Sage (UK) Limited, the leading business software and services provider with more than 780,000 customers in the UK, has partnered with LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network to launch a multi-faceted digital campaign supporting Sage’s national Business Brains campaign.

The campaign, which includes profile targeted advertising and sponsorship of the Startups & Small Business Answers section of LinkedIn, aims to identify, explore and celebrate the business skills that make people in business more likely to succeed.

Joanna Elliott, Head of Brand at Sage (UK) Limited said, “This campaign goes far beyond traditional display advertising, by unlocking the potential of the LinkedIn network we can engage directly with our key audiences in a much more targeted, relevant and engaging way.”

The advertising and sponsorship activity on LinkedIn will drive traffic directly to an interactive site developed by Sage, train your business brain The site is designed to provide inspiration, mental stimulation and advice to UK professionals and includes:

• Business Brains video interviews with Simon Woodroffe, Founder of Yo! Sushi; Rebekah Fensome, a leading business psychologist and James Averdieck , Founder of Gü Puddings
• Five different mental agility tests to reveal your business IQ
• News and features from previous episodes of The Krypton Factor

The Credit Crunch Crisis has badly hit most of the UK companies. In these tough times, businesses are looking for ways and means to conserve cash.

Cutting down unnecessary cost, tight control of expenses and regular monitoring of inventory items are some of the important measures that organisations can adopt to remain in business during these tough times.

Of course, this requires the availability of key accounting information in a timely manner, for the decision makers to act accordingly.

To better equip the Sage 50 Accounts customers to address these issues, Microsap, (www.microsap.co.uk) a leading software services company and a Sage development partner, has launched a unique and effective solution – The Credit Crunch Module for Sage.

The Credit Crunch Module sits on top of Sage 50 Accounts software and uses the already available data to provide a thorough and meaningful analysis of expenses and possibly locked-up inventory assets.

The Credit Crunch Module, at present, provides two functions:

Expense Analysis

Expense Analysis uses the categorized headings already defined in Sage 50 Accounts to provide a thorough analysis of all the expenses. The various options for comparison include

• Current Month v/s Last Month
• Current Quarter v/s Previous Quarter
• Current Half Year v/s Previous Half Year
• Current Half Year v/s Previous Year same Period
• Current Year to Date v/s Previous Year to Date

The advantages of the Expense Analysis include:

• On Demand availability for real-time comparison of Expenses
• Accounting system being the primary source, data integrity and correctness is ensured
• Graphical representation for quick analysis

ABC Analysis

ABC analysis is the method of classifying items involved in a decision situation on the basis of their relative importance. The classification may be on the basis of monetary value, availability of resources, variations in lead-time, part criticality to the running of a facility, new customer parts unique to that product, and others

• “A” – items are the highest priority, the tightest control, frequent deliveries, close follow-up, and accurate records. Planning and Scheduling these parts utilize MRP (Material Requirements Planning), DRP (Distribution Requirements Planning, or EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) or other lot sizing techniques such as Lot for Lot. 10 % of the “A” items volume accounts for 70% of the total inventory value
• “B” – items are the priority when low or out of stock. Normal control is used and good records are maintained. EOQ and other lot sizing methods can be used effectively with these items. “B” items account for 20% of the total inventory value, and 20% of the inventory volume.
• “C” – items are the lowest priority, simplest method of control. Min/Max used for ordering. These parts are usually expensed, as there are no records for them. These parts represent 10% of the total value, and 70% of the volume

The advantages include

• The analysis can be carried out based on either the Rate, or the Value or the Quantity of inventory items
• You can define your own criteria for ABC analysis
• Choose the range for each of the type of groupings

Microsap along with its group company Winjit Technologies, have proven expertise in developing high end software solutions, especially for Finance and Accounting. The solutions developed are not only of the highest quality that add value to the customers but also have a huge cost advantage. Unlike any software technology company, Microsap has a robust global delivery centres that collaborate the best of the resources across the world in an optimum way without compromising on the quality.

About Microsap UK (www.microsap.co.uk)

Microsap Limited is a global software consulting and software services company established to offer services to Software Product companies (ISVs) and End-user organizations, primarily in small and medium size sector. Working closely with its customers, Microsap delivers technology solutions tailored to meet their business challenges. Microsap operates ISO certified development centres in India with its group company Winjit Technologies (www.winjit.com).  Over the past few years, it has successfully executed a number of engagements with customers in the UK , Europe, Africa and Australia .

Leveraging its technology expertise and its knowledge of business processes, Microsap has enabled its customers to create far greater value out of their investment in ERP software. With its excellent knowledge of Accounting and Finance processes and good understanding of SAGE and SAGE family products, Microsap has devised a number of innovative solutions for SAGE users. Microsap has become a Sage Development Partner in 2006 to help this cause.

Always keen on building long-term partnerships, we work closely with our customers and help them to:

• Stay ahead of the competition by early deployment of their software
• Retain all important business knowledge
• Reduce the impact of changes through process driven approach
• Create a satisfied customer base through reliable, quality software
• Leverage our offshore engagement models to optimize the development budgets

Credit Crunch Module for Sage 50 Accounts can be downloaded here

For more details, contact

Microsap Limited
Asmec centre, Eagle house,
The Ring, Bracknell ,
Berkshire RG12 1HB
United Kingdom
Phone: 01344 382 060
Fax:    01344 303 192
Email: sales@microsap.co.uk

From 1st December 2008, the standard rate of VAT will decrease from 17.5% to 15%. Winjit Technologies helps users to make this changes in Sage Line 50. Download the file from the below link and follow the instructions for making the changes in Sage Line 50 and be prepared for 1st December 2008

Download Document on Changing VAT in Sage Line 50

Compared to previous years, the launch of Sage 50 2009 was positively downbeat. The details were posted on Sage’s UK website and those who were entitled to immediate upgrades were sent the CDs to install last week.

Perhaps because of the problems encountered two years ago with its new reporting module, Sage opted for a more organic approach. And with the economy looking bleak, the company has tailored the new version to match the market’s mood, with improvements focused on keeping your head down and getting on with collecting the cash.

New cash management features

Several of the program’s new ingredients tie into credit management and cash flow control. On the interface front, you now have the option to view a Dashboard of your credit position to see reports and graphics showing your debt situation and what funds are due in, disputed or owed.

The new Cash flow module, reached via an icon within the Customers Chase Debt, window or from the Bank Accounts and Suppliers Manage Payments modules can also display a summary of outstanding and recurring payments and recurring, effectively giving you an instant cashflow forecast, with the ability to change the date range as you wish. You can also pick specific accounts that you want to include in your forecast view and send the results to a colleague via email, or output the report to Excel for further analysis.

The most obvious addition to Sage 50′s left hand task pane is a new Diary module, which looks very much like a stripped down version of the Microsoft Outlook Calendar. Like Outlook, the Sage 50 Diary lets you create tasks with automatic reminders that can be compiled into a To Do list. The tasks can be linked to specific customer or supplier contact details and in a neat touch, any promised payments will be entered into the Diary and will update the relevant cashflow forecasts when you refresh them.

The Sage 50 Diary is said to integrate with Microsoft Outlook for both tasks and contact details. There is a new Office import/export wizard option, but I was not able to test the facility with the online demo system.

Welcome improvements to error correction and bank reconciliation

Sage has improved two areas that may have been a source of user frustration. The new version makes it easier to fix basic mistakes and includes an improved better bank reconciliation system.

The Correction is reached via the File-Maintenance menu, which includes an Error Checking routine and the option to correct errors. The routine is claimed by Sage to be a single mouse-click operation, but an attempt to remove a pair of scissors from a multi-product sales invoice proved beyond my abilities – so I still had to delete the full invoice and issue a new one minus the unwanted scissors.

When you open the Bank Reconciliation routine an enter a statement date, all the unmatched transactions up to that date are displayed in the upper half of the screen. The previous balance appears in the lower window and as you reconcile each statement entry, it moves to the bottom window. Up and down arrows allow you to move the transactions around to match the bank statement order and you can group several transactions into one item (or ungroup them later).

By changing the period dates, you can also go back and do a retrospective bank rec. The application also has an e-Reconcile option that can download electronic bank statements and carry out automatic reconciliations.

Advanced budget management

When it came to improving Sage 50′s budgeting facilities, the developer appears to have borrowed a trick from AccountingWEB.co.uk member Richard Willis who suggested using a separate chart of accounts to run a shadow budget for your main company. The idea was so good, Sage has built it into the new version. Sage 50 will now let you create a budget chart of accounts, with the ability to edit the structure so you only budget against those accounts that you want to track. You can choose to view budgets by department, or by nominal code activity to track your performance. The budget structure can be automatically replicated for the successive financial year.

Enhancements to existing features

Digging into the depths of the program (and the supporting documentation) uncovered bits and pieces added to previously introduced elements. These inlcude:

• Improvements to the VAT module
• Extensions to Excel Integrated Reporting and a new import/export wizard
• More discount and offer management options within the Invoicing module
• Enhanced batch payment facilities, including an option to link into the Sage Payment Solutions system, so you can take credit card payments immediately over the phone or via the internet and have them posted through to the accounting ledgers. This will cost you extra for the Payment Solutions subscription.
• A new reserve stock feature within the order module that will also automatically record that the stock has been issued
• Batch reports facilities to help you run off regular reporting packages. A couple of new credit control and aged debtor reports have been added to the standard report library
• Multicurrency capabilites includes foreign currency price lists.

Integrated help and practice data system

The Diary and new budgeting features look very useful, and improvements to error correction and bank reconciliation are most welcome. But on first view, it’s hard to get overly excited by what Sage calls “our best accountancy software to date”.

What’s the verdict?

While the new Help features are a welcome addition, Sage 50 can still be difficult to navigate around. The new Cash flow module, for example, is tucked away on an overflow icon menu on the Customers screen.

And with each new release, Sage 50 is taking on more and more of the innovations found within multi-company, mid-range products such as Access Dimensions and IRIS Exchequer. Many of the improvements documented here could have come straight off David Carter’s lab test checklist for mid-range accounting software. As the application becomes more powerful and fully featured, it also becomes more intimidating for smaller company users.

For its share of the desktop accounting market and the features it packs, Sage 50 is a software behemoth and each annual release is a big event. But is anyone else beginning to get the feeling that the real thrills – and opportunities for growth – are taking place elsewhere in the market, with accounting applications that will make life easier, and not more complex, for small businesses and start-ups?

With an emphasis on ease of use, Sage 50 Accounts gives businesses the tools they need to balance their books, manage their accounts and control their finances.

Sage Line 50 has for many years been the UK’s most popular accounting software for small businesses and is recommended by over 90% of accountants.

Now Sage Line 50 has changed to Sage 50 Accounts but it continues to offer the same powerful features to automate accounts processes, simplify accounting routines and give managers the information they need to make informed decisions.

Sage 50 Accounts – The entry point into the range, Sage 50 Accounts 2009 has all the standard features you need to manage customers and suppliers professionally.

Sage 50 Accounts Plus – As well as helping you to balance your books and control your VAT, Sage 50 Accounts Plus 2009 has all the tools you need to keep track of your materials and manage your stock.

Sage 50 Accounts Professional – Sage 50 Accounts Professional takes all the features and benefits of Sage 50 Accounts Plus, and adds sales and purchase order processing, stock control, project management and foreign trading tools. It also has the flexibility to handle up to 10 users and manage multiple companies, giving you the information you need to drive your business forward.

Visit the link for the Credit Crunch Edition

http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=188048

The Sage Group plc (”Sage”), a leading global supplier of business management software and services, announces the acquisition of Hallco 1390 Ltd (”Hallco”) from its shareholders for an enterprise value of £21 million, paid in cash. Hallco’s revenues for the half year to December 2007 were £4.5m, based on unaudited management accounts.

Hallco 1390 Ltd trades under the name of Tekton Group Ltd (”Tekton”) and provides specialist construction software, implementation and support services to more than 230 companies throughout the UK & Ireland. With high levels of localised legislation and compliance in the construction industry, companies require specific local knowledge and expertise from their software suppliers, which companies such as Sage and Tekton are able to provide.

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