Sage has launched a new business management blog to help medium sized businesses. The blog has numerous authors that have a diverse background from product managers at Sage to marketing professionals. I think this is going to turn out to be an excellent resource for both Unisoft and our customers.
I’m not sure how many people know this but Sage is #1…
Well, the #1 choice for business software for small and medium sized businesses. Â I think this is actually quite a significant piece of information for those of you deciding to choose which business software to run your business on. Â You need to know the company developing the software is going to be there in 5 years and is going to come out with consistent product updates. Having a stable company with a large budget behind the software you choose for your business is a big plus.
It’s also quite important that Sage Software has the largest market share because it shows that 15% of businesses worldwide decide to use Sage for the accounting software. Â That means these businesses went through some process and/or analysis to make the decision of what accounting software they would use and came to the conclusion that Sage was the right choice for them. That means Sage is definitely doing something right!
Sage Accpac HRMS is a market leader among human resource management solutions and it’s out of the box intuitive integration with Sage Accpac provides control over human resource management and payroll processes. Sage Accpac HRMS helps you to provide accurate and timely payroll, maintain and view all types of employee information, stay compliant with Canadian HR requirements and positively impact employee satisfaction and retention while limiting liability.Â
Introduction to Sage Accpac HRMS Video
Integration with Payroll:
           The integration between Sage Accpac Payroll and Accpac HRMS allows you to manage employee details in Accpac HRMS and automatically update their information in Sage Accpac Payroll.  This includes the ability to create, edit (more…)
The customer event for Sage Accpac 5.5 and Sage CRM 6.1 was held today at the head quarters for Sage Software’s Sage Accpac. They gave a good mix of product demonstrations of the new features in Sage Accpac and Sage CRM as well as higher level business discussion on the value these products can bring to a business. The theme of Laurie Schultz’s team focused on feedback from customers to improve the product is definitely started to show both in the products as well as the focus of the staff. Overall it was an excellent event for customers to see the value in upgrading their software to take advantage of the new features and free of charge modules.
If you weren’t able to attend the event either contact us from a product demonstration of the new features or check back on our website as Unisoft will be posting videos on “What’s New in Sage CRM and Sage Accpac?”
Take advantage of the benefits of your software assurance! Version 5.4 of Sage Accpac ERP was released more than a year ago and some clients are still in Version 5.3 or even 5.2. 267 new features distributed across all the modules have been added and if you are still in an older version, then you are missing out on these benefits. Most importantly, the older your version, the more time we may need to spend converting your data, so while you are no doubt almost always busy we still recommend upgrading during you slow season if it is at all possible.
Examples include:
Accounts Receivable – Keep track of your client’s credit card information in a safe and secure place!
Accounts Payable – Specify the method of payment for documents within payment entry.
Order Entry – Inquire on sales orders by customer based on order status.
Purchase Order – Automatically post Accounts Payable batches created from Purchase Orders.
The list certainly goes on and on. Remember, new features were developed based on client requests to Sage Accpac’s development team!
Call us today to book your upgrade date.Â
customer.care@unisoft.net
604-926-3398
Recently reviewed by The CPA Technology Advisor the 200 edition of Sage Accpac ERP 5.4 received 5 stars out of a possible 5.  The review is mid-range accounting systems and bases it’s assement on 6 categories:
Sage Accpac ERP got 5/5 for every category which is no surprise to Unisoft, an organization that has been dealing with accouting systems since 1989. One notable part of the review was the relative value where they stated that:
“Sage Accpac 200 ERP is an excellent product for companies that have outgrown their current software. The scalability of Sage Accpac with its three versions means that an investment in the product today will easily pay for itself over time.”
This is outstanding considering the other systems it was compared to including QuickBooks. It also goes back to my article I wrote about outgrowing your current accounting system and moving to Sage Accpac as it is extremely scalable and according to this review, worth it’s value.
Unisoft is asked quite frequently what the is the difference between the Sage Accpac ERP editions (100, 200 and 500) is, so here is a table outlining all the differences. Bolded text represent the major differences to make it easier on the eye. The main difference that ultimately determines the edition fit for the user is the number of users for the system.
| Feature | 500 Version 5.4 | 200 Version 5.4 | 100 Version 5.4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â | Separate or Combined Modules | Separate Modules | Separate Modules | Separate Modules | ||
| Â | Number of Companies | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5 | ||
| Â | Number of Users | Unlimited users | Limited to 10 users | Limited to 5 users | ||
| Â | Pervasive.SQL Version | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Microsoft SQL Server Version | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | IBM DB2 Version | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Oracle Version | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Linux Version | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | iConnect Server | Part of System Manager | Part of System Manager | Part of System Manager | ||
|  | Process Server | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | ||
| Â | Multicurrency | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Transaction Analysis and Optional Field Creator | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Financial Management | ||||||
| Â | Accounts Receivable | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Advance Credit Claims (Receipt Entry) | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Accounts Payable | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | General Ledger: | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Â | Number of Account Segments | 10 | 3 | 2 | |
| Â | Â | Number of Account Structures | Unlimited | 3 | 2 | |
| Â | Â | Number of Budgets | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Â | Â | Years of History | 99 | 5 | 2 | |
| Â | Â | User-defined Accounts Groups | Yes | Yes | No | |
|  | G/L Security | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | ||
|  | National Accounts Management | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | ||
| Inventory, Purchasing, and Order Management | ||||||
| Â | Order Entry | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Purchase Orders | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Vendor Contract Costs | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Inventory Control: | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Â | Number of Item Segments | 10 | 10 | 4 | |
| Â | Â | Multiple Levels of Bills of Material | Yes | No | No | |
| Â | Â | Customer Item Numbers | Yes | 10 | Yes | |
| Â | Â | Advanced Pricing: | Â | Â | Â | |
| Â | Â | Â | Price by Unit of Measure | Yes | No | No |
| Â | Â | Â | Price by Weight or Quantity | Yes | No | No |
| Â | Â | Â | Price by a Cost Plus a Percentage or Amount | Yes | No | No |
| Â | Â | Â | Below Cost or Sales Margin Price Checks | Yes | No | No |
| U.S. and Canadian Payroll | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Â | Non-incremental Commission Calculations | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Non-incremental Piece Rate Calculations | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Non-annualized Wage Bracket | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Incremental Wage Bracket | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Accrual periods | 10 accrual periods | 10 accrual periods | 4 accrual periods | ||
| Â | Lifetime Maximum | Yes | No | No | ||
| Â | Copy Selection Lists | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Create Selection Lists by Criteria | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Combine Multiple Selection Lists | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Assign Selection Lists | Yes | No | No | ||
| Â | Copy Timecards | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Timecard List | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Â | Check List | Yes | Yes | No | ||
|  | Project and Job Costing | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | ||
|  | Timecard Users | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | ||
|  | G/L Consolidations | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | ||
|  | Intercompany Transactions | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | Yes – 500 | ||
| Sage Accpac Options Modules | Note: Refer to the Sage Accpac Options Compatibility Chart for version compatibility information. | |||||
| Â | Financial Link Professional | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | ACCPAC CFO | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | ACCPAC KPI | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Account Code Change | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Customer Number Change | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Vendor Number Change | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | EFT Direct Receivables | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | EFT Direct Payables | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | EFT Direct Payroll eFile for Canadian Payroll | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Contact Master Professional | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Serialized Inventory | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Lot Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Item Number Change | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
|  | Sales Analysis | Yes – 500 | Yes – 200 | Yes – 200 | ||
| Â | Zippy Notes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | ODBC Link Standard | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | ODBC Link Professional | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | ACCPAC Query Standard | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | ACCPAC Query Professional | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | ACCPAC Alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| iConnect Self Service Modules | ||||||
| Â | Customer Account Inquiry | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Order Entry | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Order Inquiry | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Â | Employee Inquiry | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Today TPAC (Third Party Advantage Conference) 2007 started today with the preconference. Unisoft attended Norming Software Intl training sessions on Norming eTimesheet and Norming Asset Management. Norming Software Intl is based in Beigjing and has produced a number of third party products that integrate with Sage Accpac ERP.Â
Norming eTimesheet is a web based job planning, time and leave tracking, expense reporting and billing software suite that the fully integrates with Sage Accpac ERP. It also integrates with almost any other accounting system through it’s integration component. The technology is built on Microsoft’s .NET framework and has can use a number of database engines including MS SQL, Pervasive and Oracle. We look forward to hearing more from the Norming team. This was a great start to the Sage Accpac third party products and really shows the depth and flexibilty that can be achieved Sage Accpac ERP trhough the third party solutions giving business owners a complete end-to-end ERP system. Â
Unisoft will be attending the Sage Accpac third party conference or formally Third Party Advantage Conference (TPAC) from August 26th to 28th. TPAC is a conference showcasing thrid party products that work with Sage Accpac ERP. The conference was founded in 2003 after the AOC, the old Third Party conference was discontinued. All the major Sage Accpac third party developers will be there and will be a good time for Unisoft to get up to date on all their latest technologies and developments. There will be training sessions and exhibitions that will allow Unisoft to help find the best products to help improve our customers business systems. We will be posting back here after the Conference to give a quick summary of what of the Accpac conference.
Ever since Unisoft began providing one of North America’s most effective customer relationship management solutions we have been met with some confusion regarding what CRM systems really can and cannot do. We hope this 3 part series of posts will help clear up some of this confusion as well shed some light into the intentions behind Sage CRM’s architectural design.
In many ways Sage Accpac CRM certainly is the all-encompassing “yes†solution.  It has been highly regarded for the ease of use and flexibility involved in the customization process as well as won out against its competitors for various user friendly features including an appealing and uncluttered interface, web deployment that provides real time access at anytime and from anywhere, integration with its host accounting solution (Sage Accpac ERP) and a wide range of readily available third party products that often also integrate with Sage Accpac ERP. Nevertheless, customers often approach the prospect of purchasing a CRM system with unclear views about what they really want to achieve with the solution, or even worse, with little or no expectations at all. In the first case this type of confusion can lead to a circle of indecisiveness which often stops at a dead end with no decision at all and in the second case customers that do go ahead with the purchase will often feel dissatisfied with the product because they never distinguished what they wanted it for in the first place. In both situations the solution is simple: isolate your needs from your desires and come to a conclusion which is both satisfactory and realistic. Of course, while we never want a client to settle for just anything that happens to come along, we also want you to remember that you will rarely find a solution that is perfect and so a little compromise is better than nothing at all. Â
Join us next time when we discuss elements and functions that most customers should be looking for in CRM systems and how Sage CRM compares in this regard.
