NewViews (original) (raw)

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Accounting software

NewViews Accounting Software
Developer(s) Q.W.Page Associates Inc.
Stable release 2.38.3 (current release) / December 20, 2024
Operating system Microsoft Windows
Type Accounting software
License Proprietary
Website https://newviews.com

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 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.

General structure and approach

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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 totaled 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 totaled to the retained earnings on the balance sheet to reflect this relationship. Total amounts from subsidiary ledgers and schedules can also be totaled 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 the 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.

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 its 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.

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 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.

Version Release Date Main Features Added/Updated
2.38 Dec 2023 Payroll 2024.
2.37 Jul 2023 Upgrades for Mobile Apps, Profit Columns.
2.36 Aug 2022 Maintenance Release.
2.35 Dec 2021 Payroll 2022, Performance Improvements.
2.34 Dec 2019 Payroll 2020, Remote (cloud) Database File Download, in NPH: Wait-list Management and Purchase Orders.
2.33 Oct 2018 Improved Multi-user Error Management, More Flexible Ledger Entries, in NPH: Pets, Parking & Emergency Contacts.
2.32 Feb 2018 Print Detailed Journal Transactions, Additional Tools for the Non-Profit Housing release, Improved Windows Service handling.
2.31 Mar 2017 New Tools for the Non-Profit Housing release.
2.30 Dec 2016 Payroll 2017, Updated Prompt Windows, New User Options, additional EFT functionality.
2.29 Jul 2016 Attachments, Improved Server Performance and Scalability, Server Database Groups
2.28 Apr 2015 Payroll 2015/16, Auto Reconcile, Pre-Authorized Debits, Run as a Windows Service, Auto-Backup, Auto-Update, new User Rights
2.27 Jan 2014 Payroll 2014, Improved Budgeting, Performance Improvements, Custom Standalone Nonprofit Housing / Subsidized Housing edition.
2.26 Jul 2013 Payroll July 2013, User Feature Requests
2.25 Dec 2012 Payroll 2013, Updated Interface, USA Payroll Fringe benefits, new Repair Commands
2.24 Sep 2012 Simpler Interface, New Scripts, Updated 941 Printing Templates
2.23 Aug 2012 Easier/Selectable Window Behavior, Multiple Pick Roots, Payroll 2012, Print MICR code on blank checks, new Accounting Primer
2.22 Dec 2011 Presentation Quality Reports, Payroll 2012, Caseware Export, Improved Access/Audit Information Views
2.21 Aug 2011 Proof Control Tool, Transaction Totalto Graph, Payroll Summer 2011, EHT, WCB, Inventory - units of measure, Back Orders, new Quick Start Guide
2.20 Jan 2011 Payroll 2011, print/e-file T4, T4A, T5 & T5018 slips, updated W2 slips and summary
2.19 Oct 2010 Enhanced Open View, Updated Purchase Journal, new Sum columns
2.18 Sep 2010 Geographic Sales Tax Codes, Sales Codes Aliases, Optional Transaction Reprocessing
2.17 Jun 2010 Allocation Tags, double click, foreign exchange
2.16 Dec 2009 Outgoing email and mail merge, PDF
2.15 Jul 2009 Smaller/faster database, enforcement of unique transaction ref #s
2.14 Mar 2009 Batch printing, discontiguous blocks
2.12 Dec 2008 Back/Forward navigation buttons, bookmarks
2.10 Feb 2008 Sort transactions on account ledgers by order entered
2.08 Apr 2006 Less memory consumption, speed improvements for printing
2.07 Feb 2006 Total to graphs
2.06 Dec 2005 Electronic funds transfer (EFT)
2.00 Apr 2005 Initial release of the multi-user version for Microsoft Windows - object oriented, written in C++, Tcl/Tk and open-source tools
1.41 Jun 1993 Final release of the DOS version - stable code, Y2K compliant
1.13 May 1990 Real time database integrity, new file structure and faster operation
1.10 Feb 1988 Initial release of fully integrated Payroll
1.10 Jun 1987 Data recovery, real-time save to disk, color
1.00 Sep 1985 Initial release of the DOS version, written in Assembler
  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. ^ Lewis, Peter H. (1986-11-11). "PERIPHERALS; 386 MACHINES ALL THE RAGE AT EXHIBITION". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  12. ^ Computer Reseller News, April 1987