To create a Task Menu, click on the MyTasks tab when in the Detail View of the Launcher.

Right click and choose New, then Private or Public Folder.  A “New Folder” will be created.  Right click to rename it.  Right click on it again and choose New, then Task or Program.  Choosing Program takes you to a Window Explorer screen where you can browse your computer to find your program (Excel, Word, Outlook, whatever).
Choosing Task brings up a browser of MAS90 programs, sorted by module.  Simply drill down into the module, then menu, then task to find the option you wish to add to your Task Menu.  Continue until done!

PC Charge will soon no longer work with MAS90/MAS200.  Sage is removing all storage of credit card information from within MAS90/200 and will instead link to an outside secure source for storage and processing.  I don’t have the exact date of this, but those users still on PC Charge – heads up.

 Sat through a seminar on creating dashboards (Top 5 customers/items/vendors, trends, etc) using Sage MAS Intelligence.  I’m liking it for non-financials – has anyone got a few dashboard items they’d like to see?  I need practice.

 Found a product, Renovo, which is pretty much a straight replacement for FRx.  A little pricey, but will convert your FRx reports exactly and looks very similar.  If I had to guess, I would say an ex-FRx programmer is working there.  Anyway, if you’re interested, let me know.  They will do a web demo using your FRx reports – they will convert and then run side by side, FRx vs Renovo.

Also picked up some info on Avatax – for those of you who are starting to face sales tax in numerous states, this is a good option.  All of the calculating is done via their web site when you accept an order/invoice.  They actually go to the specific street address when determining the correct taxes, and they offer preparation of tax returns, as well.  Available in 4.05 and higher.

When saving Form Code and Report Settings, Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 4.4 retains the last printer used by workstation ID. This is useful in multi-user and multi-location environments where each user wants to print to their specific printer. This feature is available for forms and reports for most Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 4.4 modules, including AP, AR, Bank Rec, Bills, Bar Code, CC Processing, GL, Inventory, PO, RMA, and Sales Order.       

How do you rate on the dinosaur scale?

• Does your company still use a fax machine?
• Does your company use printers and file cabinets?
• Does your company rely solely on email for communication with clients and peers?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then your company is in danger of becoming a “Technology Dinosaur.” The greatest danger in not taking the time to review your company’s ERP solution and processes is that you are becoming less agile and risk missing an opportunity because of not being prepared.

Are you aware of terms like connected service, document repository, cloud computing, colloboration sites, etc…?  If not, don’t worry! Most small business are struggling to simply meet the day-to-day challenges of operating in a down-sized environment. But there is a way to prevent you from falling behind and to allow you to become proactive in maintaining the technology that your company depends on.

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, hired a technology mentor for his executives to keep them abreast of current technology developments.  While most of you cannot afford to hire this position, you do have access to a technology mentor through your relationship with TSS.

As your Sage Business Partner, TSS is continually seeking information to help our clients maximize the benefit from their ERP software.  We believe Sage MAS ERP solutions have been rapidly adding features to help you take advantage of technology advances over the last couple of years.  Recently, TSS helped clients implement the following solutions that have impacted their bottom line:

• Implemented Electronic Delivery of Direct Deposit stubs for a weekly payroll with over 300 employees.  This solution saved in time, check stock, and postage.
• Integrated MAS with a Web Portal to import data into PR.  This solution took a process that required two days down to a couple of hours.
• Helped implement an EDI package.  This solution saved hundreds of hours in duplicate data entry between their ERP solution and their client’s EDI network.
• Helped integrate MAS wih a document management solution.  This integration saves the client time spent looking for documents and allows them to easily share data across multiple offices.

How can TSS assist your company?  Let one of our consultants review your current processes and current business opportunities to ensure that you are using all of the available tools to be as agile and competitive as possible.

•  Multi-Company Aged Accounts Payable Invoice Report – This allows you to combine the aging for more than one company, grouping like vendors together so you can see a true picture of your purchases.
• A/P Check Sorting Options – Allows you to sort your checks by vendor NAME.
• A/P Expense Distribution Tables – If a vendor’s invoices are always broken down across several different GL Account Numbers, you can now setup that matrix to save time and eliminate mistakes during data entry.  (Similar to the Earnings Code matrix for Payroll.)
• Extra Security in Item Inquiry – You may now hide or show costing and vendor information by Role in Item Inquiry.
• Inactive Items – An item may be designated as Inactive yet still used in RMA or credit memo processing.
• Physical Counts with Count Cards – Yes, this is what used to be Physical Count by Tag.
• Company-Specific Background Colors – Help eliminate confusion by specifying a particular background color for each company in your system!

• BI-Product Issue (raw material)
• BR- Product Receipts (finished goods)
•  BZ-Negative Quantity Adjustment

Inventory: 

• IA-Item Adjustment
•  II-Item Issued
• IN-Negative Tier Adjustment
•  IP-Physical Count
• IR-Item Received
• IS-Item Sold
• IT-Item Transfer
• IX-Purged Transactions
•  IZ-Cost Tier Adjustment

Purchase Order: 

• PM-Material Requisition
• PO-Purchase Order Item Received
• PZ-Negative Quantity Adjustment

 Sales Order: 

• SI-Sales Order Issues (Component items on exploded kits)
• SO-Sales Order Invoiced Item
  
  

Work Order: 

• WI-Work Order Issues (raw materials)
• WR-   Work Order Receipts (finished goods)

First, let’s discuss how a negative tier gets created.  If you are using LIFO or FIFO valuation methods for your items, you may have noticed that you can invoice items that you do not have on hand.  (You can not ADJUST items you don’t have on hand, but you can SELL them.) 

When you update the Daily Sales Reports/Updates, the system will create a “negative tier” for the difference between the Quantity on Hand and the Quantity Sold (if the Quantity Sold is greater than the Quantity on Hand).  This negative tier uses the LAST COST for the item. 

Subsequently, receipts or adjustments will create new positive tiers for the item.  The Negative Tier Adjustment matches up negative and positive tiers and calculates and difference in total cost and posts this to the Cost of Goods Sold account setup for the item’s product line.  Please note that the Negative Tier Adjustment report page breaks by product line, which can mean it can be very lengthy even if relatively few items are involved, if they are all a different product line. 

For example, let’s say you sell 10 of Product A without first receiving the product into inventory.  (Your receiver is out sick today.)  Product A has an average cost of $10.50 and a last cost of $10.  The last FIFO layer was $10.25. 

A negative tier of 10 at $10 (the last cost) will be created.  Tomorrow, when your receiver is back at work, he receives in 20 of Product A at $10.25 each. 

So, your OVERDIST tier is valued at 100.00 and your new tier is valued at 205.  The Negative Tier Adjustment will match these up and take 10 out of the new tier (valued at 102.50).  The difference between the 100.00 posted at the time of invoicing yesterday and the 102.50 received today, (2.50) will be posted to the Cost of Goods Sold account. 

The Negative Tier Adjustment should be run at least each period end, and can be run daily, if desired.  You should also note whether large amounts are posting via this report – if so, it could mean you need to tighten up the receiving procedures to ensure that there is always a Quantity On Hand when you make a sale.

When a check is issued, the Positive Pay service transmits an electronic text file to the bank. This file contains pertinent information about issued and voided checks (i.e., account number, check number, dollar value, issue date and payee name.) When those checks are submitted to the bank for payment, an electronic comparison is performed against the cumulative history. If discrepancies are identified, they are flagged to determine if the check should then be cleared.

Some banks only validate the check number and amount, and some also require that the payee name match exactly.

I currently have clients with accounts at various local and national banks using this service.  A file is created using Crystal Reports and sent (usually uploaded to a web site) to the bank.

The current version shipping has no conversion utilities, so it is only available to new clients.  It is priced similarly to the standard MAS200 product.

 But here’s the big GOTCHA – the SQL product does NOT include the following modules:  Payroll, MRP, Work Order, and Job Cost.  There will be a payroll included in the future, but at NO TIME are the other modules slated to be added.  If you use any of these modules and were thinking of upgrading to the SQL product someday – think again.