Denali Business Reviews - Pros & Cons, Ratings & more

NetSuite

Sage Intacct

Striven

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Cougar Mountain Software develops leading on-premise accounting solutions for small to mid-sized businesses.

Denali Business

Linux

Web-based

Windows

In the fast pace world we are in and everyone needing help "now", the turn around time from call to help is minimal. Everyone at Cougar Mt is so dedicated to helping you solve your issue.

The Support Staff is outstanding. Every time I have needed them they have solved the problem or answered my question successfully.

Because we are charged for all support calls, we hesitate to continue to complain, so we're making it work as is. If I had it all to do over again, I would probably look elsewhere.

I like the inventory control the best. I also like the fact that Cougar Mountain has regular updates and that they are always striving to improve their product.

The system is user friendly and pretty easy to navigate. I like that I can add modules at anytime.

They don't include sick time, vacation time, or PTO in their history reports, and frankly I haven't figured out where I can get an accurate reporting of total gross wages or taxable wages.

Customer support always top-notch. Highly recommend it for smaller municipalities who want all the features of a sophisticated fund accounting system at a reasonable cost.

Anything that is wrong with the software, they make you feel it's your fault, or they designed it that way. Customer service feels like it's run by a your worst nightmare of a Cable Company.

Many things just don't work the way they should. Warnings that an invoice is not printed before posting also include any on hold order not printed.

We really like being able to archive reports rather than printing reams. Overall, this software is great.

It is a super value when you see all that it can do. Plus it is not just for mom and pop.

The integration of all of the packages and the easy customization to your needs. I like that you can get as much detail or as little detail as you require on your reports.

I am very unhappy with Cougar Mtn. and the software...things do not balance and know one can tell us why.

Some of the features cost extra money. Poor code requires constant updates and can't able to look back at transactions.

We are just getting ready to go live with Denali, have been practicing on it and it seems very user friendly.

It can run a fairly complex company with ease.

I am  66 years old, and do not possess  all the technical skills of todays youth.    Having said that, I learned Cougar Mt Software 25+ years ago. (when DOS based was the norm)!  Cougar Mt Pro was easy to learn and work with.  The Program writers did a great job with the transitioning into Denali.  The Software is easy to access, understand and maneuver though..The Modules were well thought out and set up.  It gives me what I need for our Accountant and more so.  I'm an extremely cautious person that doesn't go outside the box of what is comfortable for me.  For that reason, I "always" purchase and rely on the Support Contract package offered.   Its worth every penny!   From the girls that take your Support Request, to the Installers of new Updates, the specialist  dealing with customized report needs and I can not forget or say enough good about the Technical personnel!    With 25 years of working with Cougar Mt., I can honestly say the Customer Service Representatives are outstanding!  Everyone is courteous, knowledgeable and focused.   In the fast pace world we are in and everyone needing help "now", the turn around time from call to help is minimal.   Everyone at Cougar Mt is so dedicated to helping you solve your issue!  I am ever so grateful for their support team!  

I am currently using the Denali software, having transitioned over from Cougar Mt Pro

Not as good as CMS Pro but heading in excellent direction

Anything that is wrong with the software, they make you feel it's your fault, or they designed it that way.  
Customer service feels like it's run by a your worst nightmare of a Cable Company.

Many features not right.  My CPA hates the software.

Great for small to mid-size buisenes

Best value in accounting software I have ever seen.

DENALI is a disappointing followup to CMS

We learn something new everyday, their customer service is exceptional

Great for the price, Mostly got it right...

Denali is a great product

The integration of all of the packages and the easy customization to your needs. 
I like that you can get as much detail or as little detail as you require on your reports. The financial statements, trial balances, and audit trails work to assist you in finding any posting errors.  Security (audit trails), customization abilities, training videos, knowledgeable and timely answers to questions/problems. I like the integration of the modules (ie.e purchase order, to inventory, to accounts payable, to general ledger). This speeds up all data entry. We really like being able to archive reports rather than printing reams. Overall, this software is great!

easy customization

20+ Years Of Use, Sorely Disappointed

Examples
1.Purchase Order generated an incorrect back order PO- the quantity on the PO was not what was in the Inventory Master Record. 2.The General Ledger impact report in Edit does not show accurate balances. 3. Interface with UPS Worldship does not work.  4. The daily backup only goes to a Local C Drive on a desktop. 5. Customer Statements have incorrect due dates.  6. Cannot print a Zero Dollar Invoice, but it does process through posting.  7. The percentages over Min and Max do not always work in PO. 8. Cannot modify existing reports as the data fields available are very restricted. 

Plus- Crystal reporting tool works very well and can be used to generate stand alone reports directly from underlying files. System speed is very good. Report output allows for export to excel files. Easy to publish adjusted standard reports. Reprint a posting in GL very helpful.


 Denali is full of Bugs, report information is inaccurate.  Information cannot be trusted

Thanks for your comments.  Your points are acknowledged. We have received a design change request related to PO-generation. Also, you are right about the UPS Worldwide interface. That interface was in CMS Pro (our legacy product) but was never implemented in Denali. There are a couple of points that are unknown to us. These include the issue with the Impact Summary and the issue with the Customer Statement.  We¿ve searched our records for reports of these problems without finding them. We welcome your help in recreating those.   Some of the points align with the expected use of the product. The backup does not have to be saved only to the local C drive, it can be saved to any networked location. Also, zero dollar invoices are not printed as the default in Denali because many (most) customers do not want them to print. (You can print these invoices manually by selecting All as the invoice type to print.)  

We are constantly improving Denali and appreciate your input to the process.

its slow at times and gets very expensive

software

Autumn,

We would love the opportunity to talk with you about the specific issues that you're seeing.  One of our core values is "unparalleled customer success", and we will work tirelessly to ensure that your experience using our Denali software is second to none.

Is there a specific issue that I can address that would improve your experience with Denali? 

Non-Profit, Multi country, Multi currency, multi user installtions

Es un programa es útil para ser implementado en empresas pequeñas y medianas, pero su costo y dificultad de aprender a usarlo pueden llevar a replantarse a adquirir otro producto disponible en el mercado.

Denali Business: Un programa costoso que cumple su trabajo.

Denali Business: An expensive program that gets the job done.

I am very unhappy with Cougar Mtn. and the software...things do not balance and know one can tell us why.
They have messed up our Customer notes and can not fix so now we really have a mess.
When I ask a question, I am told they can not answer that and they don't know why the reports look the way they do???
One report won't even print out with the correct customer address and days have been spent trying to fix it and it wasn't fixed....customer order sheets have the incorrect address or no address


I would never reccommend Cougar Mountain 

Thank you for your feedback. We are certainly sorry that you have experienced these issues.  Our records indicate that we have, on numerous occasions, attempted to recreate the issues you have noted. Thus far we have not been able to successfully identify an issue. We¿ve even used your data but still have not been able to reproduce the errors.  We, unfortunately, see a pattern of customer problems related to the use of our heritage software (CMS Pro) and the new versions of the Windows operating system.  When other customers have experienced these types of issues, we have seen that the upgrade to our newest version of accounting software, Denali, and successful data conversation, has eliminated many of the issues you have described.  We encourage you to investigate upgrading from our older technology to the latest version of Denali accounting software.  

Cougar Mountain Denali is a user-friendly system that offers a wide variety of modules and options. While a little generic in terms of capabilities it should meet the needs of many Small/Medium businesses that don't require advanced capabilities.

Very good solution if you can afford it.

We are using only the PO module of the software.   Before purchasing the software, we shared specific requirements for our PO system, and we either did a poor job of communicating those requirements, or the sales team made promises that the installers couldn't match.  Because we are charged for all support calls, we hesitate to continue to complain, so we're making it work as is.  If I had it all to do over again, I would probably look elsewhere.

Single service user

Thank you for taking the time to post a review and provide your honest assessment. We have reviewed your support logs and believe the corrections to your reported problems were provided to you. If you have yet to implement the latest version of the PO module, please do so. If you still encounter problems, we encourage you to contact us. 

Regarding the use of support: we do bill customers based on their usage of support.  We find this to be a fair method of cost as you literally "pay for what you use" as opposed to a fixed fee pricing structure where you pay for support you might or might not use. 

We are constantly working to improve Denali as well as our customer relationships; we appreciate your input to the process.

Cougar Mountain has excellent customer service and support. They are incredibly responsive and always ready to help and answer any questions. They follow up with you to ensure you are satisfied and don't have any questions. They go above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction. Their software is also incredibly straightforward and easy to use. I work for a non-profit so I purchase Denali with GL, Payroll, AP, Bank Rec and Donor Express management. The different modules correlate incredibly well together allowing the accounting to be super efficient. It was easy to learn and just makes sense. My sales representative went above and beyond to ensure I had everything I needed and was progressing with my installations and training appointments. He checked in with me regularly and truly cared that this software was meeting my needs. The installation techs were very friendly and ensured the software was up and running quickly. My trainer was incredibly helpful and walked me through how to use the program and different modules. He was thorough, responsive and very friendly. I highly recommend Cougar Mountain!    

Amazing

I know that we have an outdated version of your software, but find it to be not user friendly and when you call for help, you are initially put on hold for as much as 45 minutes and then it takes the whole day to get a call back.
When I need help, I need it at the time...
No need to contact us, we are changing software and are about to go live.


Not user friendly

Betty, thank you for posting your feedback.    We certainly can understand the frustration of waiting for support.  We released Denali, our latest and flagship product, many years ago and have concentrated our support staff on meeting the needs of the growing volume of Denali users.  The result has been that the number of staff trained and available to service customers that remain on our heritage product (CMS Pro) has dwindled.  Because there are fewer available staff that know this aging product the result is longer response times for customers that remain on that product.   We are sad to hear that you will be converting to another accounting product but wish you well and good business in the coming years. 

FAYETTE COUNTY HEAD START

Being a user of this software for more than twenty years over all I it

Excellent Payroll System For Our Non Profit!

I've used Cougar Mountain Software for about 25 years.  Their ACT version was an excellent product.  I had to convert to DENALI due to an OS upgrade.  I have never been so disappointed in a Cougar Mountain product.  Their reports are not nearly as robust as their ACT reports, their Payroll doesn't even provide the information you need to reconcile each month, let alone each year.  I've had errors where unbalanced transactions post.  Now, the general ledger and AP reports don't reconcile == and I have so little confidence in this software's reporting accuracy, I don't know where to even begin looking for a difference -- could be anywhere!!  This review is for the 4.1.1 version.  I am told the new version corrects some of the defects -- but they have miles and miles and miles and miles to go to catch up to their ACT version.  At least their technical support people are pleasant.  I've spent so much time on the phone with them, I'm wondering if we're related.

Denali Business Reviews

Suggested alternatives

Pros and cons

61 reviews