If you can get me back up and running extremely quickly I want to pay nothing (fallacy of the quick support question)
July 14, 2009
Whether you’re receiving phone support from Schulz Consulting, another consultant or Sage – I believe the worst thing you can do is cancel your MAS90 or MAS 200 phone support contract and pray nothing goes wrong.
I’ll take our own support plan as an example.
Enrollment in an unlimited phone and remote support plan costs you $2,800 per year.
That’s about $250 per month.
We don’t offer pay as you go telephone/remote support (read below for the primary reason).
Shortly we believe you will also have trouble finding a competent consultant who provides support on a pay as you go plan (see below for reason).
The most common argument that we hear against paying for a support plan is the old standby:
We don’t call that much
Ok. I’ll buy that.
When you DO call – how fast do you want expect the response?
Is it helpful that the person can also log in immediately to control your desktop and make changes (with your permission)?
Is one, two or even three day response time acceptable? That’s our estimate of the average “pay as you go” response time.
That’s one, two or three days of your staff staring at blank computer screens. Your staff sitting idle not able to process any computer transactions.
Most consulting firms (Schulz included) reserve their fastest response times for those customers enrolled in a prepaid plan. The reasoning for this is simply – they reserve this time for the clients who’ve prepaid and have indicated a future need for services.
The other common argument we hear against support is:
That was a quick question – don’t bill me
I’m paraphrasing the above but when we used to offer hourly telephone support (which we don’t any longer because all of our clients are on prepaid fixed cost plans) a huge number of clients would call expecting that if their question could be answered quickly that they would not receive a bill.
How insane is that logic?
Let me rephrase the logic of the quick question from a consultant’s perspective:
“If you can get me back up and running extremely quickly I want to pay you nothing”
Just this morning I received a call from a former support customer. Their normal internal staff person who supports their MAS 90 is out sick. They have 5 people unable to process any transactions until a MAS 90 issue is corrected.
Guess why they had cancelled support?
Correct! — they hardly ever needed to call.
Now the owner’s in a situation where his entire staff has to stop working until they can get a MAS 90 error condition corrected.
We are increasingly seeing these types of support issues where a company has cancelled their support due to perceived lack of need.
Guess what they’re discovering?
It’s only a lack of need — until you need it.
At a future point – they suddenly have a need again. And they’re stuck waiting in line for a consultant who offers lower priority hourly support.
We urge you – think twice before giving up your support. If having MAS 90 or MAS 200 shut down in the middle of the day would be a hardship for your company – then you need to be on a support plan with a qualified consulting firm. It’s important to establish these relationships ahead of time because shortly as the market contracts you will see more consulting firms that do not accept “quick question” type support for which they ultimately won’t be compensated.
Sage is # 3 and Microsoft #7 Enterprise Application Vendor according to recent AMR Research Report
July 8, 2009
According to a report ranking Enterprise Application Vendors by Revenue released today by AMR Research, Sage is ranked # 3 behind SAP (#1) and Oracle (#2) in terms of revenue. Microsoft ranked at #7 with $1.308 B of revenues and Salesforce rounds out the top 10 with a little over $1 Billion in revenues.
The full listing is below:
1. SAP ($15.801B)
2. Oracle ($8.559B)
3. Sage Group ($2.408B)
4. Infor ($2.208B)
5. Dassault Systemes ($1.958B)
6. Siemens PLM ($1.405B)
7. Microsoft ($1.308B)
8. Cadence ($1.038B)
9. PTC ($1.037B)
10. salesforce.com ($1.023B)
AMR Research Report Ranks Top 50 Enterprise Application Vendors by Revenue
SAP, Oracle, Sage Group, Infor, and Dassault Systemes Are the Top 5
BOSTON, July 8 /PRNewswire/ — AMR Research, the leading research firm focused on the global supply chain and its supporting technologies, released a report today that sizes the global enterprise applications market. The report lists the top 50 global enterprise application vendors by 2008 revenue. SAP is at the top of the list with $15.8B in application revenue, with Oracle, Sage Group, Infor, and Dassault Systemes completing the top 5.
The top of the list of enterprise application vendors includes:
1. SAP ($15.801B)
2. Oracle ($8.559B)
3. Sage Group ($2.408B)
4. Infor ($2.208B)
5. Dassault Systemes ($1.958B)
6. Siemens PLM ($1.405B)
7. Microsoft ($1.308B)
8. Cadence ($1.038B)
9. PTC ($1.037B)
10. salesforce.com ($1.023B)
The complete of the top 50 enterprise applications vendors is available on AMR Research’s website.
Interestingly, Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, and Java, could wreak havoc on enterprise applications vendors in the future. AMR Research estimates over 60% of enterprise software vendors have applications that rely on Java, including many Oracle competitors, large and small. Of the 50 largest enterprise application companies, 33 offer applications that rely on Java. These companies represent over $38.5 billion, or 77% of the top 50′s 2008 revenue.
“Given the weak macro economic backdrop, the enterprise applications market had a surprisingly solid year in 2008. 2009, however, will be a whole different story,” said Dennis Gaughan, vice president at AMR Research. “Not only will vendors be impacted by the fragile economy, but 33 out of the top 50 vendors will have to reevaluate their commitment to the Java programming language.”
Methodology
To be included in AMR Research’s study, vendors must develop and sell application software products, provide implementation services, and provide software applications in at least one of the following segments: enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, sourcing and procurement (supply management), product lifecycle management, human capital management, and customer relationship management.
Please visit www.amrresearch.com for a full copy of “The Global Enterprise Market Sizing Report, 2008-2013.” If you are a member of the media and are interested in learning more about the report, please contact amrresearch@famapr.com.
About AMR Research:
AMR Research is the world’s leading independent research firm focused on the global supply chain and its supporting technologies. Founded in 1986 and privately held, AMR Research provides subscription advisory services and peer networking opportunities to supply chain, sustainability, and IT executives in the consumer products, life sciences, manufacturing, and retail sectors. To learn more the company’s research and services, visit www.amrresearch.com.
Press Contact:
Kevin Reilly
amrresearch@famapr.com
617-758-4153
Paperless Office file list for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200
June 2, 2009
Here’s a great summary that shows the names of the system files which hold “behind the scenes” information about MAS 90 and MAS 200 Paperless Office.
This information can be useful in diagnosing system level problems or in restoring data files from a backup should you experience problems with Paperless Office.
WARNING: Do not make any changes to these files unless you know what you are doing. Consult a qualified Sage Business Partner for assistance. This information is believed accurate at the time of publication. Use at your own risk. Schulz Consulting takes no responsibility for damage that you may do to your data files.
Accupos for Sage MAS 90 recorded demo
June 1, 2009
Looking for a Point of Sale solution that integrates to your Sage MAS90 or MAS200 accounting software?
Join the newest Endorsed Partner for Sage MAS 90, AccuPOS Point of Sale, and learn about the opportunity available for you to reach into the Point of Sale market without traditional challenges many partners face in the retail sector. Focused on cash and carry retailers and on restaurants, this award winning front end software uses the inventory of Sage MAS 90 allowing you to remain the expert in the product with which you are already familiar. AccuPOS has provided and supported Point of Sale for Sage financial management solution users for over ten years and we are excited to present them as our newest Endorsed Partner.
MAS 90 LinkedIn Group Now Active
May 4, 2009
There is now a LinkedIn group for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 users and consultants to network and exchange ideas.
This unofficial group (it is neither sponsored by Sage or affiliated/endorsed by them) serves as a place for users of MAS 90 and MAS 200 to gather and get connected.
LinkedIn allows you to connect to other members across the country and exchange ideas as well as post your own thoughts to the discussion board. There is also an area to post jobs related items (either looking for a job or seeking someone for a position).
If you’re new to the concept of Social Media and perhaps a little unsure of its benefits, then LinkedIn is a great way to get started. LinkedIn is largely accepted as a business version of Facebook where companies encourage employees to create new contacts and network.
There is no charge to join LinkedIn and just about any topic is open for discussion.
DISCLAIMER: Just in case you missed it in the article above, this MAS90 LinkedIn group is not affiliated, endorsed, sponsored, or monitored by Sage in any way. The group is an independent use of the LinkedIn site to facilitate ease of MAS 90 or MAS 200 user/consultant communication.
Sage offers their own (excellent) Sage MAS Community Forums which provide direct feedback on product technical issues. Their Community forums ARE monitored by Sage and if you have a technical issue that you’d like to address directly to Sage are the most appropriate forum.
Naturally we strongly recommend that any issues first be discussed with your Sage Business Partner.
Link: MAS 90 and MAS 200 Users and Consultants – LinkedIn
Link: Sage MAS Community Forums – Most Recent Messages
Fixed! – Default printer may now be assigned to standard reports and standard form codes after applying MAS 90 service update 23
April 30, 2009
Users of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 may now correctly assign their default Windows printer to standard forms and reports.
This was always an option in the accounting software – however unfortunately it didn’t work (see Sage RES 490593).
As reported in the knowledgebase article (remember this applies only to version 4.2 as the issue was fixed with an upgrade to 4.3 or application of service update 23+ for v4.2
):
Reports should print to the Windows default printer when the standard report setting or form code is selected if the Use workstation default printer for standard report setting and Use Workstation Default Printer for Standard Form Code check boxes are selected.
Link: Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 Service Update 23 for version 4.2
IT Alliance Spring 2009 Conference Begins In Atlanta
April 27, 2009
The Spring 2009 conference hosted by the IT Alliance is happening through Tuesday April 28, 2009 in Atlanta.
The IT Alliance is a group of member firms, consultants and vendors who collaborate to share ideas, best practices and network. A number of technical sessions are hosted throughout the two days and cover topics ranging from Disney World Imagineering to project management and consulting pricing.
I’m on the ground and scheduled to completely bore everyone to tears host a session on Tuesday at 8:15 am on the exciting topic of blogging (Ballroom CDE ).
Last Live Conference Feed (via Qik and this may not be broadcasting constantly)
For more IT Alliance Session Summaries – read on Read more
Sage Insights 2009 Tip: You Do Have A Better Web Strategy Than THIS – Right?
April 23, 2009
Is buying expensive Google Adwords your only web strategy?
I probably should keep my mouth shut and let the competition keep wasting their money.
It’s sad to see companies so lost in a lack of any web strategy that their only apparent online plan is to finance a bunch of random Google AdWords hoping that a big lead randomly lands in their lap.
If you’ve ever tried to sell to a raw Web lead then you know they are almost always using you for a discount, third bid or free advice can be some of the least qualified (and most expensive) types of potential customers.
Of course, done right, a web lead doesn’t have to be difficult to close. Many of them can turn into a $50,000 project. The key is to know the right way to market on the web so as to attract the quality leads – and repel the discount seekers, quick question askers and tire kickers.
Let me ask you this first – because maybe I’m making some incorrect assumptions…
You do have a better strategy than buying Google AdWords – or waiting for someone like a software publisher to deliver free leads to you. Right?
There’s nothing wrong with Google Adwords. They’re a great way to supplement an online strategy.
There’s also nothing wrong with free leads from a software publisher (assuming you can get them). These supplement any marketing strategy quite well.
Notice I’ve used the word “supplement”. It means “in addition to”
What’s your strategy online?
Have you developed any of the new tactics that people are talking about?
- Friendfeed
- Social Media Sites
- Blogging
Or are you still talking with those in your office about how you “don’t get” some of these new tools?
How most of these new uncomfortable marketing tactics are huge wastes of time. You haven’t tried any of them for more than a day – but you’re pretty sure that they’re a waste of time.
Here’s another question.
How are TRADITIONAL marketing efforts such as: Direct Mail, Telemarketing, Lead Buying (Findaccountingsoftware, et al) working for you?
If you have not become involved in other methods of marketing (many of them free) and you are located in the Connecticut area – then I advise and hope that you stay home from the Insights 2009 conference. Insights is expensive and there’s no big announcements expected. The economy is crappy. Stay home and plug away at a more productive marketing activity like telemarketing because if you just put more effort (and a lot more money) into these old school tactics you’ll surely turn better results. If that doesn’t work just buy AdWords against my company name on Google.
For those NOT in Connecticut – the choice is yours.
If you’re interested in some of the new marketing methods (many totally free) that people are using to get business – be sure to attend Beyond The Hype – Social Media Marketing for B2B on Wednesday May 13 from 1:30 to 3:oo pm.
Here’s the Agenda:
The way to reach business decision makers is migrating from traditional marketing efforts to the Web. More and more consumers are researching their next purchases online using search engines and social media sites. This session will explore how you can use social media to grow traffic to your Web site, make real connections, and join the conversations already happening on social networking sites. Find out which social media sites work best for business, how to develop a strategy for success, how to measure your campaign’s effectiveness, and where this rapidly evolving medium may be taking us next.
I’m planning on attending to answer questions that may come up during the session from a Sage Business Partner point of view. Note that I’m not leading this session – but after it’s over I plan to stick around and answer any questions. Unless of course you’re from Connecticut.
Sage Webcast – MAS 90 and MAS 200 Extended Enterprise – Register Now
April 21, 2009
You may now register for a free demo of the Sage Extended Enterprise Suite (both live and pre-recorded are available) directly from our web site.
Extended Enteprise Suite is the latest offering from Sage. It combines Sage MAS 90 or 200 (version 4.3) with SageCRM and SageFAS. These three components are fully integrated to give accounting plus CRM plus fixed asset processing.
While the functionality of the suite is impressive – what’s even moreso is the lower annual maintenance costs. Sage offers two plans which are signficantly lower in ongoing maintenance than what the modules would cost as a standalone.
Sage Extended Enterprise Suite Components
Library Master
Business Insights
Paperless Office
General Ledger
Accounts Payable
Accounts Receivable
Bank Reconciliation
Fixed Assets
FRx Desktop – 1 User
Crystal Reports Designer – 2 user
Inventory Management
Sales Order
Purchase Order
Return Merchandise Authoization
Credit Card Processing by Sage
Bill of Materials
Customer Relationship Management
Custom Office
Visual Integrator
What does Sage EES for MAS 90 or MAS 200 cost?
New product (this is product only – scroll down for maintenance which is additional on the initial sale and is an annually recurring fee):
Sage Extended Enterprise for MAS 90 (max 20 users)
* 1 to 5 users – $ 2,250 each
* 6 to 10 users – $ 2,025 each
* 11 to 15 users – $ 1,823 each
* 16 to 20 users $ 1,640 each
Over 20 users = must use MAS 200
Sage Extended Enterprise for MAS 200
* 1 to 5 users $ 2,500 each
* 6 to 10 users $ 2,250 each
* 11 to 15 users $ 2,025 each
* 16 to 20 users $ 1,823 each
* 21 to 25 users $ 1,640 each
* 26 to 30 users $ 1,476 each
* 31 to 35 users $ 1,329 each
* 36 to 40 users $ 1,196 each
* 41 to 45 users $ 1,076 each
* 46 to 50 users $ 969 each
* 51+ users $ 872 each
Required Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 EES Software Maintenance
EES Maintenance Option #1 – Basic
* 19% of SLP – paid on initial purchase and as recurring fee
* Covers all modules and components (CRM, FAS)
* Includes 3 phone support incidents from Sage
EES Maintenance Option #2 Gold Plus
* Covers all modules and components (CRM,FAS)
* Includes unlimited phone support from Sage
* 25% per year
Maintenance is required in order to obtain any Sage Support, receive future product enhancements, purchase additional users or modules.
Are there upgrade options from regular/standard MAS 90 or MAS 200?
Generally the upgrade options are as follows:
If you have owned Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 since PRIOR to 10/1/2003 then your upgrade fee is:
$ 500 per user (min 5) for MAS 90 to MAS 90 or MAS 200 to MAS 200
$ 1,000 per user for MAS 90 to MAS 200 (min 5)
plus
$ 150 per user maintenance (paid on first year and subsequent years)
If you purchased MAS 90 or MAS 200 AFTER 10/1/03 then the fee is:
$ 500 per user (min 5) for MAS 90 to MAS 90 or MAS 200 to MAS 200
$ 1,000 per user for MAS 90 to MAS 200 (min 5)
plus
Normal maintenance (19% or 25%) as computed on full SLP
Standard Disclaimer Applies Here:
The information on this page is provided as-is. We make every attempt to keep pricing and technical information up-to-date. We however cannot be responsible for changes (either pricing or technical requirements) that are not reflected on this page. The technical informaiton from Sage (product literature, documentation, supported platforms, etc) always take precedence and supersede anything on this page. Consult with your Sage Business Partner prior to making any purchasing decisions. The Sage Extended Enterprise Suite is only capable of the features and functionality described in the manufactufer’s literature and those claims are their own and not those of Schulz Consulting.
Link: Register For A Free Sage EES MAS90 and MAS 200 Demo
Sage Insights Attendees – take your mom to the prom – only $149/night (EXPIRED)
April 18, 2009
[UPDATE 4-20-2009: This deal is dead and no longer available] Are you headed to the Sage Insights 2009 conference which is being held at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville May 11-14, 2009?
If so, and you were planning on being at the hotel early on May 10, be sure you ask for the “Take your mom to the prom” rate.
The hotel is advertising a special rate of $149 per night ($37 per night cheaper than the Insights room rate of $186). This promotion appears to be limited to May 10 – so you probably cannot get the rate for the duration of the conference.
For $149 per night (plus resort fee of $15/night) you get:
- One-night room accommodations including a FREE* upgrade to Atrium Garden view ($65 value)
- Admission to the Mom Prom for mother and son(s) from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
- Admission to the My Heart Belongs To Daddy Dance for father and daughter(s) from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
- Admission to the Family Affair Dance for the entire family from 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
- Each party includes DJ, dance contests, refreshments and lots of fun!
- One souvenir photo per room
- Continental family breakfast on Mother’s Day with a special gift for Mom
- Corsages and boutonnières will be available for purchase
If you call and are able to get the rate for more than May 10, 2009 – be sure to leave a comment!
Via: The Mom Prom and The Family Affair
MAS90 & MAS200 Promotions for Spring 2009 Full Detail
April 2, 2009
Hot off the presses are the following pricing promotions in effect through 6/30/2009. These MAS 90 and MAS 200 specials apply only against product (no discounts are taken off maintenance) and may generally not be combined with other offers.
When looking at any accounting software don’t be fooled into thinking that initial purchase price should be your main consideration. You should be thinking about whether the software will meet your need, if the consultant has adequately assessed your need, and if all the add-ons they’re recommending have been thoroughly researched.
We see an increasing number of companies buying software because of some fancy quarter end sale/promotion or price cut.
That’s fine if you know exactly what your doing. But many times neither the customer or the consultant know (and shouldn’t at least the consultant have an idea?)…
Do your research and talk to users of the software you are considering purchasing. If you’re unable to find people to speak with — that’s your cue to reconsider what you are buying.
MAS90 Spring 2009 MAS200 Promotions
Follow Sage Insights 2009 on Twitter
March 11, 2009
Sage North America has created an official Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/insights09) for their upcoming Insights 2009 reseller conference held May 11-14, 2009 in Nashville TN.
Twitter is a short messaging (maximum of 140 characters) service that allows users to casually communicate with each other – usually in the form of brief updates that tell what the user is doing.
The short message feature is ideal for conferences where it’s often difficult to find people or learn about newly added sessions other users recommend attending.
Search Twitter for Insights 2009 Conference News
If you’re not on Twitter (which is free) – you can still read the messages coming from the conference. There are two methods for doing this – and neither require that you create an account.
The best way to follow the conference is by using this #insights09 Twitter Search link.
The second way you can follow conference news is by viewing the official Sage Insights Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/insights09
Wayne Schulz on Twitter
Schulz Consulting owner Wayne Schulz is on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mas90guru
via: 90 Minds
Twitter hash tag for Insights 2009 is #insights09
March 9, 2009
If you’re attending the Sage Insights 2009 conference in Nashville TN – or just are interested in what is going on during the conference – be sure to check out Twitter.
Hall Web Services has proposed the official “hash tag” of Sage Insights 2009 be #insights09.
A hash tag is nothing more than a short keyword which is preceeded by the # symbol so as to become unique. During large conferences a number of users agree upon a common tag which enables those attending to easily search Twitter messages and see what is happening at the conference.
Those users “Twittering” during the conference are encouraged to use this tag in all of their messages for easier following by those looking to keep up on the conference.
If you’re not a user of Twitter – you still can follow the messages. Simply log into http://search.twitter.com and perform a search for #insights09.
For an explanation of what Twitter is – see this excellent video.
To join Twitter (completely free) – visit http://www.twitter.com and you can view Wayne Schulz’s Twitter stream by following @mas90guru in Twitter.
Search Twitter for all messages related to Sage’s Insights 2009
MAS90 Service Update for 4.30 Released (SU 9)
March 5, 2009
Sage Software have released their service update 9 for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200. These service updates are cumulative and contain all prior fixes. To update your Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 please first make a backup, verify that you have no third party enhancements which may require and update and then download the fix from our link below.
As a general rule of thumb we recommend that if you are NOT experiencing any issues with your Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 that you not install the update UNLESS advised to do so by a competent Sage consultant. Generally we always update to the latest service update prior to calling Sage for any technical support issues because their advise will almost always be to update to the latest release.
We recommend you always work with a competent Sage Business Partner to assist in updating your software. Please always back up your data prior to any major updates.
Link: Download Sage MAS 90 Service Update 9
Sage MAS90 4.3 Service Update 9
Sage Insights Partner Conference Registration Goes Live Today
March 5, 2009
Prepare to register for Insights 2009 today as the official list of educational sessions is slated to go live at noon today. Insights is the annual Sage partner conference which is occurring May 11-14, 2009 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, TN.
You can register online at Sage Insights 2009 Registration and then tell us whether you are attending at the Sage Insights Facebook Event Page.
Payroll Tax Tables for MAS 90 updated (2/27/09)
March 4, 2009
Sage Software have just posted the 2/27/09 electronic version of their MAS90 and MAS200 payroll tax tables. This updated tax table reflects the new federal withholding rates mandated by the latest economic stimulus.
The tax table update will work for versions 3.71 and higher of MAS90 and MAS200 (the same tables work with both). Rate changes for states are also included in this update.
For a complete list of the changes, see the list below. If you are active on a basic Sage maintenance plan you may log in and download the new tables from here.
Tip: The tables will not be mailed to you – they must be downloaded.
Sage 2009 Tax Table Changes 02/27/09
Give Sage feedback on every support case
February 27, 2009
Sage Support will automatically send out a survey form after every phone case. In some instances (such as if you’ve called within the last 30 days) you may not receive a survey to evaluate your satisfaction with the support you just received.
Don’t despair! Now there’s a way for you to provide feedback on any of the cases that you’ve opened at Sage. Best of all you only need the case # and a web browser to create feedback.
Simply visit the Sage Support Survey page where you’ll be prompted for your case number as well as some feedback on how the case was resolved.
Sage Abra Procedure Manuals
February 25, 2009
Sage Abra procedure manuals seem like a great idea to me. The guides document the steps your staff should be following in daily operations. They also serve as an Abra training guide for new employees in your human resources department who may start to use Abra.
End users are constantly asking for “best procedures”. There’s a natural curiosity with most of my customers to compare their current policies with those of similar companies. Using this type of material is a great way to introduce some standardization. Many auditors also request a list of frequently performed procedures as part of the year end audit and these guides can be a huge time saver in satisfying that audit requirement.
When I first started working with Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 back in 1986 at Cole, Frago, Cusick and Chestler we purchased several pre-written training guides and they served as great supplements to the Sage product manuals themselves.
These guides are only sold through your friendly Abra reseller - if you’re interested you’ll have to give them a call.
I’m in the process of asking for a few sample pages from the procedure guides. If I’m able to receive any I’ll be sure to post a copy so you can review them online.
Sage seeking MAS90 Bill of Materials feedback for tentative version 4.4 feature upgrade list
February 15, 2009
Do you use the Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 Bill of Materials module?
If so, Sage would like to invite you to participate in a discussion about the way potential new features are implemented to version 4.4 of Bill of Materials.
This input will be given during a web session. Specifically Sage is seeking people familiar with the MAS90 Bill of Materials Inquiry and Where-Used Inquiry screens.
If you’ve always wanted to be actively involved in developing the next generation of Sage accounting software – this is your opportunity.
For more information, including contact email of the responsible Sage employee, visit the Sage MAS90 Community Forums.
Welcome Jodi Uecker-Rust to Sage – why the Interim Leader title?
February 9, 2009
UPDATE 5-6-2009: As predicted in our original post shown below, Jodi Uecker-Rust was today appointed as President Sage Business Solutions. This is part of a sweeping re-organization that follows a 500 employee workforce reduction on 5-5-2009.
Well respected Great Plains (subsequently Microsoft) veteran Jodi Uecker-Rust has just been announced as the Interim Leader of the Sage North America Business Management Division. This spot was left vacant when Nina Smith departed Sage December 9, 2008.
Jodi is what could be termed a “heavy hitter” in the world of accounting software. She spent her career working first for Great Plains Software and ultimately Microsoft (who acquired Great Plains). For a period of time she was very widely considered to be the # 2 in command behind former Great Plains leader Doug Burgum. Jodi retired early from Microsoft in 2004 to devote time to some non-profit organizations that she was involved in.
Why the “Interim” leader label?
One thing I spotted right away is the label “Interim” in Jodi’s title. This seems to indicate that Jodi’s final position may not be leading the Business Management Division but could in fact be a far bigger position?
There’s no question Jodi has the experience to lead the Sage North America BMD, so the title of Interim seems to indicate that further reorganization might be in the cards.
Also the wording of press release indicates that Jodi “join(s) us in order to continue our transformation in Sage North America”.
If I were forced to make a guess I’d say that the different divisions at Sage may ultimately consolidate in some form. Perhaps Jodi’s task is to eventually lead them. She has enough experience in this area that her expertise and organizational opinion may have been wanted before any potential re-organization happens.
The structure of Sage changed to much more of a divisional setup immediately following the management shakeup in 2007 that saw CEO Ron Verni, CFO Jim Eckstaedt depart.
Another option could be an upcoming round of acquisitions with Jodi ultimately leading a new division or acquired company.
And finally, there could be absolutely nothing to the title.
In any event, welcome to Sage North America Jodi!
Sage MAS 90 and 200 v4.4 new feature slide deck
February 6, 2009
Hot off the presses are these slides that were used at the recent Friday Focus session. The topic was MAS 90 version 4.4 and the content covered all the expected new enhancements in this next release as well as approximate release dates.
For those of you not patient enough to read through all 21 pages:
- Controlled release / beta – begins summer 2009
- Final release target – late 2009
- Modules upgrade: Inventory, Purchase Order, Bill of Materials, Bar Coding
- Major new features: 20 character customer number, 30 character inventory item (special item too) numbers
Here’s the full slide deck that contains quite a few screen shots. Ignore the pithy comment or two in the margins typed by one of my reseller buddies. If you’re up to the challenge of being a beta tester – send email to marissa.sarreal and be sure to add in the @sage.com to the end.
MAS90 Version 4.4 Preview
Want to beta MAS90 4.4?
February 6, 2009
Sage is officially opening up their beta program for customers who would like to volunteer for the initial controlled release of MAS 90 version 4.4.
Target for beta/controlled release to begin: Summer 2009
Requirements to participate in the controlled release/beta:
- No enhancements
- Need for large customer and inventory item numbers
- Desire to implement new features
- Any Sage Partners looking to participate in the beta must have a customer in the program as well
Target Final Release Date: Late 2009
Interested in serving as a beta site?
Send email to marissa.sarreal and be sure to add in the @sage.com to the end.
Sage Payment Solutions integration to MAS90 Recorded Demo
February 6, 2009
Does your business accept credit cards? Are you using Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200? Did you know that Sage offers a free solution that will allow your accounting software (Accounts Receivable and Sales Order) to accept credit cards right within the module.
You can maintain customers credit card data (fully encrypted) and use their card for future purchases. All data entered via credit card is automatically validated with pre-approvals obtained directly from the Sage Payment Services processing bureau.
Interested in how this works? Here’s a quick 5 to 10 minute overview that demonstrates the entire process of accepting credit cards into MAS 90. The video is a little scripted but I think covers all the major points and serves as a good example of how this works within Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200.
Sage FAS 50 and Sage FAS 100 Fixed Asset Pricing
February 5, 2009
Here’s the pricing for Sage FAS 50 and Sage FAS 100 as of February 4, 2009. These are list prices and you should add both the product list price and the maintenance list price to determine a total price.
We recommend Sage FAS 100 single user NETWORK with Report Writer as the basic package to begin with first. If you select the single user FAS 100 be advised that this only works standalone and loading the data onto a network (even if used by only one person) is not supported.
Sage FAS 50 has an asset limit of 1,000, does not support report writing and can only be run standalone.
Former Best Software COO Dave Butler named president of Ticketmaster North America
February 3, 2009
The former COO of Best Softare, Dave Butler, has just been named President of Ticketmaster North America reporting to Sean Moriarty, CEO of Ticketmaster and President of Ticketmaster Entertainment, effective immediately.
In this role, Mr. Butler is responsible for the company’s primary ticketing business in the United States and Canada and will oversee Ticketmaster’s six North American regions. Previously, Mr. Butler was CEO of Ticketmaster Irvine, formerly Paciolan.
About Dave Butler
Dave Butler was an exceptionally popular leader of State of the Art Software which became Best Software and ultimately Sage Software. He joined State of The Art Software in April 1996. From 1993 to 1996, he was with Lawson Software, where he managed offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle and San Francisco producing $21 million in product sales and $10 million in services. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Butler was the regional manager for Bachman Information Services, selling and implementing CASE software tools targeted to the IBM AD/Cycle marketplace.
Prior to his promotion to North American President, Mr. Butler previously served as CEO of Paciolan, a venue ticketing software provider acquired by Ticketmaster in 2008, and prior to that was the Chief Operating Officer of Sage Software. In 2000, he was named one of Accounting Today magazine’s “Most Influential People.” Mr. Butler is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton.
About Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment consists of Ticketmaster and Front Line Management Group. As the world’s leading live entertainment ticketing and marketing company, Ticketmaster connects the world to live entertainment. Ticketmaster operates in 20 global markets, providing ticket sales, ticket resale services, marketing and distribution through www.ticketmaster.com, one of the largest e-commerce sites on the Internet; approximately 6,700 retail outlets; and 19 worldwide call centers. Established in 1976, Ticketmaster serves more than 10,000 clients worldwide across multiple event categories, providing exclusive ticketing services for leading arenas, stadiums, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums, and theaters. In 2007, the company sold more than 141 million tickets valued at over $8.3 billion on behalf of its clients. Ticketmaster Entertainment acquired a controlling interest in Front Line Management Group in October 2008. Founded by Irving Azoff and Howard Kaufman in 2004, Front Line is the world’s leading artist management company, with nearly 200 clients and more than 80 executive managers. Front Line represents a wide range of major artists, including the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Christina Aguilera, Stevie Nicks, Aerosmith, Steely Dan, Chicago, Journey, and Guns N’ Roses. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is headquartered in West Hollywood, California
Find add-ons for Sage MAS 90 and 200 [How To]
February 2, 2009
Have you ever found yourself in a position where you wish Sage MAS 90 or 200 could be “tweaked” just a little bit more to fit the specific needs of your industry?
Finding a qualified developer can be a challenge. You can hire someone who claims to “know” your software and can custom write an enhancement for your company.
The problem with hiring a lone developer is you have no way to know what type of experience they possess. Luckily Sage has solved this problem by creating certification levels.
Sage Certification for Developers
Sage has a stable of development partners who have been certified as either Endorsed, Gold or Silver.
Endorsed Partner: Sage invitation only. These partners are required to meet rigorous strategic, technologic, and integration criteria. Their solutions are handpicked by Sage and marketed aggressively alongside their core solutions.
Gold: The Gold level is a select tier for established development partners who have a closer relationship with Sage. These partners agree to adhere to Sage Best Practices and have one of their solutions certified through an independent testing company.
Sliver: Entry level tier for developers who are new to a particular Sage suite of products.
Solutions are either Endorsed or Certified
Sage has a certification process for differentiating the solutions available for their product line. This certification process includes basic qualify and integration tests with the Sage product line. The different certifications are either Endorsed or Certified.
Endorsed: A Sage Endorsed solution means Sage has put the product through additional paces and QA testing. These solutions carrying the Endorsed label have been classified as strategic to the product they integrate with. These solutions may also sometimes be an integrated component of a Sage solution.
Certified: A solution marked as Certified tells you that it is reliable and developed to the highest standards. Vendors must submit their application to Sage for testing prior to achieving this status.
Sage Partner Solutions
The Sage Partner Solution Source is a web site that lists third party enhancements for a wide variety of Sage products. There are over 12 separate Sage product lines represented on the site:
- Act! by Sage
- Peachtree by Sage
- Sage Accpac ERP
- Sage BusinessVision Accounting
- Sage BusinessWorks Accounting
- Sage MAS 500 ERP
- Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 ERP
- Sage PFW
- Sage PRO ERP
- Sage SalesLogix
- SageCRM
- Simply Accounting by Sage
Link: Sage Partner Solution Source via Bill Kizer, Sage Software Consultant
Taylor Macdonald joins Promethean
January 23, 2009
Taylor Macdonald, the popular former Chief Channel and Strategy Officer for Sage Software and more recently the Worldwide Channel Boss for Deltek has joined interactive learning technology provider Promethean as Vice President of Channels.
Taylor Macdonald will be charged with leading and developing Promethean’s North American sales channel which will involve both resellers and strategic partner agreements.
One of Promethean’s offerings is an Activeclassroom solution designed to help educators by using a whiteboard which integrates with wireless technology. Their ActiveSoftware Inspire Edition creates realistic whiteboard teaching environments which combine full-color video, sound and graphics.
Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 version 4.4 preview web seminar February 6, 2009 1pm EST
January 23, 2009
The latest version of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 version 4.4 will be previewed in a free web seminar on February 6, 2009 at 1pm EST.
The modules which are slated for upgrade are: Inventory, Bill of Materials and Purchase Order.
Join Roberta Vigil, product manager, as she steps through a demonstration of the Sage MAS 90 and 200 new features.
Official Description:
Join us for a preview of the new features and enhancements available in the upcoming version 4.4 release of Sage MAS 90 and 200. Presented by Product Manager Roberta Vigil, this session will provide an overview of the new and improved functionality being introduced through business framework for Inventory Management, Purchase Order, and Bill of Materials planned for release later this year.
Sage Reseller of Record Form
January 12, 2009
The following form is required by Sage Software before Schulz Consulting can:
- Enter in any renewal orders for software maintenance or support maintenance
- Discuss any issues related to Extended Solutions
- Other various items where Sage will only speak to the official Reseller of Record
What is Reseller of Record?
Once you file a Reseller of Record form, Sage Software will change their records to show that Schulz Consulting is handling your account.
- This notifies Sage that it is ok to discuss certain account information with Schulz Consulting as well as allow them to place maintenance renewal orders for your software.
- You may file as many Reseller of Record forms as you like – these change is not permanent.
Schulz Consulting requires new clients to file this form because it generally greatly speeds the process should we need to access information online about your company (maintenance renewal dates, etc).
Act! coming to iPhone soon via Handheld Contact
January 2, 2009
Mike Lazarus of GLComputing has been working extra hard over the holidays and reports that Handheld Contact for iPhone is due out soon.
This add-on for Sage’s Act! contact manager allows for wireless synchronization of Act! Contacts, Calendar Activities, Notes, Histories and more.
They’ve started a mailing list which will provide notifications when the application is available. Sign up on Mike’s site at the link below.
Handheld Contact to put Act! on your iPhone via Life and Times with ACT!
Sage e-Filing help system wrong number
December 19, 2008
Use caution if you’re trying to contact the Aatrix folks with a number that you’ve located in the help file. It appears at least one of the number is out of service (wrong number). I did not exhaustively search all of the help files to see if there were issues in other areas.
The wrong number appeared once I had entered the W-2 edit screen and called up help for W-2 filing.
For the record, the correct Sage Aatrix support number (thanks Roberta) is 701-746-6814.
Here’s a quick video capture if you’re curious where I found this:
Sage Aatrix Help File from Wayne Schulz on Vimeo.
Link: Sage e-Filing Aatrix Portal
Link: Closing the Year In MAS 90 – 2008 Edition (video)
Link: Closing the Year in MAS 90 – 2008 Edition – notes
Link: Official Sage 2008 Year End Closing FAQ
Sage Act! moves from being a strategic CRM product to a value product
December 16, 2008
UPDATE May 2009: There has been a re-organization of roles within Sage which may result in the Sage Act! product line moving out of the Value Business division.
In a blog post dated December 9, 2008, David Van Toor, General Manager for Sage CRM North America announced that he handed over the supervision and management of the Act! product line to Sam Hunter, GM Value Business.
Van Toor presently has North American management responsibility for the Sage North America CRM line which until now have included: Saleslogix, SageCRM and Act!.
The responsibility for the Act! product line will now be transitioned to Sam Hunter as per this announcement which was posted on David Van Toor’s blog at the Sage Community Forum for Act!.
From his blog post:
The past 18 months have been a highlight of my career as I’ve lead the North American operations for the ACT! product line.
I’m proud of my team’s accomplishments in that time, including the creation of this vibrant on-line community, and increasing the value of being an ACT! customer through the ACT! Platinum Care subscription offering.We’ve also seen support hold times reduce, and service levels increase. The global product delivery team delivered ACT! version 11, which many of you have told me is simply “the best ACT! version ever!” ).
As some of you know, I also managed our mid-market solutions of SalesLogix and SageCRM. When we took a look at the level of attention both groups of products could benefit from, we decided I could not do justice to both.
Consequently, effective immediately, I’ll be focused on the North American operations of SalesLogix and SageCRM.
The North American leadership for ACT! will shift to Sam Hunter. Sam is a trusted colleague, and he and I share many management philosophies. I look forward to the benefits his leadership will bring to our staff, and to you, our customers.
This then will be my last post to this community site. This community has become so strategic to Sage that we’ve created a new position to focus exclusively on its development, and I know Sam’s new team will be continuing communications in this forum in an appropriate manner.
Such a transition carries mixed emotions for me. I’m sad to formerly leave a community of customers with whom I have formed strong relationships with, and whom have taught me much about delivering excellent customer experiences. I’ve enjoyed my interactions with you, and these have shaped my view of what it means to present a professional and caring business. I’m also excited to be able to focus my energies on SalesLogix and SageCRM, and drive their growth in today’s uncertain economy.
Should you wish to continue to read blogs by me, I welcome you to www.davidvantoor.com, and to the new blog I’ll be establishing on the soon to be launched SalesLogix customer community.
To all ACT! customers, a sincere thank you for your passion and loyalty.To all of you who’ve I’ve spoken with through this community, a special thank you for you willingness to engage directly in this new, Web 2.0 business world.Should your CRM needs change, I’d love the opportunity to work with you again.
Dave van Toor.
What Does Sage Act! As A Value Product Mean?
On the surface this may appear to be only an offloading of responsibilities from one busy general manager to another. However Sam Hunter is the GM who supervises the Value Business line at Sage North America.
The Value Business line is widely understood to include those products that are not strategic to Sage North America and therefore would not typically be first in line for research and development or marketing resources.
We don’t think this signals that Act! is being downplayed by Sage in any way. It almost certainly will continue to be funded and developed. Rather what is more likely is that instead of receiving further development efforts to integrate Act! to existing Sage ERP systems it will continue as a standalone CRM product sold primarily through resellers and retail.
This transition of Act! from the CRM division to the Value Business may signal a different positioning for the Act! product line and we’ll have to see if there is any official word (other than the blog posting) issued by Sage,
UPDATE: According to Sage – “ACT! is a strategic product for us. Sam Hunter is now responsible for both the Value Business Unit and the ACT! Business Unit.”
UPDATE: Several Act! consultants have pointed out that Sage’s CRM 2010 prominently features the ACT! product line aside Salelogix and SageCRM.They question whether this movement of Act! outside the traditional CRM group points to a change in the integration plans for the three Sage CRM products announced 9 months ago.
As part of this plan (documented in this March 2008 document titled Sage CRM Solutions 2010 Strategy):
A key part of the CRM 2010 technology strategy is to evolve all Sage CRM Solutions products to support integration with other applications using a common CRM integration contract approach. This approach is Web services-based and is independent of any particular implementation. Any service provider or service consumer can implement the contract. This leads to flexible, lightweight, loosely-coupled integrations.
The initial use of the contract integration is for application to application integration — this could be ACT! to Sage 50 Accounts for example. Each application can choose to publish information, as well as consume information. This same system is then used to generate feeds of information from the CRM application so that customers can view information through a standard Web browser or feed reader.
Link: Passing the torch – David Van Toor blog entry on Act! Community site
Sage reports annual earnings
December 3, 2008
Sage have just reported their annual results for the year ended September 2008. You can review the complete details on their investor page.
The parent company reported sales rose 7% overall for the year with an underlying 3% rise in net profie.
The chart at left displays Sage’s depiction of revenue growth. The Sage North America revenues (organic – meaning there are no recent acquistion revenue/loss results added or subtracted) contracted 3% when the Healthcare Division was added to the mix.
There’s more in a handy PDF summary file which I’ve included at the end of this article.
My notes from the PDF:
1% organic growth for Sage North America EXCLUDING Healthcare (which apparently means revenues contracted 4%) when Healthcare revenues are included there is a contraction of 3% (negative growth).
Business Management Division FLAT
- Peachtree FLAT
- Both MAS and Peachtree affected by market conditions
Industry & Specialized – up 3%
- Construction driven by support plan growth
- Non Profit continues to show good growth
Maintenance & Support is 52% of revenues
Launching integrated Software/Support model for Peachtree (I take this to mean support will bundle as is down with QBES)
Sage North America’s revenues breakout as follows:
Business Management – 47%
Industry Specific Solutions – 16%
Sage Healthcare – 28%
Sage Payment – 9%
http://www.investors.sage.com/files/presentation/31571/Final_presentation.pdf
via: ZDNET – Sage results show impact on SMB market
View the complete set of Sage official earnings release information on their site.
90 Minds Consulting Group launches web site
November 29, 2008
90 Minds is a group of consultants representing accounting software packages such as those from Sage, Intuit, Microsoft, SAP, Deltek and more.
This independent association of consultants, of which Schulz Consulting is one of the founding members, numbers over 25 separate companies with 100+ total consultants.
Because this group is not affiliated with any one particular software vendors, it possesses what may be the most unique capabilities of any company nationwide.
Instead of attempting to merge in members from as far away as Hawaii, the 90 Minds Consulting Group decided two years ago to informally structure around a private email list.
As this list popularity grew, the members wanted to have an outlet to advertise their services and membership in the group.
Thus the 90 Minds web site is born.
In the coming months this site will be significantly enhanced to include:
- Member locator
- Skills / product locator
- Contact a member
- Location searches
The site is strucured so that content relevant to all users of ERP Accounting Software will have a place to read bulletins and tips published by some of the most experienced consultants in the United States.
Link: 90Minds.com
Sage MAS 90, 200 and 500: Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Whitepaper
November 25, 2008
Sage just updated their library online with a free white paper that explains how their Sage MAS 90 , MAS 200 and MAS 500 products are compliant with SOX regulations.
The document is quite good and clearly spells out several myths about the act including that using one type of software makes you “SOX compliant” (false) or that any accounting software packages have been certfied SOX compliant (false again).
Here’s an excerpt:
One area that many companies find problematic is if internal systems are fragmented and incompatible. For example, a manufacturer that uses one application for manufacturing operations and another for accounting may find itself exposed to potential control issues. This is because significant manual re-entry is usually needed to pass data (such as inventory valuation) from the operational system to the accounting system. Any lapse in this area will expose an organization to the risk of material inaccuracies.
Sage MAS products offer seamless integration between the inventory system, the manufacturing operations, and the accounting system. As long as Sage MAS security features have been implemented appropriately, there is very limited scope for information to be lost between modules of the system.
Manufacturers are not the only types of organization to be at risk from disparate systems of course. Project-based organizations that use Excel for tracking project performance will be at risk of accounting incorrectly for partially completed projects. Distributors must ensure their inventory levels are recorded accurately so that the accounts can reflect the correct stock valuations. In every case, an integrated system reduces the likelihood of accounting misrepresentation.
Sage MAS 90 version 4.4 update – 64 bit support – confirms Q4 2009 release
November 18, 2008
Live from Sage Summit in Denver Colorado comes this brief Twitter update on the status of Sage MAS 90 version 4.4. Not only have all prior release features been confirmed (expanded fields) but the program will be a 64 bit native release (UPDATE: Sage has since clarified that the program will run in 64 bit environment but the Sage MAS 90 and 200 software itself will not be 64 bit) and time permitting will incorporate some unspecified webservices.
Here’s the full text of the feature announcement live from the Sage MAS 90 and 200 version 4.4 what’s new presentation at Sage Summit.
This new version is slated for delivery in 2009 and has been announced to included expanded field lengths for Inventory Items (30) and Customer Numbers (20). This Twitter posting appears to confirm that those anticipated features will in fact make it to the final release which another Twitter update announces as Q4 2009.
via: Twitter Feed
10 tips to get the most out of Sage Communities
November 18, 2008
Here are some general suggestions that I’ve found will help you get the most out of Sage MAS Community Forums (MAS90 MAS200 MAS500). Feel free to add on to this list.
If you’ve never participated here before – welcome! This is a GREAT way to meet other users (a very frequent request) as well as share in the knowledge (the keyword here is share).
1. Fill out your profile completely.
This allows other users to email you directly if they have information that may not be postable publicly. Often this could be workarounds that are unofficial or maybe some company specific advice that isn’t for everyone’s eyes.
Add your contact information into your standard signature. You can do this by clicking “My Profile” in the upper left corner (when you’re logged in) and then editing the Signature to include your name, company, email and phone.
It has been my experience that including this information does not invite spam, sales calls or other unwanted solicitations. What including the informaiton DOES is allow other users to contact you for private discussion… And this is exactly what the community exists for.
2. If you find the answer yourself to a question you’ve posted – come back and update your message.
Many of us use the community as a knowledgebase of sorts. Having a question that begins with “Do you know why I’m getting error xxxxx when I run on a Dell Laptop” and then is followed by “Never mind I figured it out” is frustrating for users to stumble upon.
What happens is someone else has the exact same question. It’s usually a Saturday/Sunday when offices are closed (but Sage Community is open) — they log onto the site and find the message, a note that it was solved – but NO indication of HOW it was solved.
Please try to always post the resolution to any problem.
There are FAR more people who lurk (read but never post) on this forum. Many of these people will be searching for problems that they are experiencing and will greatly benefit from a complete solution.
3. Don’t abuse the help
Almost all of the people here are running businesses (either as end users or consultants).
They volunteer their time here. Realize that this volunteer time generally doesn’t include testing out error conditions that may impact your company. If you need more extensive help – take it offline and work out an arrangement (or better yet discuss the issue with your Sage Reseller who setup the software).
Many people have phone numbers in their signatures. This is not a free phone support line. I don’t mind helping anyone whose in a bind – and neither do most other consultants or users. This doesn’t mean that you have a new free help line.
4. There’s probably no cure for you being on version 1.20 of MAS 90 or 200 and refusing to upgrade
Sage MAS 90 and 200 are at version 4.3 (as of this writing). If you’re looking for assistance on a very old version – please don’t be upset when the advice is to upgrade. There have been so many operating system advancements (and Sage advancements) that knowing why version 1.2 conflicts with Vista is probably not supportable in the community.
5. Give more than you get – and ask for nothing in return
If you run across a problem that you think the community can benefit from. Post it.
If you have an observation or suggestion post it.
The best Community members are those who regularly post items even when their own system is not in crisis mode.
6. Don’t confuse “Community” with employee
Just because Sage employees and consultants and end users frequent this area – that doesn’t mean they are here 24 x 7 looking for messages.
The Community forums are a tool – - they are not meant to be another full time employee for anyone.They are not a replacement for your support plan.
Don’t expect that this community will replace your support resource internally – because it won’t.
Use the community as a tool.
7. Search before you post
Before you post a problem – search to see if someone else has experienced the issue. My experience is that as Community grows a huge number of issues have been previously asked and answered.
If you post a question and don’t get an answer – you either have not posted it clearly or the problem is one that nobody has seen before.
8. Use the Kudos and Solutions Buttons
The Community Software allows you to send Kudos (thanks) and acknowledge working solutions via buttons on the right side of the screen. The more you use them , the better it will be for the next person. This lets other users know who is helpful in the forum and flags questions as resolved.
9. Tag your posts – be clear in your posts
Always include as much information as possisble in your posts. That will usually get you the most relevant suggestions to solve your problem.
At a minimum include the version number, service update number, circumstances surrounding the issue (new install, upgrade), things you’ve done that didn’t fix it, other odd issues (new applications installed, system crashes, virusses you’re trying to clean).
The Community allows you to enter in tags that can help others searching the messages. Use these tags wherever possible – they’ll help others when they get the same error and try searching.
An example of tagging would be:
If I posted a message “Error 48 line 12345 program POWZBA while updating Return of Goods in version 4.2 SP 20″
I might tag that:
“line 12345″, “powzba”,”sp 20″,”4.20″,”mas90″,”return of goods”, “error 48″
10. Avoid the temptation to rant
It’s easy to fall into the trap of posting all sorts of tyrades against Microsoft, Sage, Intuit, your reseller.
In general you’re better off waiting a day before posting something that does nothing but complain. Instead post the problem and your suggested workaround. People take to that type of message far better than something that offers no solution.
These communities are a great resource. Hope these tips help.
Link: Sage MAS Community Forums
Sage drops software from name – revamps logo and web site
November 17, 2008
At their Summit annual customer conference today, Sage Software shed a little weight by removing Software from the last part of their name and revamping their web site to more closely match the design and layout of corporate parent Sage Group PLC.
This revamping had been rumored for a while with the main question being how radical the new look of the logo would be. While the main Sage site has been redirecting to http://www.sagenorthamerica.com – the remaining Sage sites appear untouched and still carry the former Sage Software logo.
New features added to the site include a pronounced focus on vertical markets with areas such as Customer Management, Financial Management, Healthcare, Inventory Management, Nonprofit, Operational Management, Payment Solutions, People Management and Supplier & Partner Management all receiving separate listings on the site.
In order to sort through the variety of packages available, the site prominently displays a “my solutions” login and recommndation area. Here end users looking for software can store lists of Sage products and make comparisons between differing Sage brands.
Link: Sagenorthamerica.com
Sage Software Twitter Addresses
November 17, 2008
Twitter is a short messaging service that has one objective. It allows you to tell other Twitter users what’s on your mind.
These updates come in the form of 140 character messages that you send either via the web or your phone (SMS text messages can be used to update the service as well as Twitter programs on Smartphones).
Sage Software this week is hosting their Summit Customer Conference in Denver. There are well over 2,000 people attending this conference and with that number of people you can be sure there will be questions and feedback about technical sessions and the conference area as well.
To help address those questions and allow for real time feedback, Sage established their own Twitter account (Update: As Mike Morper of Sage pointed out in the comments – the Twitter feed is specific for those users of the MAS product line). They’ll use this to “listen” to questions and suggestions from those who are at the conference. Use of Twitter by Sage is spearheaded by Mike Morper Senior Director Product Management – MAS.
Here’s all the relevant Twitter addresses that I have of Sage folks. Some of them are more active than others. I encourage you to check out Twitter (it’s free) and participate in the ongoing discussions.
Like anything new, Twitter takes a bit of time to “get the hang of”. So plan on giving it a week or so. Read some of the messages that people send and the when you’re ready participate by posting your own “Tweets”.
Sage Softare Related Twitter Accounts
NOTE: I’m giving broad overviews of what the following folks do at Sage Software. I am positive that I don’t have exact titles correct – however I’m pretty sure I’ve described their overall duties accurately. I’ll update any titles that I find to be incorrect or inaccurate.
Have an addition (or correction) — leave a comment to this article and I’ll be sure to update this list pronto.
Sage Summit Twitter Feed (Official):
http://www.twitter/tellmasteam
Wayne Schulz (Schulz Consulting) – not a Sage employee
http://www.twitter.com/mas90guru
Erika Jelovosek (MAS 90 / 200 Product Manager):
Erika’s been with Sage forever (or at least since I’ve worked with the product starting back in 1986). Probably knows the most complete history of MAS90 and one of the Sage Channel’s “go to” people for questions and suggestions.
http://twitter.com/ebjelovs
Mike Morper – Sr Director Product Management – MAS:
Mike’s managing the MAS product line at Sage. He provided the “Road Ahead” session at this years’ Insights reseller conference and has spearheaded most of the Twitter and Sage Community activity. Read his official Sage Blog here.
http://www.twitter.com/morps
David VanToor:
David oversees the CRM area of Sage Software and is active on Twitter and in a lot of the reseller channel activities.
http://twitter.com/dave_vt
Ed Kless:
Ed delivers lots of new ideas and advice to the Sage Channel. He’s the partner development guy who teaches many of the Bootcamps that teach innovative new business development practices. He’s very heavy on great new ideas and one of Sage’s “secret weapons” that keeps their channel strong.
http://twitter.com/edkless
Alan Bryant:
Alan is the former owner of Macabe Associates who came to Sage Software when the Macabe programming enhancements were acquired by Sage (the company – Macabe Associates – remains an independent consulting form specializing in Sage MAS 90 and 200). Alan oversees the third party development efforts of Sage Software.
http://twitter.com/alanbryant
Do you have additions or corrections to the above? Leave them in the comments below!
Sage MAS Community Forums (Tip): Browse all new messages with one click
November 17, 2008
Have you visited the Sage Software MAS Community forums? This free message board allows for open exchange of questions, suggestions, ideas and tips between fellow users of the MAS products (MAS90/200/500) and other user. Sage Software also has an active presence on the board with long time product manager Erika Jelosovek personally responding to messages.
After visiting the message area I had asked Sage if there was any way to view all of the newest messages on one page. Without this type of access searching for new messages was a tedious combination of clicking back and forth through the various board topics.
Happily I learned that you can view all new messags just by following one link which provides a summarized list of the messages with new activity. By using this you can easily view the newest messages (and those receiving new replies).
To view the latest active messages on the Sage MAS Community Board, follow this link:
http://community.sagemas.com/sagemas/newthreads
IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) – The tip of the iceberg?
November 16, 2008
Have you heard about the International Financial Reporting Standards? These International reporting standards have been relevant to the United States since FASB issued the Norwalk Agreement in 2002 which stated their commitment to rules for universal financial reporting that is accepted across countries.
There are nearly 100 countries requiring or allowing publicly held companies to prepare financial statements using IFRS principles.
In 2005 the European Union required over 12,000 companies listed on an EU-regulated stock exchange to adopt IFRS when they prepare consolidated financial statements. Canada is planning to require IFRS starting in 2011.
Where GAAP and IFRS Differ
The Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board are working to close the gap (pun intended) between IFRS rules and GAAP/IASB rules. Currently the following differences exist:
- IFRS does not permit Last In First Out (LIF) as an inventory costing method
- IFRS uses single-step method for impairment write-downs rather than two-step used by GAAP
- IFRS has a different probability threshhold and measurement objective for contingencies
- IFRS does not permit curing debt covenant violations after year-end
- IFRS guidance regarding revenue recognition is less extensive than GAAP and contains less industry-specific guidance.
When Will This Affect US Companies?
The earliest expected adoption dates for large US public companies to convert financials to IFRS is 2013 which is the year which all major capital markets are expected to operate from one set of accounting standards.
Given the worldwide meltdown of credit markets it’s reasonable to expect that many new rules and regulations will be introduced over the nexte several years. The IFRS may further be updated to address the perceived weaknesses in the existing reporting guidelines.
Mike Morper of Sage Software has a post that addresses how Sage MAS 90 and 200 will be updated to conform to any new reporting guidelines. He provides assurance that the product team at Sage Software is working on making sure the software conforms to any new reporting rules.
via: Mike Morper – IFRS Roadmap coming this week
Sage Software Twitter improves your Sage Summit Customer Conference experience
November 15, 2008
Sage Software just established a Twitter account to collect feedback from those attending their Sage Summit Customer Conference being held November 17-20 in Denver.
Update November 9, 2009: Please see our Sage Twitter List here which contains the most up-to-date list of all Sage Twitter feeds.
By creating a free account on Twitter you can send messages directly to Sage with comments on sessions you’ve attended, inquiries about events that are happening during the conference – or just about anything else.
It appears that Mike Morper will be quarterbacking this even based on the forum posting he originated announcing the Twitter account.
The use of Twitter during Sage Software conference isn’t brand new. We think it’s a great idea and liked it so much that we were the first to use it at the Sage Insights Conference in Washington DC (read the entire twitter stream here) where we posted over 270 updates on sessions and newsworthy items such as the real time announcement of Sage Extended Enterprise for MAS90.
According to a posting in the Sage Software Customer Forum,
It’s important to us that you get as much out of the week at Summit as possible. To that end, we have setup a Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/tellMASteam) so you can provide us real-time thoughts and comments. If you’re confused about something (mixed messages, incomplete info… you name it) or just wanna say you’re having a great time and learning tons, send a post to this Twitter feed and if appropriate, me or one of my Sage MAS colleagues will respond and do our best to steer you (or us!) straight.
As the size of conferences expand, the ability to directly ask questions to the conference host (and other attendees) is a huge benefit.
Never Used Twitter Before?
So you say that you’ve never used Twitter before and aren’t sure what it is? (Check out my Twitter stream here for an example of the types of things people talk about)
Twitter is a way for you to broadcast short (140 character) messages or inquiries. Think of it as an Instant Messenger only instead of talking directly to one person your message goes out to everyone with a Twitter account.
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?
In order to use Twitter you will need one of these things: an internet connection or a mobile phone.
Following someone (such as Sage Software) simply means receiving their Twitter updates. How you receive the updates (on your phone, IM, or just on the web) is up to you. You can set your following preferences based on device, and then set notification preferences for each person you follow. Your followers are those who have elected to receive your twitters.
These messages can be read on:
- The web - at http://www.twitter.com
- BlackBerry – I recommend Twitterberry
- iPhone – I use and love Twittelator Pro
- Other mobile web browsers – m.twitter.com
- Text messaging (read how here)
Because Twitter is a relatively new concept to most corporations – they tend to pay very close attention to the tool in an effort to evaluate its effectiveness.
If you are attending the Summit Conference – create an account and connect with Sage Software with your questions. This is one of the best ways to get personal attention to your very public feedback.
Links:
Follow Wayne Schulz on Twitter
Sage Software Summit Conference Page
Sleeter Group Accounting Software Consulting Conference 2008 Gets Underway
November 11, 2008
Day one of the Sleeter Group’s Accounting Software Consulting Conference 2008 gets underway today. I’m speaking on Thursday with the Sage Software follks about MAS90 and how it’s a next step up for anyone formerly using QuickBooks who may need a little more horsepower in their software.
The picture above is from the Monday Night Football Arizona Cardinals vs San Francisco 49ers football game. The hotel the speakers are staying in is a short 20 minute walk to the stadium -which allowed us to avoid the happy masses of football fans exiting the stadium after the 29 – 24 Cardinals win (I had to look the final score up because I left the game early to get some rest after having been up since 2am traveling to Arizona).
I’ll update the site with relevant keynote information and I will be talking to many of the QuickBooks consultants and vendors who make add ons for QuickBooks products .
If you’re at the conference – here’s my session titled Sage MAS 90 and 200: Easier To Use And More Affordable Than Ever.
Link: Sleeter Consulting Conference Schedule (Nov 11 to 14, 2008)
Sage MAS Community continues to grow members
October 31, 2008
Even though the Sage MAS Community has yet to formally launch, there are already an impressive number of members signed up to the service.
Most of these are Sage Software employees – which is perhaps the most impressive portion of the current user count.
Based on a quick early morning count (as of 10-31-2008) the forum shows 112 members broken down as:
- Total Members: 112
- Administrators: 8
- Members with Sage “badges”: 69
- Non-Sage identified members: 42
The image below is a partial publicly available list of forum members. Notice the heavy presence of the green Sage badge which formally identifies the user a Sage Software employee.
These employees likely had to sign up on their own and the extent of those who have done so seems to show a big push by Sage to make this new discussion forum a success.
Messages left late last night in the new forum seem to indicate that the previous SageTalk forum will be slowly wound down with members encouraged to migrate to this new forum. There does not appear to be any plans to migrate the old message database from SageTalk to the new forums.
Sign up for the new Sage MAS Community by visiting the site here. At present (and hopefully for the future) reading messages posted to the site is not password protected – though you will have to create an account to leave a message.
Sage Software has indicated that they intend to leave the access this way which is a change from their previous forum (SageTalk) that required members to log in first to the Sage Software technical support area and then again into SageTalk.
Sage Tip: Get alerts when new messages are posted to Sage MAS 90 message board
October 29, 2008
One of the most convenient ways to read content on the Internet is via the use of RSS feeds. With an RSS feed you can quickly skim the titles of different articles that have been published online. Most sites – including the new Sage Software Message Boards – support the use of RSS feeds.
For those of you who may be more casual users of the Internet or who don’t want to log onto an RSS reader to check messages – here’s an interesting solution that I’ve been using for the past three months.
The service is called Pingie. It’s presently free and in beta with a limitation of 5 different feeds that may be added to each individual account.
What Pingie does is watch your RSS feeds and send out an alert each time the feed is updated.
This is useful for times when you would like to know that a new message has been posted into a specific forum without having to constantly log into the site and view the list of new messages on your computer.
Here’s an example of how to setup the Core Financial Message Board in Pingie so that every time someone posts a new message (or reply) you will get a notification.
Note: These notifications can be sent to either your email address or to a cell phone via SMS.
Link: Pingie
How to read the new Sage MAS90 Discussion Forums via RSS
October 28, 2008
One of the best new features of the Sage MAS90 Discussion forum is the ability to read all of the messages in an abbreviated format known as RSS.
Click on the image to the left to see an example of my RSS feeds (as shown in Google Reader) that I use to keep up with technology. Notice that only the headlines of each article are shown.
RSS stands for Really Simply Syndication. In it’s most basic form what it means is that instead of reading the lengthy articles (message posts) you can use a special type of software to read the headlines. When you find a headline that is of interest you can click to read the entire article. (Read more about RSS at Wikipedia)
Fortunately you don’t even need to load any special software (although there are dedicated software RSS feed readers). Google has a free reader that is very popular both because it is simple to use and can be accessed via any web browser.
To setup your Google Reader account:
- Log into the Google site via http://www.google.com/reader.
- If you don’t already have a Google account, you’ll be prompted to create one.
- Once you’ve created a Google account, click on any of the links below (I’d recommend adding them all) to have the RSS feeds from the new Sage Software MAS 90 Discussion Forum automatically added to your Google Reader.
A list of the Sage MAS 90 RSS feeds are as follows:
(After you’ve setup Google Reader – clicking any of the links below will add them to your feeds so they can be read at any time)
Distribution, Manufacturing & Internet Modules
Customer Relationship Management
Unique Business Challenges and General Discussion
Personalization, Customization & Productivity Tools
Technical and Installation Discussions
Time Tracking & Job Costing Modules
Sage Software soft launches new message board community
October 28, 2008
Sage Software has soft launched a new messaging forum which appears designed to replace or substantially duplicate their existing SageTalk forums.
This area, powered by the Lithium online community software, has separate areas for each of the SAGEMAS products – Sage MAS 90 and 200, Sage MAS 500 and Extended Enterprise Suite.
One of the huge improvements to the discussion area is the ability to read the forum messages without logging in or registering for a user ID (previously the SageTalk messaging system required a login in order to view messages).
The new message board also includes RSS feeds so that you can preview messages in your favorite RSS reader (I strongly recommend Google Reader).
A list of the Sage MAS 90 RSS feeds is as follows:
Distribution, Manufacturing & Internet Modules
Customer Relationship Management
Unique Business Challenges and General Discussion
Personalization, Customization & Productivity Tools
Technical and Installation Discussions
Time Tracking & Job Costing Modules
At present there is at least one private community that is also hosted, the Sage MAS 90 and 200 Developer Community. Access to this area appears to be by special request only.
Sage corporate blogs will also be housed within this community. Interestingly it appears that most (if not all) of the communication will take place behind a password protected entrance – meaning the general public won’t be able to read the information without a login and password and what goes on in the forums and blogs will likely not be indexed by Internet search engines such as Google. Update: It appears that you can indeed access this site to read messages and blogs without logging in.
For this initial soft launch there was no requirement to enter a Sage Software customer or reseller ID (as was the case with SageTalk). There’s also no confirmation on what may happen to the SageTalk discussion forum which largely duplicates the mission of the new Sage MAS community.
The mission of this community is to enable all Sage MAS ERP customers to share, learn, and support each other on a broad spectrum of issues and interests. While Sage’s intent is for customers to network, form connections and share useful information, our North American Support team does monitor the site and may periodically respond to unanswered technical posts. Should you require an immediate response to technical issues, we have a variety of support options.
The MAS 90 and MAS 200 community are:
Sage MAS 90 and 200 Discussion Forum
- Core Financial Modules
- Distribution, Manufacturing and Internet Modules
- Customer Relationship Management
- Unique Business Challenges and General Discussion
- Personalization, Customization and Productivity Tools
- Technical and Installation Discussions
- Time Tracking and Job Cost Modules
Extended Enterprise Suite Discussion Forum
- General Discussion
Sage MAS 90 and 200 Blogs
- Alok Tyagi (VP of R&D)
- Mike Morper (Sr Director of Product Management – Sage MAS product lines)
News and Fast Tips
- News
- Fast Tips
For now registration for the community is free and access is instant. It is not known whether in the future this forum will require entry of your Sage Software customer or reseller number to further authenticate you and issue a user login.
Link: Visit Sage MAS Community
Sage Software Maintenance and Support Plan Video Online
October 22, 2008
Looking for a MAS90 phone support plan? Here’s an overview video from Sage Sage Software that tries to sell you on the benefit of their phone and basic maintenance plans.
This raises an interesting question about vendor help desk support and the support offered by a local experienced consultant.
Should your company use a local source of support? Or should you contract with a software vendor’s help desk to answer all of your accounting software technical questions?
Here are my summarized thoughts (feel free to take issue with any or all of them in the comments):
Use vendor support If:
- You don’t want to interact with local consultants.
- You have very routine support requests that are more often resolved by looking in a knowledgebase and reading the results off the screen.
- You are ok dealing with a help desk employee who may not have ever installed a live MAS 90 or MAS 200 system (vendors don’t like to admit this but a high percentage of their help desk employees may not have ever worked in the field setting up the software).
- You don’t mind handling emergencies on your own with phone guidance.
- You don’t mind tracking and following up with reported issues and installing your own software patches.
- You are comfortable installing MAS 90 or MAS 200 on your own (may be needed in some support situations).
Consider A Local Consultant If:
- You don’t want to pay twice (once for phone and again if on-site service is needed).
- You prefer not to debug issues yourself.
- You want to deal with a consultant who has installed MAS90 in a live environment.
- You actively seek out second opinions and recommendations versus a reactive help desk.
- You want in-depth recommendations versus help desk support.
- You want references for different issues you are dealing with.
- You want to tap into a local consultant’s network of fellow consultants (for example we have 20+ consultants who do nothing but MAS90 and have joined in a formal alliance to support our clients)
These items that I’ve listed above are general in nature. Not every item applies in every situation. Use the list as a starting point in making your own decision.
I am biased in preparing this list as we offer phone support at the same price point as Sage Software. Therefore I recommend that you take all of the items here with a large grain of salt and make your own decisions about where to obtain phone support for Sage MAS 90 and 200.
Link: Sage Software Support Video
QuickBooks vs MAS 90 comparison guide now available
October 20, 2008
Outgrowing QuickBooks?
Thinking about switching to Sage MAS 90 or Sage MAS 200?
Unsure about what the differences between the products are and whether you’ll get enough of a benefit from making the move from Intuit’s Quickbooks software to MAS 90? Then take a look at this new 86 page QuickBooks vs MAS90 document that goes into depth about the differences between these two products.
Here’ a quick breakdown of the included chapters:
- Chapter 1 – Introduction
- Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
- Retail Limitations vs. Value Added Reseller Consulting
- Integration
- Customization
- Enhanced User Interface
- Flexibility to Add Modules as You Grow
- Core Accounting
- Distribution
- Manufacturing
- Resource and Project Management
- Business Intelligence and Customization
- Customer Relationship Management
- Business Management Applications
- Add Users as You Need Them
- Feature Comparisons
- Available Modules
- System Options
- Accounts Receivable
- Accounts Payable
- General Ledger
- Inventory
- Sales Order
- Purchase Order
- Payroll
- Customizer
- Bar Code
- Job Cost
- Visual Integrator
- Workflow Differences
- Real-Time and Batch Processing
- Cash Basis vs. Accrual Accounting
- Audit Trail
- Adding Customers and Vendors
- Working in More Than One Company
- Memorized Transactions vs. “Copy From”
- Data Entry
- Navigation
- Viewing and Editing Open Sales Orders and Quotes
- Inventory Costing
- Functionality That’s the Right Fit
- Alerts vs. Business Alerts
- QuickBooks Welcome Window vs. Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users
- Business Insights Dashboard
- Conversion Specialist Program
- Training Requirements
- Before You Begin the Conversion Process
- What Is Data Migrator?
- What Data Can Data Migrator Convert?
- Which Versions of QuickBooks Data Will Data Migrator Convert?
- What Does the Migration Process Entail?
- Printing QuickBooks Reports Before Migration
- Data Migrator Checklists
- QuickBooks Data Migration Checklist
- Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users Pre-Data Conversion
Checklist - Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users Post-Data Conversion
Checklist - Data Integrity
- Time Expectations
- Downtime
- Implementation
- Training
- Tutorials
- Anytime Learning and Instructor-Led Training
- Authorized Training Centers (ATCs)
- Certified Trainers (CTs)
- Business Partner Training
- Support
- Certified Support Specialists
- Certified Support Centers
- Sage Software Support Plans
- Conclusion
Chapter 2 – Price Value
Chapter 3 — Feature and Workflow Comparison
Chapter 4 — Conversion Expectations
Chapter 5 — How to Get the Most Out of Your Software
From the guide:
What are Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)?
GAAP is a widely accepted set of rules, conventions, standards, and
procedures for reporting financial information that are established by
the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Sage MAS90
Special Edition for QuickBooks Users adheres closely to these
important industry guidelines.For example:
In Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users, a user
cannot change or delete posted transactions without an audit trail.
With an audit trail of changes to posted transactions, you will
maintain a clean general ledger that will make your accountant
and the IRS much happier!QuickBooks allows you to use either cash-basis or accrual-basis
accounting methods. Cash-basis accounting does not follow
GAAP. Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users uses
accrual-basis accounting, which closely follows GAAP.
Although this guide has been designed by Sage Software (developers of Sage MAS 90 and 200) and can understandably be considered a little biased toward their product – it still contains lots of helpful information.
Whenever I review a vendor provided guide such as this I will use it as a starting point. If you can get even one question from it to ask about a prospective new accounting system then it is worth it.
Even though this guide is designed by Sage Software, there is an unusual amount of fact checking that happens before it is published.
For example, there are plenty of charts like this which compare and contrast the available features in QuickBooks and MAS 90.
The guide is available now through your friendly local Sage Business Partner. If you don’t have a friendly (or a local) partner to ask – then hit up the link below for your very own free copy.
Depending upon the version of Sage MAS 90 or 200 that you are considering, you should be asking as well about any promotions that are available for owners of QuickBooks (or other competing products) who are upgrading. Sometimes the promotions are only valid on certain versions of MAS 90 – but you won’t get the discount unless you ask!
Link: QuickBooks Conversion Guide
(PDF)
Sage Summit 2008 promotional offers
October 10, 2008
Have you made plans to attend the Sage Software 2008 customer conference November 17 to 20 in Denver Colorado? Sage Summit is the place to learn all about the various Sage products as well as talk to your fellow users.
One of the keynote speakers will be Olmpic Gold Medal athlete Bruce Jenner who will talk about his story and share his secrets to what helped him win Olympic Gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Day one of Summit opens on Monday November 17 with Peer-2-Peer roundtables. Here you can sit with other users from across the country (and world) who use the exact same product as you do. These roundtables last for one hour each – and there are three of them scheduled on Monday.
Tuesday features breakout educational sessions starting at 8 a.m. (Don’t worry , the Denver air will help you sleep and get up early.) The opening ceremonies with Bruce Jenner will happen at 1:30 with one lucky 
participant from the audience getting to throw a flaming javelin toward stage and Bruce will catch it between his legs while blindfolded. Even if you’re not a Bruce Jenner fan, it will be a lot of fun to be in the audience to stare at him and tell your kids that you saw someone famous.
From Tuesday through Thursday you’ll have more opportunities to network with other Sage users and learn about complimentary Sage products at the trade show. Each lunch and dinner will be an opportunity to make a new friend and learn how others are using the Sage products.
As part of the benefit of attending Sage Summit 2008, you will be eligible for all sorts of product discounts. Sage Software just released their promotional guide which I have included below.
The
prior years’ conferences have been well received. I’ve had clients attend who enjoyed the sessions and learned many new things. Several consultants that I know have also attended and have nothing but positive experiences to share. Unfortunately I will not be attending this year as I’ve been asked to present with Sage at the Sleeter Group conference being held the week before.
Link: 08 Sage Software Summit Promo Book (50+ page PDF)
Link: Sage Summit 2008 official site
What’s new in Sage MAS 90 4.3? (PDF)
October 8, 2008
Are you wondering exactly what’s new in the latest accounting software release from Sage Software. Download this 4 page PDF and you can see what Sage Software is highlighting in their latest Sage MAS 90 and 200 version 4.3 release.
This latest release provides an invaluable new feature in the ability to send all reports, forms, and registers directly to a PDF file.
While sending reports to PDF files is nothing new, the process that Sage uses to secure, name and manage the PDF information is the piece of the puzzle that most companies will welcome. When you elect to send your journals and registers to a PDF file via Sage’s paperless office you ensure that nobody in the office can mistakenly forget to print a journal to PDF. This is because Sage MAS 90 automatically remembers for you. Then once the PDF is printed it takes care of automatically naming and filing the document.
Sage MAS 90 and 200 4.3 Delivers Customer Value In These Areas As Well:
- Go green with paperless office
- Turn your data into actionable knowledge
- Immediately access up-to-date information the way you want to see it
- Streamline your tax reporting process
- Provide employees safe and secure direct deposit choices
- Simplified report selection
- Set income statement formats to chose actual, budget and budget variance information
- Globally change customer salesperson information in A/R
- Protect against accidental discounts
Link: What’s New In Version 4.2
Sage Software Readies Extended Enterprise 1.1
October 7, 2008
Sage Software will soon be releasing version 1.1 of their Extended Enterprise Suite (Sage MAS 90 + SageCRM + Sage FAS 100) , which incorporates the new Fixed Asset 2008.2 functionality with Sage MAS 90 and 200 version 4.3, and SageCRM version 6.1.
As a result, Sage Software will begin to phase out the stand alone SageCRM integration for the Sage MAS 90 and 200 product. Their current offering of stand alone SageCRM version 6.0 integrated with Sage MAS 90 and 200 version 4.3 will continue to be available for sale to existing users through December 31, 2008. The integration will continue to be supported until the retirement of SageCRM version 6.0 and Sage MAS 90 version 4.3.
If you are interested in SageCRM v6.1 for an existing or new Sage MAS 90 or 200 installation, you should consider Extended Enterprise Suite.
Greytrix will also continue to develop and support an independent Sage MAS 90 and 200 integration to SageCRM v6.1. For more information on the Greytrix solutions, you can visit their web site here.
For a free brochure explaining more about the Sage MAS 90 Extended Enterprise Suite – follow the link below.
Sage Extended Enterprise for MAS 90 White Paper
One Utility Every MAS90 User Must Have: Customer / Vendor History Re-Calculation
October 7, 2008
Beginning with version 4.1 of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 the customer master file holds detailed monthly sales totals. In prior versions this data was only retained for one period using a PTD designation. This new level of detail is helpful to companies who are asking “what sales volume did my customer have last year during the month of February”.
This new feature works exceptionally well except that when MAS90 converts data it will lump most of the totals together in prior years to the last fiscal period. Instead of separating out the historical detail it creates lump sums for conversions. Moving forward the details are tracked apprpriately.
Thankfully Randy Marion at Martin and Associates came up with what must be the worlds most helpful utility. His software does one thing. It recalculates prior history for both customers and vendors and places those totals into the correct monthly column on the respective master file.
As with any recalc process, it is advisable to create a backup prior to execution of this utility. Additionally, it is advisable, but not mandatory, to rebuild the keys of the following list of files for EACH company prior to execution. An exception to this rebuild recommendation is if this data is freshly or recently converted from any version with legacy (.SOA) file structure.
The utility is simple to install and use. Move on program file into the SOA folder, execute it by logging into MAS 90, running Syzcon and run
“arapfxv2”. It’s that easy. I’ve done this dozens of times with clients. Never an error message. The utility runs smoothly each and every time.
This utility is must have that can be used by resellers during an upgrade to correctly display various sales and purchase history for data acquired prior to version 4.10 or 4.2 in Sage MAS 90 or 200 ERP. This tool recalculates data in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable to correctly reflect Sales and Purchase istory. This is accomplished by scanning all the appropriate history files and accumulating the various totals in the proper fiscal periods and years.
Price: $ 795 with no maintenance
Summary: Nice to see software that is bulletproof, runs fast, works as designed and saves a company hours of manual labor.
Link: Customer Sales – Vendor Purchase History — Product Manual
What I Like:
- It just works – no error messages or un-needed complexity
- Fast
- Accurate
- Saves hours of manually computing totals
- Can be run on multiple companies
- No ongoing maintenance
What Could Be Improved:
- I’ve already asked Randy to build one that recalculates 1099 payment totals
Need More Information? Use Our Contact Form Below:
[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]
Crystal XI for FAS 2008.2 will work alongside Crystal X for MAS90 & MAS200 according to Sage Software FAQ
October 6, 2008
Q: Does the new Crystal XI shipping with 2008.2 negatively impact MAS or other Sage applications running an earlier version of Crystal?
A: No, when a customer installs any FAS product, components of the latest version of Crystal are installed on their machine in order to run the Standard reports provided with FAS and to provide new customization and Report Writer features. Crystal has made changes in their most recent versions that should greatly reduce and, hopefully, eliminate conflicts experienced with having multiple Crystal versions installed. Customers should be advised to install the product with the older Crystal version first followed by the product with the newer Crystal version. We have tested all FAS 2008.2 products with other Sage ERP systems and not experienced any conflicts.
Q: Does the FAS 2008.2 release apply to MAS Fixed Assets or MAS Extended Enterprise Suite (EES) customers?
A: No, the FAS 2008.2 update available on SupportPlus Online will not work for MAS Fixed Assets or EES customers. MAS is planning to make a 2008.2 version available to these customers but this will be after the FAS 2008.2 release. We do not yet have an exact date. Please note that the 2008.2 release announcement email was inadvertently sent to MAS Fixed Assets customers (approximately 160). If you receive any calls from these customers about FAS 2008.2, please let them know that MAS will be providing this update in the coming weeks.
Q: Should MAS customers using FAS Asset Accounting install the 2008.2 update?
A: That depends on which version of MAS they are using. Due to changes made in FAS with this release the depreciation posting and asset addition (AP/PO) links will no longer work without an update from MAS. This update is only available to current versions of the MAS products. A message on the FAS Update page directs MAS customers to a page that explains this (http://support.sagesoftwareonline.com/fasrelease).
- MAS versions 4.2 and 4.3 support FAS 2008.2 – The latest service release from MAS will correct this issue with the links and should also be installed after moving to 2008.2. Either the MAS or the FAS Customer Support teams can assist customers in getting and installing the service pack.
- MAS versions 4.10, 4.05, 4.00, and 3.71 – At this time we do not know if an update will be made available for these older versions of MAS. Customers should wait for future MAS service packs and should not install FAS 2008.2 if the links are integral to their operations. These customers can use the FAS Universal Link for posting depreciation, which we will make available for free; however, the asset addition (AP/PO) link will not be available.
Update: According to Sage, users on Abra Human Resources software should expect that they will stay on Crystal version 9 for at least the remainder of 2009.
Wayne Schulz to speak at Sleeter Group 2008 Accounting Software Consulting Conference
October 5, 2008
Wayne Schulz has been invited by Sage Software to participated in presenting the only MAS 90 and MAS 200 session at the upcoming Accounting Software Consulting Conference in Glendale Arizona. Hosted by The Sleeter Group, this conference features sessions of specific interest to QuickBooks consultants.
The session, titled Sage MAS 90 and 200 – Easier To Use and More Affordable than Ever is offered at 1:55 pm on Thursday November 13, 2008. Wayne will review the key areas of MAS 90 and MAS 200 that make it a logical next step program for companies that are outgrowing QuickBooks or QuickBooks Enterprise Suite. Wayne was selected by Sage Software to accompany them to Glendale Arizona for this conference because of his understanding of the specific features that are attractive to consultants who are interested in begining to consult on a new accounting system for their growing client base.
Wayne’s consulting career begain in 1986 at Cole, Frago, Cusick, Chestler & Company in Wethersfield CT. From there he went to Kostin, Ruffkess & Company. At each of these CPA firms he supervised the technology consulting department. In 1996 he left the CPA world behind and formed Schulz Consulting which specializes in Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200. Today Schulz Consulting supports well over 100 clients in locations as far away as Alaska, California, Florida, Texas, Michigan and Hawaii.
Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 is more affordable than ever for companies are outgrowing QuickBooks and needing a powerful wholesale distribution system. Learn about the newest small business editions that place Sage MAS 90 or 200 accounting system within the budget of almost every company. Listen to real world examples of why clients rave about MAS 90 and 200. Ask questions and learn how you can use tools included in the software to make customizations to screens, add and change reports and even add new functionality – all without expensive programming. This will be a fast paced session focusing on the practical issues surrounding both the features of the software and also best practices in choosing enhancements, integrating with third party solutions (including the things to avoid), obtaining support, finding the companies that are a “best fit” for Sage MAS 90 or 200 – and tips and tricks for converting from other accounting systems. 
The Sleeter Group’s conference is November 10 – 13, 2008 in Glendale Arizona. This is the 5th annual conference which is held annually in the fall and attracts CPAs, consultants and users looking for more information on QuickBooks and related accounting software. For more informatio you can visit their web site at http://www.sleeter.com/index.html
Sage ERP X3 comes to America
October 1, 2008
Sage ERP X3 is an international ERP solution for mid-market to large enterprises. Originally known as Adonix X3 and rebranded Sage ERP X3 last year, this product is sold throughout North America by a small group of channel partners and a direct sales force.
Adonix was acquired by Sage Group in 2005. Until today, the North American operations were managed as part of Sage Europe, because the original Adonix was headquartered in France. The North American management team is based in Pittsburgh, PA.
Moving forward, this team will become part of the overall BMD portfolio. Sales and marketing will be integrated with existing teams. Other employees will continue to report into Alex Attal, the North American leader for Sage ERP X3.
Sage ERP X3 ideally complements the existing Sage ERP portfolio in North America. Scaling up to more than 1,000 concurrent users, it provides mid-market up to large enterprise manufacturers and distributors with mid- to high-end ERP software aimed at meeting the most elaborate business processes. It will allow Sage to address many customers whose needs can not currently be met by Sage MAS 500 or Sage Accpac ERP, as well as those upper-end customers requiring multinational support.
For more details on Sage ERP X3 – visit Sage ERP X3 or review the list of Frequently Asked Questions – Sage ERP X3 FAQ (pdf)
MAS90′s Hidden Weapon: Extended Solutions
September 29, 2008
Many users of accounting software secretly (and often not so secretly) wish that their programs could be customized so that they more tightly fit the needs of their business. Unfortunately custom programming often proves to be both expensive and time consuming.
Not anymore.
With Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 there is a large catalog of customizations that have already been written and can be purchased for a fixed fee.
Examples of Extended Solutions include Multi-Company processing for General Ledger and Accounts Payable. With this enhancement you can have one master company processing accounts payable invoices and checks for dozens of subsidiaries. The entire due-to and due-from process is managed by the enhancement (See AP-1027 – Multiple Company Accounts Payable which provides just this functionality for only $1,795 + $265 Maintenance).
What’s so powerful about these Extended Solutions is that not only do they save you the initial development time (and money) – but as the Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 programs are upgraded you receive the enhancements at your current level for no extra charge.
Selecting and searching for an Extended Solution for Sage MAS90 and MAS200 is easy. Simply log into the Extended Solution Site and search for your desired functionality. Once located, you’ll see a screen with the cost, description and a link to the full product manual.
Tip: Not everyone knows this, but all of the Extended Solutions may be requested as a free trial. They will ship you the solution so that it only operates on the dummy data company code and with certain other restrictions. This gives you a chance to “try before you buy” – something not available with most other custom programming.
If you have more questions about whether an Extended Solution might be right for your business, ask yourself these questions:
- Will I save time by having the feature (and if so how much)
- Are there alternate procedures that I could perform that would eliminate the need for this enhancement
- How many enhancements am I looking to purchase (Rule of thumb: Under 6 is probably ideal with most companies using only one or two).
- Am I willing to wait an extra month or two after the main MAS 90 or MAS 200 program has been updated for my ehancements to be ready (This is the typical wait time).
- Will I be using third party vertical solutions like Job Ops or ACS Service Managemenet which may conflict with Extended Solutions?
In general we strongly recommend the use of Extended Solutions to our clients. When a pre-written customization is required it is our favored solution based on the sheer numbers of enhancements available as well as the positive feedback we receive from our clients.
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Setting up Sage Payment Services with MAS90 or MAS200
September 16, 2008
Are you an existing user of Sage MAS 90 or 200 (Versions 4.2+) looking to setup Sage Payment Services on your system?
If so, here are my notes based on a recent setup for a client who was not using any credit card processing prior to adding Sage Payments.
Note: If you are a current PC Charge user – you may be eligible for a free upgrade to the Sage Payment server which is fully compatible only with Sage Payment Services ( Update: works only with the Sage Payment Services).
Condensed Installation Notes:
1. Re-enter new unlock keys to MAS 90 or MAS 200
(This has to be done so you can enable Sage Payment Service)
2. Client receives email verification of their new credit card account – this is where Merchant ID and Mkey are located – no separate paperwork is sent to the client except Visa/MC stickers
3. Turn on Sage credit card processing in MAS90 or MAS200 – Tab #3 – Server Maintenance under Company Maintenance
- Also enable credit card processing for cash receipts (if desired) in Accounts Receivable Options
4. Download the PocketSoap program and install to workstation – www.pocketsoap.com/pocketsoap/#dl
5. Setup the payment types in AR – Setup – Payment Type Maintenance
- Unlike PC Charge – the merchant # doesn’t self populate – key the Sage TERMINAL ID NUMBER in manually (from client welcome email) – IMPORTANT: To set up with Sage Payments USE THE TERMINAL ID # for all credit cards — and NOT the merchant ID as the field is labelled.
- Need the 12 digit Merchant Key (MKEY) number from the client’s welcome email
- Once you save this and then re-open payment type the “valid processor” in lower right should be checked
I did not have to re-load any software to the server (only load pocket soap [download here for free] to each workstation processing credit cards).
The above is only a summary of the instructions which is meant for those with some familiarity with MAS90 and MAS200 credit card processing. Please note that versions 4.2 and higher support the use of Sage Payment Server embedded within the software (no separate download) – so different steps may be needed for older MAS90 or MAS200 versions.
A more complete list of instructions is in the support area of Sagesoftwareonline as a pdf or download from here.
Summary
I strongly recommend this solution for ease of setup. It was a little nerve wracking – but I did it all remotely in under an hour — including testing and walking through the terminal program.
Brett Zimmerman has a great set of suggestions as well (copied below):
(Courtesy Brett Zimmerman at The Fitzgerald Group) :
* If you would like to enable auto-settling, go to the Help menu in VT (Virtual Terminal) > Tech Support, and send a message requesting that auto-settling be enabled for whatever time you’d like. Apparently this request will first go thru Underwriting for approval since auto-settling won’t be allowed for certain businesses.
* By default, for every credit card charge processed, an e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address on file. To disable this function, go to the Configuration menu in VT > E-mail Notices > General Settings.
* Although you can set VT to automatically e-mail a .csv file (raw data) for each settled batch, it’d be great if it could e-mail a nicely formatted report of the settled batches – similar to what you can view inside VT.
* Supposedly with 4.3, the PocketSOAP software won’t have to be installed on the MAS 90 workstations. (Update: You still must manually download PocketSoap)
* MyVirtualReports: It appears this is for Account Management of your SPS account.
Additional tips for Credit Card integration to MAS90 or MAS200 Bank Reconciliation:
If you apply credit cards via cash receipts you’ll notice that each individual credit card transaction goes to the bank reconciliation.
Normally the bank will clear your credit card transactions in groups.
To properly reflect this on the bank reconciliation you can setup a separate bank code (use a clearing account GL that is on the balance sheet) to hold the individual credit card charges.
When the card charges clear the bank – go into cash receipts and receive the total amount cleared into your live account and take the amounts out of the clearing account.
If you have any other questions – please call the office or use the email contact form below and we’ll be happy to explain this in more detail. We can also provide you with contact information for Sage Payment Services so you can speak with them directly.
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Insights 2009 Announced: May 11 to 14 2009 – Nashville TN
May 15, 2008
Sage Software today formally announced the date and place for next years Insights reseller conference.
Their conference once again returns to the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville TN. This sprawling facility is situated directly next to the Grand Old Opry.
Link: Sage Software Insights
Sage Extended Enterprise For Sage MAS 90 and 200 Pricing Announced
May 14, 2008
The Extended Enterprise Solution for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 (formerly known as Project Diamond) was detailed for the first time this morning in an 8 am session at the Sage Software Insights 2008 conference in Washington DC.
This new package bundles many of the core MAS 90 and MAS 200 modules (listed below). What’s really news is that it also includes integration to SageCRM and Sage FAS (Fixed Assets). The package is offered at a fixed per user cost which is a break from Sage Software’s prior pricing strategy based on a per module cost.
The deadline for partners to be certified for this product is June 2009. Sage Software is offering free certification for partners who enroll prior to June 30, 2008 (you do not have to take the class — only enroll for it).
Phase one of this rollout is aimed for new customers. Sage indicates there will be some migration opportunities in the September 2008 timeframe. Pricing details for existing customers will NOT be available until September.
Don’t Miss This Session: Leanne Lowe – Extended Solutions
May 13, 2008
Here’s are two great sessions for any of you who work in the Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 product world and have dealt with Extended Solutions.
Win My Insights 2008 Swag – Wednesday 5/14/08
May 12, 2008
I’m accumulating a lot of free stuff here at Insights 2008. I’m not keeping any of it – including the sized medium (never worn or taken out of the plastic) Sage Polo shirt.
If you’re the first to find me me at Insights on Wednesday 5/14/08 and tell me what my favorite Insights session was (I’ll announce it via my Twitter updates) – then I’ll give you all my SWAG (free stuff I’ve accumulated during the conference).
PS – Nobody in my SageResellers group is eligible, sorry.
I presently have:
- Sized Medium Sage Shirt (unwrapped)
- Sage Software duffle
- Job Ops portfolio pad
- Citrix network cable extender (get’s my vote for coolest giveaway)
Watch the Twitter feed to know when to claim the free Swag.
Link: Insights 2008 Twitter Updates
Take The Metro To Insights – Save A Tree and $25!
May 12, 2008
Click Here For A Full Sized Metro Map.
If you haven’t left for Insights 2008 at the Gaylord National in Washington DC yet, here’s a way for you to make it from the DC Ronald Reagan airport to the Gaylord National for a little over $3 (regular cab fare is $23 one way).
First, I took the train/bus here — grand total of about $4 — the cheapest that I have EVER paid to get from the airport to a convention.
To use the DC mass transit, you will need to take two trains (about 20 minutes each) plus one bus (about 20 minutes). The bus drops you directly in front of the Gaylord Hotel. Washington DC traffic is such that mass transit is probably faster than Super Shuttle or a Cab (it’s also significantly cheaper).
HERE’S HOW TO DO IT:
From inside the Ronald Reagan Airport near the luggage pickup, follow signs to METRO.
Get on the YELLOW line headed toward Fort Totten via Convention Center
In the lobby of the METRO (BEFORE you go into the train area) buy your fare card. I bought $20 because I am planning on doing some sightseeing.
Get the plastic card which is refillable — I think it is called SMARTCARD — because you can use that card on the bus. You can also add more money to them. I believe there is a small charge of about $5 to purchase the card then whatever you put onto it for value (it operates as a pre-paid Metro card)
Go up the LEFT Escalator to the YELLOW line headed to Fort Totten / Convention Center
Take the YELLOW train headed to Totten/Convention Center. You don’t have to worry about which yellow — so long as it’s headed in the right direction it will stop. In DC all the trains are identified by the station where they terminate.
Get off at L’ENFANT plaza.(about a 20 minute ride)
At L’ENFANT you need to cross over to the other side of the tracks – so go up the stairs and walk over the tracks and come down so you’re on the other side.
Get on the GREEN line headed to BRANCH AVE. (again, this train will be identified by color and final destination – Branch Ave)
Get off at SOUTHERN AVE METRO – this is the station where you are going to pick up the bus.
AFTER YOU COME UP THE STAIRS FROM THE PLATFORM, LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND THERE WILL BE A BUS TRANSFER DISPENSER WHICH WILL GIVE YOU A FREE TRANSFER. PRINT A TRANSFER (ONE FOR EVERYONE TRAVELLING) AND GIVE IT TO THE DRIVER ALONG WITH .45 CENTS (if you don’t print the transfer the bus fare is $1.35).
Walk out to the bus area (you want to exit out the left and make a right — walk down to the bus shelter with NH-1 printed on it.
Get on the NH-1 Bus (if you took a free transfer ticket from in the station the fare is .45 — if not the fare was about $1.35 – exact change). When you get on the bus take the ticket from the driver. This is a transfer (again) and lets you get back on the bus for free anytime within 2 hours!
The NH-1 bus drops you directly in front of the Gaylord (no lengthy driveway to walk)
Washington DC traffic is awful — so even if you get a cab or shuttle there probably is some amount of waiting time that you will have to put up with. I lugged a large suitcase with me without any problems.
Wayne Schulz – Insights 2008
Link: Washingtond DC Metro Map and Information
Sage Software Insights May 2008
April 11, 2008
Here is information on the Sage Software Insights 2008 Conference. Be sure to check here for all the latest information including any session changes that occur.
