You ship a few hundred books a month, and your invoices live in a word processor, your stock counts live in a spreadsheet, and your royalty statements take a whole weekend. AnyBook Level 5 from Great Rift Software is built to put those jobs in one program made for publishers.
Quick facts
- Product: AnyBook Professional Level 5, part of a seven-level Professional Series
- Current version: 14.45
- Platforms: Windows XP, 7, 8 and 10
- Price: $489 for Level 5
- Trial: shareware. You can download it free and try it with no expiration date, and the menus mark which features belong to which level.
Key features
Scan books straight into an invoice
Level 5 is fully barcode compatible. You scan books into an invoice without typing, and you can print barcodes on invoices. To find an invoice for payment, you scan its barcode and AnyBook displays it.
Print packing slips for multi-package orders
The multi-package feature prints packing slips for orders that need more than one box. It tracks weights, shipping charges and tracking numbers for each package. A final check of package contents runs before the shipment goes out.
See inventory as it changes
Real-time inventory processing gives you up-to-the-second stock information. Back order processing and consignment tracking come from the lower levels, which Level 5 includes.
Send royalty reports by email or move them into a spreadsheet
The new royalty features can produce HTML reports that you attach to an email. They can also move royalty data into Excel or another spreadsheet program.
Import shopping cart orders and issue proforma invoices
AnyBook can work alongside e-commerce software, and shopping cart data can be moved into the program. The proforma invoicing system and the built-in purchase order system are each described as nearly as large as the core program.
Run off-site sales with the Rover Module
The networked version comes with the Rover Module, a separate program. You can use it for sales generated away from the office, to split a business into divisions, or to keep separate accounts.
What you also get from Levels 1 to 4
Level 5 includes everything in the lower levels. That covers invoices, billing statements, returns, sales reports, customer payment records, mailing lists, shipping weight calculation and contact management. It also includes payment and deposit reports, find and replace, currency conversion, telephony features, batch printing, HTML conversion of invoices, and an internal credit card processor. The help system runs over 1,600 pages.
Who it's for
AnyBook is designed for small, medium and self-publishers who sell books and need invoicing, inventory and royalties in one place. Level 5 suits you if you ship with barcodes, send multi-box orders or take in orders from a web shopping cart. If you only need basic invoices, Level 1 is free.
Pros and cons
- Pro: Built for publishers, with returns, consignments and royalties included.
- Pro: Free to try with no expiration, and the levels are compatible, so you can upgrade without losing customer data.
- Pro: Upgrading costs the price difference plus $9.
- Con: It is a Windows-only program.
- Con: Level 5 costs several times more than Levels 1 to 3. Credit card processing is a separate add-on at Levels 4 to 7.
- Con: PC Magazine's older review said it lacked flexible reporting, though the vendor says import, export and email features were added later.
What users say
"The program very accurately targets [small publishers] with a well documented, thorough array of features." (PC Magazine)
FAQs
Can I try Level 5 before paying?
Yes. The trial download has no expiration date. As you run it, the menus mark the features of each level, so you can test several levels.
Can I start at a lower level and upgrade later?
Yes. All levels are compatible, and your customer data carries over. The upgrade cost is the price difference plus $9.
Does it work on a network?
Yes. It runs on Windows-compatible networks, including Windows Server, NT, Novell and peer-to-peer networks. The evaluation version is network enabled so you can check it on your system.
Does it read barcodes?
Yes. Level 5 scans and prints barcodes. A barcode reader is optional hardware for Levels 5 to 7.
System requirements
- Windows XP, 7, 8 or 10
- 32-bit systems: 1 to 2 GB RAM recommended. 64-bit systems: 4 to 8 GB recommended.
- 100 MB of free disk space
- Monitor with at least 1024 x 768 resolution, and a mouse
- Highly recommended: Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet program
- Optional: dial-up modem for telephony, internet connection for credit card processing, barcode reader