The specialists: is a big software package or a slimmer, single-use program the best tool for the job? - Buyers Guide

IT SEEMS this is the age of Big Software. Every time a new program or version comes out, software designers cram more and more features into it.

For example, most word processors not only let you edit documents but also include spelling checkers, grammar checkers, thesauruses, table editors with summation and other simple spreadsheet-type capabilities, drawing tools, page layout features, mail-merge capabilities and more. The latest version of Microsoft Word is so complicated, it took me several weeks just to figure out how to add page numbers. What's a user to do?

Vendors are starting to address the problem in two ways. Some are coming out with products that make it easy to do just one thing. For example, MySoftware Co. has a line of inexpensive (ranging from about $15 to $X0) single-purpose software products that let you create brochures, design labels and stickers, compile a phone book, produce invoices, develop mailing lists, create business cards and more.

Others are developing low-end packages that provide users with the most commonly used features of their high-end counterparts to make the software easier to use. These include packages such as Microsoft Publisher for Windows 95 and Intuit's QuickBooks.

Which is best? It depends on your requirements. The following is a look at comparable low-end and specialty software programs in various application categories.

* GETTING PAID

When it comes to getting paid for your work, you cam either go with a single-purpose product like MyAdvancedInvoices & Estimates ($59.95 list price) or a more multipurpose but still easy-to-use product like QuickBooks 4.0 (available for Windows 95 for $99 or for Macintosh for $119).

MyAdvancedInvoices & Estimates makes it easy to set up a customer list with telephone and fax numbers and billing and shipping information. You can also create a product list by entering the name of the product or service and the unit price, then indicating if it's taxable. The program lets you add customers and products as you're creating the invoice or estimate, and even prompts you to include customer information for a one-time sale--a good idea for future marketing efforts.

To prepare an invoice or estimate, you simply select the customer name and product/service information from drop-down lists; an auto fill feature completes the order. The program automatically computes the total, including taxes and anY prepayment.

QuickBooks does all this too, plus gives you all the functions you'll need to run a small business's accounting department, including general ledger, sales, accounts receivable, accounts payable, checking accounts and payroll. However, while QuickBooks is not difficult to use, it takes some time to learn. For example, it took me a while to learn how to use the subtotals feature. It can also be somewhat tricky to figure out how the data you enter gets integrated between modules.

The choice depends on your needs. If you need a full-featured accounting package, QuickBooks can be an excellent alternative to larger, full featured accounting software packages. However, if you just want to do your invoicing as quickly and simply as possible, you'll be better off with MyAdvancedInvoices.

* MAILING LABELS AND LISTS

There are lots of ways to print labels for addresses, videocassettes and audiocassettes, floppy disks, name badges and so on. You can do them in your database, with spreadsheet macros or in your word processor. But the Avery LabelPro software package makes producing labels easier by setting the information and format up in advance for a wide range of label types.

You can also design three-across-the-page laser-printed labels and control the type font, size and style line by line. You can embed graphical images wherever you like on the label and preview the graphics to see what the labels will look like.

For some mailing features, there is no multipurpose product available. Case in point: mailing list managers. A good single-purpose package, however, is MyProfessionalMailManager for the PC ($129.95 list price).

A mailing list manager lets you print a wide variety of mailing labels that can be formatted with fonts, embedded graphics and so on. It goes several steps further than Avery LabelPro. For instance, it offers database capabilities to help you target your mailing to, say, all customers in Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley and San Francisco, California. (Or you can import pre-selected files from your existing database.) And, most important, it helps you get the best postal rates.

If you use direct mail in your business, doing bulk mailings to keep your costs down is essential. The only way to qualify for serious postal discounts is to presort your mail and encode it using additional U.S. Postal Service (USPS) certified software. For example, by encoding your third-class bulk mail with ZIP + 4 codes and bar codes, you can save nearly 30 percent per piece.

MyProfessionalMailManager works by importing and standardizing records, identifying address components, correcting abbreviations and capitalization, and then placing the components in the order the USPS requires. Once the program has standardized the imported addresses, it adds ZIP + 4 and carrier-route numbers that it determines by consulting a CD-ROM containing every valid U.S. postal address.

A mailing list manager can save you even more money by purging duplicate addresses and marking labels that are undeliverable. With features like that, a mailing list manager is likely to pay for itself in just one or two bulk mailings.

* DESKTOP PUBLISHING

In the desktop publishing arena, the two leading representatives of the single-purpose vs. low-end camp are MyAdvancedBrochures from MySoftware Co. (available for Microsoft Windows 95 or windows 3.1, $79.95 list price) and Microsoft Publisher ($79.95 list price).

MyAdvancedBrochures is essentially a set of hundreds of templates that let you create professional-looking, three-panel brochures on standard letter-sized paper or preprinted brochure paper. The package also comes with basic drawing tools, layout features, clip art, the ability to simultaneously preview both sides of a brochure, a table function and the ability to import text files.

While the single-function simplicity is easy to use, the lack of sophistication of the features can be annoying. You're limited to three-panel brochures, and you can't drag and drop blocks of text for precision positioning.

Offering more flexibility, Microsoft Publisher is a basic page-design package that allows you to create not only brochures but also a wide variety of material, such as letterhead, business cards, newsletters, fliers and other common business documents. Templates and PageWizards make designing your own documents easy.

While MyAdvancedBrochures and Microsoft Publisher products are both easy to use, for a similar price, the multipurpose Microsoft Publisher gives you the ability to produce far more than just brochures.

As these examples show, the choice between a single-purpose package and a multipurpose program depends on your needs, your time and the product's price. If a single-purpose product is less expensive and will let you do a task quickly and easily, more power to you. However, if you're willing to spend a little extra time (and money) learning the features of a multipurpose package, that may be the best bet for you.

Cheryl F. Goldberg is a former editor of PC Magazine and has reported on the computer industry for more than 13 years. Write to her in care of Entrepreneur, 2392 Morse Ave., Irvine, CA 92714. You can also reach her via CompuServe at 70641, 3632 or via MCI Mail at 367-2295.

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