Macola is a legacy ERP system widely used in manufacturing and distribution companies, featuring BOM, routing, MRP, inventory management, order entry, EDI, and more. Macola also supports payroll, project accounting, CRM, and portals.
Here’s how Macola compares to Acumatica:
| Functionality | Acumatica | Macola |
|---|---|---|
| True cloud (built for public cloud) | ||
| True mobility (supports all devices with no special apps) | ||
| Built using modern technology | ||
| Full function ERP | ||
| Modern APIs for integration | ||
| Customization using industry standard tools | ||
| Upgrade on your schedule | ||
| Flexible licensing options based on customer requirements | ||
| Multiple deployment options | ||
| Scale as you grow | ||
| Superior Return on Investment (ROI) |
Macola started in the 1970s and currently has three versions: Macola Progression, Macola ES, and Macola 10. Macola uses COBOL for its core functions and VBA for the API functionality.
Macola suffers from an old client-server architecture. This problem is made worse by ECi’s acquisition of Macola from Exact in 2018. Specifically, Exact, a Dutch company, wrote much of Macola’s core Accounting and CRM functions. Under ECi’s control, Exact is no longer maintaining these core capabilities within Macola, and ECi is struggling to keep up with needed functionality. The disconnect between ECi and Exact has resulted in several deficiencies in the product:
Acumatica offers multiple deployment options, access to your data anytime, flexible licensing, and no cost for adding users, lowering your company’s TCO.
Acumatica’s dashboards and reporting offer no-code/low-code options to make reporting easy to use and personalize, so everyday users can make data available to external analysis tools, such as Power BI.
We encourage you to know your needs and to ask the hard questions when considering the purchase of any ERP system, not just ours. We believe Acumatica provides the best price/value, performance, functionality, and ease of use of any ERP product available for small- and medium-sized businesses.
And watch this quick (3 minute) demonstration of Acumatica in action.
“True cloud” means all functionality is accessible through the internet using a standard browser without additional software installation on the user’s device. Users can deploy Acumatica on either a public or private cloud. Macola’s architecture requires a client-server setup, so even though Macola can run in the cloud with a web front-end, it is not a true cloud solution.
Out-of-the-box, the entire Acumatica suite can be accessed on the device of your choice. Acumatica will resize every page and every screen to match the display of the device you are using, whether it is a PC, tablet, or phone. Macola does not support true mobile-friendly screens and does not offer a mobile app.
Acumatica is built for the cloud using current web technologies and development tools. Macola is decades old and still leverages older computer architectures and development tools.
Acumatica’s modern API supports easy integration with other cloud applications. Macola only provides limited capabilities through its web services API, and that API is not available across all the Macola products.
Acumatica is highly configurable using industry-standard C# and .NET. Macola can be modified using VBA, but users are limited in what they can customize in the product.
Acumatica’s deployment options include public cloud (like Amazon Web Services), and private cloud (hosting of your choice). Acumatica supports true cloud deployments while Macola does not.
Acumatica offers consumption-based pricing, unlimited users at no extra cost, and robust support and deployment options, significantly reducing the TCO for Acumatica compared to Macola.
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