The Future of ERP
Sage Master Builder – Mastering the Basics – Wednesday, June 23rd 8-12pm
This half-day class is designed for those familiar with Sage Master Builder but looking to improve their maneuverability around the software as well as their knowledge of the basics, shortcuts, and one-time entry processes. We will briefly discuss the General Ledger, Cost Code and Workers Comp setup.
Cloud Computing and Stand Alone Software
Sage Timberline Office – Advanced Report Designer – Wednesday, May 12th 9-4pm
This class is intended for accounting clients who are ready to take their report designing skills to the next level of report design.
This activity intensive course teaches you how to harness the power of Report Designer through practical hands-on experience. This class focuses on some of the more advanced uses of Report Designer, such as use of the LOOKUP, JOIN, IF, ASUM and PART functions. Attendees will leave this class with a solid understanding of a variety of features including formulas, functions, prompt windows, as well as many other options. This course also covers an introduction of the open database connectivity (ODBC) driver and it’s usage in spreadsheet, database and word processing applications. Participants should have worked with the software for at least six months and have some experience with actual Sage Timberline Office report design. PREREQUISITE: Report Designer.
Employees & Social Media Usage
I just read an interesting article in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) magazine titled “Rave All About It.” While it covers many facets of Social Media & it’s usage there are two items that got my attention.It says, “typically in larger companies the geniuses in either the legal department or the HR departments have a policy that nobody is allowed to even look @ YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or LinkedIn. While I can understand blocking MySpace the others I can’t. What the geniuses don’t know is that they’re only blocking access to the social media sites that they are aware of. There are literally hundreds of social media sites that most of us are clueless of their existence.
Basically these companies don’t trust their employees to do the right thing at work, and also, by regulating the media, it shows that those organizations don’t understnad human communication.
This goes back to the argument that if you don’t trust your employees you shouldn’t have hired them in the first place & conversely do you really want to be working for a company who operates under a cloud of mistrust. Personally I’d much rather work for a company that not only trusts me but values my integrity to do the right thing.
These companies are also the ones who have installed a virtual gate on their “available” white papers by requiring an e-mail address, phone number, or other person information.
Their purpose for making their white paper is not to spread their ideas but for the sole purpose of generating a list of potential prospects to call.
If you want the number of people downloading your white papers to grow expodentially then you need to remove the registration maze that you’ve created.
According to the head of public affairs of the entire United States Air Force they allow 350,000 Air Force employees to use social media on the job. We’re talking about national security. If the Air Force can do it, anyone can do it.
Things to Look For While Choosing The Best Accounting Software
There are quite a few points you must to look into while selecting the best accounting software program for your business:
1) Know your industry.
Which industry are you in? Did you know that there are specialized accounting software suitable targeted towards specific industries?
For example, Sage MAS 90 & MAS 200 are targeted towards industries in the field of Manufacturing and Distribution such as Light Manufacturers, Distribution Companies. Distribution durable goods, Professional, consulting & business services, construction sub-contractor, commercial and service, finance, banking and insurance, distribution food and medical, construction general contractor, manufacturing job shop and made to order operations, retail soft goods, manufacturing made for stock operations, most of which fall under the Small and Medium Businesses(SMB)
2) Whether the software you have selected has all the features you would like to have.
You may want to select particular software but does it have all the features and modules you would like to use? First check out the features of the software and eliminate the ones in which the features are lacking. Note down the merits and demerits of the software.
3) Whether the cost of the software is within your budget or not?
It would be better if you can do a cost analysis on the software you are going to invest in. Does the software really bring you benefits immediately or how much time would it take for you overcome the money you have invested on the software?
4) Is the software User Friendly?
The software you have chosen may have all the features but is it easy to use. Sit and discuss this with the employees who are going to use this software. Are they comfortable on training on the software and using it ? If not, what is the alternative?
5) Is the software flexible enough? Can it be customized according to you needs??
If your business is in the growth stage and have plans to expand your business. Can this software be improvised to cater to your future needs? How easy is it for you to customize that particular software for it to serve you in the future?
Choosing The Best Accounting Software Program
Choosing the best accounting software can be a daunting and confusing task. The fact is you are looking for accounting software because accounting is a rather complex task that you’d like to simplify. Choosing the right cost accounting software solutions can help you simplify your finances but the wrong one will only prolong things further. It is vital for you to choose the right accounting software solution based on your requirements and not on the basis of product reviews. This is to make sure that you are really comfortable using the software are all your requirements are met.
There are lots of varieties of accounting software with a range of features. For example, personal accounting software only takes care of monitoring of bank accounts, loan management of loans, investments and budgeting but lacks some of the business features.
The first and foremost step is to check out all the accounting software available in the market, you can do this by browsing through websites, reading reviews and comparisons or reaching out to an accounting software consultant. You can even get some information from others in your industry who may be using the software. In this stage you are only trying to gather information about features available and names of certain software programs.
The next step you make a deeper research by listing all the details about the software including available modules and features. Look for information about each product and compare their features.
Now have a look over your list and narrow down your search by eliminating the different software packages that you are not impressed or which lack features you are looking for or are out of your budget.
Once you have shortlisted the software you are interested in, download a demo of the software, which most suppliers do allow. Check for the ease in operating the software and the general layout of the program. After completing demos and doing your due diligence, contacting the right software experts and consultants can provide you with the guidance to make the right choice.
How To Reduce Costs & Streamline Your Business With Sage MAS 90 & MAS 200
Sage MAS 90/MAS 200 can decrease overhead expenses you didn’t even know you had! The robust accounting features of MAS 90/MAS 200 software keeps track of and manages your finances with accuracy and organizes your business more effectively. Small businesses can now focus on what they do best and with an accurate and streamlined accounting solution like Mas 90/MAS 200 software.
Not only does Sage MAS 90/MAS 200 helps you organize your business more effectively, it helps you in decreasing the expenses you incur, it also gives the critical business inelegance to generate more revenue. In addition, this software can be used to track your inventory and run your payroll. Each and every aspect of your business can be tracked very easily by combining all the modules of this software giving you a complete solution in one central location.
As you’ll see, Sage MAS 90/MAS 200 will quickly make up for your software investment. It makes sense for you to consider both the initial investment you make in MAS 90/MAS 200 along with the money you are going to save from future software hassles almost every business owner experiences. Let Mas 90/MAS 200 do the work for you by streamlining your accounting, payroll and inventory while keeping all of your data centralized and organized.
Which Versions Of Sage MAS Accounting Software Are Available For Me To Choose?
Sage MAS 90/MAS 200(Standard edition)
You can choose this version of MAS90/MAS 200 if your business is still in its growth stage, you can always enhance it depending on the ever changing requirements of your business.
MAS 90/MAS 200 Small Business Edition
Even though this version of MAS90/MAS 200 provides all the functionalities as the standard edition, in this version is restricted to two users.
This version might not be of much use to you if your business is growing rapidly.
Peachtree Version of MAS 90/MAS 200
If you think you need an enhancement of your existing Peachtree solution, go for this version. This will improve the application’s speed and efficiency with more functionality added to it.
MAS 90/MAS 200 Special Edition for QuickBooks
If you feel there is a need for you to upgrade your QuickBooks software to enable it to handle more transactions, this version of MAS 90 is for you. It ‘s a major improvement to QuickBooks and allows for easy integration of your data into MAS 90/MAS 200.
What Makes Sage MAS 90/MAS 200 The Best Of Breed Accounting Software?
MAS 90/MAS 200 is the best selling accounting solution in the world with roughly 86,000 customers. Due of this huge customer base, you can take it for granted that the product is, well-tested, proven, designed, and well-engineered. It offers one of the widest breath of modules in the mid-market a with a total of 44 MAS 90/MAS 200 modules, only a handful of other products come anywhere close to matching MAS 90’s completeness. MAS 90/MAS 200 is developed by one of the biggest management accounting software developers in the world – Sage Software / Best Software US Operations.
While other companies concentrate a whole range of software, Sage Software is committed solely to the accounting software programs. This is important because other larger companies may find it difficult to concentrate in this area because of the large range of their products. As Sage software solely depends on only it’s accounting software solutions, it gives Sage Software an edge over its competitors.
MAS 90/MAS 200 is a complete ERPS (Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions) which is quite flexible and can be improvised as your business grows. It caters to almost all the areas of your business such as Core Accounting, Distribution, Manufacturing, Time and Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, Human Resources Management, Business Intelligence, eBusiness, etc..
Windows 7 or Mac??? You May Be Surprised
<strong>S</strong>o, I just had to speak to this issue. I am utterly fascinated by the seemingly constant battering of the loyalists of Apple’s MAC. Let me be clear on my own bias first, and yes, everyone has their own bias.
<strong>N</strong>ot to bore anyone, but I must admit that I started my journey to ‘geekism’ in 1980 something and bought an Apple II plus….running CPM. I know, nobody probably knows what that was, and that is a great subject for another post. I was fascinated with what the computer could do. Now fast forward to today, I am still fascinated on what they do as these little miracle machines have become something we depend upon, not just something we have fun with. Now on with the show, my point?
<strong>W</strong>ell, with all due respect to Microsoft, let me take my professional hat off and just be blunt. Windows is okay and Vista was cool until we got to use it for awhile. Then, I would have to say it sucks (sorry for my “French”). I just got so frustrated with Vista with slowdown issues and finding files….stuff that would just not work. I will state that I rebuilt Vista no less than six times to fix issues (Thank God for Image backups). So, one day I said to myself, I really want a MAC. I mean really, who does not like the MAC commercials?
<strong>S</strong>o, $1400.00 later a new box and a new toy…I can hardly wait! Opened the box, set it up and LOVE IT …LOVE IT…LOVE IT! BIG 24” crystal clear monitor, Microsoft Office, connected to my Exchange Server… who could ask for anything more? Good thing I love it because my wonderful wife was not for the “investment”. I will say that getting used to where you size and close windows took a bit of getting used to. But the BIG item, the small keyboard. If you are an 8 year old, then you’re okay. I bought a new wireless Logitech keyboard and all is well.
<strong>R</strong>ight after I bought my Apple, Windows 7 was released to the Action Pack group and I tried it right away. You know I can’t ever wait to try something new when it comes to computers or anything else for that matter. Anyways…let’s give kudos to Microsoft. It‘s faster, more stable, less resource intensive, more fun (that is really important to me), and shuts down a lot faster. Well done boys in Redmond, well done!
<strong>Conclusion:</strong>
<strong>M</strong>AC is awesome. Still some issues with programs that only run on the PC, but far less than the past. Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, awesome. For me, slight edge to MAC. I use both and enjoy both. Let see how Windows 7 does after six months or so on the job. Expect to hear from me either way. I make no small issue of this….I am now a member of the partisan and loyal MAC family. What kind of car should I get that has a iMac identity?
<strong>O</strong>h and by the way, my MAC found my Windows Server and my printers considerably faster than my Windows 7 PRO. Why is that?
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