Sage North America announced that Sage ERP Accpac was awarded as the Best Accounting Software by Canadian resellers at eChannelNEWS’ Reseller Choice Awards. With over 700 VARs voting, Sage ERP Accpac was selected over Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains and others for top honors in the accounting software category. Sage ERP Accpac and Sage ERP Accpac Online are award-winning business management software that help small and midsized businesses in countries around the world manage their accounting, operations, and customer relationships.

eChannelNEWS’ Reseller Choice Awards, now in its fourth year, is among the most comprehensive voting surveys in Canada for resellers. Over 500 vendors were nominated in 80 categories overall. Each reseller voted for their favorite vendor in each of the 80 categories.

“These awards represent the voice of our partner community, so it’s a true honor to receive this,” commented Tom Miller, VP of Channel Management for Sage. “This recognition validates our commitment to not only provide meaningful solutions to the channel but also to help our partners build strong businesses.”

“We’ve done much in Canada to develop our strong presence — as evidenced by our large Canadian-based development center, our ability to leverage our Canadian cultural diversity to deliver Accpac localized for global markets, and the wide availability of accounting courses in the college system. The Reseller Choice Award as Best Accounting Software reaffirms our market strategy, so we are definitely celebrating!”

Do you have Sales Orders with un-fulfilled lines that linger in your system for months? Here are some ways to complete a partially invoiced Sales Order in Sage MAS 90 and 200 where a smaller quantity than the amount ordered has been invoiced or shipped. The Sales Order Open Order report allows you to select only backorders so you can get a list of these orders.
1. Set items to automatically complete if invoiced at a partial or zero quantity:
2. Invoice/ship the remaining quantity left on the line item(s).
3. Delete the sales order.
4. Edit the sales order and invoice it with only a comment line.

1. Set Sales order line items to be considered fulfilled and completed automatically:
Make sure that in Inventory Maintenance for the item, the Options tab is already set with the “Back Orders” checkbox deselected (unchecked). When a sales order line is only partially invoiced or shipped, the line is considered fulfilled/completed and will be deleted from the order in Sales Order Entry. When all the lines of a sales order are considered fulfilled/completed with the partial invoice (or shipping), the sales order will be considered completed and purged from Sales Order Entry.
If Retain Sales Orders/Quote History is selected in Sales Order Options, then in Sales Order/Quote History Inquiry, the order will show with a “Complete” status. Note: The line item in sales order history will show the actual Ordered and total Shipped quantities.

2. Invoice or Ship the remaining quantity left on the line item(s):
This only works if in Inventory Maintenance for the item, the Options tab is set with the “Back Orders” checkbox selected (checked).
Enter an Invoice or Ship a Sales Order referencing the original sales order.
When prompted “Do you want to ship the complete sales order?” select “Yes”. Edit the quantities to be invoiced (or shipped).
To complete the order, make sure to enter the full remaining quantity of each line item still to be invoiced (or shipped).
Print and update the Sales Journal.
When all the lines of a sales order are considered fulfilled/completed with the additional partial invoice (or shipping entry in Shipping Data Entry), then the sales order will be considered completed and purged from Sales Order Entry.
If Retain Sales Orders/Quote History is selected in Sales Order Options, then in Sales Order/Quote History Inquiry, the order will show with a status of “Complete Order”.
Note: The line item in sales order history will show the actual Ordered and total Shipped quantities.
3. Delete the partially invoiced or shipped sales orders. Any previous invoices or shipping entries posted for the sales order will remain posted. Access the order in Sales Order Entry. Click the “Delete” button to remove the order.
If Retain Sales Orders/Quote History is selected in Sales Order Options, and Retain Deleted Orders/Quotes is set to “Yes”, then in Sales Order/Quote History Inquiry, the order will show with a status of “Deleted Order”.
4. Edit the sales order and invoice it with only a comment line. This procedure allows a partially invoiced or shipped sales order to be completed without actual invoicing/shipment of additional quantities. This avoids showing the order as Deleted in Order History.
Access the order in Sales Order Entry. Highlight the line item(s) that are not to be further invoiced or shipped.
Edit the Ordered quantity to equal the Shipped quantity. Accept the order. Create a new invoice referencing the sales order in Invoice Data Entry. Select “Yes” when prompted with “Do you want to ship the complete sales order?” Notice there are no line items on the invoice. Enter a new “/C” comment line with a comment, such as “Order received in full. No more on order to be shipped.”
Print and update the invoice via the Daily Sales Reports/Updates process. As all the lines of the sales order are equal for Ordered and Shipped, the sales order will be considered completed and purged from Sales Order Entry.
If Retain Sales Orders/Quote History is selected in Sales Order Options, then in Sales Order/Quote History Inquiry, the order will show with a status of “Complete”. Note: The line item on the order in sales order history will show the modified Ordered (not the original) quantity along with the actual Shipped quantity.

United Cerebral Palsy of Georgia has been one of our allies for many years. Finance Director Laura Heise told us “Our mission is to positively support and impact the achievement of a life without limits for people with disabilities. We do that primarily by operating group homes and day program where people with varied disabilities can live in the community (rather than in an institution) and interact with others and their community through day programs (outings, projects, etc.) We serve over 250 people each day with these services. Our latest audit shows that nearly 90 cents of every dollar we get is spent on direct program services—which is a large accomplishment for any organization and one we are very proud of—you can be sure your money will be well spent!”

UCP has recently signed on with an organization that lets people turn their spare time into cash for themselves and a charity. OP4G (Opinions For Good) has an interesting business model – you sign up to take surveys periodically, get paid for it, and specify what percentage goes directly to one of the charities on their list. The “offer code” for United Cerebral Palsy is UCPGA1234, or select them from the dropdown list. Download the details…

Filing W2′s via Magnetic Media
Previously, people have filed employees W-2’s via Magnetic Media. Are there any changes?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will not accept W-2 information from employers on any type of magnetic media. Instead, they require electronic filing of W-2 information. Sage ERP MAS 90 or 200 versions 4.0, 4.05, and 4.10, and Sage ERP MAS 200 for SQL versions 3.73 and 3.74 Magnetic Media module and Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 versions 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4 Electronic Reporting module will allow you to create a MMREF-1 (EFW2) format file for uploading to the SSA’s website (www.ssa.gov/employer). The MMREF-1 file is formatted to the SSA’s Electronic Filing and Magnetic Media Reporting specifications provided the applicable IRD has been downloaded from Sage and properly installed on your system. File will be created in directory EFW2/”company code” as file name “W2REPORT.TXT”. Please call Friendly Systems support at 678-273-4010 ext 2 if you have questions on this Sage Payroll IRD for your system.

Form W-2 Reporting of cost of employer-sponsored health coverage :
Under the PPACA legislation, W-2 reporting of the value of health insurance sponsored by employers was to have become mandatory for 2011.
However, the IRS has granted interim relief for 2011 reporting. Sage is monitoring the requirements, with additional guidance to be released by the IRS later this year. Although reporting the cost of coverage will be optional with respect to 2011, the IRS continues to stress that the amounts reportable are not taxable. Included in the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in March, the new reporting requirement is intended to be informational only, and to provide employees with greater transparency into overall health care costs.

Are you getting the most out of your system? Get additional insight on how to use your Sage systems more efficiently, learn how to become more pro-active and discover new solutions through the Sage Webcast Center! Live and pre-recorded webcasts are available to explore system features and add-on modules within Sage Accpac, MAS 90, MAS 200, SageCRM, and more. Have you ever wondered how you might use Paperless Office in MAS 90? Or maybe you wanted to find a better way to manage leads, or look at a module you haven’t used, like Custom Office or Return Merchandise Authorization. Visit www.SageWebcast.com … it’s absolutely free. If you find something of interest and want more detailed information, call Friendly Systems at 678-273-4010 ext 1.

Sage Mas 90 and Mas 200 General Ledger module Utility Menu has a General Ledger Exchange option that allows you to import and export
GL Account numbers, Budget figures, and GL Transactions to/from a variety of formats, including excel spreadsheets. One tricky thing about this is that the excel-spreadsheet format is hidden in the G/L Exchange FAQ entries in the help text which takes 2-3 clicks from the help button on the exchange screen (and some searching) to locate. For all those who may have missed this info, here are the formats for your source spreadsheets:

GL Transaction data fields that can be imported using either the Alternate Exchange format or the Standard Exchange format, depending on the length of your GL account numbers.

Alternate Exchange Format – for 9-digit or less GL Acct #’s
Account Number 9 characters maximum (not including separators)
Account Description 30 characters
Transaction Date 8 characters Must be formatted MM/DD/YY.
Source Journal 2 characters
Journal/Register No 4 characters
Line Sequence # 3 characters
Source Module 2 characters
Reference Descr 40 characters
Posting Amount Numeric
Posting Comment N/A

Standard Exchange Format – for greater than 9-digit GL Acct #’s
Account Number 41 characters maximum (including separators)
Account Description 50 characters
Transaction Date 10 characters Must be formatted as YYYY-MM-DD.
Source Journal 2 characters
Journal/Register No 6 characters
Line Sequence # 14 characters
Source Module 2 characters
Reference Descr N/A
Posting Amount Numeric
Posting Comment 2048 characters

For more assistance on this subject, call Friendly Systems support at: 678-273-4010 ext 2

Who done it?

Do you ever wonder who updated a particular register or journal in Sage Mas90 and Mas200? You can add the user code to all graphical reports in Mas90 & Mas200 by clicking a checkbox on the Company Preferences screen.

Go to:
Library Master -> Company Maintenance > Preferences. Check the Print User Logon on Reports check box.

The user code will print under the page number at the bottom right of the page, with the heading: User Logon: XZY

Verizon Communications has been granted permission to stop distributing the white pages in New York, Florida and Pennsylvania. Other states that have already approved the change: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.

The reason is obvious – the internet.

These days, not only are phone books used less often, cell numbers often aren’t included in them, rendering them all but useless if the person you’re looking for belongs to the growing group of Americans who has eliminated their land line entirely.

A Gallup poll that indicated that only 11% of American households rely on the white pages.

In contrast, the yellow pages – polls quite differently, at least according to those who benefit from it. The Yellow Pages Association says that more than half of Americans still let their fingers do the walking.

In places where phone companies have stopped the mandatory distribution of the white pages, it’s still available upon request.
For the Atlanta area, see: http://www.mydirectories.att.com/

Despite Re-Circulating E-mail, It is Still Not Necessary to Register Cell Phone Numbers

As the number of phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry surpassed 139 million, the Federal Trade Commission reiterated that despite the claims in e-mails circulating on the Internet, consumers should not be concerned that their cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketers at any time in the near future. In addition, according to the agency, it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the DNC Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to cell phones.

The truth about cell phones and the DNC Registry is:

* Contrary to the e-mail, cell phone numbers are NOT being released to telemarketers, and you will NOT soon be getting telemarketing calls on your cell phone.
* There is NO deadline by which you must register your cell phone number on the Registry.
* Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers. Automated dialers are standard in the industry, so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers on their cell phones without their consent.
* The national associations representing telemarketers have stated that their clients do not intend to start calling consumers’ cell phones.
* There is only ONE DNC Registry. There is no separate registry for cell phones.
* The DNC Registry accepts registrations from both cell phones and land lines. You must call from the phone number that you want to register. If you register online, you must respond to a confirmation e-mail.
* While the telecommunications industry has been discussing the possibility of creating a wireless 411 directory, according to the FCC, even if a wireless 411 directory is established, most telemarketing calls to cell phones would still be illegal, regardless of whether the number is listed on the federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry.
See FTC at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/02/dnccellphones.shtm

Have you ever scrambled around for a spreadsheet, note, invoice-copy or customer request when researching transactions? Has anyone asked you the situation with an order/invoice/receipt/journal entry, etc? (especially as you head out for a vacation?) Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 have a feature that allows you to attach documents and memos to your transactions. These can be any kind of documents such as pdf’s, spreadsheets and pictures, or simple text memos and are available for everyone to see.
The attachments do NOT print on the order, PO, Invoice, J/E, etc, nor do they print on the data entry Register for that transaction. Once you add an attachment to a transaction however, it travels with the transaction and is available for display when retrieving the document (AP Invoice, Sales Order/Invoice, J/E, PO, etc) from history Inquiry for that transaction. You can add multiple memos and attachments to the same transaction. You can also add memos and attachments to a transaction from the history Inquiry. Note the memo field to the right of the transaction # (JE, Order, Invoice, Receipt, etc). This is a great way to keep notes on complicated or disputed transactions in the system, rather than scraps of paper on your desk or files on your computer that nobody else can see.
This feature is available for all of the modules using the new Business Framework structure. In version 4.30 that includes AR, AP, GL, SO. Business Framework was added to the Inventory and Purchase Order modules for version 4.40. During data entry, to the right of the browse buttons, there is an icon for memo entry. Click on this icon to add memos and attach documents. Examples: scan a copy of a vendor invoice and attach it to your AP Invoice entry for that invoice. The attached document will then be available when you research the transaction in the future, as an attached copy of the vendor’s invoice. Receiving documents can be scanned and attached to your PO receipts entry, so they are available when researching a particular receipt. A customer’s order-request can be added to a Sales Order/Invoice for documentation of the goods and services ordered. Collection Notes can be added to AR and SO Invoices. It is preferable that you put these attachment documents on your MAS 90/200 server rather your workstation so that they are available to all users, and are backed up with your accounting data. This is a great way to have that documentation attached to the transaction for instant retrieval for everyone to see when researching the transaction, while you are enjoying the holidays or on vacation.