Hi there. I've setup a trial account and I've been tinkering
with the site for a couple days now. I'd like to get some
opinions from existing club owners/members. I have four main
areas of interest (there might be more I just haven't
thought about)...in no particular order:

1. Usability -- my candid take on this is that the site
isn't the most user-friendly. I'd give it a 6 on a 10 point
scale. The layout isn't very intutive at all. My question
for the group is -- what other sites did you consider for an
online investment club and how did it compare to bivio in
terms of usability?

2. Functionality -- given my limited knowledge (almost
non-existent) of running an investment club, I'm really not
in a position to comment on the functionality required for a
site to successfully run an online club. But my humble take
is that bivio does provide a lot of functionality. My
question for the group -- are there things missing on bivio?
When you think of something that'd be "great to have" on
bivio, what are those things? And again, how does it compare
with other online club sites you've looked at?

3. Cost -- again, I have no idea how much would be too much.
Bivio seems affordable but again I'm open to hearing your
comments/input.

4. Support/Customer service -- I've emailed them a few times
and always got a very prompt response. So i'll give them
full points on this one.

Thanks for reading...and for your input.

Sameer

Sameer,

We started almost a year ago and I have been very satisfied
with Bivio. I looked at other sites but personally found
them too expensive. Bivio provides me with everything I
need to provide the members with all the different reports
they could want. As far as usability and functionality,
being an accountant obviously helps because I'm happy with
both. But for someone who knows absolutely nothing about
keeping a set of books, I can see how it could be confusing.
And yes, customer service is great. I did have one problem
with some figures that were not being adjusted in one report
to properly reflect my cost basis on a spin off and, though
it took me a few emails to a few different people before
someone understood my problem and could fix it, they did
very promptly and courteously. So, yes, I would recommend
them wholeheartedly.

Samantha Nelton
Premier Investment Group

Sameer Vishwanathan wrote:
> Hi there. I've setup a trial account and I've been tinkering
> with the site for a couple days now. I'd like to get some
> opinions from existing club owners/members. I have four main
> areas of interest (there might be more I just haven't
> thought about)...in no particular order:
>
> 1. Usability -- my candid take on this is that the site
> isn't the most user-friendly. I'd give it a 6 on a 10 point
> scale. The layout isn't very intutive at all. My question
> for the group is -- what other sites did you consider for an
> online investment club and how did it compare to bivio in
> terms of usability?
>
> 2. Functionality -- given my limited knowledge (almost
> non-existent) of running an investment club, I'm really not
> in a position to comment on the functionality required for a
> site to successfully run an online club. But my humble take
> is that bivio does provide a lot of functionality. My
> question for the group -- are there things missing on bivio?
> When you think of something that'd be "great to have" on
> bivio, what are those things? And again, how does it compare
> with other online club sites you've looked at?
>
> 3. Cost -- again, I have no idea how much would be too much.
> Bivio seems affordable but again I'm open to hearing your
> comments/input.
>
> 4. Support/Customer service -- I've emailed them a few times
> and always got a very prompt response. So i'll give them
> full points on this one.
>
> Thanks for reading...and for your input.
>
> Sameer

Hi Sameer,

It's always hard for me to answer these types of emails without sounding
completely biased! <Grin> I just love this program...and the
functions...and the tech support...and the cost!

I joined the bivio family in 2001 when I started the Crow River Investment
Club. I had been in two previous clubs--one didn't work out and I moved
away from the other. Since all my clubs "had been" a member of NAIC, I had
the privilege of using the only other true alternative program, both by hand
and on computer. Believe me when I tell you, bivio was a Godsend. While
NAIC Club Accounting has come a long way, bivio is still far superior.

I would never call unit based accounting intuitive! Therefore, you will
find a slight learning curve on the usability, but I assure you that once
you grasp the basic principles, it's extremely user-friendly. Like anything
else you have to construct from scratch, you need a blueprint. Maybe those
of us who are proficient with the program should construct one. There's a
user's guide, found on the homepage, that will provide the basic
step-by-step start-up for a newbie.

Our club does not use every function available--for example we don't use
AccountSync, although many clubs do. But we do avail ourselves of all the
other features. Most of these are open to the public on our website. Bivio
separates the Accounting area from the Administrative and Communications
areas in order to keep the accounting function completely private. No one
can accidentally get into our books. Not only do we have a wide range of
accounting reports available to us, but we also have benchmark reports. (You
asked about new features we'd like to see. I'd like to add the Wilshire
5000 to this benchmark.)

When a member leaves the club, bivio handles all the complex functions with
the click of ONE Withdrawl button. We can generate a report for the
departing member and still have all the information we need for the IRS.
What a change over hand-based accounting! They also do our federal tax
returns, including the 1065, K-1s and other forms--also with the click of a
button. And I appreciate being able to add the social security numbers to
the K-1s without having to input them into the program.

The Administration section allows us the option to make all or part of our
website private. Our club chose to make our message board and files sections
public, but we have the option of making private individual folders or
files, which we do! Those are not seen by visitors, yet they show up for
registered users.

The Communications section gives us two very important features. First, we
use the message board to communicate about our stocks or other news, and it
lets me attach agendas, minutes or assignments to the messages. The files
section is where we store all the information for our club, and it's also
capable of housing a homepage. If you are interested in this feature,
contact me personally and I'll help you with that.

Now, some clubs go a little overboard on the content of their sites! We're
guilty (and proud of it!). <G> We've added a link to our homepage for live
chats and polls from Network54.com, which pretty much completes our site.
But all this extra glitz is unnecessary to have a well-functioning club. We
simply do it as a labor of love.

There's really nothing else we need here. The tech support people are
fabulous! They monitor the support messages 7 days per week. I've never
gone more than a few short hours without a response, AND...if you need it
sooner than that, you can always post your questions on the Club Cafe board
because many of us have these messages pass through to our personal inboxes.
Another great feature on the Admin page.

As for the cost: The last time I looked, NAIC club accounting was $49 per
year for the program, plus $49 per year for the maintenance support, which
you had to have in order to get the $29 federal tax printer. Bivio is $69
per year, and it includes everything. To put that into perspective, we have
9 members. That comes out to about $7.66 apiece, per year. Even H&R Block
couldn't do our club taxes cheaper than that!

By the way, simplify your life by having only ONE general account. Don't
bother with petty cash or administrative accounts. Run your club like a
business. Dues should come in to the general account. What is not spent on
buying stock will be used to pay for supplies, subscriptions, etc. The
bivio accounting program will keep track of what you spend and where.

So...welcome to our little community. If you have any other questions, just
ask. You will find us very communicative and willing to help.

Best of luck to your new club!

Lynn Ostrem, President
garbagecop@earthlink.net
Crow River Investment Club
www.bivio.com/crowriver

Hi Sameer,

I am the Treasurer of the Moneta Investment Club. We are
relatively new (chartered in September 2005) and Bivio is my
first experience with working with online accounting
systems.

I am not an accountant and have very little personal
experience with systems of this type. I find Bivio to be a
godsend! If it weren't for Bivio, I could not accurately
fullfill my duties.

Concerning usability - like you I do not find everything on
Bivio intuitive, but after a few months of making entries I
became quite comfortable with it. Our Club purchased
Account Sync when we began our stock purchases and I have
the same comment -- it was not intuitive at first, but easy
to use and understand after a few months experience. (Here
I am speaking about editing the Account Sync notices that we
get from time to time, otherwise Account Sync does not
usually need input.)

Functionality -- so far, I have not come across any needs as
Treasurer that Bivio does not address.

Cost -- great price for the package. Our club did a
comparison to NAIC offerings and went with Bivio. It was
especially cost-effective when we considered the inclusion
of the tax reports that Bivio provides.

Support/Customer Service -- I cannot say enough good things
about Bivio here. I think over the past year, I have
emailed Bivio (or posted questions on the Club Cafe) about 5
times. Every response was SAME DAY, and correctly addressed
my concerns. You can't get any better than that! I also
have to praise the Bivio members, like Lynne from the Crow
River Club, who give such great advice that helps us all.

Hope this helps.

Phyllis (Moneta Investment Club)

Sameer Vishwanathan wrote:
> Hi there. I've setup a trial account and I've been tinkering
> with the site for a couple days now. I'd like to get some
> opinions from existing club owners/members. I have four main
> areas of interest (there might be more I just haven't
> thought about)...in no particular order:
>
> 1. Usability -- my candid take on this is that the site
> isn't the most user-friendly. I'd give it a 6 on a 10 point
> scale. The layout isn't very intutive at all. My question
> for the group is -- what other sites did you consider for an
> online investment club and how did it compare to bivio in
> terms of usability?
>
> 2. Functionality -- given my limited knowledge (almost
> non-existent) of running an investment club, I'm really not
> in a position to comment on the functionality required for a
> site to successfully run an online club. But my humble take
> is that bivio does provide a lot of functionality. My
> question for the group -- are there things missing on bivio?
> When you think of something that'd be "great to have" on
> bivio, what are those things? And again, how does it compare
> with other online club sites you've looked at?
>
> 3. Cost -- again, I have no idea how much would be too much.
> Bivio seems affordable but again I'm open to hearing your
> comments/input.
>
> 4. Support/Customer service -- I've emailed them a few times
> and always got a very prompt response. So i'll give them
> full points on this one.
>
> Thanks for reading...and for your input.
>
> Sameer

Samanthan, Lynn and Phyllis:

Wow! Thanks for the detailed input. This is very very
helpful.

I'm also checking out www.myiclub.com to see what they offer
in comparison to bivio. I'm pretty excited to get started!
Thanks again...you guys are great.

Sameer

Sameer Vishwanathan wrote:
> Hi there. I've setup a trial account and I've been tinkering
> with the site for a couple days now. I'd like to get some
> opinions from existing club owners/members. I have four main
> areas of interest (there might be more I just haven't
> thought about)...in no particular order:
>
> 1. Usability -- my candid take on this is that the site
> isn't the most user-friendly. I'd give it a 6 on a 10 point
> scale. The layout isn't very intutive at all. My question
> for the group is -- what other sites did you consider for an
> online investment club and how did it compare to bivio in
> terms of usability?
>
> 2. Functionality -- given my limited knowledge (almost
> non-existent) of running an investment club, I'm really not
> in a position to comment on the functionality required for a
> site to successfully run an online club. But my humble take
> is that bivio does provide a lot of functionality. My
> question for the group -- are there things missing on bivio?
> When you think of something that'd be "great to have" on
> bivio, what are those things? And again, how does it compare
> with other online club sites you've looked at?
>
> 3. Cost -- again, I have no idea how much would be too much.
> Bivio seems affordable but again I'm open to hearing your
> comments/input.
>
> 4. Support/Customer service -- I've emailed them a few times
> and always got a very prompt response. So i'll give them
> full points on this one.
>
> Thanks for reading...and for your input.
>
> Sameer

Lynn,

I'm curious why you don't consider VTSMX (Vanguard Total
Stock Market Index) close enough to the Wilshire 5000?

> I'd like to add the Wilshire 5000
> to this benchmark.

Hi Jim,

> I'm curious why you don't consider VTSMX (Vanguard Total
> Stock Market Index) close enough to the Wilshire 5000?

It probably is. I'm not really proficient in indexes, but I'm always
hearing that the Wilshire 5000 is the best overall index to follow, so I
thought it would be nice to have it. Besides, the Tin Cup Portfolio follows
several indexes, and I'd like to do the same.

Thanks for mention the Manifest portfolio on the Investments page. I never
noticed it before! Must be new. Nice add-on for those of us who follow
Manifest.

Lynn