http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/whats_new_oct08_how_to_survive_the_credit_crunch.htm

Credit Crunch can be effectively handled by the following ways

1. Don’t bury your head in the sand

Ignoring your debt problems will only make them worse. Don’t ignore calls or letters from the people you owe money to (your creditors).

Contact them to explain why you’re having problems. The sooner you do this, the more options you’ll have for solving your financial problems.

2. Get advice

There are many organisations which offer free and independent money advice such as Citizens Advice, Shelter, National Debtline, and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. Their debt advisers can assess your situation and work out the best course of action for you. For details of organisations which can help, go to the bottom of this page.

3. Pay your priority debts first

There are some debts you need to pay first before others, because the consequences of not paying them can be much more serious. For example, mortgage or rent debts are a priority as if you don’t pay these you could lose your home. Debt advisers can help you plan your budget and pay your priority debts first.

4. Pay what you can each month

Work out how much money you’ve got coming in and going out of your household on essential expenses like food and bills. Then work how much you’ve got left over to pay your creditors. If you can’t afford to pay back all the money you owe, work out how much you can afford and offer to pay this. A debt adviser can help you do this.

5. Maximise your income

Are you getting all the money you’re entitled to?

There may be benefits or tax credits you can get such as Pension Credit or Disability Living Allowance which you haven’t claimed. Working Tax Credit is an in-work benefit which is not just available to people with children. You might be able to get it if you work enough hours and are disabled or your income is low enough, even if you don’t have children. You may be able to get Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit to help you pay your council tax and rent. You don’t necessarily have to be out of work to get these benefits. You may be able to get help with your health costs such as prescription charges and dental costs. You may be able to claim help with education costs such as school meals and clothing.

You may be able to get a grant to help you pay for things like fitting home insulation and improving energy efficiency. This can help cut down the fuel bills.

Your gas and electricity supplier may be able to help you if you have fuel debts.

To find out if you can get help, visit the British Gas Energy Trust website at: www.britishgasenergytrust.org.uk or the EDF Energy Trust website at: www.edfenergytrust.org.uk.

There are also some charities which give grants to people to help pay their bills or buy essential items. You can find a list of these charities on the Turn 2 Us website at: www.turn2us.org.uk.

An adviser can help you maximise your income. For details of organisations which can help, go to the bottom of this page.

6. Make savings on your household expenses

Look carefully at your spending and see if there is anything you are able to cut down on. For example, you could shop around for a cheaper gas or electricity provider, or look at cheaper mortgage or insurance providers.

You can find more information about changing your gas and electricity suppliers from the website of the consumer watchdog, Consumer Focus at: www.consumerfocus.org.uk.

To find out more about how to save money on financial products such as mortgages and insurance, go to the website of financial watchdog the Financial Services Authority at: www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk.

7. Think twice about taking out a loan to pay off all your debts

You may end up paying back a lot more than you borrowed and at very high interest rates. You may not be able to afford the repayments and the loan may be secured against your home which you could then lose.

8. Facing possession proceedings? Don’t panic

Always attend the court hearings yourself. Court proceedings do not mean that you will automatically lose your home. The court process acts as a final check to make sure repossession is the last resort. Some courts have advice desks which can provide last minute assistance.

9. Take care with “mortgage rescue schemes”

Selling your home and renting it back might seem like a quick fix to your debt problems. But, many of these schemes offer very little security. You could end up paying very high rent or even being evicted. These schemes are also not regulated so you will not have access to the same protections as a mortgage holder.

10. Don’t abandon your property

If you are struggling with mortgage repayments you may be tempted to send the keys to your lender or abandon your property. Don’t do this without advice. You could still be responsible for the debt on the property and may be pursued for it years later.

The latest Version of Sage Line 50 the premier product from Sage is all set to launch on 3^rd August 2010.

As the Website “http://www.sage.co.uk/thinkingbusiness/default.aspx” says

The Key Features include

Improved User Experience

“Our usability improvements extend from simplification of core processes to navigation and accessibility to data.”

Data Import Wizard

A new easy to use import wizard allowing you to map fields directly to Sage 50 Accounts and save procedures for future use.

SagePay (Protx) Integration

Provide the option for immediate online card payments with a ‘pay now’ button that can be embedded directly into PDF files such as invoices.

Some other features income

Bar code generation, Cash register, Legislation updates including ECSL changes and improved video tutorials & EC Sales list changes where new legislation updates include regulations from HM Revenue & Customs for certain companies who trade in the EC.

Watch this space for more information an update on the same.

Please also check www.sage2010.com for more details

As the Website “http://www.sage.co.uk/thinkingbusiness/default.aspx” says

The Key Features include

Improved User Experience

“Our usability improvements extend from simplification of core processes to navigation and accessibility to data.”

Data Import Wizard

A new easy to use import wizard allowing you to map fields directly to Sage 50 Accounts and save procedures for future use.

SagePay (Protx) Integration

Provide the option for immediate online card payments with a ‘pay now’ button that can be embedded directly into PDF files such as invoices.

Some other features income

Bar code generation, Cash register, Legislation updates including ECSL changes and improved video tutorials & EC Sales list changes where new legislation updates include regulations from HM Revenue & Customs for certain companies who trade in the EC.

Watch this space for more information an update on the same.

Please also check www.sage2010.com for more details

Sage, one of the world’s largest suppliers of business software today announced the availability of Sage ERPX3 for Australian and New Zealand customers.

Sage ERPX3 is the latest product in Sage’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suite designed to automate and manage business processes for medium to large organisations with between 100 and 5,000 employees.

Processes automated by the new solution include finance, production, sales, CRM, purchasing and stock management functions. ERPX3 is particularly targeted at businesses in vertical markets and industries including discrete manufacturing, finance, process manufacturing, warehouse management, distribution, pharmaceutical, medical and mining.

This latest release is specifically designed for deployment and operation over the Internet. For customers this means reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved speed and ease of deployment as they don’t need to invest in additional hardware or thin-client technology to roll the solution out. These are particularly high priorities for Australian and New Zealand businesses at present according to feedback from Sage’s extensive partner community of more than 30,000 resellers globally.

“A lot of ERP systems are coming to the end of their product life cycle at the moment and customers are assessing the upgrade options available to them,” said Mike Lorge, Managing Director, Sage Business Solutions, Australia and New Zealand.

“The typical challenges for upgrade and deployment are productivity loss when systems are down for cut-over or training occurs and ongoing management costs. We designed ERPX3 to address those challenges directly. It is quickly deployed, often alongside existing ERP solutions, and incorporates new graphics and an improved user interface that can be tweaked to reflect specific business and training needs, saving time and money.”

New features in Sage ERPX3 include:
· Improved interface and user friendless: Businesses can design graphical processes to augment traditional menus and navigation panes. This aids in training and adoption as graphics are more familiar and reflect specific business needs and user preferences
· Quick deployment across multiple branches/sites: Because ERPX3 is web-native, it can be deployed over the Internet allowing businesses to quickly scale access to connect new and remote branches to the database. For example, if a business has an office in Beijing and one in Sydney, employees from each office can log into the same system simultaneously, improving transparency and information access across the organisation.
· Multi-jurisdiction and Multi-lingual: ERPX3 includes the latest updates to accounting and tax management legislation across multiple jurisdictions allowing automatic capture and conversion of data for international trade. Users can login in the language of choice including English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese.
· Improved data visibility and Business Intelligence: ERPX3 includes an easy to use, configuarable user portal including customisable graphical Business Intelligence views with full drill-down to the underlying data. Any data can be exposed in this manner.

ACT! for Financial Professionals 11 features and enhancements include the ability to link relationships between multiple contacts, improved Microsoft® Outlook® integration, expanded search capabilities, and options for scheduling automated database maintenance.

ACT! for Financial Professionals helps users:

• Capture and organize customer and prospect profile information with customizable data fields, tabs, and layouts specifically designed for financial advisors.
  
• Leverage client networks by tracking households, relationships, and family members with quick visibility into conversations held with each.
  
• Provide tailored levels of service appropriate for each client’s financial status.
  
• Maintain details of each client or prospect interaction with date and time stamping to help satisfy compliance requirements.
  
• Analyze data with dashboard and reporting tools to gain insight into sales activities and make more informed business decisions.
  
• Integrate ACT! data with other everyday applications including Microsoft® Outlook, Word, and Excel®.
  
• Access ACT! data on-the-go with BlackBerry, iPhone, and Palm OS mobile devices.
  

ACT! for Financial Professionals is part of the ACT! by Sage product family. ACT! is the #1 selling contact and customer management solution used by more than 2.8 million users and over 48,000 additional corporate customers, including individual professionals, small business owners, corporate teams, and anyone who regularly works with contacts.

ACT! for Financial Professionals is available for $299.99 per user at www.act.com/estore and by phoning 866-903-0006. ACT! Premium for Financial Professionals, recommended for organizations with ten or more users, is available for $469.99 per user by contacting ACT! Corporate Licensing at 866-903-0006, or from ACT! Certified Consultants located at www.act.com/certifiedconsultants.

About Sage North America
Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and services. At Sage, we live and breathe business every day. We are passionate about helping our customers achieve their ambitions. Our range of business software and services is continually evolving as we innovate to answer our customers’ needs. Our solutions support accounting, operations, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking, merchant services and the specialized needs of the construction, distribution, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. Sage North America employs approximately 4,800 people and supports 2.9 million small and medium-size business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs more than 14,500 people and supports more than 5.8 million customers worldwide. For more information, please visit the web site atwww.sagenorthamerica.com or call 866-308-2378.

North America today announced SageSpark.com, a new online destination for small businesses that brings together an array of key elements entrepreneurs need to get started.  As part of SageSpark.com, Sage is also launching Billing Boss, an online invoicing service, aimed at helping North American small businesses get paid, quickly and easily. 

SageSpark.com is a centralized online resource to help early stage small businesses:

 access and use free and fee-based online applications to manage specific, discrete business needs, such as invoicing customers.

 sign up for small business services that free up their time to run their business and accelerate business growth, such as online IT helpdesk services, online marketing services, business benchmarking, and employee recruitment.

 engage in a comprehensive small business community that allows users to connect with other small businesses, find new customers, share best practices, and learn from various experts.

“Small businesses are starting up at a record pace for a variety of reasons: from baby boomers postponing retirement to recent college graduates, to moms trying to make extra money, and with the recent waves of layoffs and the current economy, many people are seizing the opportunity to start their own business,” said Jamie Sutherland, general manager, SageSpark.com. “With SageSpark.com, we are providing current and potential entrepreneurs with a small business accelerator that offers the choice of online services beyond traditional accounting software that will jump-start their efficiency and quickly put them on the road to success.”

SageSpark.com delivers the elements entrepreneurs need to get started inexpensively, via free and low-cost services; and get motivated, via a strong community of experts and peers, sharing best practices and providing encouragement for entry-level businesses.

Low-cost services include credit card processing and payroll direct deposit, a virtual IT helpdesk, and sales and marketing services, to name a few.  SageSpark.com also offers no-cost services, including Billing Boss, a simple invoicing tool.

Billing Boss is easy to use, accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, and available on 3G enabled mobile devices such as the iPhone.  With Billing Boss, small businesses can easily create and send professional-looking invoices within minutes of signing up, and get paid faster online and increase their productivity since they’ll spend less time preparing invoices and tracking down payments. 

Billing Boss is designed for businesses in North America and is currently available in seven languages with three dialects:  English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (+ Brazil), Korean, and traditional Chinese.

A versatile electronic time and expense capture system, Sage TimeSheet can feed directly into financial, project management, and payroll systems, including Sage Abra Payroll, the payroll module for Sage Abra HRMS. Additionally, Sage TimeSheet can provide project tracking capabilities for Sage MAS 90/200 ERP and Sage MAS 500 ERP users, or function as a stand-alone project time and expense tracking tool.

Sage Abra TimeSheet 9.8 is now available as an integrated option for Sage Abra SQL HRMS. It allows employees to enter time worked online, supervisors to approve time entries, and enables Abra Payroll administrators to more easily control the time approval process, to help ensure accurate and timely payment to all employees.

In addition, several new time entry features, such as the ability to add holiday hours or other common time to all employees at once, will benefit all Sage TimeSheet users.

“[Sage TimeSheet is] an ideal solution for a distributed workforce like ours,” says Reed Sortor, systems accountant for San Francisco-based AKQA, a highly successful, global-reaching leader in digital marketing, and the creative team behind award-winning ideas and strategies used by some the world’s most recognized brands, including VISA, Nike, Coca-Cola, and Xbox. “[Using Sage TimeSheet], employees can enter their time and project-related expenses from anywhere.”

To ensure each employee has accounted for their weekly hours, AKQA has configured Sage TimeSheet to automatically generate an e-mail reminder to employees if they have not allocated their standard weekly number of hours.

“It’s critical that we have complete and accurate time recording, yet it would be an impossible task to account for it all without Sage TimeSheet,” adds Sortor.

Easy to install and administer, and flexible enough to accommodate highly complex business rules without customization, Sage TimeSheet integrates with project management, payroll, and billing systems. Compared to other project time-tracking software, Sage TimeSheet offers the most flexible configuration and customization capabilities to fit the unique requirements of most organizations, whether departmental or company-wide.

Availability

The Sage TimeSheet product line includes Sage Abra TimeSheet, Sage TimeSheet 100, Sage TimeSheet 500, Sage TimeSheet – Payroll Edition, Sage TimeSheet – MAS 90 Edition, and Sage TimeSheet – MAS 500 Edition.

Sage TimeSheet version 9.8 is now available. For more information on the Sage TimeSheet product line, including available add-ons, please visit www.sagetimesheet.com or call 800-477-6763.

There is no longer any need to register Transaction Email. In addition, you can now record DUNS numbers – Data Universal Numbering System, against customer and supplier records.

Note: Transaction Email is not available, when you are working in Demonstration or Practice Data modes

About Us
Winjit technologies are accredited Sage Partners in India , Africa having a rich experience in developing bespoke application for Tally products and we are currently serving our customers in UK, Middle East, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India.
Winjit has developed various Add on application in Sage and recently launched Snapshots for Sage or creditcrunch.winjit.com.

For more details visit creditcrunch.winjit.com.

The Customer Statements window appears

Note: The New, Edit and Delete buttons are used to work with the Statement files themselves.

2.   From the Statements list displayed, choose the statement layout with the combination of options you require.

3.   Choose the type of output you require from the drop-down list.

4.    To continue with the Statement printing, click Generate Report. The Criteria window appears for you to enter your date range. All aged balance transactions are aged to the End Date.

5.   In the From and To boxes, enter the date range required. All customer transactions falling on or within these dates are included in the Statements.

6.   Select the Excl. Later Payments check box if you want to exclude any future sales receipts and sales payments on account from your statement. This gives you the flexibility to run retrospective statements – that is to include or exclude invoices, depending on the payment date.

7.   Click OK to continue.

The selected customer statements will begin printing.

The following statement options are available:

Nominal codes

You can use the standard budgeting, a basic budgeting feature you can use to view your budget, actuals and previous years figures.

Alternatively, you can choose to use Advanced budgeting, which includes up to five years historical figures and is designed to improve budget set up.

Departments

This is part of the advanced budgeting feature. You can choose to analyse the department budget by nominal categories such as Sales, Purchases or Overheads. Or you can analyse the budget against a nominal code.

Products (Accounts Plus and Accounts Professional only)

You can view your budget, actuals and previous year figures at the same time. The actuals are automatically updated for you when  invoices, sales orders or credit notes are generated.

Projects
(Accounts Plus and Accounts Professional only)

A budget can be set up for a project on the project record. As costs are applied to the project you can track project costs including spend against budget.