A few people noticed that while I was at Sage Software’s Insights 2008 conference that the laptop I used was a MacBook Pro. This has brought forth the question of:

“Do you run MAS90 on that thing?“

.The answer is yes. I use VMWARE Fusions which creates a virtual Windows XP box on my desktop. From within VMWARE I can run any Windows XP compatible application. Granted that I don’t run MAS90 in a production environment on my MacBook Pro (my use is limited to support questions and testing). I have a stray client or two that runs older MAS 90 versions on a MacBook with no reported issues.

Of course the Apple Leopard OS includes a free utility called BootCamp which will allow you to dual boot either Apple or Windows OS. The issue with BootCamp is that it’s an either/or boot. In order to swap operating system usage you must reboot your Mac.

The most common way around this is to use virtualization software (such as VMWARE or Parallels) that create a large partition on your Mac and supports running multiple operating systems simultaneously.

Before you jump and buy a Mac, realize that Sage Software does NOT support Sage MAS 90 on any platform other than what is in their official supported platforms matrix.

The two most common programs for running Mac and Windows on the same hardware are Parallels and VMWARE Fusion. See the links below for more information. Both programs are available for under $100. You will need to supply a copy of the OS. For that purpose I strongly recommend obtaining a membership in Microsoft Technet which provides for evaluation licenses for the different Microsoft operating systems (Technet is a $349 initial subscription and $249 renewal).

Link: VMWARE - Fusion
Link: Parallels
Link: Microsoft Technet Subscription Information

We are happy to announce that prior issues of the Schulz Consulting MAS90 email newsletter are now available online. Due to popular demand by our clients and other Sage MAS 90 users, we’ve created a special page to house past issues of this popular newsletter.

The Schulz Consulting MAS 90 email newsletter is mailed twice monthly to over 3,000 users, consultants and CPAS located all across the country. Each issue contains news, important tips and tricks and general technology items of interest.

Link: Schulz Consulting Email Newsletter Archive
Link: Sign up for the Schulz Consulting email newsletter

At the recently concluded Sage Software Insights 2008 conference in Washington DC, several announcements were made about what was expected for version 4.4 of MAS90 and MAS200.

These features are tentative (meaning until they ship don’t write them in stone). I’ll list the items that were discussed in the session to give you and idea of what may be planned for the 2009 release of Sage MAS 90 and 200.

I did not take away that these were commitments — but rather were things that were in the “thinking” stage:

- Project Accounting: (light) module on framework borrowing core from Job Cost
- Inventory: Detailed sales history for drop ship
- Inventory: Expiration dates on lot/serial
- Inventory: Available to promise
- Inventory: Multi-bin
- Purchase Order: Single step landed cost
- Bank Reconciliation: Electronic bank reconciliation
- Bank Reconciliation: Electronic ACH

I believe these are planned for v4.4 (enhances IM,PO,BM)
- Ability to close PO without having ordered, received,billed all equal
- Prevent edits to closed PO
- Parallel migrations
- Full BIE for IM and PO
- Extended field sizes: IM # and Customer #
- Inventory 30 character expanded field size
- Customer number 20 characters - expansion

Slide showing all products (MAS90, MAS90 Extended Enterprise, MAS200, MAS200 Extended Enterprise) was missing MAS 200 SQL.

MAS 200 running on MYSQL but only at 2 to 5 times SLOWER speed. General query to the audience about whether 2 to 5 times slower would be acceptable was met with snickers.

The above information is preliminary and does NOT represent announced or firm planned features.

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

Brian Buck, CPA - CS Solutions Mount Clemens, MI

Congratulations to Brian Buck, CPA of CS Solutions for claiming all of the conference SWAG (aka free stuff) that I’d collected during my stay at the 2008 Sage Software Insights Conference in Washington DC.

Throughout the Sage Software Insights Conference I ran a constantly updated message stream that provided session by session (sometimes minute by minute) updates of what was happening. The tool that I used was Twitter, which allows for short (140 character) messages which users can read for free via the web - or subscribe and have the messages pushed out as SMS text to their phone.

Link: Twitter Frequently Asked Questions
Link: My personal Twitter account - mas90guru

Wayne Schulz was invited by Sage Software to make two presentations at their recent Insights 2008 Business Partner conference in Washington DC.

The conference attracted over 3,000 Sage Business Partners from all parts of the world. This 4 day event provided technical product updates and educational opportunities to consultants for each of the company’s products including the Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 ERP Accounting Software.

Wayne’s first session was a discussion of tips to help consultants market effectively to CPA firms. His second session was a presentation on the role of Social Networking and how it can help consultants in their business. As part of the second session Wayne “live blogged” the entire Sage Insights conference using the social media tool Twitter, making notes on MAS90 and MAS200 sessions such as the keynote addresses and Sage MAS90 Extended Enterprise announcement.

Link: Sage MAS 90 and 200 Extended Enterprise Pricing Revealed
Link: Sage Insights 2008 Twitter Feed

Question: I heard that regular MAS 90 is going away. Is this the only version going forward?
Answer: No, rumor - both versions will live on.

Question: When will this be delivered?
Answer: Because this is a version 4.3 product it is available when v4.3 is able to be release. We hope to release v4.3 to production the last week in May 2008. Best guess is that it’s going to be available in July 2008.

Question: Where can I get a demo copy of MAS90 Extended Enterprise?
Answer: You must take the one day solution consultant class and after signing an NDA (if the product is not shipping) then we give you the CD.

Question: Will MAS90 Extended Enterprise expand the Fixed Assets capacity beyond 1,500 assets? Can I just put regular FAS on it?
Answer: You cannot put the regular FAS over the top of Extended Enterprise. You cannot load Fixed Assets 2009 - all updates MUST come from the Extended Enterprise DVD. Later in 2008 (September/October) the capabilities of Fixed Assets will go to unlimited.

Question: Will there be a Small Business Edition of Extended Enterprise?
Answer: No - because Small Business is capped at under 5 users.

Question: Any marketing materials available?
Answer: Yes - see the people at the Sage booth or after the conference ask your Sage representative

Question: Will the unlocking keys for Sage MAS90 Extended Enterprise expire the software or will they continue to work even if the customer does not re-enroll in maintenance?
Answer: At the time of shipment there will be two unlocking keys. One for MAS90 / MAS200 and one for SageCRM. When the product ships you will get two sets of keys which will not expire.

Within a year you may see that the Extended Enterprise adopts expiring keys which require ongoing maintenance payments by the customer. This is being worked out internally at Sage. You will likely see this first on the MAS90 Extended Enterprise edition and then rolled out to the regular Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200.

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.

Pricing on the Extended Enterprise Solution is as follows:

SAGE MAS90 EXTENDED ENTERPRISE
Note: Pricing does not include first year maintenance which you must add
-$2,250 per concurrent user
-5 user minimum
-20 user cap for MAS90 version
-10% discount ever 5 users

SAGE MAS200 EXTENDED ENTERPRISE
Note: Pricing does not include first year maintenance which you must add
-$2,500 per user concurrent
-5 user minimum
-10% discount every 5 users - discounting stops at 50 users

ANNUAL SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE COSTS - ONE PLAN COVERS ALL THREE COMPONENTS (MAS,CRM,FAS)
-19% Basic - maintenance, 3 support cases, anytime learning (online education)
-25% Gold - includes basic plan plus unlimited support

MODULES INCLUDED WITH SAGE EXTENDED ENTERPRISE SOLUTION - MAS 90 and MAS 200 EDITION

SAGE MAS 90 & 200 MODULES
- Crystal Reports
- Library Master
- Business Insights
- General Ledger
- Accounts Receivable
- CRM
- Accounts Payable
- Inventory Management
- Sales Order
- Purchase Order
- Return Merchandise
- Bill of Materials
- Bank Reconciliation
- Visual Integrator
- Custom Office
- Fixed Assets
- FRX
- Sage Federal and State eFiling of Reporting
- CCP by Sage Payment Services

AVAILABLE FOR SEPARATE PURCHASE
- Bar Code
- eBusiness
- Work Order
- Job Cost
- Time Card
- Time Sheet
- CCP By PC Charge
- Payroll
- Electronic Reporting
- Direct Deposit
- Starship
- Sage Sales Tax
- MRP
- Abra HR
- Sage Extended Solutions

Shipping dates are still TBA. Since Sage Extended Enterprise is built on Sage MAS 90 v4.3, the release date will happen after the general availability of version 4.3 which is expected to be the June / July timeframe.

The above information was gathered during the initial announcement at the Sage Software Insights conference in Washington DC on May 14, 2008. Please verify details with your Sage Business Partner prior to making any purchasing decisions.

As promised at the Sage Keynote, the SagePartnerPortal has launched.

The new Sage Partner portal promises to be a one stop location for Sage Business Partners to log in and manage their partner resources in one place. We’ll have more information after exploring this in a little more detailed.

Link: SagePartnerPortal.COM

The Sage Software keynotes are wrapping up. The main message is that Sage Software continues to deliver and improve on their existing product line. This morning the Sage Extended Enterprise Suite for Sage MAS 90 and 200 and Sage ACCPAC was announced.

This new suite of products on the Sage MAS 90 site includes Sage MAS 90 , SageCRM and SageFAS. The different applications all integrate through a “one DVD” installation process and promise tighter and better integration with products than ever before.

In essence the message delivered was that Sage continues to listen and improve their products. There will be some fine tuning of partner programs to make them simpler.

New Sage Software USA CEO Sue Swenson made an impressively polished presentation on Monday. She introduced herself and though she has only been on the job 6 weeks has been traveling to all the remote Sage locations. It’s far too early to tell what impact Sue’s hiring will have on Sage but her background and stage presence impressed all the Business Partners I spoke with.

In essence the keynotes re-affirmed Sage’s commitment to improve. Not a lot of new product news.