^{No matter how you found this page, I hope you are very skeptical.}
 

^{After all these types of informational pages are unusual for an experienced Sage MAS 90 and 200 consulting firm.}
 

^{Heck, half the Sage MAS 90 consulting firms on the web don't even have current contact information.}
 

^{Let me assure you that our experience and references will meet your expectations.}

^{But first - so that you don't think this is one big drawn out tedious sales pitch (like your last consultant) let's get one thing out of the way...}

<sup>I am the worst Sage MAS 90 salesperson ever to ever walk

 the face of this earth!</sup>
 

^{I spend too much time listening and providing advice drawn upon my 26+ years of hands-on Sage MAS 90 experience.}

^{Instead of a quick sale to make Sage Software happy and win some quarterly sales contest, I'm focused three years...looking to see if the client will be happy.}

^{When I see situations that don't work - my consulting skills go into overdrive.}

^{This week I "talked" myself out of at least three lucrative sales that my local competition could easily have sold.}

^{One client wanted information on a module that was a bad fit. So I told them.}

^{One prospective user wrangled a loss leader quote from their CPA.}

<sup>But I did hear from two former clients who left one year ago for their CPA firm who dangled loss-leader support.

Both of these clients came back this week.

I'll be seeing them at my User Group meeting next week.</sup>

^{Finally I had two newsletter subscribers inquire about joining our support plan and having us remotely upgrade their entire office to the latest Sage MAS 90 version. While we're skilled at these upgrades - we don't do them as part of our phone support. And to promise otherwise is to mislead a client. I turned both of them down after explaining our support plan details.}

^{I'm going to guess that if you've read this far you are in the midst of looking for some help with an existing Sage Software issue. And 9 times out of 10 the issue exists because the person who sold you the software was a salesman and not a consultant.}

^{There's a difference between a} consultant and a salesman. One is paid to make things work. The other is paid regardless of whether it works.

^{After 20+ years I don't have the skills or snake oil salesmanship to baffle you with all sorts of fancy empty technology promises -- or sales gimmicks -- like the dozens of web sites promising fairy tales like "we won't be undersold" or "lowest price guaranteed".}

^{Because you know what I've found?}

^{They're right!}

^{They won't be undersold.}

^{You won't be happy either.}

^{Everything's a tradeoff.}

^{Sure, save a few bucks -- and be left deciphering software setup and conversion issues they're unable to explain.}

^{And I haven't started to discuss ongoing technical support.}

^{More on that later.}

^{First, I need to be frank so I don't waste your time.}

^{We are not the cheapest solution. We're not the biggest. We're three people strong - plus a PRIVATE network of the smartest 43 Sage Software consultants on Earth.}

^{All of our services are guaranteed unconditionally.}

^Period.

^{No stalling or dodging a refund or fee adjustment if you aren't 100% satisfied. Every penny will be refunded.}

Getting burned by a bad Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 implementation hurts! 

For a little over 7 years I worked as a CPA in Connecticut helping clients just like you reconcile and report year-end financial results. 

As a practicing CPA I helped clients through more than a few disruptive accounting software installations. I know what it's like to purchase a multi-thousand dollar accounting system and be left high and dry by the (expensive) consulting firm hired to install it.

It's painful financially. And it left scars on my client's staff as well as a back-breaking bill -- for all of my expensive time as a CPA helping them "clean up" their financial records.

We always reached a breaking point. That realization that things weren't working out with the reseller. There were usually a variety of reasons. But once things nosedived  there never seemed to be a recovery.

You've finally reach a point where you must make a change. At first you thought maybe your consultant was having a bad day. Then suddenly that bad day turned into a bad month. 

• Support calls don't get returned. You leave messages. Sit. And wait. Then wait some more before you finally (hopefully) get a return phone call. All the time you are waiting your company is losing money. Sitting idle staring at a Sage MAS 90 error message.
  
  

• Your system is down - staff sit idle - waiting - losing money by the minute. The technician calls back to tell you that your problem isn't covered by phone support. Fine you say - "we'll pay extra - just fix us up!". Then the technician admits everyone's out of the office and someone will have to call you back -- hopefully tomorrow.
  
  

• Whoops - that consultant didn't know accounting fundamentals. Why was inventory set up on the LIFO method when your tax return clearly shows that it has been done on the Average Cost method for the past 30 years? Who pays to fix THAT?
  
  

• A constant stream of junior staff -- that YOU train. The awkward feeling that YOU know more about Sage MAS 90 than the consultant.
  
  

• Puzzled looks at the mention of accounting terminology - quickly followed by "ask your accountant about that one".
  
  

• Lack of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 knowledge - many calls to the office to "check" on the proper procedures.
  

Now comes the toughest part...selecting a NEW reseller...and ultimately.. 

It's been 10 year's since I left public accounting. During that period 50% of our clients (probably more) arrived on our doorstep after having a frustrating experience just like I bet you're having. 

The #1 Complaint ? 

Too many consultants don't do a good job supporting their loyal existing clients. 

BUT they ARE experts at selling. 

Great at making slick, knock-you-socks-off presentations. Sadly though many are clueless about accounting and how to make the software work.  Their clients find this out quickly enough. They lose so many clients that they can't survive without selling to new "victims". They live sort of like sharks. Their consulting practice dies unless they can move enough oxygen carrying water (clients) through their gills - they have to make multiple quick sales in order to survive.

ACTUAL TESTIMONIAL FROM AN EXISTING SAGE MAS 200 END USER THAT BECAME A CLIENT Dear Wayne, I am writing to thank you for the excellent support you have given ATC Associates. Over the past 18 months, our company has grown tremendously as well as moved its corporate headquarters from South Dakota to Woburn, MA. You have been called upon many times to support us during our transition. You have helped us with training and procedures as well as upgrading Sage MAS 90 during network changeovers. Your advice has always been sound and your response times excellent, even with our distance from your office. As a result, Sage MAS 90 has continued to perform well for us despite our large company size. I strongly recommend your services to any company seeking knowledgeable, reliable accounting software support. Yours truly, Fred Blau Chief Information Officer ATC Associates

I'm Embarrassed to Admit -- WE HAVE TROUBLE COMPETING Against These Snake Oil Salesmen!

Their presentations are flawless. They gloss over important accounting rules while we use our accounting background to understand potential problem areas. 

By problem areas I mean thinking 3 - 5 - even 10 years in the future. 

Realizing that as your company grows we need to anticipate the future needs and make sure the accounting software can perform.

Here's some of the typical issues we've seen with the BAD Sage MAS 90 resellers:

The Demo Was SO Good - What Happened??

Believe it or not the happiest day of your software life was when you signed on the dotted line -- dazzled senseless by that whiz-bang 4 hour marathon demo. You were so full of hope that all of the promises of the salesman would wipe away hours of your daily processing time. 

Procedures would be so streamlined by the consultants that you'd be able to take three weeks vacation instead of one! After you sign on the dotted line - it is all downhill. And sometimes it goes downhill FAST!

• First the surprises - the things that your consultant forgot to tell you during the demonstration that suddenly are hugely important.
  
  

• The person doing the demo was a Sage MAS 90 genius. 
  
  

• They instantly knew the answer to every question. 
  
  

• Why aren't the staff they sent to setup your software just as smart? 
  
   

• The staff consultant seemed puzzled by basic configuration options. 
  
  

• Couldn't answer a single accounting question. Told you that your questions should be answered by your CPA and NOT them. 
  
  

• Blamed all the problems on hardware, other software, your lack of accounting knowledge. 
  

These are excuses consultants use when they become frustrated and don't know how to help.

ACTUAL TESTIMONIAL FROM AN EXISTING SAGE MAS 200 END USER THAT BECAME A CLIENT   Hello Mr. Schulz,   Thank you again for taking so much of your time to discuss our accounting system needs.   It seems to me that you are part of an increasingly rare group of people who put integrity above the desire to make a sale and I truly appreciate your candor.   The cost of the eventual product is, in the end, the least costly part of the process of changing systems and we certainly cannot afford to go down the wrong path.  I sincerely hope that we may, at some time, reciprocate the courtesy you have shown.   With best regards,   Alex Tessmann, CEO PROTEA Behavioral Health Services 187 Exchange Street Bangor, ME   04401

When you tried to get back in touch with the original "demo wizard" you found that he was busy with other clients.


THEN ... 

• General Ledger account setup was done wrong.
   

• Important configuration options left untouched. 
  

• Junior staff came on-site and seemed puzzled by your software setup -- taking hours to figure out simple procedures.
  

• The difference between consultants is in how they react to problems and questions. 

Didn't You Get My Message?

Calling and getting support became like finding the invisible man. 

You remember paying extra for a phone support plan but when your call is returned you are told your problem isn't covered under your plan and you have to pay extra. 

Or worse - the consultant doesn't know how to solve your problem and your business is shut down for days while they research a common error message.

Our Services Fall 
Into Two Main Categories
 

• Initial sales of Sage MAS 90 or 200 - and advanced consulting and training on Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200.
  
  

• Supporting Sage MAS 90 nationwide by telephone for a fixed annual cost - which includes unlimited phone support plus the ability for us to access your computer desktop via the Internet (only with your permission) to remotely fix more complicated issues.

As A Growing Business - You Need Prompt Support

You absolutely can't be down for the day in the case of a software glitch - you need reliable, experienced support. 

As A Growing Business - You Need Timely Information About Your Software

Over 2,000 people rely on our twice monthly Sage MAS 90 email newsletter.

Actually, most of our clients came to us after receiving our tip-filled newsletter.

We publish the email edition two times per month. And Quarterly we email special PDF reports detailing special year-end closing procedures, new module reviews, sneak previews of upcoming Sage MAS 90 releases.

Let's Work Together To Improve Your Software! 

I can't read your mind from here though!  Take the first step and me with your thoughts on what's not working with your system and I'll provide some honest advice. For more information - check out our support plans here -- Sage MAS 90 & MAS 200 Phone Support Agreement

Wayne Schulz

Schulz Consulting

toll free: 888-594-4302

PS- I expect you to be very skeptical. After all these types of pages are unusual for a Sage MAS 90 consulting firm. Heck, half the firms don't even have current contact information. Let me assure you that our experience and references will meet your expectations. The best way to find out is to call me toll free today - 888-594-4302 - talk to me about your existing concerns - then speak with some of my existing clients and let them tell you of their experiences with Schulz Consulting.

 

 

Entire contents (c) 2007 Schulz Consulting, LLC. This web site is owned by Schulz Consulting, LLC. 160 Oak Street - Glastonbury, CT 06033 - Contact Schulz Consulting via email info@s-consult.com or phone 860.657.8544.