DENVER, May 21, 2002 — FRx Software Corp., a leading provider of advanced financial reporting, budgeting and planning, and financial analytics applications, announced today that version 6.5 of its FRx® Financial Reporter and FRx Forecaster products have been released. The two flagship product offerings from FRx Software boast several enhanced features, the most significant of which is the products ability to integrate more extensively with one another, providing greater value and benefit to FRx Software customers.
The new versions of FRx Financial Reporter and FRx Forecaster offer additional features to increase the two products usability and compatibility with one another, and with supporting general ledgers. Both versions boast enhanced integration features, meaning that the two high-performance financial applications, together with a supporting general ledger, will enable users to seamlessly access data from the general ledger to begin the budgeting process, build actual vs. budget reports and drill back to data at its source.
Two new features showcase the integration between FRx Financial Reporter and FRx Forecaster. FRx ExpressLink enables users to populate the FRx Forecaster database directly from the general ledger. With FRx ExpressLink, users can consolidate information from the general ledger before populating budget fields, as well as perform periodic updates of segments and balances. FRx DirectLink enables users to prepare reports that compare actual vs. budget data easily because budget data can be accessed directly without moving it back into the general ledger. Users can choose from 12 output options, including OLAP, XML and Microsoft® Excel.
“The release of FRx Financial Reporter and FRx Forecaster Version 6.5 shows our continued commitment to meeting our customers needs by offering easy-to-integrate, powerful financial applications that are highly effective when used in concert,”
said Chris Scherpenseel, president of FRx Software.
“The enhancements that have been made to both FRx Financial Reporter and FRx Forecaster will make it easier than ever for customers to make use of the functions available within the solutions to meet their specific needs.”
The enhanced functionality available in FRx Financial Reporter will help customers improve productivity by streamlining report generation and distribution on the FRx Report Server, increasing options when using the Web, providing support for XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language), enhancing usability of OLAP output, and allowing for more complex currency translation scenarios. Features now available via FRx Financial Reporter include the following:
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FRx Report Server. The FRx Report Server features a new interface and improved functionality that makes it easier to use. With FRx Report Server, users can access the Report Server right from their workstation; immediately see which reports are complete, running and scheduled to run; and start, stop, pause or cancel in-process reports.
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FRx WebView/FRx WebPort. New report printing functionality allows users to not only print reports from within FRx WebView/ FRx WebPort, but to have more options of what to print as well.
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XBRL. Users can create and publish instance documents that comply with the XBRL 1.0 standard, or add XBRL tags to previously existing FRx Financial Reporter report outputs.
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FRx instant!OLAP. FRx instant!OLAP® cubes now support time series dimensionality and OLAP drill-down functionality based on both row and tree hierarchy information to give users even more flexibility in manipulating and analyzing data.
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Currency translation. The new Currency Rate Maintenance Wizard guides users through setting up currency exchange-rate tables, which also can incorporate rate information from the general ledger.
FRx Forecaster 6.5 makes it easy for users to take control of their budgeting and planning processes. Users can now define the input of sets, view models, add account information, and speed plan development and variance analysis, all of which make building and tracking budgets far more efficient than ever before. There is also an improved human resource component, which allows companies to track employees using multiple categories. Features now available via FRx Forecaster include the following:
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FRx ExpressLink. This new application saves time and ensures the accuracy of baseline budgets by populating the FRx Forecaster database directly from the users general ledger. With FRx ExpressLink, users can easily map their general ledger accounts and balances to FRx Forecaster, consolidate information from the general ledger before populating budget fields, and perform periodic updates of segments and balances.
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FRx DirectLink. Preparing reports that compare actual and budget data is easier because of the tight integration between a users general ledger and FRx Forecaster via FRx Financial Reporter. With FRx DirectLink, users can access budget data directly without moving it back into the general ledger, map FRx Forecaster to the general ledger for each unit of the Reporting Tree, and choose from 12 output options, including OLAP, XML and Excel.
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Input screens. Users can define a flexible input screen with up to 100 periods from multiple budget versions and create calculated columns such as variance between plans as a guide for a new plan. A single account row entry screen has been added for users to input and compare the current accounts budget against a baseline.
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Human resources. Users can now add more detailed budgeting data to specific personnel and include more flexibility in designating salaries and bonuses. FRx Forecaster makes it easier than ever to budget employee assets in complex scenarios and view employee information across multiple cost centers for quick determination of time allocation by an individual.
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Benefits. The Benefits screen allows users to define benefits for employees by the budget version.
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Views. Detailed views using the Z to A breakout feature show detailed information for each of the accounts being broken out. Previously, only the summary account displayed details.
Perhaps the most significant enhancement made to the FRx Financial Reporter and FRx Forecaster version 6.5 products is the ease with which the end user can easily integrate the two products with one another and with the organizations general ledger.
Bruce Borquist, treasurer and mission finance team leader of American Baptist International Ministries, has been using FRx Financial Reporter and FRx Forecaster in concert for several months.
“The new FRx Forecaster 6.5 has worked excellently for our organization,”
Borquist said.
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When we first installed the products, we made real progress in seeing how the new features could apply effectively to our needs.
“The clear winner right now seems to me to be the HR module. Thanks to the flexibility and power associated with the products, I think we can actually use FRx Forecaster and FRx Financial Reporter in concert to budget individually for our missionaries without having to resort to our Excel sheets,”
Borquist said.
“With FRx Financial Reporter and FRx Forecaster, I have been able to produce a budget and corresponding financial reporting system that everyone in my organization believes in and supports.”
Randy Johnston, executive vice president and partner of K2 Enterprises, a company that delivers technology consulting services and advice on technology to organizations across every industry, has been working with FRx Software products for several years. In his opinion, FRx Softwares product offerings keep improving.
“I am really excited about the new version of FRx Software products that are coming to market,”
Johnston said.
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FRx Software produces extraordinary products that keep getting better and better with every version the company releases.
“FRx Software has created a new version of software that gives end users more flexibility than other products available on the market. Users now have the ability to mix data formats and integrate information from more sources than before with FRx Financial Reporter, and the budgeting and planning application available through FRx Forecaster is unlike anything I have seen in similar applications on the market. It is powerful, functional and empowering to end users. FRx Software is a great investment for a company to make in its financial health,”
Johnston said.
About FRx Software
Denver-based FRx Software Corp. is the leading provider of advanced financial reporting, budgeting and planning, and financial analytics applications to midmarket and emerging enterprise organizations. Its flagship product, FRx Financial Reporter, is used at over 100,000 sites worldwide, and is the financial reporting standard for midmarket companies. Its newest product, FRx Forecaster, is a robust, browser-based budgeting and planning application that is designed to uniquely address the needs of midmarket organizations. The companys applications enable finance and accounting professionals to streamline processes with ease and generate the financial knowledge necessary to gain a competitive advantage. FRx Software Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions. Additional information about FRx Software can be obtained by calling (800) 379-8733 or visiting the company Web site at http://www.frxsoftware.com/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software any time, any place and on any device.
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