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Next week we will distribute the latest edition of the *info newsletter. 
Readers of the blog are getting a jump on everyone else with this link.
This issue covers two issues we have been discussing with our customers recently: Paperless Office and the new Sage Communities. Both of these topics are approached from a different perspective as well as the curious ghost asset fixed asset tracking issue.
Sage announced today that as a way to reward existing Sage MAS 90 and 200 ERP customers with current ClientCare Plans (more commonly known as subscriptions). Purchasing two user licenses will net a third license at no additional cost. Also, purchasing a new module will entitle you to a second module.
Of course there is fine print. The second module is of equal or lesser cost and is good up to $1500 and maintenance fees apply to all user licenses and modules (even the “free” ones). The offers are valid March 10 – 31, 2009.
While these are good offers, the best offer is hidden: the buy one/get one free applies to Extended Solutions, plug-in applications that enhance the functionality of the modules you are already using. We just demonstrated several Extended Solutions at our last User Group meeting and you can find a list of recommended Extended Solutions here.
Since Sage introduced the Sage MAS Online Community and Discussion Forum in 2008, it seemed inevitable that the popular and content-full SageTalk Discussion Forum would be retired and after the end of this month the site will become a read-only resource. No new posts or replies will be allowed but it seems that the existing information will remain in place indefinitely for reference purposes.
Although it isn’t as well-stocked as its predecessor, after participating in the new forum, you will likely come to the conclusion that it is an improvement. Messages can include images and are much easier to edit that with SageTalk. RSS feeds for the Core Modules and other sections and Twitter feeds are available, too.
Thanks to all of the users that attended the MAS 90/200 User Group meeting on February 19. We covered a tremendous amount of information.
During the meeting, Esther talked about Sage Online. This website includes all of the knowledgebase information your consultants use for researching service issues. With a current subscription agreement, you can create a profile here and log on to your account here. If you are not an authorized contact for your Sage account, you will need to complete the form here. Esther also talked about the Product Enhancement Request Form that you can find here. Sage uses these suggestions to develop future upgrade releases.
Esther also demonstrated five Extended Solutions. Here are links to information about those enhancements. A complete list of the 700+ Extended Solutions can be found here and the list of Esther’s Extended Solutions Honorable Mentions can be found here.
BR-1004 Positive Pay Export
BR-1005 Bank Reconciliation Import
GL-1064 Bank Reconciliation Integration with General Journal
LM-1028 Background Color by Company Code
PR-1064 Tax And Deduction Liability Check Generation
Annette showed some options for printing labels and customizing them to your exact needs. You can download these basic forms using these links. We’ve also included a link to the instructions included in your handouts here.
Vendor Mailing Labels Avery Form 5160.rpt
Vendor File Labels Avery Form 5266.rpt
Active Employee File Lables Avery Form 5266.rpt
If you have any questions about these links or any of the topics we covered during the meeting, just send a note. If you have suggestions for future meetings, we want to hear from you. And if there are any other items you would like to discuss, just let us know. If you aren’t yet on the mailing list and want to receive notices for upcoming meetings, send us a note.
Thanks again to all of the users for making the meetings such a terrific success.
Spreadsheets are great for calculating interest but they are not an effective way to generate reports. Use your software. Today every business management software package has some kind of custom report writer available, yet many businesses are creating their business critical reports using Excel. Learning your system’s custom reporting tool and creating your reports using these tools will provide companies with huge return. Once custom reports are created, and all transactions are completed for that accounting period, then reports are generated at the touch of a button and the report contains actual data. Spreadsheet reports require too much time for data entry, possibility for data entry error and probability of formula corruption. Spreadsheet reports lack timeliness, integrity and the ability to reproduce historical reports.
The final MAS 90 and MAS 200 User Group meeting of 2008 is scheduled for December 11. The meeting will follow our typical agenda. Networking will begin at 11:30 am followed by lunch, presentations and the open discussion.
The presentations will focus on year end processing.
If you haven’t received your ticket or would like to RSVP, just send a quick email.
by Brian Rice
The next User Group meeting is approaching.
In this meeting we will revisit reporting, but this time with a twist. We will be talking about graphical data representations which is just a $10 phrase for charts and graphs. We know charts and graphs are easy to build in Excel; now we’ll show what can be done in Crystal Reports, FRx and Business Insights Explorer. As always, all users will have an opportunity to talk about the tipic of their choice during the open discussion.
This is your chance to meet with other MAS 90 and MAS 200 users and consultants, enjoy lunch on us and enter drawings for prizes. Look for your tickets in the mail as the meeting date draws closer. If you don’t find your tickets in the mail or you would like to invite a co-worker or friend, just let us know and we will be sure to take care of it.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Acuity Financial Center Board Room, Second Floor
7881 West Charleston Blvd. (just west of Buffalo)
If there is a topic you would like to see presented at a future meeting, tell us about it in the comments section.
By Brian Rice
There has been a lot of talk about the improvements included with release of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 ERP version 4.3. I’m not complaining, because I wrote about here. However, I am interested in taking a look back at a tool that was included in a similar enhancement release. The Advanced Lookup Engine (ALE) was included in the version 3.5 release nearly eight years ago. The tool has undergone some development of its own, but in talking with different users, it seems that not many people are taking full advantage of everything it offers.
ALE is available throughout all of the MAS 90 and MAS 200 modules everywhere the familiar magnifying glass is found (or the F2 hotkey is available). ALE is the gizmo that allows users to sort or search any of the 
columns displayed. The columns can also be resized. The data can be searched by using any of the common operands (begins with, ends with, contains, etc.). The filters allow users to search using multiple criteria simultaneously. If that weren’t enough, users can also add standard columns to the display or calculate new fields to include. The custom search feature also allows users to build and save different searches.
With the ability to custom searches and the capability to export search results directly into Excel, the ALE is a de facto report writer. I have seen users write reports and mail merges for anniversary cards using the ALE. Another useful option is to create a call list for collections by including the following fields: Company, Phone, Contact, and Balance. In the image here, I have found a very specific list of customers: only customers with a zip code beginning 926 and area code 714.
The Library Master module includes a tool allowing supervisors to create, share and secure the customizations for individual users or groups of users.
Let us know how you are using the Advanced Lookup Engine in the comments.
Sage Software shipped all customers on a current subscription the 4.3 release last week. There has been a lot of talk for a long time about this release such as:
However, there is another less talked about (but maybe more anticipated) enhancement included: the simplification of report selection criteria.
No longer are users required to move to a second tab to define the criteria, but better yet is that users now have the option to keep the selection criteria window open after printing or previewing a report. That means you no longer have to navigate through the menus to run multiple iterations of a single report. It has been a long time coming.
Considering that and the fact that we’ve had some time to do our best to break the new release so it doesn’t break at the customer’s site, we’re getting excited about moving ahead with the upgrades. It’s also important to note that Sage has not yet had to release a service update for version 4.3.
Let’s hear what is exciting you about the upgrade to version 4.3 in the comments.
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