recovery, real-time save to disk, color
1.00Sep 1985Initial release of the DOS version, written in Assembler

See also

References
  1. NewViews Scraps Complexities Used by Most Accounting Packs, Computer Reseller News, April 1987
  2. NewViews: A New Paradigm for Accounting Software, The Price Waterhouse Report, PC Magazine, May 1987
  3. New Approach to Accounting from NewViews, The CPA Software News, June–July 1994
  4. Software Reviews, InfoWorld, March 1987
  5. Computing Canada, October 3, 1985
  6. PC Magazine’s Third Annual Awards for Technical Excellence, Fall Comdex ‘86, https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1167668,00.asp
  7. Desktop Accounting with Newviews, New Accountant, March 1990
  8. New Approach to Accounting from NewViews, The CPA Software News, June–July 1994
  9. Jackpot!, Report on Business Magazine, The Globe and Mail, August 1987
  10. NewViews 1.41: Visual Accounting Pioneer, Accounting Technology, July 1993
  11. Peripherals; 386 Machines All The Rage At ExhibitionScience Article, The New York Times, November 1986, https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/11/science/peripherals-386-machines-all-the-rage-at-exhibition.html
  12. Computer Reseller News, April 1987
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