It’s happened to you – overdue invoices that have to be written off, an unfulfilled order because you ran out of stock, or a discount lost because you missed the deadline. Troubling enough during a good economy, mistakes like this can determine the very survival of your business during tough times. Your organization simply cannot afford to miss out on critical information that can save you money, save you time, and keep your business afloat.

If these are concerns you share, then consider Sage KnowledgeSync – the most effective Business Activity Monitoring solution on the market today.  Sage KnowledgeSync is your invisible assistant; it automatically identifies and responds to critical business conditions that – left unchecked – can jeopardize the very survival of your business.

Not only will Sage KnowledgeSync alert you to events, but it can also automatically deliver reports and can automate business processes.

Sage KnowledgeSync works with Sage 100 ERP, Sage 500 ERP and Sage ERP X3.

Ready-To-Go Business Alerts

 Both the Professional and Enterprise versions of Sage KnowledgeSync come with a large collection of preconfigured business alerts that include the following:

Out-of-the-Box Alerts:

• AP Discounts About to Expire
• Payables Due Today
• Payables Due in ‘x’ Days
• Payables that are Overdue
• High Balance Vendors
• Invoices with Excessive Freight
• Today’s Payments
• Invoices Due or Overdue
• High Balance Customers
• Customers Running Out of Credit
• Customers Over Credit Limit
• Customers Not Buying Recently
• Stock Surpluses / Shortages
• Quotes Expiring in ‘x’ Days
• Employee Review Upcoming
• Employees with Negative Sick Time

Automatic Form, Document, & Report Delivery

Most organizations today spend far too much time manually running, distributing, and delivering various forms, documents, and reports to both their internal employees and external clients and partners. Sage KnowledgeSync automates both the production and delivery of such documents, whether it’s sending quotes, invoices, or letters to clients, or distributing analytical reports to an organization’s own managers and executives. Using the industry-standard Crystal Reports, Sage KnowledgeSync generates forms and documents when needed—or when business conditions demand it—and delivers this information to the right people at the right time.

Intelligent Workflow & Business Process Automation
Sage KnowledgeSync does more than just send alerts; it triggers “workflow” to update your applications, schedule intelligent tasks, and move information between an organization’s disparate software systems. Whether it’s to update a client’s history based on the receipt of an email message from them, or to schedule a phone call for a prospect who has not been contacted within the last week, Sage KnowledgeSync gives organizations the means to automate (and monitor) critical business processes.

Contact Our Team

Are you interested in learning more about the features in KnowledgeSync? Contact SWK’s professionals to learn how these features can benefit you. For additional information please call us at 877-979-5462, or click here.

Image courtesy of ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

With the discontinuation of Sage Pro due in March 2014, some of you are probably asking yourselves where to turn next.  Sage’s new ERP solution is geared to fit your business needs and requirements.  So sit back, take a breather, and learn why the new Sage ERP solution should be considered.

1. Connect to cloud services. Sage Cloud Services extend your ERP solution to integrate seamlessly with hosted third-party applications including freight and shipping, sales tax calculations, account monitoring and alerts, and payment processing.

2. Extend through our large ecosystem of third-party solution providers. Easily integrate information and automate business processes with extended solutions including EDI, e-commerce, bar codes, Point of Sale (POS), and complete suites for discrete and process manufacturing.

3. Mobile access. Mobile CRM puts the right customer information into the hands of your sales team at the right time to help increase customer service and drive sales. And with mobile payments, you can collect money due anytime, anywhere with a smartphone or tablet.

4. Flexible deployment options. Sage ERP solutions are built using industry-standard technology, and most of them can be deployed on premises or in a hosted environment.  

5. Flexible pricing options. Choose the payment model that works best for your business with options to buy perpetual licenses up front or to utilize subscription-based pricing. The Sage Investment Protection Program (SIPP) provides trade-in credits for both purchase options.

Options for upgrading, depending on your business needs, include:

• Sage ERP X3
• Sage 100 ERP

To learn more, register for one of the Meet the Sage ERP Family webcasts listed below:

• Wednesday Jun 12 2013 4:00 p.m. ET – Register Now
• Wednesday Jun 26 2013 4:00 p.m. ET – Register Now

 Contact Our Sage Pro Team

Are you interested in learning more about the options and promotions available from Sage for upgrading from Sage Pro? Or are you interested in a demo of other possible solutions? If so, contact SWK’s Sage Pro professionals and we’ll help you discover what the next step should be. For additional information please contact us at 877-979-5462, or click here to contact us.

Image courtesy of mrpuen / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. An organization may use KPIs to evaluate its success or to evaluate the success of a particular activity in which it is engaged. Sometimes success is defined in terms of making progress toward strategic goals, but often success is simply the repeated, periodic achievement of some level of operational goal. Choosing the right KPIs relies upon a good understanding of what is important to the organization.

What to do and not to do when selecting Key Performance Indicators for your dashboard?

Do: 

• Make it Measureable
• Make it Visual
• Make it Real Time
• Keep It simple

Don’t:

• Clutter your dashboard with useless widgets and complex graphs
• Don’t lose sight of your companies goals when selecting your KPI

The dashboard BI tools you already own with your Sage ERP X3 can help you achieve measurable, visual, interactive and real time data.

One way to create a KPI is by utilizing the statistics function in Sage ERP X3.   Sage ERP X3 comes with visual statistics out of the box and also gives you the availability to create your own – just select F7 and type in GESPS2 in the Direct Call field to create your own.

An easy KPI to monitor around your customer base is to utilize the CRM fields found on your Customer Master Record’s Control Tab.  Customer’s sales can be tracked by their business type.  Allowing you a quick and easy view in graph form, what types of business your sales excel in and what business types are weak.  With this information live on your dashboard, you don’t have to wait until the sales reports come out at the end of the month or quarter.

Dashboards, with the right KPI’s, allow you to be proactive.  I urge everyone to take advantage of this powerful tool.  If you are struggling with knowing where to capture the data in Sage ERP X3 for a KPI, or want ideas for KPI’s to create, just ask us!

If you find that you require functionality in your dashboards or KPIs beyond what Sage ERP X3 offers, consider Nectari, SWK’s recommended Business Intelligence solution for Sage ERP X3.  Nectari Business Intelligence is a self- service data analysis and reporting solution engineered for ease of use and performance. It facilitates real-time access to enterprise-wide information, quickly and securely – and provides data entry and business logic capabilities, supporting applications such as budgeting and forecasting.

Contact Our Sage ERP X3 Team

Want to learn more about Sage ERP X3 or Nectari Business Intelligence? For additional information please contact us at 877-979-5462, or click here to contact us.

Source(s): Wikipedia

This is the second of four articles profiling potential pitfalls with delivering professional services from the cloud. The first of the articles can be found here.

In this second of four articles discussing potential pitfalls of implementing a cloud service, we will review how discipline can collapse, and more importantly, how to prevent it from doing so.

One might assume that with the implementation of a cloud-based professional services (PS) solution that there is no manual work required.  In a sense that is “correct” with respect to computer hardware, but in order to optimize results, special care should be given to the procedures that must be in place to accompany any new PS solution.  NetSuite can run all of your key back-office operations and financial business processes with a single, comprehensive business management application.  The key remains to stay one step ahead of the game. Remember, you are still providing a service even though the cloud carries the load.

Mitigation Tactics

When delivering PS from the cloud, the ability to “hide” issues from the client can have the effect of reducing the rigor that drives quality and completeness. Most organizations continue to have SDLC (system development life cycle) methods and tools in place, but there is no greater accountability than having to show a client your software incident report on a daily basis.

The need for project management doesn’t go away – in fact, it needs to get more disciplined. Some professional service organizations (PSOs) in the cloud may have many more and smaller projects. Keeping tabs on the status, progress, and budget will be important to PSO profitability and success with the client. Project Management Offices (PMOs) will become an increasingly strategic tool for the PSO lead looking for a way to stay on top of everything occurring in the portfolio – and creating an objective 3rd party that can identify risks / issues / concerns – before the client finds them!

Contact Our NetSuite Team

Are you interested in learning more about the features in our NetSuite solution? Contact SWK’s NetSuite professionals to learn how these features can benefit you. For additional information please contact us at 877-979-5462, or click here to contact us.

Image courtesy of nuttakit, / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Source material for this article is from the whitepaper: “4 Keys to Success in Delivering Professional Services from the Cloud” by Mark E. Sloan

 Diagnosing Out-Of-Balance with GTEST Command using the Calculator function

Within Sage ERP X3, if you are trying to diagnose an out of balance situation while posting a transaction in financials (AR, AP, Inventory Accounting Interface or WIP accounting interface), you can view the debits and credits to see where the out of balance is occurring.

For example, below is an invoice that has not been posted.  To view the debits/credits when you post, use the Diagnostic help/Calculator tool and enter the command below.

At the Calculator prompt, type sigma(GTEST=0,1,0) and press enter .  To turn off GTEST, type sigma(GTEST=0,-1,0).  You can also exit X3 to turn off the parameter.   Setting this parameter is specific to the user logged in and will not affect other users.

After activating this parameter, you will see several pop-up messages that reference source code.  Continue to say OK and you’ll eventually see the debits/credits appear.  Below is an example:

Note: Be careful using this on the Accounting or WIP Interface.  It is wise to ensure the only thing you are dealing with is the out of balance situation.  Run the Accounting or WIP Interface prior to setting the GTEST parameter, otherwise, you will see debits/credits for each transaction that has yet to post.

Contact Our Sage ERP X3 Team

Want to learn more about Sage ERP X3? For additional information please contact us at 877-979-5462, or click here to contact us.

Source: Sage ERP X3 Support Desk

The following June training courses can be taken either online or in the SWK Sage-Authorized Training Center:

The courses offered during the month of June are:

• Sage 100 ERP Introduction to Crystal
  • Class Date: 06/03-04/2013
• Sage 100 ERP Distribution
  • Class Date: 06/10-12/2013
• Sage 100 ERP Data File Structure
  • Class Date: 06/24/2013

Featuring:

Sage 100 ERP Distribution:
A streamlined distribution operation begins with this comprehensive training course which covers Inventory Management, Sales Order, and Purchase Order.  You will become more productive with insights into the timesaving features provided by the Sage 100 ERP distribution solution.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Set up the Distribution applications (Inventory Management, Sales Order, and Purchase Order)
• Enter and report data in each module
• Operate and troubleshoot all aspects of the distribution applications

Course Length: 3 days
Course Cost: $1,070.00
Course Level: Basic
Prerequisite: None
Advanced Preparation: None
Who Should Attend: Sage 100 ERP Users
CPE Credits: 22.5
Course Instructional Method: Group Live and Group Internet based

Please visit SWK’s Sage Authorized Training Center Calendar to see the online and classroom classes available in our Livingston, NJ Sage ATC location and online. Click here for local hotels in the area.

Register here for both online and classroom Sage 100 training.

REMEMBER…SWK Support Plan clients receive 15% off all training classes. If you have any questions regarding our Support Plan or to register for a class, please contact Debbie Berndt at 973-758-6128 or at Debbie.berndt@swktech.com

Image courtesy of screationzs FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When it comes to taxes, stress rises and tension soars. This is due to the fact that many small-to- medium-sized companies do not have a system for the processes required to file taxes. Organizing required materials for tax filings can and will drive you crazy. With Sage 100 ERP, all the dirty work is taken care of for you. Jump on board with Sage 100 ERP Federal and State eFiling and Reporting and make taxes just another task, rather than a burdensome process.

Eliminate manual form creation and save time by choosing from over 250 federal and state forms for Unemployment, Withholding, New Hire reports, W-2s, W-3s, and 1099s.

With Sage 100 ERP Federal and State eFiling and Reporting, you can print and mail the provided federal and state forms. The electronic forms have a familiar appearance, as they are a replica of the government forms you would receive in the mail. The electronic forms that appear on your screen aren’t blank, however—much of the information is already filled out for you by your Sage 100 ERP system. View and edit the information easily on your screen, and once you’ve verified it’s the way you want it, the form is ready to print or e-file.

Go completely green by utilizing our eFiling Service, offered on a transaction-fee basis, to further streamline and simplify your tax reporting process. You choose how much of the service to utilize, from efficient filing of employee New Hire or Unemployment forms to a complete filing service for W-2s and 1099s, with hard copies sent to your employees and to you for your records. You can also provide your employees with immediate access to their copy on a secure website.

Eliminate Manual Efforts
Using Sage 100 ERP eFiling and Reporting, you no longer have to order, stock, and keep track of printed forms. Better yet, you won’t have to worry about finding, loading, and aligning those forms when you need to print. Simply choose the form you need from the drop-down list.

Automatically Complete Forms
Choose the form, and any of your federal and state forms, including Unemployment, Withholding, and New Hire reports, are automatically filled in using the data from your Sage 100 ERP Payroll and Accounts Payable modules. No more struggling over worksheets, triple-checking calculations, or whiteout!

E-File Forms and Payments
Choose the level of e-filing services you want to use for your W-2s and 1099s. Sage 100 ERP offers two types—Basic and Complete. Both save you time on requesting, stocking, and finding the forms you need. Basic service provides you with the ability to send state or federal reports through e-file in minutes. Complete service files your federal and state forms electronically, and also prints, stuffs, and mails your employee copy; plus, a plain-paper copy is provided for your records.

Contact Our Sage 100 ERP Team
Are you interested in learning more about the features in Sage 100 ERP? Contact SWK’s Sage 100 ERP professionals to learn how these enhancements can benefit you. For additional information please contact us at 877-979-5462, or click here to contact us.

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

SWK offers a variety of backup and disaster recovery solutions that are guaranteed to save time and resources.

One of the key components to running and operating a business is to be able to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

As with many businesses today, the worst thing that could happen is a technological breakdown.  The result of this, with the wrong service provider, could hold you back days or even weeks.  Information becomes no longer accessible, and company operations become stalemated.

However, with the right service provider, you could be up and running again in no time.

At SWK, we understand the importance of a speedy recovery from disaster.  With qualified professionals and a strong IT team, SWK has the know how to recover loss of information and connectivity that drive your company’s operations.

Our reasonably priced, comprehensive solution:

• Backs up your data throughout the day
• Virtualizes your operating system and programs
• Allows you to be operational in minutes, instead of days.
• Provides high availability, redundant, encrypted, secure off-site co-location facilities.
• Brings downed servers up in hours, not days, giving you fast access to data that keeps your business running.
• Replaces management-intensive, error-prone tape backup with a quickly deployed onsite device.
• Includes monthly automated failure testing – just as you would test a fire alarm
• Completely hands free solution, which reduces your need to play technician

Our solutions allow you to frequently and easily back up onsite or offsite. As a result, we have helped many small- and medium-sized businesses take advantage of savings that were previously reserved for large enterprise organizations.

Offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Defend against disaster before it takes a shot at you!

Special Offer:

 Free Installation Until May 31st! A $300 Value!

Sign up between now and May 31st to receive free installation and to get the best strategy for you to protect your IT infrastructure and to keep your business running smoothly.

Contact Our Network Services Team

Want to learn more about backup and disaster recovery? For additional information, contact Matt Hahn at 877-979-5462 or matthew.hahn@swktech.com or click here to contact us.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Is your business expanding internationally? Do you have a need to track multiple currencies within your ERP system?  Are you doing this by hand now? Is this taking too much time or causing other headaches? 

With the multicurrency management function, Sage ERP X3 provides the service of automatically converting currency amounts to cater to your specific business needs.

Sage ERP X3 can handle transfers and reporting of information from one country to another, and between subsidiaries and their headquarters. Sage ERP X3 combines decentralized and international company financial management.  The flexible accounting structure (multi-ledger/multi-chart of accounts) guarantees a real-time global vision while responding to local operational requirements (legal, analytical, localized, and reporting).

Sage ERP X3 offers multicurrency processing features that provide the ability to calculate transaction amounts, produce reports, and restate values in different currencies. Amounts can be expressed in the currency of the company, the business partner, or a user-defined reporting currency. Sage ERP X3 maintains all currencies and exchange rates in a single table and provides immediate conversion to alternate values on demand within any business transaction.

Invoices and payments can be accepted and issued in varying currencies. Sage ERP X3 provides full accounting of exchange rate variances and automatically posts them to the appropriate general ledger (GL) gain or loss accounts.

Sage ERP X3 makes converting exchange rates and currencies quick, reliable, and easy to use.  Also there are multiple exchange rate types. Whether you need daily, monthly, or an on-average report, Sage ERP X3 offers these to you at your fingertips – all while maintaining compliance.

Contact Our Sage ERP X3 Team

Want to learn more about Sage ERP X3? For additional information please contact us at 877-979-5462, or click here to contact us.

 Image courtesy of coward_lion / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is the first of four articles profiling potential pitfalls with delivering professional services from the cloud. 

Cloud computing solutions, like NetSuite, which include the delivery of software as a service rather than a product, continue to grow at a rapid rate due to the real benefits of this model, including:

• Low initial costs
• Operational predictability
• Business flexibility
• Lower risk.

The growth of this model is inherently changing the role of professional services organizations (PSOs) as they adapt a “professional services from the cloud” model for their businesses.

 PSO leaders are readily embracing the opportunities associated with this professional services delivery model for both their customers and their own organizations, because they can:

• Employ skilled resources across multiple client implementations
• Manage virtual, global staffing more effectively
• Blur the lines of implementation and support to minimize post production quality issues

However, these benefits are not without pitfalls.

In this series of articles we will focus on several potential issues including:

Potential Pitfall #1: Client-Facing Skills Diminish
Potential Pitfall #2: Systems Development Life Cycle Disciplines Can Break Down
Potential Pitfall #3: Are You Meeting the Client’s Requirements?
Potential Pitfall #4: The Economics are Different

 POTENTIAL PITFALL #1: CLIENT-FACING SKILLS DIMINISH

 For the PSO, the benefits gained from working “in the cloud” include better work-life balance, less time spent travelling and improved employee supervision.

However, the “Professional Services (PS) from the Cloud” model can drive the majority of the PS team away from the client to either the PSO’s offices or other virtual locations.

 Tactics For Migrating Your PSO To The Cloud

As your PSO moves its operations to the cloud, there are two issues that need to be recognized and addressed.

1) Using a cloud service can decrease the amount of face-to-face time with the client.

2) It is very easy to adapt to the routine of using home as your office.  Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but oftentimes the “client first” approach can get lost in the wind.

For years, consulting firms and consulting oriented PSOs have focused on developing the soft skills of their personnel. In the “cloud”, if you are working remotely, you need a highly developed set of “soft skills” to:

• Stay on top of the client’s mood;
• Effectively communicate project status, issues / risks; and
• Properly drive the client to necessary decisions and actions.

 Communication remains ever so important when providing professional services in the cloud.

Although the cloud lies in space, invisible, the client needs to know that you are “hands on” and available when need be, and that they can rely on your services. Make sure that you are as reliable, consistent, and personable to the client’s needs as you were before switching to a cloud.

Schedule “face time” at your client’s site.  The benefits of being in front of the client, getting to know them as “people” not just clients (and them getting to know you as a “person” not just a consultant), and being able to walk down the hall are invaluable to getting work done successfully.

The migration tactics are directly tied with the use of soft skills, which include constant, effective communication and maintaining a healthy professional relationship with the client.    Pay extra attention to managing client expectations and satisfaction.

And finally, always be on call and available to support your client, as it is the foundation of future success.

Contact Our NetSuite Team

Are you interested in learning more? Contact SWK’s NetSuite professionals for additional information at 877-979-5462, or click here to contact us.

Source material for this article is from the whitepaper: “4 Keys to Success in Delivering Professional Services from the Cloud” by Mark E. Sloan

Image courtesy of adamr / FreeDigitalPhotos.net