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Pegasus Opera 2 - can't get data into Excel
I've just started a new FD job, and have inherited Pegasus Opera 2 Enterprise accounting and payroll software.My initial impressions are pretty negative. It seems slow, I can't get the TB control accounts to agree to the aged creditors balance, I can't find any way of getting the raw data out of Pegasus into a .csv file or similar, and the reporting is ugly.
Perhaps I just need get to get used to it, as I've been using Sage Line 50 for the past 7 years for an organisation of similar size.
Should I stick with it? Can anyone tell me anything good about it?
AccountingWEB.co.uk 27-Jul-2007
Categories: Any Answers, IT
Times read: 2956
I am currently using Pegasus Opera 2. Our company upgraded from Pegasus Opera about 3 years ago.
Yes I agree Opera can be awkward to use (i.e. having to kick users off the system to do transfers - costings to payroll for instance).
Having a costings system that doesnt match our Nominal system accurately.
But, it does have its plus points:-
Training - most of our users have had no formal training yet have been able to pick it up easily.
To find fields to report of using external tools was very easy.
I use a combination of Crystal Reports and XRL to get the data out into virtually any format we need.
I'll be happy to give people some pointers on how to do this is they wish.
Thanks, Kevin, for the solution to translating the spreadsheet derived from the 'view' routine. The formula did not quite work for me and a work colleague came up with the following (E is the column containing the Opera financial value)
=VALUE((IF(RIGHT(E2,2)="dr",LEFT(E2,SEARCH(" ",E2)-1),CONCATENATE("-",LEFT(E2,SEARCH(" ",E2)-1)))))
This appears to eliminate the need for the second stage of the exercise to get rid of the "dr" or "cr" and converts the text into a value.
That's something well worth mentioning - Opera crashes ALL the time. Importing a journal with another window open? Crash. Network connection cut for a mili-second? Crash. At a crucial moment inputting data and look away for a second? Too late! Crash.
And you want to do two things at once? Fuggedaboudit. Inputting an invoice when a customer rings with a query? Tough. Editing a journal before posting it and need to check an account code? Nope.
You get the picture.....it's like driving a car with a burst tyre - you'll get there, but the journey isn't easy.
I agree with Kevin Carter.
I have a part time FD role with two companies, one using Opera 2, the other an ancient but reliable CS3. Getting on-screen information from the latter is a dream. Cash management in particular gives up to the minute, readable data, instantly.
Yes, Opera has a report writer and there is XRL. But both take time to learn, and one gets better with practice. But in this day and age why should we need expensive bolt-ons, or time consuming learning curves? The software should provide the data simply - it is not rocket science.
And, I do not consider Opera to be stable. Our version crashes too often.
Opera II seems cumbersome to me. It does many of the things we require of it, but so many things could surely be done more simply.
In terms of analysing out transactions, I tend to use the 'View' option under nominal to decide my parameters, and then use the right-click/copy data option to transfer into Excel. I then use the formula =IF(RIGHT(D2,2)="Dr",D2,CONCATENATE("-",D2)) and find/replace to ride the values column of cr and dr text items. This then gives a useful tool to analyse data for year-end files and seems to satisfy the auditors at it has all the information posted in Opera.
Alternatively you can use XRL, and I do have a transaction listing template set up in XRL. One MAJOR complain with XRL, however, is that actual data parameters are year in format 20xx month in format xx, whereas the budget data parameters are previous year and current year, meaning all reports have to be in duplicate copy for the transfer from one year to another.
In conclusion, I don't think Opera II has a long term future, no matter what the sales people tell us (see below)
I inherited an Opera II system just over a year ago & must say I quite like it. It's certainly got its quirks - depending on the module you have to F11 or F12 to view a Purchase Ledger account for example!
XRL has a steep learning curve, but once you've grasped the basics it's a very handy tool to have. Good luck!
Kenneth
I'm a fellow accountant and have been using the software for just under 1 year.
I can pretty much get whatever data I need extracted using the report writer module. It is a bit cumbersome to learn at first. However once you become familar with it then is is quite easy to extract the transactional data from the various database modules.
Any report I need is now based upon a custom designed report I created in
the Report Manager module.
The data can be exported in various formats including Excel. However this is Excel 95 and I believe only covers 17k rows. So if your data lines run longer export as CSV
Good luck
regards
Paul
Thanks for all your comments.
I've recently met with the sales chap from our Pegasus reseller, and feel a little better about Pegasus.
We have XRL already, and I think it will probably enable me to extract the detailed transactional information I require. I'm going to get some training in Pegasus and XRL before I decide to do anything drastic.
I am though still very interested in the experiences of accountants, in practice or industry. I'm sure it's technically possible to do what I want with Pegasus, but how easy is it to actually use?
What would you do for example when there's an urgent need for a one off analysis of a couple of thousand transactions? In Sage I'd just dump all the data into a csv file and do the necessary in Excel. Maybe XRL will be able to do this, but will it do it as quickly and simply as Sage.
I still hope to be converted.
Kenneth
I have been using Opera 2 for a while now, and agree with you. There is no way I have been able to find to extract data in any usable format. It is possible to buy an add on called XRL which enables you to export into Excel but is very expensive. I will be looking to change the accounts package when I update my service management system later in the year.
I was surprised that you have had no response from any other accounants.
Surely someone has used Pegasus Opera 2.
Dear Kenneth
Opera II has a healthy third party developers' network. Client Systems is one of those companies specialising in this activity - we supply CRM, Service Management and Property Management software fully integrated with Opera II - so if we can be of any help in any way, please e-mail me, ring on 01935 862203 or try our web site www.clientsys.co.uk.
Good luck with whichever way you choose to go but I agree with the other comments so far - you should be able to get everything you need from your Opera II system.
Best wishes
Chris Turner
Kenneth,
You should stick at it! You should be able to do everything you need plus more!
We sell, support and train for Pegasus and if additionalhelp is needed please email me.
Regards,
Mark
mhallett@enhanced.co.uk
Hello Kenneth,
I am a Product Specialist at Pegasus Software and was surprised to read about the issues you are experiencing with your inherited Opera II. I would like to have the opportunity to discuss them with you.
Please email me on pipp.king@pegasus.co.uk with your contact details when convenient. I look forward to hearing from you.
